Jeff Kirchmeier
@kirchmeier.bsky.social
Law professor, CUNY Law School. Author of "Imprisoned by the Past: Warren McClesky, Race, and the American Death Penalty" about the history of capital punishment. Criminal law, social justice, etc. he/him.
New Hampshire rejects bills to bring back capital punishment: www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026...
House committee overwhelmingly rejects bills to bring back capital punishment
The bills aim to restore and broaden the use of capital punishment in New Hampshire, seven years after its repeal
www.nhpr.org
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 PM
New Hampshire rejects bills to bring back capital punishment: www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026...
There was a surge in executions in 2025. Here’s how the Supreme Court responded. www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/ther...
There was a surge in executions in 2025. Here’s how the Supreme Court responded.
In 2025, the United States saw a surge in executions after a period of decline. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 47 people were put to death in 11 […]
www.scotusblog.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:04 PM
There was a surge in executions in 2025. Here’s how the Supreme Court responded. www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/ther...
Alabama man faces execution despite not pulling the trigger in auto store customer's death. #deathpenalty www.wbaltv.com/article/alab...
Alabama man faces execution despite not pulling the trigger in auto store customer's death
Charles "Sonny" Burton faces execution in Alabama for his role in a 1991 robbery in which a man was fatally shot, even though Burton did not fire the gun or witness the killing.
www.wbaltv.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Alabama man faces execution despite not pulling the trigger in auto store customer's death. #deathpenalty www.wbaltv.com/article/alab...
Hearings continue on bills that would reinstate death penalty in New Hampshire.
www.wmur.com/article/hear...
www.wmur.com/article/hear...
Hearings continue on bills that would reinstate death penalty in New Hampshire
Opponents of the death penalty turned out in big numbers in Concord again Thursday to speak against legislation to bring capital punishment back to New Hampshire.
www.wmur.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Hearings continue on bills that would reinstate death penalty in New Hampshire.
www.wmur.com/article/hear...
www.wmur.com/article/hear...
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
DHS getting basic 4th Amendment law wrong on its official Twitter account.
Seems like this post is bound to show up as an exhibit in one of the cases challenging ICE/Border Control enforcement actions.
Seems like this post is bound to show up as an exhibit in one of the cases challenging ICE/Border Control enforcement actions.
January 17, 2026 at 6:57 PM
DHS getting basic 4th Amendment law wrong on its official Twitter account.
Seems like this post is bound to show up as an exhibit in one of the cases challenging ICE/Border Control enforcement actions.
Seems like this post is bound to show up as an exhibit in one of the cases challenging ICE/Border Control enforcement actions.
Maricopa County prosecutors have frequently pursued the death penalty, but just 13% of cases ended in a death sentence, ProPublica and ABC15 Arizona found. Experts say the numbers raise questions about the office’s decision-making. www.propublica.org/article/mari...
Arizona Judges Launch Effort Seeking Quicker Resolutions to Death Penalty Cases
Maricopa County prosecutors have frequently pursued the death penalty, but just 13% of cases ended in a death sentence, ProPublica and ABC15 Arizona found. Experts say the numbers raise questions abou...
www.propublica.org
January 6, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Maricopa County prosecutors have frequently pursued the death penalty, but just 13% of cases ended in a death sentence, ProPublica and ABC15 Arizona found. Experts say the numbers raise questions about the office’s decision-making. www.propublica.org/article/mari...
In 2025, forty-seven men killed by states operating death penalty – almost double last year’s number.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US executions surged in 2025 to highest level in 16 years
Forty-seven men killed by states operating death penalty – almost double last year’s number
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:53 PM
In 2025, forty-seven men killed by states operating death penalty – almost double last year’s number.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Bill could leave future of death penalty in the hands of Alabama voters.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.ws...
www.google.com/amp/s/www.ws...
Redirect Notice
www.google.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Bill could leave future of death penalty in the hands of Alabama voters.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.ws...
www.google.com/amp/s/www.ws...
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
Saudi Arabia: Further Information: Essam Ahmed Executed After Grossly Unfair Trial
Saudi Arabia: Further Information: Essam Ahmed Executed After Grossly Unfair Trial
22 December 2025 | Index Number: MDE 23/0585/2025
open.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Saudi Arabia: Further Information: Essam Ahmed Executed After Grossly Unfair Trial
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
An Alabama prison guard who left incarcerated people unsupervised in outdoor cages for hours was suspended for three days.
But he was still allowed to participate in executions as part of the team of officers who administer the death penalty:
But he was still allowed to participate in executions as part of the team of officers who administer the death penalty:
In Alabama, Prison Guards Accused of Violence and Misconduct Carry Out Secretive Executions
As the state keeps details around the death penalty hidden, an investigation into its execution team raises questions about how incarcerated people are treated in their final moments.
boltsmag.org
December 30, 2025 at 11:00 PM
An Alabama prison guard who left incarcerated people unsupervised in outdoor cages for hours was suspended for three days.
But he was still allowed to participate in executions as part of the team of officers who administer the death penalty:
But he was still allowed to participate in executions as part of the team of officers who administer the death penalty:
Supreme Court mulls intellectual disability limits in death penalty cases: thehill.com/regulation/c...
thehill.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Supreme Court mulls intellectual disability limits in death penalty cases: thehill.com/regulation/c...
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
239 years ago, on the 30th of November 1786, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany became the first modern state to abolish the death penalty. Grand Duke Leopold I, who was influenced in the decision by the book 'On Crimes and Punishments', would later become Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II. #otd #history 🗃️
November 30, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
This is one of many reasons I can never support the death penalty
NEW: Jimmie Duncan spent 27 years on death row, convicted in part based on evidence experts now consider to be junk science.
But even after the overturning of his murder conviction and his release on bail, Louisiana still wants to execute him.
By @richardawebster.bsky.social, w/ @veritenews.org
But even after the overturning of his murder conviction and his release on bail, Louisiana still wants to execute him.
By @richardawebster.bsky.social, w/ @veritenews.org
A Death Row Inmate Was Released on Bail After His Conviction Was Overturned. Louisiana Still Wants to Execute Him.
Months after a judge tossed out his 1998 murder conviction, Jimmie Duncan is free on bail. But prosecutors have asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty for Duncan, even as the...
www.propublica.org
December 3, 2025 at 10:32 PM
This is one of many reasons I can never support the death penalty
South Carolina Man Is Executed By Firing Squad For 2004 Killings.
www.huffpost.com/entry/south-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/south-...
South Carolina Man Is Executed By Firing Squad For 2004 Killings
He is the seventh person put to death by South Carolina in 14 months after the state had a 13-year pause in executions when it couldn’t obtain lethal injection drugs.
www.huffpost.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:24 AM
South Carolina Man Is Executed By Firing Squad For 2004 Killings.
www.huffpost.com/entry/south-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/south-...
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
Eye-popping reporting from my better half on systemic misconduct in two Oklahoma death penalty cases. Despite that (and against the recommendation of the OK clemency board), the condemned in one case will be executed today. The state has vowed to re-try the other.
theintercept.com/2025/11/12/r...
theintercept.com/2025/11/12/r...
Judge Failed to Disclose Personal Ties to Prosecutor in Two Death Row Cases
Veteran prosecutor Fern Smith convicted both Tremane Wood and Richard Glossip. She calls a judge in both cases a friend.
theintercept.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Eye-popping reporting from my better half on systemic misconduct in two Oklahoma death penalty cases. Despite that (and against the recommendation of the OK clemency board), the condemned in one case will be executed today. The state has vowed to re-try the other.
theintercept.com/2025/11/12/r...
theintercept.com/2025/11/12/r...
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
Veterans are overrepresented on death row across the United States. The Death Penalty Information Center's new report explores the cases of veterans sentenced to death and the injustices they face in the criminal legal system.
Forgotten Service, Lasting Wounds: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center
**Executive Summary** - Though the Supreme Court has recognized the importance of military service in capital mitigation, the legal...
deathpenaltyinfo.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Veterans are overrepresented on death row across the United States. The Death Penalty Information Center's new report explores the cases of veterans sentenced to death and the injustices they face in the criminal legal system.
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
Last year the UN member states voted on a moratorium to end the death penalty. The green countries want to abolish the death penalty, the red countries want to keep it. Russia voting against the death penalty is a teeny bit funny. HT @maroni_editor
November 12, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Last year the UN member states voted on a moratorium to end the death penalty. The green countries want to abolish the death penalty, the red countries want to keep it. Russia voting against the death penalty is a teeny bit funny. HT @maroni_editor
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
Yesterday: "The death penalty is extremely fiscally irresponsible. It costs more to sentence someone to death and execute them than to sentence them to life in prison without parole. It’s also an ineffective deterrent to violent crime."
Pro-Life, Anti-Death Penalty
Nan Tolson is the face of the conservative movement against capital punishment in Texas.
www.texasobserver.org
November 13, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Yesterday: "The death penalty is extremely fiscally irresponsible. It costs more to sentence someone to death and execute them than to sentence them to life in prison without parole. It’s also an ineffective deterrent to violent crime."
Tremane Wood Receives Last-Minute Clemency, Sparing Him From Execution.
www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...
www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...
Tremane Wood Spared From Execution In Shocking Decision
His case marks only the second time Gov. Kevin Stitt has commuted a death sentence since entering office in 2019.
www.huffpost.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Tremane Wood Receives Last-Minute Clemency, Sparing Him From Execution.
www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...
www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...
Sotomayor says GOP-appointed Supreme Court wing ‘abandons its duty’ in death penalty case. www.msnbc.com/deadline-whi...
Sotomayor says GOP-appointed Supreme Court wing ‘abandons its duty’ in death penalty case
The Democratic appointees dissented from the majority’s refusal to halt the execution of Charles Crawford, who, they said, raised an important issue.
www.msnbc.com
October 16, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Sotomayor says GOP-appointed Supreme Court wing ‘abandons its duty’ in death penalty case. www.msnbc.com/deadline-whi...
Anti-death penalty protesters walk 30 miles across Missouri after governor denies man clemency. www.ky3.com/2025/10/13/a...
Anti-death penalty protesters walk 30 miles across Missouri after governor denies man clemency
A group is walking across Central Missouri to send a message about the death penalty.
www.ky3.com
October 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Anti-death penalty protesters walk 30 miles across Missouri after governor denies man clemency. www.ky3.com/2025/10/13/a...
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
Despite everything else going on, France last night honoured Robert Badinter, the former justice minister who ended the death penalty in 🇫🇷 in 1981. He entered the Panthéon in a moving moment of national tribute that the French do so well
October 10, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Despite everything else going on, France last night honoured Robert Badinter, the former justice minister who ended the death penalty in 🇫🇷 in 1981. He entered the Panthéon in a moving moment of national tribute that the French do so well
Reposted by Jeff Kirchmeier
Racism is embedded in the death penalty.
This World Against the Death Penalty Day and every other day of the year, we’re calling on our elected officials to work toward an end to capital punishment once and for all.
This World Against the Death Penalty Day and every other day of the year, we’re calling on our elected officials to work toward an end to capital punishment once and for all.
October 10, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Racism is embedded in the death penalty.
This World Against the Death Penalty Day and every other day of the year, we’re calling on our elected officials to work toward an end to capital punishment once and for all.
This World Against the Death Penalty Day and every other day of the year, we’re calling on our elected officials to work toward an end to capital punishment once and for all.