41st Execution Under Biden: President Pledged End Of Death Penalty But Has Made Little Progress On Issue

President Joe Biden’s promise to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level and work to end capital punishment in states seems to have gone dormant as the Department of Justice continues to press for the death penalty in certain cases and Biden—the first president to openly oppose the execution of prisoners—stays quiet on the issue as they continue in states.

Biden pledged to push for the death penalty’s elimination on the campaign trail in 2020 and did order a moratorium on carrying out federal death sentences, but since then his administration has been largely silent on the matter.

The nonpartisan Death Policy Information Center says there are 43 federal death row prisoners with sentences dating back as far as 1997, with the most recent death row inmate, Brandon Council of South Carolina, sentenced in 2019.

While no defendants have been sentenced to death since the start of the Biden administration, the Department of Justice has sought to uphold death sentences in previously prosecuted cases including those of church shooter Dylann Roof, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Rejon Taylor, sentenced in 2008 for killing a restaurant owner.

A federal jury in Pennsylvania earlier this month found Robert Bowers, convicted of killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, eligible for the death penalty and is considering whether to recommend it, a process that could last several weeks, CNN reported.

Advocates have called on Biden to commute federal death penalties and abolish the capital punishment system, the New York Times reported, which would require Congress to pass legislation.

Earlier this month, Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), with Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), reintroduced the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2023 that would stop judges from imposing federal death sentences and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row.

The White House in January told the Associated Press that "the DOJ makes decisions about prosecutions independently."

There have been no federal executions under the Biden administration, but 41 people have been put to death in seven states since he took office.

White House representatives did not immediately respond to request for comment Friday.

NEWS PEG

Alabama executed its first prisoner in a year early Friday morning when convicted murderer James Barber, 64, died by lethal injection. Barber told NBC he had "no fear of death," but did worry about the lethal injection after Alabama was forced to stop three executions due to challenges finding a vein through which to administer lethal drugs. Barber’s attorneys appealed to the Supreme Court Thursday night to halt the execution, but the Court denied the request, with three liberal judges accusing Alabama of using Barber as a "guinea pig.” Barber was not a federal inmate.

KEY BACKGROUND

The death penalty in the United States dates back to the first establishment of the colonies. The Massachusetts Bay Colony held its first execution in 1630. The state of Massachusetts has since abolished the practice. Death sentences peaked in the mid 1990s, when more than 300 people were sentenced to death row per year, and have since sharply declined, the Death Penalty Information Center says. Lethal injection was first used in 1982, when Charles Brooks was given a lethal dose of sodium thiopental via an intravenous line in Texas. Between December 7, 1982 and the practice's 40th anniversary last year, the federal government has killed 1,377 prisoners using some version of the method, the nonprofit says. The Pew Research Center most recently in 2021 conducted a poll on how Americans feel about capital punishment—60% of U.S. adults favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder while 78% admit there is some risk that an innocent person will be put to death.

BIG NUMBER

13. President Donald Trump in 2020 allowed federal executions to go forward for the first time in 17 years. Thirteen people were put to death during his last six months as president, more than any other single president has overseen in more than 120 years, according to AP.

TANGENT

There are 27 states that still allow the death penalty to be imposed in certain cases, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, three of which have governors who have imposed moratoriums on executing inmates—California, Pennsylvania and Oregon. Arizona and Ohio's governors have paused the death penalty while the state systems are reviewed. Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said there will be no executions until there is "confidence that the state is not violating the law," and Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said the state will no longer use lethal injection, pausing execution until lawmakers choose a different method of capital punishment, per AP.

Source: Forbes, Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, July 21, 2023

_____________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW US ON:

CONTACT: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Iranian Gay Activist: "They Forced Me to Watch Executions So I Would Know How Mine Would Be"

Iranian LGBT activist now living as a refugee in Spain. He was sentenced to death by the ayatollah regime for being homosexual and for his support campaign for the community. "The enemy was already at home," he says about the current war In 11 countries around the world, homosexuality is punishable by death - it is criminalized in almost 70 countries. One of them is the Islamic Republic of Iran, from where Ramtin Zigorat (Tabriz, 1988) managed to escape after avoiding a death sentence and enduring the worst tortures. He has been living as a refugee in Spain for six and a half years. Question . His life, his testimony, can help us better understand what the Iranian Islamist regime is. I believe that until adolescence, you did not fully understand that you were homosexual.

Florida Supreme Court halts execution of police officer convicted of raping, murdering girl

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — The execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was temporarily halted Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court. The court issued a stay in execution for 68-year-old James Aren Duckett, who was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of first-degree murder and sexual battery.

Texas inmate seeks to stop looming execution after codefendant confesses to double murder

In his appeal, James Broadnax, who wants a new trial, included a signed confession by his cousin saying he committed the 2008 Garland murders. With just 42 days remaining until his scheduled execution by lethal injection on April 30, 2026, in Huntsville, Texas death row inmate James Broadnax, 37, filed a new appeal Thursday with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, seeking to stay the date, remand his case for a new trial, and ultimately vacate his death sentence for the 2008 capital murders of music producers Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, outside their Zion Gate Records studio in Garland. A fabricated story The appeal centers on a signed written declaration from Broadnax's cousin and codefendant, Demarius Cummings, 37—dated March 11 and obtained by media outlets in which Cummings confesses that he alone planned the June 19, 2008, robbery, obtained the pistol used in the crime, and fired the fatal shots during the botched holdup that netted only $2 in cash and a 1995 Fo...

Once Nevada’s youngest on death row, double murderer paroled as victims’ family claims silence from state

LAS VEGAS — A man who once stood as the youngest person on Nevada’s death row has officially transitioned from a life behind bars to a life under supervision, following his release from High Desert State Prison last month. Edward Michael Domingues, 49, was released on parole on Feb. 13, 2026. His freedom marks the end of 32 consecutive years of incarceration for the 1993 murders of Arjin Chanel Pechpho and her 4-year-old son, Jonathan Smith. Since his release, the case has ignited a renewed debate over Nevada’s victim notification systems. Tawin Eshelman, the mother and grandmother of the victims, confirmed that the family was never formally notified of the parole hearing that led to Domingues' freedom.

Georgia | 11th Circuit confirms lethal injection execution for Georgia inmate wanting firing squad

In his complaint, Michael Wade Nance said his veins were so severely compromised that they were likely to blow and cause him to suffer “excruciating pain” during the execution. ATLANTA (CN) — A panel for the 11th Circuit on Thursday upheld a judge’s ruling against a death row inmate who sought an execution by a firing squad instead of lethal injection. The decision paves the way for the state’s long-awaited execution of Michael Wade Nance, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death over 25 years ago. In a unanimous opinion, the circuit judges agreed with a federal judge’s conclusion that Nance failed to prove lethal injection was likely to cause him an unconstitutional level of pain or discomfort.

Arizona | Death Row Inmate Challenges Execution Warrant, Citing 2025 Cyberattack and Protocol Failures

Leroy Dean McGill was sentenced to death for a 2002 gasoline attack in North Phoenix against a couple, Charles Perez and Nova Banta. PHOENIX — Attorneys for Arizona death row inmate Leroy Dean McGill have formally challenged the state’s attempt to secure an execution warrant, citing a catastrophic 2025 cyberattack and a long history of troubled lethal injection protocols. The challenge comes as Arizona seeks to resume capital punishment following a year-long hiatus. If the Arizona Supreme Court grants the state’s request, McGill would become the first person executed in the state since 2024.

Texas: Dexter Darnell Johnson to die on August 15; Larry Ray Swearingen on August 21

Dexter Darnell Johnson's execution is scheduled to occur at 6 pm CDT, on Thursday, August 15, 2019, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. 31-year-old Dexter is convicted of the murder of 23-year-old Maria Aparece and 17-year-old Huy Ngo on June 18, 2006, in Houston, Texas. Dexter has spent the last 11 years of his life on Texas’ death row. Dexter was born and raised in Texas. He dropped out of school following the 9th grade. During the early morning hours of June 18, 2006, Dexter Johnson and 4 of his friends, Ashley Ervin, Louis Ervin, Keithron Fields, and Timothy Randle, were driving around in Ashley’s car, looking for someone to rob. The group discovered Maria Aparece and Huy Ngo siting in Maria’s vehicle on the street. Johnson took a shot gun and stood outside the driver’s side door, threatening to shoot Maria if she did not cooperate. Johnson demanded she open the door, and when she did, he threw her into the ...

Florida executes Michael King

Killer of stay-at-home mom whose death led to 911 reform is executed Michael King kidnapped Denise Amber Lee from her Florida home in broad daylight in 2008. If it weren't for a botched 911 call, Lee may have survived the ordeal. Florida has executed a death row inmate for the rape and murder of a stay-at-home mom whose death exposed the vulnerabilities of the 911 system nationwide and led to reform within the industry. Michael King, 54, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, March 17, for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee. King abducted the married mother of 2 young sons from her home in broad daylight on Jan. 17, 2008, less than an hour before Lee's husband returned from work.

Arizona court sets May 20 execution for prisoner convicted of killing man by setting him on fire

PHOENIX -- A May 20 execution has been scheduled for an Arizona man convicted of murder for fatally setting a man on fire during a 2002 attack, marking what would be the state’s first use of the death penalty this year. The Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday issued a warrant to execute 63-year-old Leroy Dean McGill, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Charles Perez. Authorities said McGill threw a cup of gasoline and a lit match at Perez and another person, Nova Banta, as they were sitting on a sofa in an apartment in north Phoenix.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog