Death Penalty

Ardor in the court, Part 2 Ardor in the court, Part 2

Salon reported on an alleged affair between judge and prosecutor in a Texas murder trial. Now, days before Charles Hood's scheduled execution, his lawyers make the allegation in court papers.
By Alan Berlow Jun 14, 2008

  • One way to get Republicans behind the stimulus

    Some states, strapped for cash, are considering abolishing capital punishment as a cost-saving measure.
    By Alex Koppelman February 18, 2009

  • Who would Antonin Scalia torture?

    Next week, when the Supreme Court hears a case challenging the use of lethal injections, we may learn more about the legal limits to state-sanctioned pain.
    By Alan Berlow January 2, 2008

  • Will Schwarzenegger's new death chamber actually help inmates?

    If building a new lethal-injection facility will improve quality of life for prisoners on California's death row, I'm for it.
    By Sara Catania May 2, 2007

  • Pregnant on death row

    A Vietnamese inmate gets pregnant while in solitary confinement. Will she still die by firing squad, or will her pregnancy save her life?
    By Adrienne So October 13, 2006

  • Racial bias in the death penalty

    A new study confirms a disparity in the death penalty based on the victim's race, and suggests one based on the convict's race as well.
    By Alex Koppelman April 29, 2008

  • How to humanize a killer

    Defense teams in capital cases research their clients' childhood -- and conduct often-harrowing interviews with the clients' families -- to evoke sympathy from juries. Critics call mitigation evidence the "abuse excuse."
    By Sarah Elizabeth Richards June 7, 2006

  • The execution of Stanley Tookie Williams

    Outside San Quentin prison Monday night, under the floodlights, death penalty opponents prayed, sang hymns and cursed the Terminator.
    By Adam Shemper and Jonathan Stein December 13, 2005

  • The politics of injustice

    The testimony of one bogus witness put Larry Fowlkes away on murder charges for 45 years. Will presidential hopeful Gov. Mark Warner set him free?
    By Alan Berlow December 9, 2005

  • A victory for Mumia

    A court rules that Mumia Abu-Jamal can appeal his murder conviction on three separate grounds.
    By Dave Lindorff December 8, 2005

  • Ardor in the court

    When the judge and prosecutor involved in a capital case are sleeping together, can the defendant possibly get a fair trial? Meet Charles Dean Hood, on Texas' death row.
    By Alan Berlow June 24, 2005

  • Death knell for the death penalty?

    Texas legislators -- yes, Texas -- are on the verge of approving a law that could result in a decline in executions nationwide.
    By Alan Berlow May 10, 2005

  • The executioner's swan song

    Reflecting growing national unease with the ultimate punishment, New York strikes down its death penalty law.
    By Emily Schmall April 16, 2005

  • The Kennedy backlash begins

    Smarting from the Supreme Court's death penalty decision, Gary Bauer warns the right that Anthony Kennedy is fixing to turn over the United States to foreigners -- including the French!
    By Tim Grieve March 2, 2005

  • The death knell for Anthony Kennedy?

    Voting to prohibit the death penalty for juvenile killers, Anthony Kennedy comes full circle. But did he kill any chance of becoming chief justice?
    By Tim Grieve March 1, 2005

  • The ultimate punishment

    Scott Turow tried -- and failed -- to build a better death penalty. Now he wants it abolished.
    By Tim Grieve October 17, 2003

  • Life sentences

    Novelist Mark Salzman, who spent four years teaching locked-up young hoods in L.A., talks about his students, their writing and how they inspired him to have a child of his own.
    By Sheerly Avni September 18, 2003

  • Unjust executions

    Sentencing errors send inmates who deserve life to their death, even after the mistakes are discovered and ruled unconstitutional.
    By Dave Lindorff May 6, 2003

  • Dead man walking home

    A state court has overturned the conviction of Joseph Amrine, who spent 18 years on death row even though witnesses against him recanted their testimony.
    By Dave Lindorff May 1, 2003

  • The redemption of Gov. Ryan

    Facing a possible indictment for corruption, the veteran political deal-maker shut down death row in Illinois. Is he trying to save lives -- or his own legacy?
    By Patrick Arden January 16, 2003

  • The death penalty: "Arbitrary and capricious"

    Outgoing Illinois Gov. George Ryan provoked bitter controversy Saturday when he commuted the sentences of 157 death row inmates. In a speech, he explains his decision.
    January 14, 2003

  • The Salon Interview: Steve Earle

    The radical country rocker and composer of "John Walker's Blues" blasts the war on Iraq, denounces the death penalty and explains why ex-druggies believe in God.
    By Andrew O'Hehir November 13, 2002

  • A cool cowpoke gets political

    Steve Earle, a new disc under his belt, talks about his tumultuous career -- a hair-raising ride that has included many wives, an ugly romance with heroin, and watching a man die.
    By Mark J. Miller August 29, 2002

  • Another strike against the death penalty

    The U.S. Supreme Court lifted the death sentence on more than 100 cases, but some critics say court conservatives may only be trying to fine-tune the machinery of capital punishment.
    By David Lindorff June 25, 2002

  • Antonin Scalia's crisis of conscience

    In a case that could free hundreds from death row, the conservative Supreme Court justice finds that his support for the rights of juries clashes with his staunch advocacy of the death penalty.
    By Dave Lindorff June 12, 2002
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