DPIC – Nation now has 140 death row exonerees
On January 23, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the state of Ohio challenging the unconditional writ of habeas corpus and bar to the re-prosecution of Joe D’Ambrosio, thus ending the capital case. He has now been freed from death row with all charges dismissed. A federal District Court had first overturned D’Ambrosio’s conviction in 2006 because the state had withheld key evidence from the defense.
Legal Times – 14 Arrested In Death Penalty Protest at Supreme Court
Inside, the Supreme Court was hearing arguments in a dusty federal tax case. Outside, police were arresting 14 death penalty protesters who unfurled a 30-foot wide banner with the message “STOP EXECUTIONS!” on the Court’s marble plaza. One by one this morning, the demonstrators were escorted or dragged away for violating the federal law (40 U.S.C. 6135) that forbids “processions or assemblages” on Supreme Court grounds.
The protest marked the 35th anniversary of the Utah execution by firing squad of Gary Gilmore, the first execution since the high court’s reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. It was a repeat of a similar demonstration five years ago, and in between, numerous others — from Princeton philosopher Cornel West to demonstrators dressed like Guantanamo detainees — have been arrested in the same location.
Photograph: AP Photo/Evan Vucci