Capital Punishment
Ledell Lee v. State of Arkansas
Ledell Lee, an innocent man who had been on Arkansas death row since 1995, was executed on April 20, 2017, despite overwhelming evidence that he was intellectually disabled, evidence that had never been considered by any court due to two decades of repeated failures by the attorneys charged with protecting his life. In 2002, the Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities, noting that they “in the aggregate face a special risk of wrongful execution,” Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304.
Status: Ongoing
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All Cases
58 Capital Punishment Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2017
Capital Punishment
Moore v. Texas
Whether Texas is violating the Constitution by using a test to determine intellectual disability in death penalty cases that is inconsistent with both Supreme Court precedent and science.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2017
Capital Punishment
Moore v. Texas
Whether Texas is violating the Constitution by using a test to determine intellectual disability in death penalty cases that is inconsistent with both Supreme Court precedent and science.
U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2017
Capital Punishment
Davila v. Davis
Whether, in federal habeas review of a Texas death sentence, procedural default of an ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim may be excused when the cause of the default is initial-collateral review counsel’s own ineffectiveness.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2017
Capital Punishment
Davila v. Davis
Whether, in federal habeas review of a Texas death sentence, procedural default of an ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim may be excused when the cause of the default is initial-collateral review counsel’s own ineffectiveness.
U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2015
Capital Punishment
Williams v. Pennsylvania
Whether defendant’s constitutional rights were violated when the prosecutor who initially sought the death penalty subsequently votes to uphold it as a member of the state supreme court.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Dec 2015
Capital Punishment
Williams v. Pennsylvania
Whether defendant’s constitutional rights were violated when the prosecutor who initially sought the death penalty subsequently votes to uphold it as a member of the state supreme court.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2015
Capital Punishment
Smart Justice
Spradley v. State of Alabama
Montez Spradley, who was sentenced to death in Alabama for a 2004 murder he did not commit, was released from prison in September 2015. He had spent 9.5 years behind bars, 3.5 years of them on death row. He is 32 years old.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2015
Capital Punishment
Smart Justice
Spradley v. State of Alabama
Montez Spradley, who was sentenced to death in Alabama for a 2004 murder he did not commit, was released from prison in September 2015. He had spent 9.5 years behind bars, 3.5 years of them on death row. He is 32 years old.