Alabama Has Highest Number of Death Row Inmates Per Capita
For 30 years Anthony Ray Hinton lived down the hall from “Yellow Mama,” the Alabama electric chair that, for decades, carried out the state’s executions before being decommissioned in 2002 and put in the attic at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.
Hinton, a black man from Birmingham, watched as 23 men went to go meet “Mama” during his time on death row at Holman. For 30 years, he sat in his cell and wondered when he would be called to meet “Mama” while he tried to prove his innocence in a state that, historically, had only exonerated four death row inmates. – Cody Owens, WELD, “Death Down The Hall“
Anthony Ray Hinton was on death row in Alabama for 30 years, sentenced to death in 1985 for murder. Hinton maintained he was not guilty, and in April he was released after reexamined ballistic evidence raised troubling questions about his conviction.
Hinton was the 152 person released from death row in the United States since 1983. His story moved Alabamians and people across the nation. Some were unable to comprehend how someone person could be on death row for three decades given unreliable evidence.
For more on the state of the death penalty in Alabama, WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley spoke to Nick Patterson, editor of the weekly newspaper WELD. WELD’s cover story this week examines why Alabama has more inmates on death row per capita than any other state. Patterson joins us during All Things Considered most Thursdays.
ICE tried to send one immigrant to a country he never lived in. Then he lawyered up.
Roman Surovtsev is like many others who were detained at their regularly scheduled ICE check-ins. What makes his case different is that his wife has marshalled a team of lawyers on his behalf.
Grab the goggles. Pickleball eye injuries are on the rise
Safety precautions haven't caught up with enthusiasm for the sport. Researchers call for a new push for eye-ware.
3 takeaways from the second No Kings day of nationwide protests
Organizers said some 2,600 protests were planned in the U.S. on Saturday. The protests were largely peaceful, as demonstrators united in their stated aim to safeguard the country's democratic values.
2 survivors of suspected drug vessel will be sent to home countries, Trump says
The two survivors of an American military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean will be sent to Ecuador and Colombia, their home countries, President Trump said.
These voters want to overturn Missouri’s new gerrymandered congressional map
A Missouri group is working to overturn the map that gives the state one more Republican seat in Congress. If they get enough signatures, the map cannot take effect unless Missourians approve them.
Harris says Democrats ‘are standing up for working people’ in government shutdown
Harris made the comments in an AP interview Friday, the same day her book tour brought her to Birmingham.