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    Spring 2017

    Volume X Issue 1   May 2017

    Civil Rights & Constitution

    Arkansas Executes Four Men in Ten Days

    On February 27, 2017, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson issued executive orders scheduling eight executions to take place over the course of 11 days. Governor Hutchinson scheduled two executions per day on April 17, April 20, April 24, and April 27, 2017. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in Gregg v. Georgia, no such spate of executions has occurred in such a limited time period anywhere else in the United States.

    Volunteer Success Stories

    Supreme Court News

    Civil Rights & Constitution

    Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence Based on “Expert” Opinion that Black People Pose Greater Danger

    In October 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Buck v. Davis, a Texas case in which defense counsel’s own expert testified that capital defendant Duane Buck was more likely to constitute a “future danger” because of his race. The odious racial assertions made during Mr. Buck’s trial captured national attention, and caused many to ask whether Mr. Buck was sentenced to death because he is black.

    Death Penalty News

    Appellate Practice

    Alabama Considers Unitary System for Appealing Death Sentences

    The Alabama legislature is considering whether to enact the Fair Justice Act (“FJA”), which would require the trial court to appoint post-conviction counsel within 30 days of a defendant’s death sentence, to proceed concurrently with the defendant’s direct appeal review. The legislation’s generic qualifications for post-conviction counsel do not meet the standards provided by the ABA Guidelines, which are intended to be the minimum requirements for capital counsel.

    Events & Training

    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!

    Issues in this Volume

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