The U.S. Supreme Court declined to overrule two lower courts that prohibited Alabama from executing a prisoner using nitrogen gas. The state was set to execute Jeffrey Lee June 11 until a federal appeals court and a U.S. district judge…
Tennessee botches execution of prisoner who claims innocence
Tennessee botched the high-profile execution of Tony Carruthers May 21, resulting in Gov. Bill Lee granting the prisoner a one-year reprieve. The Tennessee Department of Correction said medical personnel were able to insert a primary IV line for the 10…
Iran and Florida noted for increase in executions
Iran was the primary driver behind an 87% increase in executions around the world last year, according to a new report by Amnesty International. The human rights organization said it tallied 2,707 people executed in 17 nations in 2025, up…
Why Tanner Horner should not be executed
On Nov. 30, 2022, 7-year-old Athena Strand was kidnapped and murdered by FedEx driver Tanner Horner. Horner was at Strand’s house delivering a package when he instead abducted and then later murdered the young girl. When arrested by police, he…
Death penalty abolitionists at work in Ohio and Tennessee
Death penalty abolitionists in Ohio and Tennessee are hard at work trying to prevent the executions of Death Row inmates in those states. More than 500 faith leaders signed a May 4 letter to the Ohio General Assembly pleading with…
Ivey commutes death sentence of man who didn’t kill anyone
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence of 75-year-old Charles “Sonny” Burton to life without the possibility of parole March 10. He was scheduled to die two days later by nitrogen gas. Burton has spent three decades on Death…
A stay of execution isn’t a ‘delay’
Georgia’s decision this week to pause the scheduled execution of Stacey Ian Humphreys is being framed in some corners as a last-minute disruption. That framing is wrong and dangerous. A stay of execution, especially when tied to active litigation and…
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…
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,…