This piece first appeared at usnews.com on August 23, 2017. Tuesday night, Missouri almost executed a man who is likely innocent. Marcellus Williams came within mere hours of execution, and the process that put him there is a scathing indictment of our justice system. Bloody footprints at the scene did not match Williams’ shoe size. The…
Florida’s death penalty system has come to epitomize the typical big, dysfunctional government program. It is marred by failures, including wrongful convictions and rising costs. It fails to adequately protect society, often harms murder victims’ families, and the Sunshine State’s capital sentencing scheme has been declared unconstitutional twice in just the last year. As a…
Last week, the Gibbons Law firm in Newark, NJ hosted a reception to launch the Judge John J. Gibbons Fund for Justice at EJUSA. More than eighty people gathered to celebrate the Judge’s extraordinary legacy of justice and the launch of the fund at EJUSA in his honor. Guests included family, friends, former law clerks,…
The nation’s eyes were on Arkansas as it executed four people in 10 days in April, including holding the nation’s first double execution in almost two decades. The schedule drew national outrage, including 250,000 petition signatures delivered to the governor, intervention by victims’ family members, and celebrity involvement. Much of the attention has been on…
In the past month, we’ve been confronted with our death penalty system’s dangers and flaws again. Rodricus Crawford was released from Louisiana’s death row in April and Ralph Daniel Wright Jr. from Florida’s death row just days ago because they had both been wrongly convicted and sentenced to die. Regrettably, this isn’t a rare occurrence….
Last month, an African American prosecutor in central Florida received an especially disturbing piece of hate mail: a racist note and a noose. The prosecutor, State Attorney Aramis Ayala, made national news earlier this year when she announced she would not seek the death penalty in future cases. Her constituents broadly supported the decision, and…
On Monday, Arkansas officials planned to start an assembly line of executions – 8 in 10 days. After dozens of court challenges and an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the first two executions were halted. But the state still hopes to carry out up to 5 executions before the end of next week, in order to…
On April 11, we released a letter that has received national attention. It was signed by 25 notable Virginia conservatives calling on Virginia Governor McAuliffe to halt the planned execution of Ivan Teleguz. His execution is scheduled for April 25, despite a complete lack of physical evidence and the fact that two of the three…
In these politically divisive times, EJUSA is as committed as ever to standing together with our partners to fight the death penalty and advance justice and healing. There is tremendous strength in working together. I know this because of you. Your passion, your persistence, your unwavering partnership with EJUSA has made me – and everyone…
Yesterday was quite a whirlwind. The day started early with preparations for the rally and petition delivery at the Arkansas State Capitol and ended late in the evening with the announcement that all of the scheduled #8in10 executions had been put on hold. I spent the morning with our coalition partners, preparing over 150,000 petition…