Sodium thiopental is a critical component of the three-drug cocktail that makes up the lethal injection procedure for most executions in this country. It’s the drug that makes the person lose consciousness, before the other two drugs first cause paralysis and then stop the heart. (We’ve posted about the procedure in detail here.)
Virginia Will Execute Teresa Lewis Tonight Absent a Miracle, My Comments to the Palm Beach Post
Virginia Death Row inmate Teresa Lewis, 41, has ordered her Last Meal: fried chicken, sweet peas, and either German chocolate cake or apple pie for dessert, along with a Dr.Pepper. Despite the efforts of lots of folk – including author John Grisham, for example – Teresa Lewis will die by lethal injection at the
Attribution Policy for the Blog: Please Review if You Want to Quote from DPB
Awhile back, a reader wrote asking about the blog’s attribution policy. So better late than never, here it is, and thanks to Kathlb for helping us get this task done.
We will license the work shown on the Death Penalty Blog under the Creative Commons Public License as detailed below, the Attribution Without Derivatives license. You may download posts from the DPB and share them with others IF you mention the DPB/Terry Lenamon as the source and include a link back to DPB. The contents of the blog posts cannot be changed. They cannot be used commercially.
In other words, please feel free to quote from the DPB as long as you identify the content as a quote, include a hyperlink to the DPB, and don’t try and make money off of it.
THE WORK (AS DEFINED BELOW) IS PROVIDED UNDER THE TERMS OF THIS CREATIVE COMMONS PUBLIC LICENSE ("CCPL" OR "LICENSE"). THE WORK IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT AND/OR OTHER APPLICABLE LAW. ANY USE OF THE WORK OTHER THAN AS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS LICENSE OR COPYRIGHT LAW IS PROHIBITED.
BY EXERCISING ANY RIGHTS TO THE WORK PROVIDED HERE, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. TO THE EXTENT THIS LICENSE MAY BE CONSIDERED TO BE A CONTRACT, THE LICENSOR GRANTS YOU THE RIGHTS CONTAINED HERE IN CONSIDERATION OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
(continued)Continue Reading Attribution Policy for the Blog: Please Review if You Want to Quote from DPB
Casey Anthony Has New Death-Qualified Attorney: Jacksonville’s Ann Finnell
This past week, it was announced to the public by Casey Anthony’s defense team that Florida’s Ann E. Finnell had joined them, the latest death-qualified defense attorney to represent the young woman accused of murdering her toddler-daughter, Caylee Marie.
This news comes on the heels of Professor Andrea Lyon withdrawing from the case in late
Connecticut Home Invasion Trial Spotlights Death Penalty Controversy
Connecticut is seeking the death penalty of two men who allegedly broke into the Cheshire home of a prominent doctor, Dr. William Petit, severely beating the doctor and killing his wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and two daughters, Hayley,17, and Michaela, 11. You’ve probably read about this case, or heard about it on television.
And
U.S. Supreme Court Sets Oral Argument in Three Death Penalty Cases: Thompson, Skinner, Pinholster
In just a few weeks the new term for the U.S. Supreme Court will begin, and the High Court has already scheduled oral arguments in three pending death penalty-related cases: Connick v. Thompson, Skinner v. Switzer, and Cullen v. Pinholster.
1. Connick v. Thompson comes out of Louisiana. On October 6, 2010, argument will be
Kentucky Set to Execute Gregory Wilson on September 16: Wilson’s IQ is 62 and He Had Horribly Inadequate Defense Counsel
In Kentucky, over 22 years ago, Gregory L. Wilson was sentenced to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Deborah Pooley. A co-defendant is serving a life sentence.
Gregory Wilson should not be executed, many agree, but the grounds for stopping his execution are separate and strong: there are those arguing against Wilson’s execution because of his mental
Will Cal Coburn Brown Be Executed in Single-Drug Lethal Injection by Washington State Tomorrow, Despite His Mental Illness? Probably.
Much of the American public may believe that the mentally ill are spared capital punishment in this country, because to execute someone suffering from mental illness would be cruel and unusual – and therefore, in violation of our federal constitution.
And they’re wrong. Dead wrong.
Washington State plans to execute Cal Coburn Brown tomorrow, a
Ohio Governor Stops Execution of Death Row Inmate Kevin Keith: Is This The Answer for Troy Davis?
Yesterday, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland used his executive power of clemency and stopped the execution of Ohio Death Row inmate Kevin Keith. In his statement, Governor Strickland states (read it in full here) (emphasis added):
Yet, despite the evidence supporting his guilt and the substantial legal review of Mr. Keith’s conviction, many legitimate questions have
California Executions? Is Death Row Really the Target of California’s Budget Crunch?
California re-instituted the death penalty in 1978; however, California has not executed anyone since February 2006, when Federal District Judge Jeremy Fogel stayed the execution of Michael Morales based upon Mr. Morales’ arguments against lethal injection as cruel and unusual punishment.
Federal Judge Fogel Has a Big Decision to Make
Now, after four years have