Death Penalty News

Eight federal inmates whose death sentences were commuted by former President Joe Biden shortly before he left office have been moved to a notorious federal supermax prison in Colorado. The inmates were moved from the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, to the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum (ADX) facility in Florence, Colorado, on September 23, Randilee Giamusso, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons, confirmed to Newsweek . Rejon Taylor, one of the inmates whose death sentence was commuted and the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that had sought to prevent transfers to the supermax prison, told Newsweek in a recent message that he expects he and the other remaining inmates may be moved there in the coming days or weeks. “I'm starting to feel a bit unsettled,” he said. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email. The Department of Justice has been contacted through a contact form on its website. The Context President Donald Trump oversaw 1...

Guzman said his lawyer, Israel Encinosa, has been "battling" for 10 months to be granted access to Guzman Former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman allegedly sent a letter complaining about lack of access to his lawyer and conditions in the Colorado prison he is being held in. The letter was published by journalist Jesus Garcia and addressed to judge Brian Cogan of New York's East District Court. In it, he complains about the "psychological torment" of not being able to use the phone or go outside to "take in some sun."

A group of federal inmates who were resentenced under the Biden administration filed a lawsuit trying to stop their move to a high-security Colorado prison. A federal judge has denied a legal attempt, for now, to prevent the U.S. government from transferring death row inmates whose sentences were commuted by then-President Joe Biden to the "Supermax" in Colorado, the highest-security federal prison in the country. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday against issuing a preliminary injunction requested in a lawsuit brought by 21 of the 37 former death row inmates , all of whom saw their sentences changed to life without parole in December. "The Court cannot grant that relief — at least not now," Kelly wrote in his opinion, saying that the plaintiffs must first exhaust their administrative appeals within the federal Bureau of Prisons' transfer process. The decision comes as the BOP has said it would not transfer any of the plaintiff...

DENVER (AP) — Anderson Lee Aldrich, who killed five people and injured 19 others at an LGBT nightclub in Colorado Springs, is prepared to plead guilty to federal hate crime charges as well as gun charges Tuesday following new evidence of anti-gay slurs and weapons purchases before the mass shooting.

An investigation by the Associated Press reveals major brands' ties to prison labor. Although The Takeout often writes about fun fast food promotions like purple Grimace shakes or footlong cookies , we also know that some aspects of the industry remain extremely problematic. In addition to various fast food franchises blatantly violating child labor laws in recent years, an investigation from The Associated Press has revealed some brands might also be unknowingly exploiting prison labor as well.

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday filed 74 charges against the person who killed five people and injured 19 others at a Colorado Springs LGBT club in 2022 — including 50 hate crime charges. Documents filed Tuesday in federal court indicate that the shooter intends to plead guilty to the federal charges in exchange for an agreement that federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. In that agreement, Anderson Lee Aldrich, now 23, will serve “multiple concurrent life sentences.”

Former Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Craig Silverman recently wrote about why he changed his mind about supporting the death penalty and expressed new fears regarding its future use.  His op-ed was published on August 29, 2023 in the Colorado Sun.  Mr. Silverman writes that capital punishment was a prominent issue in his campaign for Denver District Attorney, and he himself prosecuted death penalty cases and publicly supported its use. But he writes that he now has “newfound support for abolishing capital punishment” for reasons he characterizes as “personal.”

As Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (pictured) considers the clemency petitions filed by 51 of the state’s 57 death row prisoners, advocates and journalists have noted the similarities between Louisiana’s death penalty system and that of Illinois, where Governor George Ryan commuted the sentences of all 167 people on death row in 2003. Both states have had high numbers of death row exonerations stemming from systemic misconduct, death sentences in both states are concentrated in a small number of jurisdictions, and both governors have expressed serious personal concerns about the use of capital punishment.

In a post-trial press conference on Monday, 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen joined several city leaders and public safety officials in praising the heroism shown during the Club Q shooting, as well as the law enforcement and prosecutorial efforts that led to Anderson Aldrich pleading guilty to more than 51 charges and being sentenced to more than 2,000 years in prison , with no possibility of parole or appeal. But with an emotional and arduous trial behind him, and with Aldrich unlikely to ever leave prison alive, Allen also had some strong words for the Club Q assailant as well as Colorado laws that prevented his office from pursuing the death penalty.

The suspect accused of using an AR-style rifle to terrorize a Colorado LGBT nightclub – killing five people and injuring 19 others – has pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and 46 counts of attempted murder. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, was sentenced Monday to five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 2022 massacre at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Judge Michael McHenry also sentenced Aldrich to an additional 2,208 years in prison for the attempted murder charges. Aldrich also received a four-year sentence for bias-motivated charges, which are akin to hate-crime charges in other states. Prosecutors could not seek the death penalty because in 2020, Colorado abolished the death penalty – becoming the 22nd state to do so.

‘I have to take responsibility’ COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub is expected to strike a plea deal to state murder and hate charges that would ensure at least a life sentence for the attack that killed five people and wounded 17, several survivors told The Associated Press. Word of a possible legal resolution of last year’s Club Q massacre follows a series of jailhouse phone calls from the suspect to the AP expressing remorse and the intention to face the consequences at the next scheduled court hearing this month.

A woman with severe mental illness who cycles in and out of Delta County Jail is often placed in solitary confinement by mental health workers after she’s seen eating feces or attacking other people at the facility. But when she’s isolated, her mental health worsens and she usually begins to harm herself, said Joel Watts, a therapist at the jail who sometimes decides if people with mental illness should be placed in isolation, for how long and when they should be released. “We have limited resources. If we don’t put them in isolation, they become a danger to themselves, to others and to staff,” he said. “But it’s a Catch-22. In putting them in isolation, we know they’re going to get worse.” These are difficult decisions, Watts said, because “the way to protect them is the way that harms them the most.”

DENVER, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The suspect accused of killing five people inside a Colorado Springs LGBT nightclub last month before patrons stopped the attack was formally charged on Tuesday with murder, hate crimes and assault. The suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, appeared for a hearing in El Paso District Court where the charges against the 22-year-old were read.  Aldrich has been held without bond since the Nov. 19 rampage at Club Q in Colorado Springs.  In addition to the five people killed, 22 others suffered gunshot wounds or other injuries. Aldrich, who was clad in body armor, stormed the club armed with a rifle and handgun and opened fire indiscriminately, police and witnesses said. Those killed were identified as Kelly Loving, 40; Daniel Aston, 28; Derrick Rump, 38; Ashley Paugh, 34; and Raymond Green Vance, 22. Two men with military backgrounds subdued Aldrich until police arrived. A former Army major and decorated Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, Richard Fierro, told rep...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing the case Monday of a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, a dispute that's the latest clash of religion and gay rights to land at the highest court. The designer and her supporters say that ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians — to do work that is against their faith. Her opponents, meanwhile, say that if she wins, a range of businesses will be able to discriminate, refusing to serve Black customers, Jewish or Muslim people, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants, among others. The case comes at a time when the court is dominated 6-3 by conservatives and following a series of cases in which the justices have sided with religious plaintiffs. It also comes as, across the street from the court, lawmakers in Congress are finalizing a landmark bill protecting same-sex marriage. The bill, which also protects interracial marria...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The man suspected of opening fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs was being held on murder and hate crime charges Monday, while hundreds of people gathered to honor the five people killed and 17 wounded in the attack on a venue that for decades was a sanctuary for the local LGBTQ community. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, faces five murder charges and five charges of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury in Saturday night’s attack at Club Q, online court records showed. Authorities said the attack was halted by two club patrons including Richard Fierro, who told reporters Monday night that he took a handgun from Aldrich, hit him with it and pinned him down with help from another person. Fierro, a 15-year U.S. Army veteran who owns a local brewery, said he was celebrating a birthday with family members when the suspect “came in shooting.” Fierro said during a lull in the shooting he ran at the suspect, who was wearing some type of armor ...

A wealthy dentist accused of fatally shooting his wife in the heart with a shotgun at the end of an African safari was found guilty of murder and mail fraud on Monday. A jury of 6 men and 6 women reached the verdict for Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph following a 3 week trial and a day and a half of deliberations. Rudolph, 67, was charged with foreign murder in the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph in Zambia as well as mail fraud for cashing in $4.8 million in life insurance claims in what prosecutors describe as a premeditated crime. Some of the money was paid out of Colorado so he was tried in Denver federal court. He faces a maximum term of life in prison or the death penalty when he is sentenced in February. Rudolph maintained his innocence and the 2 adult children he had with his wife sat in court to support him during the trial. One of Rudolph's defense attorneys, David Markus, said they would appeal his conviction. "We believe in Larry. We believe in his family," he ...