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Inside the execution chamber at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.

Executions

KADIR VAN LOHUIZEN/NOOR
Cleveland
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 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.
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
A photo shows a metal chair, backed by two-by-fours with layers of Kevlar attached to the wall. A person operating a video camera is standing on the left side of the room. On the right, three men in dark correctional staff uniforms stand with a man in a white shirt and black tie.
Analysis May 18
Are Firing Squads the Future of Executions?
The Trump administration’s embrace of the firing squad may test the public’s waning support for capital punishment.
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
An older Black man with a gray beard and dressed in a khaki-colored jacket and pants sits in a wheelchair with his hands clasped together in front of him. His daughter, a Black woman with closely cropped salt-and-pepper hair and wearing a dark colored shirt, leans over his shoulders from behind to hug him around his neck. Behind them are a set of horizontal panel windows.
Life Inside March 13
Alabama Almost Executed Charles ‘Sonny’ Burton. His Daughter Tells Her Story.
Justice has long been as elusive as Bigfoot, Carolyn Amanda Shavers writes. But when Alabama’s governor spared her dad’s life, she caught a glimpse.
By Carolyn Amanda Shavers
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