death-row

Letters From Death Row: Brett Hartmann on Justice

Hamilton Nolan · 06/19/12 09:04AM

Earlier this year, I sent letters to every American death row inmate scheduled to be executed in the near future, asking about their life and their thoughts on various issues. Today, we have a second letter from condemned Ohio inmate Brett Hartmann, who is scheduled to be executed on November 13.

Letters From Death Row: Abdul Awkal, Who Was Supposed to Die Last Week

Hamilton Nolan · 06/11/12 12:50PM

Earlier this year, I wrote to every American death row inmate scheduled for execution in the near future. I asked them about their personal history, their lives in prison, and their thoughts on America and its justice system. Today we hear from Abdul Awkal—a man who was scheduled to be executed by the state of Ohio last week, before receiving a last-minute reprieve.

Letters From Death Row: Brett Hartmann, Ohio Inmate 357-869

Hamilton Nolan · 05/25/12 12:04PM

A few weeks ago, I sent letters to every American death row inmate scheduled for execution this year. I asked them about their own survival prospects, their day-to-day lives, and their thoughts on America, its media, and its justice system. Today, a death row inmate replies.

Twitter Saves Man From the Death Row Needle

Lauri Apple · 12/10/11 03:10PM

Thanks to a juror who tweeted some nonsense about shitty coffee, broken hearts, and—most importantly—being a juror, convicted Arkansas murderer Erickson Dimas-Martinez will escape lethal injection, at least for a while longer. Twitter saves lives!

Texas Might Execute an Innocent Man This Week

Lauri Apple · 11/07/11 04:59AM

On Wednesday, Texas is scheduled to execute Hank Skinner for the murders of three people. For years, his lawyers have sought DNA testing of unanalyzed evidence, the results of which could prove his innocence—but the courts have rejected their requests every time. The "ultimate justice" machine stops for no one!

Florida Pol Wants to Bring Back Firing Squads

Lauri Apple · 10/13/11 04:58AM

Republican Florida state Rep. Brad Drake entered a Waffle House and emerged a man with ideas. Bold ideas, about breakfast. But also some ideas on how to kill Florida's death row inmates with firing squads. Regular Florida folks might be tapped to help shoot some of these condemned critters, because government employees shouldn't have all the fun.

Texas Ends Special Last Meals for Death Row Inmates

Jim Newell · 09/22/11 04:40PM

It's just not good enough to kill them, in Texas. Because following last night's execution of Lawrence Brewer, a white supremacist who killed a black man by dragging his body from the back of his pick-up truck and eventually severed his head, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has decided to stop granting special "last meals" to those being executed. Brewer's meal, see, was over-the-top!

Maybe Georgia Will Execute an Innocent Man

Lauri Apple · 09/10/11 03:29PM

Texas shouldn't be the only U.S. state that gets to execute innocent people, right? That's what the jealous state of Georgia seems to be saying in planning to execute Troy Davis, convicted of murdering a police officer in 1991 and possibly innocent of the crime.

Mumbai Gunman Sentenced to Death by Hanging

Jeff Neumann · 05/06/10 07:30AM

23-year-old Pakistani Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only surviving gunman from the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, was today sentenced to death by hanging on charges of murder and waging war against India. [Guardian, pic]

Prosecutors and Judges May Bone One Another in Texas, No Problem

Hamilton Nolan · 02/23/10 09:13AM

The Texas Court of Appeals ruled that a condemned man's execution should go forward even though the judge in his case was sleeping with the prosecutor. And the judge in question has an unintentionally comical rebuke, for her detractors!