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Jeff Kirchmeier

@kirchmeier.bsky.social

Law professor, CUNY Law School. Author of "Imprisoned by the Past: Warren McClesky, Race, and the American Death Penalty" about the history of capital punishment. Criminal law, social justice, etc. he/him.

744 Followers  |  635 Following  |  170 Posts  |  Joined: 13.11.2024  |  1.8135

Latest posts by kirchmeier.bsky.social on Bluesky

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House committee overwhelmingly rejects bills to bring back capital punishment The bills aim to restore and broaden the use of capital punishment in New Hampshire, seven years after its repeal

New Hampshire rejects bills to bring back capital punishment: www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2026...

05.02.2026 20:06 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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There was a surge in executions in 2025. Here’s how the Supreme Court responded. In 2025, the United States saw a surge in executions after a period of decline. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 47 people were put to death in 11 […]

There was a surge in executions in 2025. Here’s how the Supreme Court responded. www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/ther...

05.02.2026 20:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Alabama man faces execution despite not pulling the trigger in auto store customer's death Charles "Sonny" Burton faces execution in Alabama for his role in a 1991 robbery in which a man was fatally shot, even though Burton did not fire the gun or witness the killing.

Alabama man faces execution despite not pulling the trigger in auto store customer's death. #deathpenalty www.wbaltv.com/article/alab...

05.02.2026 20:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Hearings continue on bills that would reinstate death penalty in New Hampshire Opponents of the death penalty turned out in big numbers in Concord again Thursday to speak against legislation to bring capital punishment back to New Hampshire.

Hearings continue on bills that would reinstate death penalty in New Hampshire.

www.wmur.com/article/hear...

17.01.2026 19:44 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Homeland Security &
@DHSgov
X.com
Law enforcement uses 'reasonable suspicion' to make arrests, as protected under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court has already vindicated us on this position.
A person's immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity.
@TriciaOhio

Homeland Security & @DHSgov X.com Law enforcement uses 'reasonable suspicion' to make arrests, as protected under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court has already vindicated us on this position. A person's immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity. @TriciaOhio

DHS getting basic 4th Amendment law wrong on its official Twitter account.

Seems like this post is bound to show up as an exhibit in one of the cases challenging ICE/Border Control enforcement actions.

17.01.2026 18:57 β€” πŸ‘ 10754    πŸ” 3526    πŸ’¬ 479    πŸ“Œ 256
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Arizona Judges Launch Effort Seeking Quicker Resolutions to Death Penalty Cases Maricopa County prosecutors have frequently pursued the death penalty, but just 13% of cases ended in a death sentence, ProPublica and ABC15 Arizona found. Experts say the numbers raise questions abou...

Maricopa County prosecutors have frequently pursued the death penalty, but just 13% of cases ended in a death sentence, ProPublica and ABC15 Arizona found. Experts say the numbers raise questions about the office’s decision-making. www.propublica.org/article/mari...

06.01.2026 18:26 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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US executions surged in 2025 to highest level in 16 years Forty-seven men killed by states operating death penalty – almost double last year’s number

In 2025, forty-seven men killed by states operating death penalty – almost double last year’s number.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

31.12.2025 15:52 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Redirect Notice

Bill could leave future of death penalty in the hands of Alabama voters.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.ws...

31.12.2025 15:49 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Saudi Arabia: Further Information: Essam Ahmed Executed After Grossly Unfair Trial 22 December 2025 | Index Number: MDE 23/0585/2025

Saudi Arabia: Further Information: Essam Ahmed Executed After Grossly Unfair Trial

22.12.2025 19:53 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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In Alabama, Prison Guards Accused of Violence and Misconduct Carry Out Secretive Executions As the state keeps details around the death penalty hidden, an investigation into its execution team raises questions about how incarcerated people are treated in their final moments.

An Alabama prison guard who left incarcerated people unsupervised in outdoor cages for hours was suspended for three days.

But he was still allowed to participate in executions as part of the team of officers who administer the death penalty:

30.12.2025 23:00 β€” πŸ‘ 63    πŸ” 34    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 0

Supreme Court mulls intellectual disability limits in death penalty cases: thehill.com/regulation/c...

13.12.2025 00:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismissed Federal officials failed to secure the new indictment against James, whom Trump has targeted, after a judge said the previous one was secured by an unlawfully appointed prosecutor.

β€’
#WeThePeople πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
β€’

04.12.2025 23:01 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Leopold I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor), abolished the death penalty throughout his realm in 1786, making it the first country in modern history to do so.

Leopold I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor), abolished the death penalty throughout his realm in 1786, making it the first country in modern history to do so.

239 years ago, on the 30th of November 1786, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany became the first modern state to abolish the death penalty. Grand Duke Leopold I, who was influenced in the decision by the book 'On Crimes and Punishments', would later become Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II. #otd #history πŸ—ƒοΈ

30.11.2025 09:37 β€” πŸ‘ 203    πŸ” 41    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2

This is one of many reasons I can never support the death penalty

03.12.2025 22:32 β€” πŸ‘ 29    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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Singapore executes three men for drug offences over two days.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bb...

04.12.2025 01:32 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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South Carolina Man Is Executed By Firing Squad For 2004 Killings He is the seventh person put to death by South Carolina in 14 months after the state had a 13-year pause in executions when it couldn’t obtain lethal injection drugs.

South Carolina Man Is Executed By Firing Squad For 2004 Killings.
www.huffpost.com/entry/south-...

15.11.2025 01:24 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Judge Failed to Disclose Personal Ties to Prosecutor in Two Death Row Cases Veteran prosecutor Fern Smith convicted both Tremane Wood and Richard Glossip. She calls a judge in both cases a friend.

Eye-popping reporting from my better half on systemic misconduct in two Oklahoma death penalty cases. Despite that (and against the recommendation of the OK clemency board), the condemned in one case will be executed today. The state has vowed to re-try the other.

theintercept.com/2025/11/12/r...

13.11.2025 15:28 β€” πŸ‘ 164    πŸ” 61    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 2
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Forgotten Service, Lasting Wounds: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center **Executive Summary** - Though the Supreme Court has recΒ­ogΒ­nized the imporΒ­tance of milΒ­iΒ­tary serΒ­vice in capΒ­iΒ­tal mitΒ­iΒ­gaΒ­tion, the legal...

Veterans are overrepresented on death row across the United States. The Death Penalty Information Center's new report explores the cases of veterans sentenced to death and the injustices they face in the criminal legal system.

11.11.2025 01:17 β€” πŸ‘ 34    πŸ” 31    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
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Last year the UN member states voted on a moratorium to end the death penalty. The green countries want to abolish the death penalty, the red countries want to keep it. Russia voting against the death penalty is a teeny bit funny. HT @maroni_editor

12.11.2025 12:05 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Pro-Life, Anti-Death Penalty Nan Tolson is the face of the conservative movement against capital punishment in Texas.

Yesterday: "The death penalty is extremely fiscally irresponsible. It costs more to sentence someone to death and execute them than to sentence them to life in prison without parole. It’s also an ineffective deterrent to violent crime."

13.11.2025 15:13 β€” πŸ‘ 45    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Tremane Wood Spared From Execution In Shocking Decision His case marks only the second time Gov. Kevin Stitt has commuted a death sentence since entering office in 2019.

Tremane Wood Receives Last-Minute Clemency, Sparing Him From Execution.
www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...

13.11.2025 16:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Sotomayor says GOP-appointed Supreme Court wing β€˜abandons its duty’ in death penalty case The Democratic appointees dissented from the majority’s refusal to halt the execution of Charles Crawford, who, they said, raised an important issue.

Sotomayor says GOP-appointed Supreme Court wing β€˜abandons its duty’ in death penalty case. www.msnbc.com/deadline-whi...

16.10.2025 21:23 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Anti-death penalty protesters walk 30 miles across Missouri after governor denies man clemency A group is walking across Central Missouri to send a message about the death penalty.

Anti-death penalty protesters walk 30 miles across Missouri after governor denies man clemency. www.ky3.com/2025/10/13/a...

14.10.2025 16:19 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Despite everything else going on, France last night honoured Robert Badinter, the former justice minister who ended the death penalty in πŸ‡«πŸ‡· in 1981. He entered the PanthΓ©on in a moving moment of national tribute that the French do so well

10.10.2025 16:47 β€” πŸ‘ 125    πŸ” 22    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
Graphic reading "Black adults compromise 14% of our nation's population but they account 41% of people currently on death row." Hands holding through jail cells.

Graphic reading "Black adults compromise 14% of our nation's population but they account 41% of people currently on death row." Hands holding through jail cells.

Racism is embedded in the death penalty.

This World Against the Death Penalty Day and every other day of the year, we’re calling on our elected officials to work toward an end to capital punishment once and for all.

10.10.2025 16:32 β€” πŸ‘ 462    πŸ” 141    πŸ’¬ 12    πŸ“Œ 5
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Abolish The Death Penalty Now Capital punishment is a moral stain on our nation: Add your name to the growing calls to abolish the death penalty now.

We must end the death penalty, once and for all.

On this World Day Against the Death Penalty, add your name to the growing number of people calling for an end to capital punishment.

10.10.2025 13:19 β€” πŸ‘ 210    πŸ” 44    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 0
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Missouri man who maintains innocence set to be executed for killing state trooper Lance ShockleyΒ was condemned for killing Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham Jr. in March 2005.

Missouri man who maintains innocence set to be executed for killing state trooper. www.nbcchicago.com/news/nationa...

14.10.2025 16:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Pam Bondi Transfers People Who Received Biden Commutations To Supermax Prison The ACLU previously contested such transfers and raised concerns about the prison's conditions.

Pam Bondi Transfers People Who Received Biden Commutations To Supermax Prison.
www.huffpost.com/entry/pam-bo...

26.09.2025 12:50 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Our statement on Trump's most recent Executive Order, promoting the death penalty in DC.

25.09.2025 23:12 β€” πŸ‘ 185    πŸ” 76    πŸ’¬ 9    πŸ“Œ 5
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Trump signs an EO directing Bondi and Pirro to reinstate the death penalty in Washington DC

25.09.2025 21:03 β€” πŸ‘ 507    πŸ” 222    πŸ’¬ 203    πŸ“Œ 89

@kirchmeier is following 20 prominent accounts