Equal Justice Initiative

A Dale County Circuit Court has ordered a new trial for Emanuel Gissendanner because his trial lawyers' poor performance and the prosecution's failure to turn over evidence violated his constitutional rights. The ruling came after the same judge who presided over the original trial heard compelling testimony from alibi witnesses, forensic experts, and family members that raised questions about whether Mr. Gissendanner committed the capital murder for which he was sentenced to death.

The Alabama Supreme Court has ordered the executions of two Alabama men. Tommy Whisenhant is scheduled to be executed on May 27, 2010, and John Parker's execution date has been set for June 10, 2010.

On Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court held that death row inmate James Harrison has a right to have a judge consider his claim that jurors engaged in misconduct at his capital murder trial. The case was sent back to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing.

On April 16, 2010, the Alabama Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the State of Alabama seeking to overturn the Court of Criminal Appeals's decision granting a new trial to death row prisoner and EJI client David Riley. The court denied a petition for review that was filed by the Alabama Attorney General's office, which means the appellate court's decision will stand.

A Madison County Circuit Court judge followed the jury's sentencing verdict and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without parole on Kenneth Shipp, despite substantial political pressure calling for the judge to override the jury's verdict and sentence Mr. Shipp to death.

The Mississippi Supreme Court granted review to determine whether it is unconstitutional to sentence a 13-year-old child to life in prison without possibility of parole, and to address claims that Demarious Banyard's conviction was tainted by racial bias and illegal jury instructions. EJI represents Demarious and, in December, EJI attorneys asked the state's highest court to review the case, which raises serious constitutional questions about the reliability of Demarious's conviction and sentence.

EJI staff with honoree Diane Jones, second from left.

On March 23, 2010, EJI honored George Kendall, Director of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey's Public Service Initiative, and Thomas Sager, general counsel of the DuPont Company and DuPont's legal department, with its Equal Justice Award. The second annual award event celebrated the triumph of Diane Jones, the first woman in Alabama to be released from Tutwiler Prison after being sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday reversed the summary denial of death row inmate Robert Ingram's postconviction petition because it could not be sure that the trial court's order - which was written by the prosecutor - actually reflected the court's independent findings and judgment.

In 2009, Alabama increased its prison population to over 31,000 people. That same period saw the state prison population nationwide decline for the first time in nearly 28 years as states implemented new technology and parole reforms to reduce reliance on incarceration in the face of crippling costs.