Death Penalty News

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a new trial for one of Alabama’s longest-serving people on death row after declining to review a lower court ruling that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors.  According to an article written by the Associated Press, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in Alabama might receive a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that prosecutors had violated his rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors.  According to the article, on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision paved the way for Michael Sockwell, the 63-year-old death row inmate, to receive a new trial.

With an execution scheduled in days and growing calls for mercy, a petition with more than 60,000 signatures is urging Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to grant clemency to death row prisoner Sonny Burton, whose case has drawn national attention because he did not personally commit the killing that led to his conviction.  Burton, 75, has spent more than three decades on Alabama’s death row and is scheduled to be executed March 12 at Holman Correctional Facility. Supporters argue his case raises serious questions about fairness under Alabama’s felony murder law. 

ORLANDO, Fla. (DPN) — A Florida judge has dashed the hopes of one of the nation’s longest-serving death row inmates, ruling Friday, March 6, that modern DNA evidence and forensic analysis are not enough to grant 80-year-old William “Tommy” Zeigler a new trial for a 50-year-old quadruple murder. In a sweeping 44-page order, Circuit Judge Patricia Strowbridge denied Zeigler’s motion, ending the latest chapter in a legal saga that began on a bloody Christmas Eve in 1975.  The judge concluded that while new forensic technology identified DNA from unidentified males on the victims' clothing, it did not provide the "clear and convincing" proof required to overturn a conviction.

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

HENDERSON, Nev. (DPN) — A Henderson woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars after admitting to the drowning deaths of her two young children, according to court records and local authorities. Jovan Trevino, 33, reached a plea agreement with Clark County prosecutors to avoid a potential death sentence. Under the terms of the deal, Trevino pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and waived her right to a trial.  A judge subsequently sentenced her to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.

The Penal Code promulgated by the Taliban in January 2026 creates a hierarchy of injuries inflicted upon women within Afghan households. Marzieh Hamidi, an athlete and refugee in France, denounces the inadequacy of the concrete measures taken by the international community. In Afghanistan, in 2026, a man can strike his wife as long as he does not break her bones. Fracturing an arm may be worth fifteen days in prison, whereas certain acts of violence are treated as minor offenses compared to other social infractions: the mistreatment of a camel is punishable by more than six months of incarceration. This is neither a rumor nor an exaggeration; it is precisely what is stipulated in the new Penal Code promulgated by the Taliban in January 2026, which came into force without public debate or consultation. This text categorizes injuries, regulates brutality, and institutionalizes a new structural legal inequality between men and women.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Prosecutors in Hall County are seeking the death penalty against a woman accused of the brutal killing of a 4-year-old girl whose body was found in a parked car last fall. In a court filing Monday, the State announced its intent to pursue capital punishment for Jessica Motes, who faces a litany of charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, and first-degree cruelty to children. The case began on Oct. 26, 2025, when authorities discovered the body of 4-year-old Autumn Fox. The child’s remains were found inside the trunk of a vehicle parked at a Sam’s Club in Oakwood, approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.

DPI’s ​“What to Know” series exam­ines cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment from mul­ti­ple angles, one top­ic at a time.  Each install­ment pro­vides essen­tial facts and data on spe­cif­ic aspects of the death penalty. Why it mat­ters : Deterrence is among the most com­mon­ly cit­ed jus­ti­fi­ca­tions for the death penal­ty, yet decades of research have failed to pro­duce cred­i­ble evi­dence that use of the death penal­ty has an impact on homicide rates. Key Facts: 88% of the nation’s lead­ing crim­i­nol­o­gists said they did not believe the death penal­ty deters homi­cides. Just 9% agreed that ​“the death penal­ty sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduces the num­ber of homicides.” When states have abol­ished the death penal­ty, mur­der rates have not fol­lowed any con­sis­tent pat­tern of change. Rates in states that for­mer­ly retained the death penal­ty fol­low nation­al trends rather than spik­ing or falling after abolition.

Cedric Ricks is set to be killed on March 11 Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” The Tarrant County jury was unmoved. Ricks has spent the last 13 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on March 11.

Prosecutors have filed paperwork indicating they will seek the death penalty against a Cape Coral man accused of killing his mother Devin Johnson, 28, faces charges of capital first-degree murder; aggravated abuse of an elderly or disabled adult; fleeing and eluding; and driving while his license was suspended. Court records show that Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner on Jan. 20 filed the state's intent to seek death against Johnson. When Johnson's siblings could not reach their mother, they headed to her Cape Coral home and followed bloody footprints to her body, officials said.

Attorneys for Alabama death row inmate Charles Lee “Sonny” Burton are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review his case, arguing he was deprived of choosing his trial defense and that the state introduced inadmissible evidence during that trial.  In a separate filing addressed to Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Burton’s attorneys also requested a stay of execution until that review is done.  Burton’s attorneys said in their filing on Friday that the Talladega County trial court deprived Burton of counsel by forcing his attorneys at the time to call two of his co-defendants as witnesses, even though it was “against their strategic judgment.”

Senate bill would replace capital punishment with life without parole  Two Kentucky state senators have introduced legislation that would eliminate the death penalty in the commonwealth, replacing it with mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole or probation.  Senate Bill 350 was introduced by Senators Gerald Neal and Stephen Meredith. Neal, a Louisville Democrat, said he has been advocating for the measure since 2012. “Basically, it substitutes life without parole as opposed to the death penalty itself,” Neal said.

Florida executes man who killed Fort Pierce police officer during 1991 traffic stop Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.” A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the third person put to death by Florida this year after a record 19 executions in 2025.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 2 March 2026: Three days into the war by the United States and Israel against Iran, prisoners are being subjected to additional restrictions while concerns have intensified regarding the risk of harm to prisoners as a result of military strikes or possible retaliatory actions by the authorities. In particular, the families of a number of detainees have expressed serious concern about the safety of their loved ones. In addition, tens of thousands of protesters arrested in connection with the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests are being held in facilities run by the Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), some of which have reportedly been amongst the targets of recent military attacks, further increasing concerns regarding their safety.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Ohio has not gone through with an execution since July 2018, closing in on eight years, and extending the entirety of Gov. Mike DeWine’s tenure. DeWine has postponed every one since January 2019, some more than once. In his last year as governor, the longtime Republican elected official is hinting at coming out against the death penalty in practice. If he does, it won’t be an easy sell among lawmakers, at least in the Ohio House. A slow-growing contingent of Republican lawmakers are for abolishing executions, but House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said it’s not a majority of the caucus.

Federal prosecutors will seek capital punishment for the kidnapping, carjacking and killing of Florence County Paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore FLORENCE, S.C. — Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a South Carolina man charged in the 2024 kidnapping, carjacking and killing of a Florence County paramedic, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina filed a notice of intent to seek capital punishment against Jaremy Alexander Smith, 35, of Marion. A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment on Feb. 24.

A man who confessed to fatally shooting Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish with his own service weapon during a 1991 traffic stop is scheduled to be executed starting at 6 p.m. March 3, barring a last-minute stay. Billy L. Kearse, 53, will be the third person put to death by the state this year, just one week after the execution of Melvin Trotter, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford in Palmetto in 1986. The Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 12 denied a motion for a stay of execution and a motion for an extension due to the fading health and death of the father of Kearse's attorney. Attorneys for Kearse have filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, citing violations of the Sixth, Eighth and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution.

The Missouri House is moving forward with legislation that eliminates allowing a judge to sentence someone to death in the case of a deadlocked jury. House members gave first-round approval to the legislation last week. It is likely to pass the chamber this week. Missouri is one of two states where, if a jury is deadlocked on whether to sentence someone to death, the judge can issue the death penalty. Indiana is the other. The bill removes that ability.