Across the country, a lot of attention has been given to Kevin Fine, a trial court judge setting in Houston over a state criminal court. Texas has lots of criminal courts, and Houston’s Harris County has a number of folk presiding over the criminal bench — but Judge Fine has become somewhat famous from that number because he had the
Terry Lenamon / Reba Kennedy
Is Illinois Governor Pat Quinn Reading the News? Maryland Movement to Rev Up Executions, While Some in New Jersey Seek to Reinstate Death Penalty
Posted in Death Penalty - States
We’re all still waiting to see whether or not Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will sign into law the proposed legislation on his desk which would abolish capital punishment in that state. You can almost hear the sound of a thousand fingernails drumming impatiently on tabletops across the country ….
Meanwhile, over in Maryland it’s a…
Will Governor Pat Quinn End Capital Punishment in Illinois? We’ll Soon Know.
Posted in Death Penalty - States
On Tuesday, the Illinois State Senate sent a bill to the governor’s desk which will abolish the death penalty in that state … if Governor Pat Quinn will sign it.
Problem is, Governor Pat Quinn supports capital punishment. The next day, instead of signing the bill into law, Governor Quinn reported that he would listen…
Jared Loughner Facing Federal and State Death Penalty Charges: Indigent Defense Appointments Made for Death Qualified Counsel
Posted in Death Penalty - Federal
Jared Loughner is accused of violating federal laws that carry with them the death penalty, and he’s already been charged with capital murder in a Phoenix federal courtroom. (Read the federal indictment here.) Arizona law has also been violated in this horrific crime, and the State of Arizona is planning its own separate prosecution of…
Illinois May Abolish Death Penalty in 2010 – The Perfect Storm for a Finance Challenge to Capital Punishment
Posted in Death Penalty - States
As the first week of 2011 unfolds, the Illinois Legislature is facing a huge budgetary crisis: it is $13 billion in the red, and this includes over $6 million of unpaid bills. If Illinois were a person, it would be getting a lot of bill collector phone calls.
In fact,Illinois is in very, very…
Death Penalty Will Be in the National Spotlight in 2011 As Capital Punishment Becomes Major News Story On Several Fronts
Posted in Death Penalty - States
As the new year approaches, it appears that in 2011 there will be even more focus upon capital punishment in courtrooms, press rooms, and legislatures.
The death penalty is being considered by several states. Whether or not capital punishment should be available under a state’s penal code for sentencing in any case is being reviewed, albeit for very different reasons and…
Will Texas Trial Judge Get Chance to Rule Death Penalty Unconstitutional in Pending Murder Case?
Posted in Legal Issues - Death Penalty
In Houston, Texas, a man named John Edward Green is on trial for the murder of a Houston woman and her sister during the commission of a robbery, and the State of Texas is seeking the death penalty. Presiding over this trial is state district judge Kevin Fine, and Judge Fine has become somewhat…
Death Sentences Are Given Less, Fewer Executions in 2010: DPIC Report
Posted in Death Penalty - States
The Death Penalty Information Center has issued its annual report on the state of capital punishment in this country. According to the DPIC, the forty-six (46) executions that were conducted this year constitute a twelve percent (12%) decrease in the death penalty. (In 2009, there were 52 executions in the United States; in 2000, there…
Oklahoma Executes Man Just Like Vet Euthanizes Dog: Where Is the Outcry?
Posted in Execution Methods
Last week, John David Duty was executed by the State of Oklahoma and in doing so, Mr. Duty made the history books – we may all remember his name for many years in the future as the first man to be executed in the same way that vets put down beloved pets.
Because, while other…
I Am Honored to Accept Invitation to Speak at Vanderbilt Law School by Professor Owen Jones
Posted in Personal
More great news to share with you all: I’m honored to have been invited to speak by Professor Owen D. Jones, who teaches a class at Vanderbilt Law School on Law and the Brain and is working with several of his colleagues at Vanderbilt in preparing a law school coursebook on the subject.
This April, I will be the guest…