Apr 30 Supreme Court to review case of Missouri death row inmate with rare medical condition By Mark Sherman, Associated Press The court blocked the inmate's execution in March after he argued that a tumor in his throat is likely to rupture and bleed during the execution. Continue reading
Sep 05 How death row inmates at San Quentin are using poetry to examine the prison system — and themselves By Elizabeth Flock Prison literature has a long and rich history, stretching back to Jack London, Nelson Algren and Malcolm X. The genre includes powerful work from prisoners incarcerated on death row, which is often surfaced with the help of activists or artists… Continue reading
Jul 13 Watch 3:14 Why I’m starting the world’s first prison law school By PBS News Hour "Each of us has much more to offer than the worst thing we’ve done," says Alexander McLean, an activist and attorney who has been working in prisons since he was 18. McLean, founder of the African Prisons Project, shares the… Continue watching
Oct 03 Watch 4:22 News Wrap: Winds top 140 mph as Hurricane Matthew bears down By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Monday, Hurricane Matthew, one of the strongest Atlantic storms in recent years, is battering Jamaica and Haiti. Also, U.S. relations with Russia hit a new low when Washington called off talks with Moscow on the Syrian… Continue watching
Apr 03 Watch 5:07 News Wrap: Prisoner who spent 30 years on Alabama death row exonerated By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Friday, a man who spent nearly 30 years on Alabama’s death row walked out a free man after prosecutors admitted the only physical evidence of two murders did not link him to the crime. Also, Saudi… Continue watching
Feb 25 Painter immortalizes last meals of 600 prisoners put to death By Anya van Wagtendonk While living in Oklahoma, Julie Green learned about the final meals for inmates on death row. Deeply affected, she began painting those meals onto second-hand porcelain plates. To date, Green has completed 600 plates, which will be on display this… Continue reading
Jan 24 Supreme Court to review drug used in botched Oklahoma executions By Mark Sherman, Associated Press The Supreme Court is stepping into the issue of lethal injection executions for the first time since 2008 in an appeal filed by death row inmates in Oklahoma. Continue reading
May 23 Tennessee turns back to the electric chair By Sarah Corapi Amid scrutiny over a botched Oklahoma execution last month and a nationwide shortage of lethal injection drugs, a back-up method for carrying out death sentences has gotten the green light in Tennessee: the electric chair. Continue reading
Apr 09 Watch Do death row inmates have the right to know origins of lethal injection drugs? By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Mar 03 Supreme Court considers state IQ guidelines for executions By Mark Sherman, Associated Press 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. Continue reading