Virtually all of the men and women executed in the United States lived lives in which they were subjected to poverty, racism, violence and abuse—often leading to mental illness. The methods by which these men and women were executed have been designed to appear humane, while, in fact, they cause excruciating pain before death.
In our litigation, we confront these evils head on, asking whether the people of the United States, particularly in the South, should condone the torture and injustice of capital punishment. We represent prisoners in Mississippi and Louisiana in individual cases where the death penalty is particularly unjust.
Key Cases
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Lacaze v. Louisiana (U.S. Supreme Court)
Death Penalty
The MacArthur Justice Center filed a petition for a writ of certiorari on behalf of Louisiana death-row inmate Rogers Lacaze, challenging his conviction based on serious issues of juror misconduct and judicial bias. Our brief laid out the split among the circuit courts and state courts of highest resort on these issues and urged the...
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Jordan and Chase v. Cain, et al.
Death Penalty
The MacArthur Justice's civil rights lawsuit seeks an order to stop Mississippi from using a series of three drugs which raise a significant risk of torture in the course of executions. We contend that Mississippi’s refusal to join the majority of executing states in abandoning the three-drug protocol in favor of a single, overwhelming dose of a barbiturate is contrary to the Eighth Amendment.
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Jordan v. Mississippi
Death Penalty
The initial judgment against him was vacated because Mississippi followed a form of capital murder proceeding held invalid by the Supreme Court in 1976. He was convicted and sentenced to death again in 1977. The Fifth Circuit vacated his sentence due to improper instructions on aggravating circumstances. He was sentenced to death again in 1983,...
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Chase v. Hall
Death Penalty
The MacArthur Justice Center has filed a habeas corpus petition in Federal Court to challenge Mississippi’s refusal to admit that Ricky Chase, who has been on Death Row since 1989, is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution under the Eighth Amendment. Mr. Chase’s IQ was tested in 1990 and again in 2010; both times,...
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Virginia Department of Corrections v. Jordan and Chase (Fourth Circuit)
Death Penalty
Unlike Missouri and Georgia, Virginia provided some, but not all, documents in response to subpoena. But they would not allow depositions of their staff for use in the Mississippi trial in Jordan v. Hall. The Virginia DOC moved to quash the subpoena issued by our clients. After briefing but without oral argument, the District Court...
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Georgia Department of Corrections v. Jordan and Chase
Death Penalty
The U.S. Magistrate Judge heard argument in Atlanta. That court ruled that the information was relevant to our clients’ case in Mississippi, but that the Georgia execution secrecy statute applied in Federal Court. We have appealed this ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Briefs have been filed, but no ruling...
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Missouri Department of Corrections v. Jordan and Chase
Death Penalty
The Missouri DOC claimed that an execution secrecy statute protected this information from disclosure. We argued that a state statute cannot frustrate a Federal civil rights plaintiff’s need for information to prove her case. We also stated that a protective order could be entered to require all use of Missouri’s information to be filed under...
Key Facts
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Legal in 29 States
Capital punishment is legal in 29 states. -
Supreme Court Rules
In 1972, the US Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional. -
1,512 People Executed
Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated by the US Supreme Court, 1,512 people have been executed. -
Death Row Exonerations
Since 1973, more than 165 death row exonerations.