Melissa Lucio has gained national attention as the days count down to her execution, which is set for April 27. She was convicted of killing her 2-year-old daughter in 2007 in Harlingen, Texas. Lucio has maintained her innocence in the 15 years since the incident.9 hours ago
Cameron Todd Willingham of Texas was convicted and executed for the death of his three children who died in a house fire. The prosecution charged that the fire was caused by arson. He has not been posthumously exonerated, but the case has gained widespread attention as a possible case of wrongful execution.
2000Earl Washington, Jr., Virginia. Convicted 1984.Frank Lee Smith, Florida. Convicted 1985. ... Eric Clemmons, Missouri. Convicted 1987.Hubert Geralds, Jr., Illinois. Convicted 1997.Michael Graham, Louisiana. Convicted 1987.Joseph Green, Florida. Convicted 1993.Oscar Morris, California. ... William Nieves, Pennsylvania.
A removal from death row takes place if the capital sentence is declared unconstitutional by the state court or the U.S. Supreme Court, the conviction is affirmed but the sentence is overturned by the appellate court, the conviction and sentence are overturned by the appellate court, or the sentence of the prisoner is ...
Few juveniles have ever been executed for their crimes. Even when juveniles were sentenced to death, few executions were actually carried out. In the United States for example, youths under the age of 18 were executed at a rate of 20–27 per decade, or about 1.6–2.3% of all executions from 1880s to the 1920s.
On June 23, 2000, Gary Graham was executed in Texas, despite claims that he was innocent. Graham was 17 when he was charged with the 1981 robbery and shooting of Bobby Lambert outside a Houston supermarket.
One in 25 criminal defendants who has been handed a death sentence in the United States has likely been erroneously convicted. That number—4.1% to be exact—comes from a new analysis of more than 3 decades of data on death sentences and death row exonerations across the United States.
Eighteen people have been proven innocent and exonerated by DNA testing in the United States after serving time on death row. They were convicted in 11 states and served a combined 229 years in prison – including 202 years on death row – for crimes they didn't commit.
Since then, more than 7,800 defendants have been sentenced to death; of these, more than 1,500 have been executed. At least 185 people who were sentenced to death since 1972 have since been exonerated, about 2.4% or one in 42. As of December 16, 2020, 2,591 convicts are still on death row.
Possibility of consciousness and pain during execution Witness testimony, botched electrocutions (see Willie Francis and Allen Lee Davis), and post-mortem examinations suggest that execution by electric chair is often painful.
While on death row, those serving capital sentences are generally isolated from other prisoners, excluded from prison educational and employment programs, and sharply restricted in terms of visitation and exercise, spending as many as 23 hours a day alone in their cells.
252 daysShortest Time on Death Row Prior to Execution:NameTime on Death Row1.Joe Gonzales252 days2.Steven Renfro263 days