The Las Vegas D.A. Is Seeking The Death Penalty More Than Nearly Any Other Steven Wolfson, the Clark County DA, says the death penalty is reserved for ‘very rare’ circumstances, but advocates and public defenders say his actions show otherwise. Sam Mellins May 19, 2021
D.A.s Are Asking Biden to End the Death Penalty. But Some Are Still Wielding It Themselves Prosecutors who have championed criminal justice reforms are still seeking death sentences, opposing appeals, and, in some cases, have even petitioned for execution dates. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 05, 2021
The Successes and Shortcomings of Larry Krasner’s Trailblazing First Term Philadelphia’s top prosecutor has made good on promises to reduce incarceration in the city. His re-election bid will be a litmus test for the progressive prosecutor movement he helped start. Joshua Vaughn Mar 22, 2021
Jeff Rosen Sought the Death Penalty For An Innocent Man. He Shouldn’t Be California’s Next AG The Santa Clara County district attorney’s name has been floated for the role of the state’s top prosecutor despite his use of the death penalty against people of color. Michael Ogul Mar 19, 2021
His Attorneys Say He’s Intellectually Disabled. A ‘Reform’ Prosecutor Wants The Death Penalty State Attorney Melissa Nelson is pushing for a death sentence even as more prosecutors reject capital punishment. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 22, 2021
Brandon Bernard’s Death Sentence Should Be Commuted Immediately By President Trump A reasonable society does not meet trauma with more trauma in the name of justice. Ayanna Pressley Dec 10, 2020
Los Angeles D.A. Candidates Spar on Police Shootings, Death Penalty DA Jackie Lacey and challenger George Gascón outlined diverging visions for the top prosecutor’s office in the nation’s most populous county. Kira Lerner Oct 09, 2020
Her Lawyers Say She Was Coerced To Plead Guilty To A Crime That Never Happened Accused of shaking a baby to death and facing the death penalty, Amy Wilkerson says she is innocent, but pleaded guilty to spare her life. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 23, 2020
The Federal Death Penalty Has The Veneer Of Respectability. But It’s Just As Flawed As the States’ Killing Machines. Attorney General Bill Barr has scheduled executions for four people on federal death row in July and August. That’s more federal executions in one month than in the entire modern history of the federal death penalty. Ben Cohen Jul 13, 2020
Tennessee Set to Execute Intellectually Disabled Black Man In Killing of White Woman Even Though Innocence Questions Persist Attorneys say the prosecution’s theory of the murder case was ‘concocted out of whole cloth’ and based on ‘outdated racial stereotyping.’ Steven Hale Apr 29, 2020
Justice In America Episode 24: Death Penalty Josie Duffy Rice and guest co-host Darnell Moore focus on the death penalty as they talk with State Attorney Aramis Ayala of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Mar 18, 2020
Tennessee Man Could Be The First Person In Nearly A Century To Be Executed After Being Forced To Represent Himself At Trial Across the country, the death penalty is in steep decline. But in September, the state’s attorney general sought execution dates for nine men, and its Supreme Court set dates for two of them. Steven Hale Feb 18, 2020
The Appeal Podcast: Documenting the Death Penalty With Jordan Smith and Liliana Segura of The Intercept. Adam H. Johnson Feb 13, 2020
Five Jurists Said Donnie Lance Deserved a New Sentence. Georgia Executed Him Anyway. Three Supreme Court justices and others said competent counsel could have saved his life. Kyle C. Barry Jan 30, 2020
Man Spared From Execution After Rare Clemency Grant It’s the first time since 2014 that someone on Georgia’s death row has been granted clemency. Braden Goyette Jan 16, 2020
Why the Attorney General’s Concern About Crime Victims and Their Families Rings Hollow William Barr says the government owes it to the victims and their families to resume federal executions. In doing so, he’s ignoring important facts about the death penalty—and the actual wishes of victims’ families. Ben Miller, Daniel S. Harawa Jan 06, 2020
As Support For Capital Punishment Wanes, An Ohio D.A. Continues To Push For Death In Franklin County, experts say Ron O’Brien’s capital cases—which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars— amount to ‘just taxpayer money being lit on fire.’ Joshua Vaughn Dec 05, 2019
People Of Color Receive The Harshest Punishments, And The Disparities Are Growing Vaidya Gullapalli Dec 04, 2019
Why Are Prosecutors Still Seeking to Execute People Who Have Innocence Claims and Untested DNA? In these last two months of 2019, one man has been executed and two others are facing execution despite claims that they can show they don’t belong on death row. Lauren Gill Nov 22, 2019
Ayanna Pressley Hopes the U.S. Can Reduce Its Prison Population by Over 80 Percent The Appeal spoke with the lawmaker about her “entirely new blueprint for a just society.” Kira Lerner
The Appeal Podcast: States Turn To Nitrogen Gas For Executions, Despite Serious Concerns With Appeal staff reporter Lauren Gill Adam H. Johnson Nov 14, 2019
Rep. Ayanna Pressley Unveils Sweeping Plan To Reshape American Criminal Legal System Under the proposal, localities would be incentivized to significantly decrease prison populations. Kira Lerner
How District Attorney Jackie Lacey Failed Los Angeles On a host of issues—including police shootings, bail reform, marijuana legalization, and the death penalty—critics say Lacey, once seen as a reformer, has sought to preserve the status quo. Jessica Pishko Nov 12, 2019
Using Nitrogen Gas For Executions Is Untested and Poorly Understood. Three States Plan to Do It Anyway. Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama have all authorized the practice in capital punishment. So what happens now? Lauren Gill Oct 25, 2019
Missouri Executes Russell Bucklew Despite Threat of Botched Execution His legal team had pushed for clemency, arguing that Bucklew’s previous attorneys mishandled his capital murder case. Lauren Gill Oct 02, 2019
An Alabama Man Faces The Death Penalty For Two Murders. Could The Police Be Involved? In March, Coley McCraney was arrested and charged with capital murder in the 1999 killings of two teenage girls. But his attorneys say he’s innocent, and are now seeking information related to alleged police involvement in the homicides. Lauren Gill Oct 01, 2019
DNA Testing Could Save This Texas Man’s Life. But Prosecutors Are Opposing It. Rodney Reed, set to be executed on Nov. 20, is innocent of a rape and murder, his lawyers say, and untested evidence will prove it. But prosecutors have pushed back, arguing the evidence is contaminated. Lauren Gill Sep 26, 2019
Oklahoma’s Death Row Prisoners Are Forced Into Permanent Solitary Confinement. They are ‘Buried Alive,’ Advocates Say. Civil rights groups demand change as other states move away from the practice of isolating people sentenced to death. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 25, 2019
Missouri Is Set To Execute Russell Bucklew. His Lawyers Say His Case Was Mishandled. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his execution, which experts have said will be bloody and gruesome, does not amount to cruel and unusual punishment. But problems with his case started long before that, his attorneys say. Lauren Gill Sep 20, 2019
Harris County D.A. Seeks Execution of Intellectually Disabled Man, Lawyer Says Kim Ogg ran as a reform-minded district attorney candidate, but her office has sought two death warrants for Dexter Johnson, whose lawyer says cannot name everyday objects and has an IQ of 70. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 10, 2019
The Persistent History of Excluding Black Jurors in North Carolina A statewide pattern of discrimination in jury selection has gone largely uncorrected, while lives remain in the balance, advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Aug 26, 2019
Sanders And Warren Just Released the Most Decarceral Criminal Justice Platforms Ever The 2020 presidential candidates recently unveiled national criminal justice agendas that reimagine public safety and punishment. Aaron Morrison Aug 23, 2019
An Alabama Man On Death Row Says He Is Innocent. Will He Get a New Trial? In 1998, prosecutors failed to tell the defense that a key witness in Toforest Johnson’s capital murder trial would receive thousands of dollars in reward money for her testimony, Johnson’s attorneys say. Now a Birmingham judge must decide whether their argument has merit. Lauren Gill Aug 22, 2019
Sentenced to Life Without Parole at 17 and Denied Freedom at 52 Richard Kinder thought he would die in an Alabama prison until the Supreme Court ruled mandatory juvenile life without parole unconstitutional. But last year, despite a judge concluding there was “uncontradicted evidence” that Kinder had worked to rehabilitate himself, the state parole board refused him release. Lauren Gill Aug 07, 2019
Pennsylvania’s Top Cop Says He Supports Criminal Justice Reform. His Record Suggests Otherwise. When it comes to criminal justice, advocates say, Attorney General Josh Shapiro seems intent on maintaining the status quo. Joshua Vaughn Aug 02, 2019
In Alabama, Decades-Delayed Justice In A Double Homicide—Or A Brand New Injustice? Police in Ozark said they solved the 1999 murders of two teenage girls using a genealogy database. But Coley McCraney‘s attorneys say that the case against their client is far from certain. Lauren Gill Jul 24, 2019
Spotlight: Scalia Called Stevens’s Evolution ‘Arrogance.’ It was the Opposite. Sarah Lustbader Jul 18, 2019
Philadelphia D.A. Asks Court to Declare Death Penalty System Unconstitutional Larry Krasner says the punishment is ‘really about poverty’ and race. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jul 15, 2019
In Louisiana, a Messenger of Change Disregards His Message James Stewart, Caddo Parish’s DA, continues to defend controversial death sentences that originated with his predecessors. Joshua Vaughn
Jackie Lacey’s Legacy Is ‘Unfair and Discriminatory,’ Advocates Say A new report charges the Los Angeles DA with seeking the death penalty in unjust and harsh ways. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jun 19, 2019
An Alabama Woman Got Pregnant While In Jail. She Has No Memory of Having Sex. Since 2017, LaToni Daniel has been incarcerated pretrial in a capital murder case. During that time, Daniel became pregnant, and she just delivered a baby boy. But as she brings in new life, she also faces the death penalty. Lauren Gill May 31, 2019
Notorious Jailhouse Informant Case Resurfaces as New Orleans D.A. Race Nears DA Leon Cannizzarro used jailhouse informant Ronnie Morgan to convict a man in the killing of five teenagers, but the case was overturned. Now, Morgan is petitioning for a prison transfer, reviving the murder case. Lauren Gill May 24, 2019
Texas Plans to Execute a Man For A Murder He Didn’t Commit Patrick Murphy didn’t even learn about the murder until later that day. A controversial law allows him to be executed anyway. Katie Rose Quandt Mar 28, 2019
‘I’ve Made My Share Of Wrongs, But I Haven’t Killed No One’ California amended its felony murder law, which holds accomplices responsible for murder. But reform won’t reach a man sentenced to death in a deadly robbery—even though he was never accused of firing a shot. Maura Ewing Feb 04, 2019
Did Prosecutors Use a ‘Cheat Sheet’ to Strike Black Jurors in North Carolina Death Penalty Case? A single training document uncovered in a prosecutor’s files could save Russell William Tucker’s life. Jacob Biba Sep 04, 2018
What Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court Would Mean for Criminal Justice Trump’s pick to replace Justice Kennedy would most likely undermine the rights of criminal defendants and stall progress on solitary confinement, prisoners’ rights, and the death penalty. Kyle C. Barry Jul 13, 2018
After A Murder Conviction is Reversed, Police Chief Vows to Watch Defendant ‘Til the Day I Die’ Did a Louisiana police chief and a prosecutor cross a line when they issued televised threats to a man who'd just been granted relief by a federal appeals court in a child killing? Max Rivlin-Nadler Jul 03, 2018
‘I didn’t lay down’: How a California man convicted of murder may have saved his own life Death penalty mitigation offers juries a chance to see defendants in a different light. Maura Ewing Jun 06, 2018
How Naming a Drug Operation for a Fallen Trooper Endangers His Alleged Killer’s Fair Trial Jessica Brand, Ethan Brown May 01, 2018
Texas’s First Death Sentence of 2018 Crystallizes the State’s Longstanding Capital Case Crisis Lauren Gill Mar 16, 2018
In Louisiana, Defendants Facing the Death Penalty Face a Wait List for An Attorney Max Rivlin-Nadler Mar 15, 2018
San Antonio DA Nico LaHood, an Anti-Islam, Pro-Death Penalty Democrat, Faces Former Pal in Primary Alex Hannaford Mar 02, 2018
Pennsylvania’s Death Row Prisoners Argue That the Right to Execute Does Not Include the Right to Isolate Maura Ewing Jan 31, 2018
America Had Fewer Executions In 2017 Than In 23 Of The Last 25 Years Why Execution Numbers Continue To Fall Off A Cliff Lee Kovarsky Dec 07, 2017
Meet The Prosecutor Turned Reality TV Star Who Runs One Of The Worst Offices In America. Under District Attorney Steve Wolfson, prosecutors in Las Vegas have led the nation in new death sentences, repeatedly engaged in racist jury selection, and maintained a secret bank account to pay witnesses for their testimony in criminal cases. Dec 01, 2017
Is Mark Gonzalez The Reformer He Promised To Be? So far, the report card on the “Mexican Biker” prosecutor is mixed. Carimah Townes Nov 21, 2017
Houston Conviction and Death Sentence Goes to U.S. Supreme Court Court watchers believe Justices will side with plaintiff Larry Hannan Nov 04, 2017
“It Is So Loud Inside My Head” The words of a mentally ill man the state of Arkansas hopes to execute on November 9th Oct 24, 2017
Features: Sex-Shamed To Death How Oklahoma Prosecutors Used Sex And Infidelity To Put A Woman On Death Row Marc Bookman Oct 10, 2017
Las Vegas jury decides that a brutal murder does not justify the death penalty John Valerio shows that violent offenders can change. Carimah Townes Sep 25, 2017
Keith Tharpe’s Scheduled Execution Tests Our Tolerance for Racial Bias in Executions There are two types of Black people, the juror said, and Tharpe wasn’t a “good” one. Cassandra Stubbs Sep 20, 2017
Colorado death penalty case challenged after prosecutor bragged about his involvement “I was your worst nightmare.” Sep 11, 2017
Kentucky judge rules death penalty unconstitutional for defendants under 21 Larry Hannan Aug 04, 2017
Prosecutor pushes for Virginia man’s execution despite signs of serious mental illness Larry Hannan Jun 29, 2017
California man facing execution as District Attorney Mike Ramos disputes substantial evidence that he is innocent Larry Hannan Jun 21, 2017
Florida prosecutors begin dealing with unanimous jury requirement for death sentences Larry Hannan Jun 19, 2017
