Year-End 2019

2019 Year in Review

Federal Government

Courts Halt Federal Government Attempt to Resume Executions

On July 25, 2019, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced the federal government’s intention to restart executions after a sixteen-year hiatus by scheduling five federal capital prisoners to be executed between December 2019 and January 2020.

State Government

No Executions for Foreseeable Future in California as Governor Imposes Moratorium

On March 13, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom exercised his authority under the state’s constitution to impose a moratorium on all executions in the state for the remainder of his term in office.

Death Penalty

Ohio Holds No Executions in 2019, Passes Death Penalty Reforms

On October 30, 2019, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued reprieves to two death row prisoners, capping a long line of clemency actions taken by the governor throughout the year and aligned with efforts by policymakers to increase fairness and transparency in capital cases.

Military

Federal Government Unsuccessfully Seeks to Reinstate Rulings in al-Nashiri Military Commissions Proceeding

Earlier this year, the prosecution in the military death penalty case of alleged mastermind of the 2000 U.S.S. Cole bombing, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was dealt a stunning setback by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which vacated more than four years of rulings in the case issued by former presiding judge Colonel Vance Spath.

Death Penalty

Notable New Films: Just Mercy and Clemency

Two important films about capital punishment arrive in theaters this winter. One based on a true story and one fictional, both grapple with the death penalty’s far-reaching psychological toll and the potential for error and injustice in its administration.

Disability

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Life Sentence to Bobby Moore

Capping off a legal saga that included two U.S. Supreme Court remands and the wholesale rejection of Texas’s judiciary-created scheme for evaluating intellectual disability claims, the Texas high criminal court finally issued a decision that will take Bobby Moore off of death row.

LGBTQ Legal Issues

Charles Rhines Executed by South Dakota Despite Evidence of Jurors’ Anti-Gay Bias

South Dakota executed death row prisoner Charles Rhines on November 4, 2019, following unsuccessful litigation on multiple fronts. A South Dakota judge issued an execution warrant for Mr. Rhines in June 2019, on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to grant certiorari review of his claim that his jurors had sentenced him to death based on his sexual orientation.

State Government

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin Grants Clemency to Two Death Row Prisoners

During his final days in office, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin issued more than 400 clemency decisions in cases spanning the criminal justice spectrum, including commuting the sentences of two death row prisoners, Gregory Wilson and Leif Halvorsen.

2019 Supreme Court Review

Death Penalty

Supreme Court’s Shifting Framework on Warrant Litigation Adds New Challenges for Capital Prisoners

One of the most contentious issues in death penalty litigation is the length of time prisoners’ legal appeals typically take to conclude, and general impatience over the length of time these cases can take has begun to shape the way death row prisoners’ legal claims are substantively analyzed.

Bias & Discrimination

Seventh Trial Remains Possible for Curtis Flowers After Winning Racial Bias Claim at Supreme Court

Curtis Flowers’ capital conviction and sentence was overturned on June 21, 2019, following a finding that his previous trial was marred by impermissible racial bias in jury selection. This decision arose out of the sixth attempt by the state to prosecute Mr. Flowers for the same crime.

Death Penalty

Carlos Ayestas Again Seeks Supreme Court Intervention Following New Fifth Circuit Denial

The legal team representing Texas death row prisoner Carlos Ayestas, including pro bono attorneys from O’Melveny & Myers, filed a certiorari petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on October 29, 2019, asking the Court to intervene in his case a second time.

Civil Rights & Constitution

SCOTUS Fall 2019: Pending Cases

This fall, the Supreme Court heard cases with implications for how new rules of constitutional law are applied to older cases and the role of juries in sentencing. The Court also heard arguments in a capital case that explores whether a state can abolish insanity as a defense.

Project Updates

Pro Bono

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Year-End 2019

Message from the Director

2019 Year in Review

Courts Halt Federal Government Attempt to Resume Executions

No Executions for Foreseeable Future in California as Governor Imposes Moratorium

Ohio Holds No Executions in 2019, Passes Death Penalty Reforms

Federal Government Unsuccessfully Seeks to Reinstate Rulings in al-Nashiri Military Commissions Proceeding

Notable New Films: Just Mercy and Clemency

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Life Sentence to Bobby Moore

Charles Rhines Executed by South Dakota Despite Evidence of Jurors’ Anti-Gay Bias

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin Grants Clemency to Two Death Row Prisoners

2019 Supreme Court Review

Supreme Court’s Shifting Framework on Warrant Litigation Adds New Challenges for Capital Prisoners

Seventh Trial Remains Possible for Curtis Flowers After Winning Racial Bias Claim at Supreme Court

Carlos Ayestas Again Seeks Supreme Court Intervention Following New Fifth Circuit Denial

SCOTUS Fall 2019: Pending Cases

Project Updates

Project Achieves Major Milestone: 100 Prisoners Off Death Row

Capital Clemency Resource Initiative Update

Project Assists in ABA Clemency Advocacy for Two Death Row Prisoners

Project Celebrates Champions of Capital Defense at Annual Awards Dinner

ABA Resources

The ABA

Connect

Renew Your ABA Membership

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Year-End 2019

Message from the Director

2019 Year in Review

Courts Halt Federal Government Attempt to Resume Executions

No Executions for Foreseeable Future in California as Governor Imposes Moratorium

Ohio Holds No Executions in 2019, Passes Death Penalty Reforms

Federal Government Unsuccessfully Seeks to Reinstate Rulings in al-Nashiri Military Commissions Proceeding

Notable New Films: Just Mercy and Clemency

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Grants Life Sentence to Bobby Moore

Charles Rhines Executed by South Dakota Despite Evidence of Jurors’ Anti-Gay Bias

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin Grants Clemency to Two Death Row Prisoners

2019 Supreme Court Review

Supreme Court’s Shifting Framework on Warrant Litigation Adds New Challenges for Capital Prisoners

Seventh Trial Remains Possible for Curtis Flowers After Winning Racial Bias Claim at Supreme Court

Carlos Ayestas Again Seeks Supreme Court Intervention Following New Fifth Circuit Denial

SCOTUS Fall 2019: Pending Cases

Project Updates

Project Achieves Major Milestone: 100 Prisoners Off Death Row

Capital Clemency Resource Initiative Update

Project Assists in ABA Clemency Advocacy for Two Death Row Prisoners

Project Celebrates Champions of Capital Defense at Annual Awards Dinner

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