Death penalty opponents in Tennessee got a jump on this year’s abolition efforts by urging the state to stop all executions including four already scheduled in 2026. Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty gathered with community and religious leaders…
Coalition forms to end capital punishment state by state
A coalition of anti-death penalty groups has united to end capital punishment state by state and just as U.S. executions are surging. The alliance of more than 50 organizations was launched earlier this month to coordinate nationwide abolition efforts led…
South Carolina executes another man by firing squad
South Carolina executed convicted serial killer Stephen Bryant by firing squad Nov. 14, making him the third inmate to die by that method in the state in 2025. Bryant died after being shot by Department of Corrections employees. He was…
Conservatives make case against death penalty
Conservatives should oppose capital punishment because it violates pro-life values and the principles of more transparent and limited government, death penalty abolitionists said during a recent panel discussion. “Do we trust the government to deliver our mail on time? I…
Panelists testify to unresolved pain in death penalty cases
Cynthia Vaughn spent years consumed with rage over her mother’s 1984 murder and felt no relief whatsoever when the killer — her stepfather — finally was executed in 2019. “I didn’t get the closure people think comes with an execution….
Trump orders death penalty restored in DC and nationwide
President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum reimplementing the death penalty in the District of Columbia, and the administration said it also will begin pushing capital punishment nationwide. Existing law permitting the federal government to conduct executions for “aggravated crimes”…
Death, politics and the private faith of public power
The decision by Utah prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, has transformed a tragic act into something more than a criminal case. It has become a litmus test for politics,…
Newsom urged to eliminate death penalty in California
Death Penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean challenged California Gov. Gavin Newsom to eliminate capital punishment in the state once and for all. “Commute all the sentences on Death Row so that they will never be in danger of death again,…
Trump wants death penalty for all murders in DC
As U.S support for the death penalty reaches new lows, President Donald Trump wants to make capital punishment the norm in the nation’s capital. “If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death…
Faith leaders urge Arkansas governor not to resume executions
August has been a busy month for capital punishment in Arkansas even though no executions are scheduled and the state’s governor said she’s in no rush to resume executions following an eight-year pause. The first development came Aug. 5 when…
Veterans urge DeSantis to stop execution
Five veterans have been executed since Ron DeSantis became governor of Florida in 2019 with a sixth scheduled to die this month. But a group of former service members wants the killing to stop and are pleading with the governor…
Tennessee governor urged to commute death sentence of intellectually disabled man
Advocates and families of people with intellectual disabilities are pleading with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to halt the Aug. 5 execution of an inmate suffering from brain damage, dementia and lifelong cognitive impairment. While federal legal precedent and state statute…