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Arkansas Supreme Court Decision Allows New DNA Testing in Case of the ​“West Memphis Three,” Convicted of Killing Three Children in 1993

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On April 18, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided 4-3 to reverse a 2022 lower court decision and allow genetic testing of crime scene evidence from the 1993 killing of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis. The three men convicted in 1994 for the killings were released in 2011 after taking an Alford plea, in which they maintained their innocence but plead guilty to the crime, in exchange for 18 years’ time served and 10 years of a suspended sentence. 

Dramatic changes possible for Ohio's death penalty

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Murderers in Ohio could not face the death penalty unless the prosecution has DNA or biological evidence, a videotaped confession or another video recording that “conclusively links the defendant to the murder,” under recommendations the Ohio Supreme Court Death Penalty Task Force will consider on Thursday.

The proposal also would eliminate the possibility of the death penalty for kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, all of which can be capital crimes under current state law. And no more death penalty convictions could be based on jailhouse snitches.

The multiagency panel was established by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor and the Ohio State Bar Association to address a variety of concerns – such as race and regional variations – about how capital punishment is carried out in the Buckeye State. The group was not given the responsibility to determine whether the death penalty should continue to be carried out.


Source: The Columbus Dispatch, April 9, 2014
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Arkansas Supreme Court Decision Allows New DNA Testing in Case of the ​“West Memphis Three,” Convicted of Killing Three Children in 1993

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On April 18, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided 4-3 to reverse a 2022 lower court decision and allow genetic testing of crime scene evidence from the 1993 killing of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis. The three men convicted in 1994 for the killings were released in 2011 after taking an Alford plea, in which they maintained their innocence but plead guilty to the crime, in exchange for 18 years’ time served and 10 years of a suspended sentence. 
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Utah requests execution of death row inmate

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Alabama SC approves second nitrogen gas execution

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North Texas jury sentences killer to death penalty for shooting Burleson woman, cop

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A jury of 12 Johnson County residents voted Thursday to send 31-year-old Jerry Elders to death row for the murder of Robin Waddell, agreeing with prosecutors who requested the death penalty. The defense argued for life in prison without parole, saying Thursday morning that Elders’ actions came after a lifetime of drug addiction and going in and out of jails and prisons, being kicked out of his family home as a teenager and not receiving support from family members.
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Four More Prisoners Executed in Iran

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