Jurors Thought a Gay Man Would Enjoy Prison. So They Sentenced Him to Death.
imaginima/Getty When Charles Rhines, a gay man, was convicted of the murder of Donnivan Schaeffer in January 1993, the jurors at his trial in South Dakota were tasked with deciding whether he would serve life in prison without the possibility of parole, or to sentence him to death. During deliberations, some jurors wondered if life…
Trump Is Throwing a Party to Celebrate His Paltry Criminal Justice Reform Efforts
President Trump participates in a signing ceremony for the First Step Act in December.Martin Simon/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. President Donald Trump is hosting a party at the White House on Monday to celebrate the First Step Act, the first major criminal justice reform bill to pass Congress…
The Supreme Court Says Stopping Executions at the Last Minute Should Be an “Extreme Exception”
Jabin Botsford/AP Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. On Monday, the US Supreme Court ruled against delaying the execution of Missouri death row inmate Russell Bucklew, who argued that his rare medical condition could make the process excruciatingly painful. In the 5-4 decision, the majority ruled that Bucklew’s constitutional rights wouldn’t…
The Supreme Court Just Halted This Texas Death Row Inmate’s Execution
Pat Sullivan/AP Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Patrick Murphy was granted a rare stay of execution by the US Supreme Court in a 7-2 vote that took place two hours after he was scheduled to be executed. Murphy’s religious discrimination claim argued that because he was a converted Buddhist, he…
Florida Republicans Are Trying a New Way to Bar People With Felony Records From Voting
An elections office clerk helps Anthony Biggins fill out his voter registration paperwork for the first time in his life in Jacksonville on January 8 Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Last week, Republican lawmakers in Florida advanced a House bill that would require people…
The Supreme Court Won’t Hear the Case of an Inmate Sentenced to Death by Racist Juror
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/AP Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Keith Tharpe, a black Georgia death row inmate, was sentenced to death in 1991 for the kidnapping and murder of his estranged wife’s sister-in-law Jaqueline Freeman. At trial, Barney Gattie, a white juror, sentenced Tharpe to death in part because he…