Lawmakers moved a step closer to passing legislation that would prohibit judges from imposing a death sentence when a jury has recommended life imprisonment. The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that had already cleared the Alabama Senate. Alabama is the only state that allows a judge to override a jury’s sentence recommendation in capital murder cases The…
A legislative committee has approved a bill that would prevent judges from imposing a death sentence when a jury has recommended life imprisonment. The House Judiciary Committee passed the bill Wednesday afternoon that would give the final decision to a jury instead of a judge. Currently in Alabama, a jury recommends a sentence of death or life imprisonment in capital…
Here is a timeline of the execution of an Alabama Death Row inmate last night at Holman Prison in Atmore. ATMORE, Ala. (AP) – The Latest on the scheduled execution of an Alabama inmate (all times local): 11:15 p.m. A man convicted of killing a convenience store clerk has been put to death in Alabama, hours after the state’s execution…
An appellate court has refused to stop the execution of Alabama inmate Tommy Arthur. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied Arthur’s request for a stay of execution. The court, in a split decision, upheld a federal judge’s decision that dismissed Arthur’s lawsuit challenging Alabama’s death penalty procedure as unconstitutional. Arthur is scheduled to be executed by…
Alabama is now the last state that still allows judges to reject a jury’s recommendation of life in prison without parole and instead sentence an inmate to be executed. The only other state allowing that was Delaware, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected that law in August: CBS and AP reported: “The court also said the law is unconstitutional because…
Is the death penalty in America gradually dying? There have been just two executions since May 1. And the total for 2016 probably will hit a 25-year low. Execution drug shortages, errors in death chambers and legal challenges to sentences imposed by judges have contributed to a dramatic decline in the number of states that are carrying out executions. Just…
The U.S. Supreme Court says the execution of an Alabama inmate will not go forward Thursday. A divided court on Thursday evening maintained a stay for Vernon Madison ordered by an appellate court. Madison was scheduled to be put to death Thursday night for the 1985 shooting death of Mobile police officer Julius Schulte. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of…
Alabama’s attorney general is asking the state court of criminal appeals to vacate a judge’s ruling that declared Alabama’s death penalty sentencing system unconstitutional. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said in a petition filed Thursday that Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Tracie Todd doesn’t have the authority to prevent the state from seeking the death penalty against defendants who are…
A Senate committee has approved a bipartisan bill to create an Alabama Innocence Inquiry Commission to review capital murder convictions. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill Wednesday. Bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Dick Brewbaker of Pike Road, said there have been high-profile cases of death row inmates who have been exonerated. North Carolina has exonerated nine people after starting a…
A man convicted of the 1992 rape and bludgeoning death of a woman is scheduled to be put to death Thursday in Alabama’s first execution in more than two years. Forty-three-year-old Christopher Eugene Brooks is to receive a lethal injection at 6 p.m. CST. Brooks was condemned for the death of 23-year-old Jo Deann Campbell. Prosecutors said Campbell was beaten…
