Category Archives: executions

A Trail of Hidden Victims

Posted on September 27, 2019 by

A former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections has spoken out against the terrible impact of capital punishment on prison staff. Allen L. Ault was responding to this summer’s announcement that the federal death penalty will be resumed after a … Continue reading →

Posted in capital punishment, correctional staff, criminal justice, death penalty, executions, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The US Supreme Court’s Exceptional Barbarity

Posted on May 18, 2019 by

While we were celebrating the resumption of DNA testing for Willie Manning, the US Supreme Court was shunting the American death penalty into new, shocking levels of brutality. The opinion is described by various legal analysts as “bloodthirsty and cruel”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bucklew v. Precythe, capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty unconstitutionality, executions, US Supreme Court, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Welcome Respite

Posted on August 8, 2018 by

Periods of active state execution are always traumatic for death row inmates: it is torturous watching people that you know being taken away to be killed. It is very good news for Willie Manning and his fellow inmates, then, that … Continue reading →

Posted in capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, executions, Mississippi, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US Death Penalty: Systemic Problems

Posted on January 19, 2018 by

It is not surprising that public opinion in the USA is increasingly recoiling from the death penalty: the annual Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) report reveals continuing “systemic problems” in its implementation: “As use of the death penalty dwindles, one might … Continue reading →

Posted in capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, DPIC, executions, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Shifting Opinions

Posted on November 22, 2017 by

November 10, 2017 was the day when Willie Manning completed 23 years on death row. There have been many changes since Willie first entered the row; one that should gladden him is the big decline in American public support for … Continue reading →

Posted in capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, executions, Gallup polls, public opinion, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Legal Challenges to Execution Methods

Posted on July 25, 2017 by

Until early April only two US states allowed the firing squad as a method of execution. In early April, Mississippi joined Oklahoma and Utah in permitting this “barbaric anachronism of a different era” Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant approved three additional methods … Continue reading →

Posted in capital punishment, death penalty, electrocution, executions, firing squad, Fly Manning, Mississippi, nitrogen hypoxia, USA, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The USA: A Shameful Record

Posted on May 13, 2017 by

The USA has a poor reputation when it comes to executions. A report* by Amnesty International found the following: -Most UN member states were execution-free last year;** but the USA continued to execute. -The USA was the only one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Amnesty International, capital punishmant, criminal justice, death penalty, executions, Fly Manning, Injustice, Mississippi, revenge, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Abominations Masked by Secrecy

Posted on April 26, 2017 by

Willie Jerome Manning first came to the world’s attention because of an article by Clive Stafford Smith, who continues to speak out against the death penalty. Stafford Smith recently described the US death penalty as a dying dinosaur – destined for … Continue reading →

Posted in Arkansas, capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, execution drugs, executions, Fly Manning, Injustice, innocence, lethal injection drugs, Mississippi, pharmaceutical companies, secrecy, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What we are doing is wrong

Posted on March 2, 2017 by

Of all the execution methods being considered in the Mississippi senate last week, it was the firing squad that was rejected; nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution are still being considered.  Discounting the firing squad is understandable, as Radley Balko explains: “We recoil … Continue reading →

Posted in capital punishment, death penalty, executions, firing squad, human rights abuse, lethal injections, Mississippi, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Repressive Social and Racial Control

Posted on February 15, 2017 by

Two years ago the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned the two murder convictions in Willie Manning’s second case, saying: “[T]he State violated his due-process rights when it failed to provide favorable, material evidence, upon request.” Willie was fortunate.  If exculpatory police canvass … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, capital punishment, criminal justice, death penalty, executions, Mississippi, racial control, social control, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment