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    Spring 2014

    Volume VII Issue 1   February 2014

    Civil Rights & Constitution

    Florida Executes Prisoner Without Federal Court Review of Constitutional Claims

    On February 26, 2014, Paul A. Howell became one of the first Florida death row prisoners to be involuntarily executed without any federal court review of his constitutional claims. The ABA filed an amicus brief in support of a petition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. The Court took no action on the petition until minutes before Mr. Howell’s execution, when it denied certiorari and rejected a request for a stay of execution in a one-sentence order without any further comment.

    Supreme Court News

    Death Penalty News

    Civil Rights & Constitution

    Death Row Prisoners Bring New Challenges to Use of Unknown Drugs in Lethal Injections

    During the past several months, an increasing number of death penalty states have turned to compounding pharmacies that can create various lethal injection drugs using raw materials, bypassing the need for a commercial manufacturer. In response, challenges to the constitutionality of using these largely unregulated and often untested compounded drugs have been filed in many states by a coalition of capital defenders, volunteer law firms, and the UC Berkeley Death Penalty Clinic's Lethal Injection Project.

    Volunteer Success Stories

    Death Penalty

    Arnall Golden & Gregory Negotiates Extraordinary Plea Deal for Former Georgia Death Row Prisoner

    Volunteer lawyers from Arnall Golden & Gregory recently secured a remarkable victory for their client, former Georgia death row prisoner Joaquin Arevalo. In September 2013, a judge vacated Mr. Arevalo’s death sentence after a volunteer legal team led by Robert L. Rothman successfully argued that he received grossly inadequate representation at trial amid allegations of serious government misconduct.

    About Project Press

    Project Press is the newsletter of the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project. Each issue contains news about the Project, clients in need of pro bono assistance, death penalty cases and opinions, training opportunities, and much more!

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