Gary Gilmore was the first person in the United States to be executed since SCOTUS issued its decision in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S. Ct. 2909, 49 L. Ed. 2d 859 (1976), which reinstated the death penalty in the United States. It had been almost a decade since anyone had been executed
Happy Birthday Terence Lenamon!
Markeith Loyd Trial Date Set for October: Lenamon’s Death Penalty Defense Includes Issues of Police Excessive Force and Insanity
The death penalty trial of Markeith Loyd for the death of Orlando Police Officer Debra Clayton has been reset by the Honorable Leticia Marques to October 8, 2021, when jury selection will begin in the case of State of Florida vs. Markeith Loyd. Terence Lenamon serves as defense counsel in this case.
For more information
Recommended Read: A Descending Spiral: Exposing the Death Penalty in 12 Essays.
Pennsylvania-based death penalty defense lawyer Marc Bookman currently serves as the Executive Director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, a nonprofit organization providing capital case defense for those facing a possible death penalty sentence and state execution. Before that he advocated for defendants as part of the Defender Association of Philadelphia’s Homicide Unit
Death Penalty Issues: Legislation versus Court Case Precedent
Death Penalty Law springs out of two wells in two forums: the judiciary and the legislature, at both the state and federal levels.
Consider the continuing interplay on the proper implementation of the Florida Death Penalty between SCOTUS and the Florida Supreme Court in Hurst v. State and Poole v. State, as one example.
State of Virginia Abolishes Death Penalty: Race Is the Reason
On March 24, 2021, the State of Virginia became the 23rd state in the United States to end
Six Major Issues Concerning the Death Penalty
Several different issues must be considered insofar as capital punishment in our country. The Death Penalty today is a multi-faced concern where considerations must be given to the following:
1. The Cost of Capital Punishment
For those focused upon finances and taxpayer dollars, the reality is that sentencing someone to death, rather that LWOP (life
National Geographic on the Death Penalty: Recommended Read
The March 2021 issue of National Geographic may have Mars on the cover, but its article on the death penalty is what drew us to the magazine this month. Entitled “Sentenced to death, but innocent: These are stories of justice gone wrong,” and written by Phillip Morris, it delves into the shocking realities
Pentobarbital in Executions: Cruel and Unusual Punishment?
This month, the question is raised once again about what the condemned actually experience when undergoing lethal injection, and whether or not this constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. It appears that the executioners’ perspective on what is taking place and those of the execution witnesses may be far, far different. Read, “Executioners sanitized accounts
Commutation vs. Resentencing Hearings in Death Penalty Cases
As President Biden takes office, activists against the federal death penalty are hopeful that he will commute the death sentences of those who sit on the Federal Death Row. See, e.g., “Dems Squad members try to save the worst killers of all: Pressley and Bush demand Biden commutes sentences of all 49 federal prisoners