October 13, 2008On Monday, October 20, 2008, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will argue to a panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that Alabama death row prisoner Earl McGahee deserves a new trial because prosecutors eliminated jurors at his trial on the basis of race.
October 12, 2008The federal Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services recently released a preliminary Update on the Cost, Quality, and Availability of Defense Representation in Federal Death Penalty Cases focusing on the cost of legal representation in federal death penalty cases.
September 18, 2008On September 17, 2008, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Alabama prisoner Herbert Williams's death sentence because his appointed lawyers failed to investigate and present basic facts about Mr. Williams and his life history, especially the extreme abuse inflicted on him as a child. The court also directed the federal district court to address the merits of Mr. Williams's claim that the prosecutor unconstitutionally excluded African Americans from his jury.
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November 27, 2007The Alabama Supreme Court on November 19, 2007, agreed to review Anthony Ray Hinton's case. Mr. Hinton has been on Alabama's death row for over 20 years for crimes he did not commit. Evidence demonstrating Mr. Hinton's innocence was presented in court in 2002, but the Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief in a 3-2 decision in 2006.
September 13, 2007EJI hosted a premiere screening of the film Death in Dixie, which examines race and capital punishment in Alabama, followed by a discussion featuring legislators, judges, local ministers, and former Alabama death row prisoners Walter McMillian and James “Bo” Cochran, who were exonerated after spending over 25 years combined on death row for crimes they did not commit. Contact us to arrange a screening of the film for area colleges and community groups.
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October 12, 2008The federal Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services recently released a preliminary Update on the Cost, Quality, and Availability of Defense Representation in Federal Death Penalty Cases focusing on the cost of legal representation in federal death penalty cases.
September 18, 2008On September 17, 2008, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Alabama prisoner Herbert Williams's death sentence because his appointed lawyers failed to investigate and present basic facts about Mr. Williams and his life history, especially the extreme abuse inflicted on him as a child. The court also directed the federal district court to address the merits of Mr. Williams's claim that the prosecutor unconstitutionally excluded African Americans from his jury.
September 2, 2008On August 29, 2008, Equal Justice Initiative attorneys filed a petition in the case of Alabama death row inmate Michael Carruth asking the Alabama Supreme Court to restore the right to counsel for death row prisoners on direct appeal.
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October 13, 2008On Monday, October 20, 2008, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will argue to a panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that Alabama death row prisoner Earl McGahee deserves a new trial because prosecutors eliminated jurors at his trial on the basis of race.
August 20, 2008EJI is challenging the ruling of a Houston County, Alabama, trial judge, which refused to shield death row prisoner Jerry Jerome Smith from execution even though he is mentally retarded.
August 13, 2008Bobby Waldrop was sentenced to death in Randolph County, Alabama, even though his jury decided that he should be sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, by a trial judge who said he was overriding the jury and imposing death because all of the other defendants he had sentenced to death were black.
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October 13, 2008Next week, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will argue in the California Court of Appeal on behalf of Antonio Nunez, who was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility for parole for his involvement at age fourteen in a kidnapping offense in which no one was injured.
October 1, 2008
EJI has released a short preview version of the upcoming film, Cruel and Unusual: Sentencing 13- and 14-Year-Old Children to Die in Prison.
September 10, 2008On Thursday, September 11, 2008, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will testify before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security during hearings on H.R. 4300, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act.
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Death in Prison Sentences for 13- and 14-Year Old Kids
October 13, 2008Next week, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will argue in the California Court of Appeal on behalf of Antonio Nunez, who was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility for parole for his involvement at age fourteen in a kidnapping offense in which no one was injured.
October 1, 2008
EJI has released a short preview version of the upcoming film, Cruel and Unusual: Sentencing 13- and 14-Year-Old Children to Die in Prison.
September 10, 2008On Thursday, September 11, 2008, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will testify before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security during hearings on H.R. 4300, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act.
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September 19, 2008On September 17, 2008, EJI attorneys filed a complaint in Montgomery County Circuit Court alleging that the State of Alabama's application of the Community Notification Act's adult sex offender residency and notification requirements against Andrew Miller, a mentally retarded, visually impaired, and physically disabled man, violate his and his family's constitutional rights.
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October 13, 2008On Monday, October 20, 2008, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will argue to a panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that Alabama death row prisoner Earl McGahee deserves a new trial because prosecutors eliminated jurors at his trial on the basis of race.
March 25, 2008On March 17, 2008, EJI asked the United States Supreme Court to review the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals' decision denying relief to Eli Crawford, an Alabama inmate serving a life sentence for attempted murder. At his Birmingham trial, Mr. Crawford's court-appointed trial lawyer did not object when the judge forced Mr. Crawford to wear jail-issued clothing instead of the clothes his family brought for him, even though the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a defendant's right to be presumed innocent is violated when he is forced to attend trial in a jail uniform.
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October 13, 2008On Monday, October 20, 2008, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will argue to a panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that Alabama death row prisoner Earl McGahee deserves a new trial because prosecutors eliminated jurors at his trial on the basis of race.
September 13, 2007The Equal Justice Initiative has recently undertaken a major effort to challenge racial bias in jury selection throughout the United States. In communities across America, racial minorities are significantly underrepresented on criminal trial juries as a result of jury selection procedures that are racially biased and discriminatory. Although federal law in this area is well-established, because of the inherently difficult task of proving exclusion of racial minorities from jury service, there is still much progress to be made in this area.
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October 12, 2008The federal Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services recently released a preliminary Update on the Cost, Quality, and Availability of Defense Representation in Federal Death Penalty Cases focusing on the cost of legal representation in federal death penalty cases.
March 28, 2008On Monday, March 24, 2008, Oklahoma death row prisoner James Fisher won reversal of his capital murder conviction and death sentence because his trial counsel's performance failed to meet constitutional requirements.
March 25, 2008On March 17, 2008, EJI asked the United States Supreme Court to review the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals' decision denying relief to Eli Crawford, an Alabama inmate serving a life sentence for attempted murder. At his Birmingham trial, Mr. Crawford's court-appointed trial lawyer did not object when the judge forced Mr. Crawford to wear jail-issued clothing instead of the clothes his family brought for him, even though the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a defendant's right to be presumed innocent is violated when he is forced to attend trial in a jail uniform.
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July 24, 2008A study entitled "State Public Opinion, the Death Penalty, and the Practice of Electing Judges" and published in the April 2008 American Journal of Political Science found significant links between public opinion and judicial decision-making in states that elect their supreme court judges.
May 28, 2008On May 26, 2008, United Nations Special Rapporteur on racism Doudou Diene heard testimony from EJI Executive Director Bryan Stevenson as part of his field mission to examine racism in the United States. Mr. Stevenson detailed evidence of racial bias against African Americans, Latinos, and other racial minorities, from the administration of the death penalty to the treatment of children in the criminal justice system.
March 25, 2008EJI is appealing the conviction of Marsha Colby, a Baldwin County woman convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for the death of her newborn son, despite strong evidence that the baby was stillborn.
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September 19, 2008On September 17, 2008, EJI attorneys filed a complaint in Montgomery County Circuit Court alleging that the State of Alabama's application of the Community Notification Act's adult sex offender residency and notification requirements against Andrew Miller, a mentally retarded, visually impaired, and physically disabled man, violate his and his family's constitutional rights.
March 25, 2008EJI is appealing the conviction of Marsha Colby, a Baldwin County woman convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for the death of her newborn son, despite strong evidence that the baby was stillborn.
September 19, 2008On September 17, 2008, EJI attorneys filed a complaint in Montgomery County Circuit Court alleging that the State of Alabama's application of the Community Notification Act's adult sex offender residency and notification requirements against Andrew Miller, a mentally retarded, visually impaired, and physically disabled man, violate his and his family's constitutional rights.
(more)
September 18, 2008On September 17, 2008, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Alabama prisoner Herbert Williams's death sentence because his appointed lawyers failed to investigate and present basic facts about Mr. Williams and his life history, especially the extreme abuse inflicted on him as a child. The court also directed the federal district court to address the merits of Mr. Williams's claim that the prosecutor unconstitutionally excluded African Americans from his jury.
September 8, 2008In a decision released on Friday, September 5, 2008, the Alabama Supreme Court reaffirmed that juror misconduct claims may be raised for the first time in a Rule 32 petition.
March 20, 2008On March 11, 2008, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s judgment granting Alabama death row prisoner James Charles Lawhorn a new sentencing trial because his trial lawyer was ineffective.
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