Tag Archives: torture

US Death Penalty: Systemic Problems

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Dirty Secret

It is a “dirty secret”, known by few, that the American death penalty system is “specifically engineered to ensure that those who are convicted stay convicted, guilty or not.”[i] This is how it works. Death sentences routinely result from poor defense … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishment, death penalty, defense attorneys, Fly Manning, Injustice, Mississippi, prosecutor misconduct, prosecutorial misconduct, USA, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Method of Control

Clive Stafford Smith has played a pivotal role in Willie Manning’s cases, first as Willie’s post-conviction lawyer, and later as publicist for some of the injustices inflicted on him. Last month Stafford Smith joined other death penalty experts in condemning capital … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishment, Clive Stafford Smith, criminal justice, death penalty, Mississippi, torture, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Incarcerated by Fellow Citizens

Those on death row suffer unimaginable torture; the inmates who have been wrongly convicted do so even more. Like kidnap victims, those with wrongful convictions have been seized and held against their will; but, unlike kidnap victims, they are not … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishment, death penalty, Mississippi, post traumatic stress disorder, USA, Willie Manning, wrongful convictions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

President Trump

President Obama has misgivings about the application of the death penalty; President Trump will have no such qualms. In 1989 Trump funded full page ads in four New York newspapers, calling for the return of the death penalty. The ads referred … Continue reading

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Legal Challenges to Mississippi Executions

Lawsuits about the sedative used in Mississippi’s execution protocol are, thankfully, preventing the state from resuming executions.  Jim Craig, of the MacArthur Justice Center, represents three death row inmates who are challenging the use of midazolam as a sedative. They … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishment, death penalty, execution drugs, executions, Fly Manning, lethal injection drugs, Mississippi, USA, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Multiple, Repeated Hygiene Breaches

The kitchen that provides food for Willie Manning and other Unit 29 inmates in Parchman prison, Mississippi, was closed down from July 24 because of its multiple, repeated hygiene breaches. Among the violations reported were: -Cornbread baked on dirty racks. -Bread … Continue reading

Posted in Death Row, Mississippi, Mississippi State Penitentiary, Parchman, prison conditions, USA, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Extremity of Torture

Richard Glossip came close to execution in Oklahoma twice last month. The first time, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted him a stay to allow his lawyers to submit new evidence; but his ensuing appeal was quickly rejected by … Continue reading

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Mississippi Executions Stopped Temporarily

Richard Jordan, a Vietnam veteran whose mental state deteriorated following his military service, was spared execution in Mississippi last week following a federal judge’s order. The Attorney General’s office had requested an execution for Jordan on Thursday August 27, but the Mississippi Supreme … Continue reading

Posted in capital punishment, death penalty, Death Row, executions, Fly Manning, lethal injections, midazolam, Mississippi, pentobarbital, torture, USA, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Willie’s DNA Profile Requested

Today it is exactly two years – 730 long days – since a mandate from the Mississippi Supreme Court allowed Willie Manning to pursue his request for DNA testing and fingerprint comparison. For Willie the two years must have seemed interminable. … Continue reading

Posted in African American, capital punishment, death penalty, Death Row, DNA profiling, DNA testing, Fly Manning, Mississippi, torture, USA, Willie Jerome Manning, Willie Manning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment