What do the prosecutors and the defense attorneys say to the jury in a death penalty case, when those 12 people are going to decide whether or not the defendant should be sentenced to death?

Real life isn’t like those short speeches we see on the TV shows like Law and Order.  For those interested…

Right now, there is a petition before the Supreme Court of the United States coming out of the State of Arizona.  If SCOTUS agrees to hear this case, then it’s a big deal.  It may be the 21st Century’s Furman v. Georgia.

Hidalgo v Arizona Petition Before SCOTUS

The case is Hidalgo v. Arizona.  Follow it…

Terence Lenamon argued against the imposition of the death penalty in the William Wells case last month, and the result was a jury finding that Wells should not receive death but instead life without parole.

The jurors’ determination was based upon consideration of the aggravating factors argued by the State as they balanced against the…

The Supreme Court of the United States has denied certiorari in two important Florida death penalty appeals, which questioned current jury instructions given in capital cases. 

SCOTUS Dissent in Challenge to Florida Jury Instructions in Death Penalty Cases

From Justice Sotomayer, a dissent joined by Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer, stating in part:

“At least…

Many in Florida have been following the capital case of William Wells. He’s been known in the media as "the Monster of Mayport" for years now. 

No Death Penalty: "A Vote for Humanity and Mercy" – Terry Lenamon

Terence Lenamon and co-counsel Tania Alavi of Ocala represented William Wells in his 2017 capital trial before…

This month, the Death Penalty Information Center shares a new podcast with its PowerPoint presentation, entitled "Does Capital Punishment Deter Murder?."

View the PowerPoint presentation here. 

Listen to the podcast here. 

In it, DPIC Fellow Seth Rose and Executive Director Robert Dunham detail research studies that reveal Death Penalty does not deter murders…

Terence Lenamon fights against the death penalty as his life’s calling. This week, he is involved the jury selection for the William Wells case over in Starke.  (Wells is the man whom the media has dubbed the "Mayport Monster.")

And if you listen to the arguments of Dennis Prager in this video (which had over…

Of course, the biggest result of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision this week in Asay v. Florida is its failure to block the impeding execution of Mark James Asay.  

Read the full opinion here: Asay v. State, No. SC17-1400 (Fla. Aug. 14, 2017).

Asay Execution Remains Scheduled for August 24, 2017

The State…