Equal Justice Initiative

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on February 5, 2010, reversed the capital murder conviction and death sentence imposed on Thomas Lane because he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

Marsha Colby, pictured with two of her six children in 1997, prior to being falsely accused of killing her seventh child at birth.

Capital murder charges filed against Marsha Colby in the death of her infant son have been dismissed and the case resolved on reduced charges in light of new forensic evidence.

New data shows that, while other states have dramatically slowed their rates of death sentencing and executions in recent years as evidence about unreliable imposition of the death penalty has grown, Alabama's disproportinately high death-sentencing rate remains the highest in the nation.

The Alabama Supreme Court this week stayed the execution of Robert Melson, which had been scheduled for February 18, 2010, because his appeal is still pending at the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Melson was denied all federal review of his constitutional claims because his incompetent lawyer did not properly sign a pleading and filed a notice of appeal in the wrong state court.

The United States Supreme Court on January 19, 2010, issued a decision in Wellons v. Hall, a Georgia death-penalty case in which jurors gave the trial judge and bailiff sexually suggestive gifts during Mr. Wellons's trial for rape and murder. The Court wrote: "The disturbing facts of this case raise serious questions concerning the conduct of the trial, and this petition raises a serious question about whether the Court of Appeals carefully reviewed those facts before addressing petitioner's constitutional claims."

The United States Supreme Court today denied relief in Wood v. Allen, an Alabama case which asked the Court to address whether trial lawyers performed adequately when they failed to investigate and present evidence of mental retardation. The decision focused on the procedural rules that limit federal habeas corpus review and did not reach the merits of Mr. Woods's claim.

Bryan Stevenson argued at the Iowa Supreme Court today in Veal v. State that sentencing a 14-year-old child to life imprisonment without possibility of parole violates state and federal constitutional guarantees against cruel and unusual punishment.

EJI urges our supporters to contact our sister organization Partners in Health (PIH) which is coordinating emergency services for the victims of the hugely destructive earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. PIH is on the ground in Haiti and is one of the most effective health care providers in impoverished settings in the world. PIH is already in Haiti leveraging the skills of more than 120 doctors and nearly 500 nurses and nursing assistants who work at its health clinic sites in Haiti. To help PIH respond to the crisis in Haiti, click here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on January 5, 2010, that Washington State's felon disenfranchisement law violates the Voting Rights Act because it results in minorities being denied access to the polls on account of their race.

The American Law Institute, comprised of 4000 judges, lawyers, and law professors who shape and help promote consistency in the law throughout the United States, recently disavowed the intellectual framework for the modern death penalty system.