Eight states have killed 20 people so far this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/outcomes-of-death-warrants-in-2024 .* Seven more people are scheduled to be killed before year-end, and if carried out, 2024 will exceed the number killed last year. It has been a fast and furious killing spree. Five people were killed in one week, a number the country hasn’t seen since July 2003.
“Last week’s execution spree reminds us, we have a long way to go to stanch the insidious disease infecting our society that the death penalty represents,” Doug Magee and Austin Sarat write in Slate. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/10/death-penalty-opponents-failure-execution-spree-2024.html.
Eleven executions are scheduled for next year.
When Gov. John Carney signed Delaware House Bill 70 late last month, he officially repealed Delaware’s death penalty, the final act in a process that began eight years ago when the state Supreme Court found the state’s death penalty statute unconstitutional. HB 70 mandates that anyone over the age of 18 convicted of first-degree murder must be sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to Delaware.gov
“The death penalty has disproportionately affected communities of color, with Blacks and Hispanics making up over 50 percent of inmates on death row. . . . I do not believe we should be in the business of state-sanctioned murder. Today, we are closer to a more perfect union,” stated Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker, one of three sponsors of the bill.
Although Delaware hasn’t had the death penalty since 2016, Delaware.gov noted that, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, the state “still has the 4th highest cumulative per capita execution rate in the United States, a country that in 2023 had the 3rd highest number of executions in the world.”
Robert Roberson was sentenced to death in 2003 after a jury convicted him of murdering his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, based on a controversial diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome (SBS). This diagnosis has since been widely discredited. Notably, the neurosurgeon who initially proposed the SBS hypothesis later expressed concerns about its application, especially after reviewing cases of innocence. Just before his death in 2015, he told the Washington Post, “I am doing what I can so long as I have a breath to correct a grossly unjust situation.”
According to the Innocence Project (IP), at least 32 parents and caregivers in 18 states have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted based on this hypothesis. A growing coalition—including legal scholars, faith leaders, abolitionists, doctors, scientists, celebrities, and even Texas legislators—are advocating for Roberson’s inclusion among those exonerated.
In 2002, Nikki had been chronically ill since birth. After falling out of bed while suffering from a high fever, Roberson found her unresponsive and took her to the hospital. Upon arrival, doctors noted no significant external injuries—only minor bruises—and medical examinations later indicated that Nikki had died from pneumonia exacerbated by inappropriate medication. Despite this, Roberson was arrested the following day based on the SBS diagnosis.
The physician who concluded that Nikki had been murdered lacked a comprehensive understanding of her medical history, leading to unreliable opinions, as noted by the Innocence Project. Furthermore, Roberson’s autism was misinterpreted by law enforcement as indifference during the hospital ordeal, even though there is no record of violent behavior in his past. Witnesses who initially testified against him later faced intense pressure from authorities, which contributed to their claims of abuse.
During his trial, Roberson’s defense team agreed with the prosecution’s assertion that Nikki’s death resulted from SBS. When Roberson refused a plea deal, his attorney merely argued that he had not intended to kill his daughter. Despite mounting evidence to support his innocence, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott pushed for Roberson’s execution.
Scheduled for execution on October 17, Roberson’s case gained attention when the Texas Supreme Court issued a stay. A subsequent public hearing featured testimonies from prominent figures, including author John Grisham and TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw, all advocating for Roberson. Additionally, a juror from Roberson’s trial contradicted claims by AG Paxton, emphasizing that the entire case relied on the SBS diagnosis and that no evidence of Nikki’s complex medical history was presented.
When asked if the jury had made the right decision, juror Terry Compton replied emphatically, “No, sir.” She stated unequivocally that she did not believe Roberson had murdered Nikki, saying, “100 percent.”
Despite the passage of a “junk science” law in Texas in 2013, intended to provide a legal pathway for prisoners to challenge wrongful convictions due to advancements in forensic science, Roberson’s case illustrates a troubling reality. The Texas Tribune reported that the state’s highest criminal court has never granted a new trial to anyone on death row under this law, leaving Roberson’s fate in precarious limbo despite the substantial evidence of his innocence.
In Florida, a jury has recommended a life sentence without parole for Corey Binderim, found guilty of murdering 65-year-old Susan Mauldin. The decision came in a narrow 7-5 vote, falling just short of the majority needed for a death sentence, as reported by First Coast News. Mauldin had hired Binderim, a contractor, for a bathroom remodel in October 2019. After expressing dissatisfaction with his work and threatening legal action, she was reported missing. Following a 10-day search, her body was discovered in a landfill. Although the state attorney had sought the death penalty for Binderim, she acknowledged that he will instead spend his life in prison.
In South Carolina, Richard Moore is set to be executed tomorrow, according to WIS 10. If carried out, this will mark the state’s second execution this year. Moore was sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of store clerk James Mahoney. His conviction, which came from an all-white jury, has raised concerns about racial bias. Moore’s attorney, Lindsey Vann, argues that both the conviction and death sentence were influenced by political and racial factors. Additionally, Hillary Taylor, Executive Director of South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, pointed out that in Spartanburg County, nearly all death penalty cases involved Black defendants and white victims.
In Missouri, Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams was executed on September 24, despite significant doubts surrounding his conviction. Found guilty of killing Felicia Gayle in August 1998, Williams was convicted based largely on the testimony of two incentivized witnesses who were promised leniency for their own cases. The Innocence Project highlights that substantial forensic evidence—including fingerprints and DNA—did not match Williams. Many, including the family of Felicia Gayle and the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, opposed the execution and sought to challenge the conviction due to the absence of DNA evidence linking him to the crime. Their pleas were ultimately ignored, showcasing the systemic issues within the U.S. death penalty system—a situation described by advocates as a profound injustice.
*All statistics are courtesy of the Death Penalty Information Center.