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Sayfullo Saipov, who the jury had convicted of killing eight people in an attack on a Manhattan bike path in 2017, was spared the death penalty on Monday, March 13th, after a federal jury deadlocked on whether he should be executed. The trial was the first federal death penalty trial during the administration of President Biden, who had campaigned against capital punishment.  The jurors, as the judge  had instructed, did not reveal how they were split, so it was not possible to know how many voted for execution and how many favored a life sentence.

The Department of Justice has issued revised protocols for the prosecution of capital crimes (Justice Manual 9-10.000 et seq.)  The January 2023 amendments to the DOJ Protocol substantially changed the section setting forth the “standards for determination” of whether to seek the death penalty (Justice Manual 9-10.140).  For a discussion of the Protocol highlights, please see the Project Memo in the Authorization Litigation Guide available 

PRESSLEY, DURBIN CALL ON DOJ TO RESCIND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S HARMFUL FEDERAL EXECUTION AMENDMENTS

26 Members of Congress sent follow-up endorsement letter to DOJ; also urge DOJ to keep in place the current moratorium on federal executions, including withdrawing all pending death notices and authorizing no new death notices

The Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project had the privilege of working with Billy Sothern as a Resource Counsel colleague for over two years. Billy died in September of 2022; the loss to the death penalty defense community is tremendous, and Billy is missed by many. 

October 21, 2022 - Strategy Session 2022

The Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Projects are pleased to announce our 2022 FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY STRATEGY SESSION to be presented online for the federal capital defense community on November 17, 2022, from noon-5:30 PM EST.  The FDPRCP Annual Strategy Session is an opportunity to learn about legal and practice developments in the federal capital landscape. The program is designed for federal capital defense trial and appellate practitioners. 

The American Psychological Association issues a resolution calling upon the courts and the state and federal legislative bodies of the United States to ban the application of death as a criminal penalty where the offense is alleged to have been committed by a person under 21 years of age. Click here for the full resolution.
 

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing regarding "Corruption, Abuse, and Misconduct at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta." Click here for video of hearing.

Discusses the current state of the death penalty: shifting public opinion; impact of Donald Trump on the federal death penalty and ensuing backlash; state moratoriums, and; significant supreme court developments. (Click here for article)

 

The First Circuit Court of Appeals had previously vacated the death sentence in this case. The Supreme Court has now reversed that decision. Click here for the full opinion.

Representative Ayanna Pressley, who is the lead sponsor on the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act, issued a statement which you can read here.

Click here to view a letter from US senators to AG Garland requesting a halt in seeking death.