For years, the number of prisoners put to death in the United States has been in decline. That is still true, but with a wrinkle: this year will be the first since 2009 in which there were more executions than the year before.
Attorneys: Convicted killer too sick to be put to death
Death row inmate Alva Campbell, once dubbed “the poster child for the death penalty” for a deadly carjacking outside the Franklin County Courthouse 20 years ago, is now too sick to be put to death, his attorneys and advocates say.
Justice, mental illness and the death penalty
House Bill 81 would remedy what plainly is an injustice, jurors getting wrong the intent of the law. The judge would rule during a pretrial hearing on whether the evidence shows the presence of a serious mental illness. If the answer is yes, the process would move ahead without the death penalty. That is the responsible course, and why House Bill 81 deserves passage soon.