Search About Newsletters Donate

Death Sentence

Redemption Songs June 28
With ‘Live on Death Row,’ Rapper Rrome Alone Condemns the Death Penalty
“Every life hinges on poverty, gender and race,” he declares in the 2024 song, “and the pay of the attorney defending your case.”
By
A photo shows a White man with glasses standing at a podium. The wood-grained podium has a sign that reads: “The Great Seal of the State of Ohio”. Behind him is an American flag and a flag of the state of Ohio.
Cleveland June 22
Ohio Governor Grants Mercy to Man on Death Row For First Time
Weeks before calling to abolish capital punishment in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine commuted the man’s death sentence to life in prison without parole.
By
A photo shows a White man, in a white prison uniform with his hands behind his back, standing behind visitation room glass.
Death Sentences June 22
How The Death Penalty At 50 Is Far More Broken Than We Knew
The racial disparities, the arbitrary outcomes, the endless waiting and the risk of executing the innocent persist.
By and
The Last 12 Weeks June 18
The Countdown to David Wood’s Execution Date
One week before their client is set to die, the defense team awaits a final ruling.
By
The Last 12 Weeks June 18
Meeting David Wood — And One of His Victims
We visit death row, where David Wood tries to clear his name. But not before a victim of his crimes has her say.
By
The Last 12 Weeks June 18
The Defense Lawyers Approach a Victim’s Mother
In the final weeks before the execution date, the defense team has to decide just how far it’s willing to push to save David Wood’s life.
By
The Last 12 Weeks June 18
A New Witness Shares a Surprising Theory
With less than two months until the execution, a witness makes a case for why David Wood isn’t the Desert Killer.
By
The Last 12 Weeks June 18
What If I Follow You Around?
A Marshall Project journalist asked a defense team if he could trail them as they tried to stop an execution weeks away. Surprisingly, they said yes.
By
Young Thug, a Black rapper wearing a white shirt and striped pants, holds a mic as he performs in a crowd during a concert.
Closing Argument March 28
His Rap Lyrics Helped Send Him to Death Row. Travis Scott and T.I. Are Trying to Stop His Execution.
The rappers argue that James Broadnax’s case exemplifies a larger problem in American courtrooms: The use of rap lyrics as evidence.
By
A photo shows Luigi Mangione sitting at a courtroom table, wearing a gray blazer and red-checkered shirt, leaning to his right and engaging in conversation with an attorney out of the frame. Behind him are two court officers dressed in navy blue uniforms, with a pair of shiny handcuffs attached to the officers’ waists.
Death Sentences December 15, 2025
How Cases Like Luigi Mangione’s Could Widen the Death Penalty Divide
Even as more state leaders try to expand capital punishment, fewer jurors are choosing it.
By
About
People
Privacy
Sitemap
Funders