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This is everyone executed in U.S. in the past 5+ years.
At @MarshallProj we tracked them all. Here's a thread about what we found. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/02/10/what-120-executions-tell-us-about-criminal-justice-in-america
At @MarshallProj we tracked them all. Here's a thread about what we found. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/02/10/what-120-executions-tell-us-about-criminal-justice-in-america
The death penalty is dying, but maybe not as slowly as we think.
Enough states still do it that someone has been executed every ~2.5 weeks since the summer of 2015.
Enough states still do it that someone has been executed every ~2.5 weeks since the summer of 2015.
A lot of people who get executed are only put to death after multiple execution dates.
One example of that is Juan Castillo.
This is one I witnessed and it stuck w/me bc he'd gotten so many stays that up he was convinced to the last minute that he would get another. He was so sure, prison officials said he assured them it wldnt happen. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/San-Antonio-lovers-lane-killer-scheduled-for-12918627.php
This is one I witnessed and it stuck w/me bc he'd gotten so many stays that up he was convinced to the last minute that he would get another. He was so sure, prison officials said he assured them it wldnt happen. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/San-Antonio-lovers-lane-killer-scheduled-for-12918627.php
Frequently it takes a long time to actually carry out the execution.
Sometimes it's the dying that takes a long time, but sometimes it's the hours of waiting around for court rulings.
50% of people waited more than an hour and ten minutes.
Sometimes it's the dying that takes a long time, but sometimes it's the hours of waiting around for court rulings.
50% of people waited more than an hour and ten minutes.
What stuck out to me in seeing the five years of data and case studies all in one place was just how many of them I knew.
Joseph Garcia is one who has stuck with me. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Texas-Seven-escapee-fights-death-sentence-13413007.php
Joseph Garcia is one who has stuck with me. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Texas-Seven-escapee-fights-death-sentence-13413007.php
We only met once, but he left such an impression. https://twitter.com/keribla/status/1111726476888547328?s=20
This case - Larry Swearingen - was heartbreaking all around. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/I-refuse-to-accept-this-as-my-fate-Larry-14366702.php
Larry always claimed he was innocent, but I also felt so much for the Trotter family.
They kept thinking that the execution would bring them closure - and they relived their grief with every attempt to set an execution date. That happened SEVEN times.
They kept thinking that the execution would bring them closure - and they relived their grief with every attempt to set an execution date. That happened SEVEN times.
One time during an interview, Larry made a reference to his hair color and I said I couldn't tell what color it was because he was bald. He responded, "Well, six execution dates will do that to you."
He was joking, but I cannot imagine the stress for everyone involved.
He was joking, but I cannot imagine the stress for everyone involved.
And then there's Billy Wardlow. The only execution in Texas so far since the pandemic. He was so respected on the row, and no longer the kid who committed that crime. This case is still heartbreaking every time I think about it. https://twitter.com/keribla/status/1281009713250021382?s=20
I'm tweeting all this now bc we're winding up our execution tracking project today - and replacing it with more in-depth coverage, by me and @MauriceChammah. We've already done a few stories under this new column/rubric thing. You can find them here: https://www.themarshallproject.org/tag/death-sentences
