death penalty

Sister Helen Prejean On Witnessing Executions: 'I Couldn't Let Them Die Alone'

2:32pm August 12, 2019

by Terry Gross

The Catholic nun became an outspoken opponent of the death penalty following the events in her book Dead Man Walking. Her new memoir, River of Fire, details her spiritual journey up to that point.

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The Supreme Court has long upheld the right of access to a wide range of judicial proceedings and records.

Politics & Government

Supreme Court Orders Documents Unsealed In Death Penalty Case

11:53am June 24, 2019

The blacked-out material involves the drugs used in an Alabama execution. The release of the material was ordered after a motion filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and NPR.

The Supreme Court has sealed documents related to a death penalty case in Alabama, an unusual step for the court.

Politics & Government

Supreme Court Pressed For Sealed Documents In Death Penalty Case

5:57pm June 07, 2019

by Nina Totenberg

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and NPR filed a motion to release sealed documents related to an Alabama death penalty case. Sealing documents is an unusual move by the high court.

Rob Spencer prays as New Hampshire lawmakers debate prior to a death penalty vote at the State House in Concord, N.H., on Thursday. The legislature abolished capital punishment by overriding a veto by Gov. Chris Sununu.

National

New Hampshire Abolishes Death Penalty As Lawmakers Override Governor's Veto

2:10pm May 30, 2019

by Bill Chappell

Calling capital punishment "archaic, costly, discriminatory and violent," state Sen. Melanie Levesque, a Democrat, said the time has come to end it. Twenty-one states have discarded the death penalty.

The U.S. Supreme Court will announce decisions on a host of important cases over the next month.

Politics & Government

6 Themes To Pay Attention To In Upcoming Supreme Court Decisions

11:02am May 21, 2019

by Domenico Montanaro

From the census citizenship question and political gerrymandering to the separation of church and state, the high court will make some rulings of consequence over the next month.

Amid controversy and criticism from religious groups on the right and left about their decisions in recent death penalty cases, the U.S. Supreme Court's five-man majority is striking back.

Politics & Government

Supreme Court's Conservatives Defend Their Handling Of Death Penalty Cases

10:13am May 14, 2019

by Nina Totenberg

Amid controversy and criticism from religious groups on the right and left about their decisions in recent death penalty cases, the court's five-man majority is striking back.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu waves during his inauguration ceremony at the State House in Concord, N.H., this January.

National

New Hampshire Poised To Eliminate Death Penalty

6:46pm April 11, 2019

by Matthew S. Schwartz

The state Senate passed a bill Thursday repealing capital punishment. The governor has threatened to veto it, but supporters have enough votes to override a veto.

Death penalty opponent Herve Deschamps holds a sign during a vigil outside St. Francis Xavier College Church in St. Louis, hours before the 2014 scheduled execution of death row inmate Russell Bucklew.

Politics & Government

Supreme Court Closely Divides On 'Cruel And Unusual' Death Penalty Case

3:27pm April 01, 2019

by Domenico Montanaro

A divided court ruled against a Missouri man who said that because of a rare medical condition, death by lethal injection would constitute "cruel and unusual punishment."

Calif., Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign an order on Wednesday imposing a moratorium on California's death penalty.

National

Gov. Gavin Newsom Suspends Death Penalty In California

11:33pm March 12, 2019

by Scott Shafer

California voters are the only ones who can repeal the death penalty, something they've rejected twice in recent elections. The Governor's moratorium will spare the lives of over 700 inmates.

National

Florida Executes Inmate As Report Cites 'Continuing Erosion' Of Death Penalty

12:10am December 14, 2018

by Ian Stewart

Both executions and death sentences have declined dramatically since their peak in the late 1990s, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.