The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted Monday to give death row prisoner Julius Jones a longer second stage commutation hearing to better understand the details of his case. Jones was convicted of murdering Edmond man Paul Howell in 1999. Jones claims he is innocent. The board already voted to move Julius Jones to the…Read More
The Justice Department recently asked the Supreme Court to reinstate a death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his role in the Boston Marathon bombings. Tsarnaev’s death sentence had been handed down by federal jury a lower court, and the Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to reinstate it, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday. The…Read More
Julius Jones’ commutation hearing has been rescheduled to September 13, after originally being scheduled for June. “It’s a little bit longer. It’s three months away instead of next month,” Jimmy Lawson, Julius Jones’ best friend, told KFOR on Thursday. “The positive side is that we will still get our chance to have a hearing.” Jones…Read More
Catholics are asking the governor of Texas to halt an execution scheduled for Wednesday evening. Quintin Jones, 41, who was sentenced to death in 2001 for the 1999 murder of his great-aunt, is scheduled to be executed at the state’s Huntsville unit at 6 p.m. local time Wednesday evening. Jones was convicted for the murder…Read More
South Carolina on Monday became the fourth state to officially sanction the use of the firing squad as a method of execution. Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed into law a bill allowing the state to execute death row inmates by electrocution or firing squad, if the drugs used for lethal injection are not available. Previously,…Read More
EWTN’s Kate Scanlon speaks with a family who suffered the violent murder of their daughter, yet hold true to the teachings of the church despite their pain – and reject the death penalty. Their journey to bring a pro-life message to the U.S., and the hope they say they are finding in the 2nd Catholic…Read More
The state Pardon and Parole Board on Monday voted to further review the commutation application of Julius Jones, a death row inmate who claims he was framed for murder and whose cause has been taken up by celebrities and criminal justice reform advocates across the country. In a first-stage vote that was streamed publicly via…Read More
Virginia is expected to become the first southern state to abolish the death penalty, after its general assembly voted on Monday to end the practice. The state senate voted 22 to 16 to approve H.B. 2263, which would abolish the death penalty in the state including for inmates currently on death row. The state house…Read More
The abolition of the death penalty has advanced in Virginia, with the State Senate’s passage of a bill backed by the Virginia Catholic Conference. The death penalty repeal bill passed the Senate by a 21-17 vote Feb. 3. All Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while no Republicans did. One Republican abstained. “Only a…Read More
More than 70 House and Senate Democrats announced Tuesday that they will reintroduce a bill ending the federal death penalty, enacting one of President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign promises. Spearheaded by incoming Senate majority whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) and democratic socialist congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), the bill would prohibit a sentence of death for any federal…Read More