When Tennessee sentenced Christa Pike to death on March 30th, 1996, for a crime she committed as an eighteen-year-old, she became the youngest woman to receive a death sentence in the modern era. As the judge sentenced her to die, Christa—her face still sprinkled with adolescent acne—sobbed uncontrollably and called out for her mother. If the State carries out her execution, it will be the first time Tennessee has executed a woman since 1819.
— Read on dpw.lawschool.cornell.edu/advocacy/christa-pike/
Tag: Death Penalty
After 50 Years, The Death Penalty Is Far More Broken Than We Knew | The Marshall Project
The racial disparities, the arbitrary outcomes, the endless waiting and the risk of executing the innocent persist.
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2026/06/22/death-penalty-50th-gregg-georgia-executions
New Report Highlights the ‘Fatal Flaws’ Behind Wrongful Capital Convictions
The ACLU found official misconduct, perjury, and predominantly white juries to be leading contributors to exonerated death sentences.
— Read on www.texasobserver.org/aclu-report-death-penalty-exonerations/
See the ACLU report HERE
Is Trump Behind The Execution Surge of 2025? | The Marshall Project
States have executed 30 people this year — already the highest annual total in more than a decade.
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2025/09/13/trump-death-penalty-florida-louisiana
Deeply Rooted: How Racial History Informs Oklahoma’s Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center
528, 531 (W.D. Okla. 1949) Oklahoma’s death penalty is at a crossroads. The projected increase in executions in Oklahoma comes while the death penalty is…
— Read on deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/dpic-reports/dpic-special-reports/deeply-rooted-how-racial-history-informs-oklahomas-death-penalty
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty
About Us
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty is a network of political and social conservatives who question the alignment of capital punishment with conservative principles and values.
We come to this issue for a variety of reasons:
- Some of us believe that small government and the death penalty don’t go together, especially when we compare the high costs of capital punishment to life without possibility of release.
- Some of us don’t trust the state to get it right. We already know that some innocent people have been sentenced to death, and for others it may already be too late.
- Some of us are disturbed by the roller coaster for family members of murder victims, or wonder why we’re investing so much in a system that doesn’t keep us any safer than the alternatives.
- Some of us believe that the death penalty contradicts our values about protecting life.
- And for many other reasons…
How a Phone Changed My Life on Death Row | The Marshall Project
“I felt like a virgin on my wedding night — eager to put this thing to use, not sure if it’ll hurt.”
— Read on www.themarshallproject.org/2016/10/06/how-a-phone-changed-my-life-on-death-row
Death Penalty ‘Another Failed Big Government Program’: Conservative | The Crime Report
California has spent $4 billion on the death penalty since it was reinstated in 1978. But its violent crime rate outpaces the national average, writes a leading conservative who welcomes the moratorium announced this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
— Read on thecrimereport.org/2019/03/14/death-penalty-another-failed-big-government-program-ca-conservative/
