In 2024, a series of high-profile death penalty cases has sparked unprecedented anger and outrage in the United States. Several convicts with credible arguments of innocence have fought their pending executions in the court of public opinion. Serious questions have been raised this year about the reliability of death sentences following a series of disturbing cases. One of them is that of Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, executed by the state of Missouri by lethal injection in September, despite serious doubts about the strength of his conviction and a massive public outcry that culminated in a petition signed by 1.5 million people.
Among the most shocking cases is that of a prisoner in Texas, who is currently appealing his death sentence based on “shaken baby syndrome,” a controversial theory that many experts refute as pseudoscientific. Also that of Richard Glossip, whose 27-year fight to prove his innocence has prompted even state legislators republicans of Oklahoma who are in favor of the death penalty have joined their cause.
He annual report 2024 from one of the most respected voices on the subject, the Center for Death Penalty Information (DPI) highlights growing public outrage over allegations of innocence of convicted prisoners and the outbreak of protests against capital punishment in the United States. The report was released just hours before the last execution of the year in Oklahoma, on December 19, where Kevin Ray Underwood died by lethal injection last Thursday morning.
Less than 30 executions
The DPI report notes that, for the tenth consecutive year, fewer than 30 executions have been carried out in the United States. The number of new death sentences also remained at historically low levels, with 26 cases.
These figures suggest that the death penalty in the United States remains on a gradual downward trend. However, other indicators indicate a recent strong determination on the part of certain states, mostly in the south, that still apply capital punishment, which is causing intense public unrest.
“In 2024, we saw people with credible evidence of innocence sentenced to death, unleashing extraordinary levels of public frustration and outrage,” says Robin Maher, executive director of the DPI. “There were several high-profile cases that once again raised questions about whether the death penalty can be used fairly and accurately.”
The 25 executions carried out this year clearly show the inequality in the application of capital punishment. Just four states—Alabama, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma—were responsible for 76% of the executions.
The DPI report notes – not without some irony – that for Americans living in 41 of the 50 states “the death penalty is not even a cause for concern.” This in itself is problematic, as it means that the devastating problems associated with capital punishment are rarely addressed in the national political arena: the death penalty had a minimal presence in last fall’s presidential election campaign.
A resurgence?
Although the death penalty appears to be on the decline, it is also undergoing something of a resurgence. Three states — Utah, South Carolina and Indiana — carried out their first judicial executions this year after a hiatus of more than a decade. Furthermore, in 2024, nine states carried out executions, while in 2023 there were only five.
All the blatant inequalities that have historically been associated with this practice have been highlighted again this year. Almost half of those executed were racialized people, and the vast majority had been convicted of having murdered at least one white victim.
All but one of the 24 executed had typical vulnerabilities, such as intellectual disabilities and/or brain damage, serious mental illness, and a history of childhood trauma or abuse. Likewise, states demonstrated a relentless determination to circumvent potential shortcomings of the death penalty by resorting to experimental methods. Alabama became the first state in the country to execute a condemned man by nitrogen hypoxia by asphyxiating Kenneth Smith with the gas.
The state had already attempted to kill Smith, subjecting him to a botched lethal injection procedure that stretched for hours and that experts equated with torture. “Having failed to kill Smith on the first attempt, Alabama selected him as its ‘guinea pig’ to test an execution method never before attempted,” Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her scathing dissent. .
But what caused the most stir this year was the fear that potentially innocent defendants would be sent to the “death chamber.” “Marcellus Williams should be alive,” St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell declared shortly after Williams was executed in Missouri for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle. Williams was executed despite no substantial forensic evidence. to link him to the crime. In addition, compelling information was also discovered that revealed poor performance by the prosecution.
In Texas, deep concern about the imminent execution of Robert Roberson for killing his two-year-old daughter Nikki under the controversial “shaken baby syndrome” theory, sparked unprecedented scenes as state lawmakers moved to stop the execution, including several prominent Republicans. The Texas Supreme Court granted a stay of execution with just 90 minutes left before Roberson would receive the lethal injection, after he was summoned by lawmakers to testify.
However, lawmakers’ exceptional efforts to save Roberson’s life appear to have had a temporary result. The state Supreme Court ruled last month that the subpoena was invalid, allowing a new execution date to be set.
In Oklahoma, questions surrounding Glossip’s death sentence also prompted intense soul-searching. Glossip was convicted of the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, the owner of an Oklahoma City motel that Glossip managed.
Glossip was convicted based on the testimony of a co-worker who later admitted that he was the actual perpetrator of the crime. Likewise, it was recently revealed that, before the trial began, prosecutors destroyed evidence that could have exonerated Glossip.
The doubts surrounding the case were so overwhelming that Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, admitted that unconstitutional errors had been made and called for a new trial for Glossip. The case is currently being examined by the Court United States Supreme Court.
At the same time, before leaving the White House and taking over from Donald Trump, Joe Biden has decided to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 people sentenced to death at the federal level. According to the statement issued by the White House, his punishment will be changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole. “Guided by my conscience and my experience,” Biden says in a statement released this Monday, “I am more convinced than ever that we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level.” “I cannot in good conscience stand by and let a new administration resume the executions that I stopped.”
Translation by Julián Cnochaert.
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