×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Perfecting the Death Penalty
When the death penalty was resurrected in 1976, following a brief four-year hiatus, death penalty lawyers made a fateful tactical decision. They decided to abandon the goal of abolition and instead elected to chip away gradually. Rather than arguing that the death penalty is always unconstitutional – that it is …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Massachusetts’ Mental Health Treatment Policies Prove Deadly for Public, Prisoners, by David Reutter
- South Carolina Prison Officials Allegedly Forced to be Executioners
- Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System, by Silja Talvi ;Seal Press, 359 pp. $15.95, by Alexis Paige
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- “I CAN Learn” Software Procurement for Kentucky DOC Questioned, by Matthew Clarke
- Millions Paid in Mississippi Jail Deaths; Ten Guards Sentenced for Abuses; Corruption Continues, by Bob Williams
- California “Restitution Center” Prisoner’s Suit for Underpayment Certified as Class Action, by Marvin Mentor
- GEO Group Expands into Mental Health Facilities for Business Growth, by David Reutter
- Of 426 California Prisoner Deaths in 2006, 66 Found to be Preventable, by John Dannenberg
- New Jersey Joins Other States in Restricting Internet Use by Sex Offenders
- Florida DOC Ends Unofficial Transfer-for-Sale Policy, by David Reutter
- Arizona DOC Guard Reinstated Despite Error Resulting in Prisoner’s Murder
- Survivors Guide to Medical Research in Prison, by Greg Dober
- Perfecting the Death Penalty, by David R. Dow
- PLN Wins Kansas Censorship Suit, by Michael Rigby
- Judgment in Florida’s Closed Management Conditions Lawsuit Terminated Under the PLRA, by David Reutter
- Texas Federal Judge Acquits VitaPro Defendants, by Matthew Clarke
- New Jersey Prisoners’ Jail Escape Leads to Firings and Suicide, by Gary Hunter
- California DOC Whistleblower Promoted to Head of Audit/Compliance Department
- Burgeoning Immigration Detainee Population Stresses ICE, by Matthew Clarke
- Failure to Treat Immigrant Detainee’s Fatal Penile Cancer Ruled “Beyond Cruel”, by John Dannenberg
- Massive Beef Recall Reaches California Prisons
- Virginia Felons Notified of Possible Exculpatory DNA Evidence – Eventually, by Gary Hunter
- Settlement Agreement Reached in Overcrowding Claim Against Florida Jail
- Physical, Mental and Substance Abuse Problems Fuel Recidivism
- Former Immigration Detainee Awarded $100,001 Against CSC/Esmor, Plus $137,808 in Attorney’s Fees and Expenses
- Too Many Prisoners, Not Enough Guards Cause Crisis in Texas, by Gary Hunter
- Sixth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Challenge to Ohio Parole System, by Matthew Clarke
- Minnesota Sheriff Profited from Jail Breakfast Scam
- Prison Legal News Attends CCA Shareholder Meeting, by Alex Friedmann
- $250,500 Verdict for False Imprisonment at Florida Jail
- New York Prisoner Awarded $21,500 for Finger Injury
- News in Brief:
- $200,000 Settlement in Wyoming Prisoner’s Suicide Death
More from David R. Dow:
- Perfecting the Death Penalty, Sept. 15, 2008
More from these topics:
- Florida Kills Two Prisoners on Same Day, Both Elderly, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Idaho Will Recruit Law Enforcement Volunteers for Firing Squad Executions, July 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Method of Execution.
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, State Legislation, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026. Death Penalty, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Capital Punishment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution.
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
- Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution, Dec. 1, 2025. Public Defenders, Pardons/Clemency, Life without Parole (LWOP), Death Penalty, Effective Assistance of Counsel.

