death penalty

May 28, 2013 - Amid a shortage of drugs used for executions, some states are searching for new suppliers and different drugs. Others -- including Arkansas, Georgia and Tennessee -- have amended public records laws to keep the names of suppliers and manufacturers of alternative drugs secret.

February 14, 2013 - Once known as the "most aggressively conservative" federal appeals court and the "black hole of capital litigation," the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond has shifted to the center, thanks to six appointments by President Obama.

December 27, 2011 - On September 21, 2011, Troy Davis was executed in Georgia by lethal injection, capping a 20-year legal battle. In our countdown of Facing South's top stories of 2011, we look at the case that galvanized a national movement and forced questions about race, the death penalty and criminal justice into the national debate.

November 29, 2011 - During debate before the North Carolina Senate voted to repeal a law addressing racial bias in death-penalty administration, Republicans refused to respond seriously to studies that show race plays a role in who's sentenced to death.

October 13, 2011 - Now that Troy has been laid to rest, let us take this sad moment and transform it from despair into hope and action.

September 22, 2011 - Georgia executed Davis for the murder of an off-duty police officer based on the testimony of eyewitnesses -- most of whom later recanted. How differently might the case have ended if the state had implemented a set of common-sense reforms promoted by criminal-justice advocates?

September 22, 2011 - The Troy Davis case has thrust the death penalty into the national debate. But the media and lawmakers may be overlooking the two biggest factors driving executions: region and race.