Should states ban the death penalty for people with severe mental illness?
Legislators in at least seven states have proposed bills this year to prohibit the death penalty for people who suffered from a serious mental illness at the time of their crime.
Death sentences decline sharply as public attitudes shift
Only 30 people were sentenced to death in the United States this year, the lowest number since the early 1970s.
Death penalty and mental disability at issue for justices
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to examine whether Texas is trying to put to death a convicted killer who's intellectually disabled, which would make him ineligible.
Executions spiked in 2015, highest level in 25 years, Amnesty International report finds
A new report by Amnesty International reveals that there were at least 1,634 executions worldwide last year, the most since 1989.
In our news wrap Thursday, a dozen major tech companies, including Facebook, Google and Microsoft, filed briefs supporting Apple’s refusal to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone despite federal court order. Also, Florida lawmakers approved a bill that could reinstate…
In our news wrap Wednesday, Los Angeles County approved a settlement over systematic abuses of minorities. Under the settlement, the sheriff’s department agreed to three years of federal monitoring. Also, the government reported today that the first quarter GDP rose…
Preliminary results from an autopsy conducted on the Oklahoma inmate involved in last April’s botched execution bolster claims that prison officials failed to properly administer the lethal dose of drugs used in the procedure.
Twelve years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that the execution of mentally retarded persons violated the Constitution. On Monday, the justices returned to this area of the law to examine how one state determines who…
The case being argued Monday at the court centers on how authorities determine who is eligible to be put to death, 12 years after the justices prohibited the execution of the mentally disabled.
