The Death Penalty Becomes Illegal in Washington State
After hearing the last appeal from a man on death row, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the death penalty, as applied in the state, is unconstitutional.
Browsing Tag
Death Penalty
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Nebraska Becomes the First State to Use Fentanyl for a Lethal Injection
Officials in Nebraska used fentanyl to execute a death row inmate on Tuesday, marking the first time the powerful opioid has been used to carry out the death penalty in the United States.
A Pharmaceutical Company Is Suing Nevada Over Untested Drugs in a Lethal Injection
In only the second-ever case of its kind, a pharmaceutical company sued Wednesday to stop the state of Nevada from using an untested drug in a lethal injection.
The Death Penalty in America: A Lethal History
In colonial Virginia, authorities could hang settlers for a crime as small as stealing grapes or killing a neighbor's chicken. The penal code in America's first colony was, in fact, so harsh its governor eventually reduced the number of capital offenses out of fear that settlers would refuse to live there. Since then, the number and severity of crimes punishable by death in the United States have fluctuated; today, the death penalty is still legal in 31 states. Here are some of the critical turning points in the history of capital punishment in America.
The Last Thing the Terrorist Steals From You
What happens when suicide forestalls any possibility of justice?
Oklahoma Is Going to Use Nitrogen Gas on Death Row Inmates
Seventeen inmates in Oklahoma are awaiting set execution dates.
The Lede, Issue #4: Racial Trauma, the Death Penalty in America, Marilynne Robinson Essays, and More
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How IQ Tests Are Perverted to Justify the Death Penalty
Research has identified embedded racism in IQ tests. Now, prosecutors in at least eight states are using that research—to legalize more executions.
My Brother’s Keeper
When her brother is sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit, one woman takes on the corrosive culture of capital punishment.
Meet the Man Leading the Push for More Executions in the U.S.
It’s been a decade since California’s last execution; the state now has 749 people on death row. Many…