Kit Thomas

Capital habeas attorney. @wlulaw graduate.

[Laura Burstein @LauraBurstein1]

From @nashvillebanner: Tennessee Abandoned an Execution Last Month, But Three More Are Still Scheduled This Year including #DarrellHines; @GovBillLee has not responded to calls for a death penalty pause after the failed lethal injection of Tony Carruthers https://t.co/Lvoy155Mca

[Laura Burstein @LauraBurstein1]

.@WKRN @ToriGessnerTV:Attorneys for #DarrellHines ask @GovBillLee to delay state’s next scheduled execution:“It’s a grotesque image to think of correctional officers at TDOC lifting this man who can’t walk and strapping him onto a gurney and executing him” https://t.co/KS6VBYue5u

[Laura Burstein @LauraBurstein1]

Just In: @GovBillLee asked to reprieve Aug. 13 scheduled execution of #DarrellHines due to recent botched execution attempt and Hines' debilitated condition after strokes. Read more here: https://t.co/QnK4JY1frL

[Kit Thomas @KatherynPThomas]

@KellDA None of these men can be executed. They are not out of court and are not eligible for execution dates.

[Kit Thomas @KatherynPThomas]

@txteejay95 Another: https://t.co/4CmaIvTa0w

[Kit Thomas @KatherynPThomas]

@txteejay95 Here’s a helpful resource: https://t.co/0JyU6de6Ak

[Kit Thomas @KatherynPThomas]

@txteejay95 Studies consistently show that it costs the American taxpayer far more money for the government to carry out an execution than to incarcerate someone for a life sentence.

[Robert Dunham @RDunhamDP]

BREAKING—We have received word that the execution of #OscarSmith in #Tennessee is off for tonoght, as a result of an undisclosed failure in the execution preparation process. More as details emerge. @DPInfoCtr #deathpenalty

[American Bridge 21st Century @American_Bridge]

Ted Cruz goes on a bizarre, lie-filled rant against public defenders:

"Public defenders often have a natural inclination in the direction of the criminal."

Reminder: every American is constitutionally guaranteed legal representation.

[Sister Helen Prejean @helenprejean]

Prosecutors and defense attorneys agree that Byron Black is intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty. A Tennessee judge refused to cancel Byron’s scheduled execution. https://t.co/mfmWdbFDr3

[Anthony Michael Kreis, FRHistS @AnthonyMKreis]

My LSAT score stays between me, Washington & Lee, and Jesus Christ.

[Scott Hechinger @ScottHech]

THREAD: A story on how the KKK passed a law in Oregon 80+ yrs ago that still keeps disproportionately Black people locked up. How a jailhouse lawyer got the case to Supreme Court. And how in *next few days* lawmakers could finally topple a racist monument. Allow for a fair trial:

[Robert Dunham @RDunhamDP]

BREAKING: A #Tennessee trial court has ordered that #PervisPayne’s two life sentences are to run concurrently. The ruling means that Mr. Payne will be eligible to apply for parole in five years. @kelleyjhenry @Tndeathpenalty @DPInfoCtr #deathpenalty

[Kit Thomas @KatherynPThomas]

Another powerful dissent from Sotomayor re TX S.B. 8:

“This case is a disaster for the rule of law and a grave disservice to women in Texas, who have a right to control their own bodies. I will not stand by silently as a State continues to nullify this constitutional guarantee.”

[Kit Thomas @KatherynPThomas]

“[W]e have a responsibility to develop ways to describe people that don’t automatically stigmatize them.”

[The Marshall Project @MarshallProj]

“Everyone, whether they are imprisoned or not, is a person. Words like inmate, prisoner, convict, felon and offender are like brands. They reduce human beings to their crimes and cages.” https://t.co/EZkL1fu71X

[Kit Thomas @KatherynPThomas]

Union skeptics need only look at police unions for evidence of the power unions create for their members. I mean, police unions do successfully defend murderers on a regular basis after all (at no cost to the officer).

[Virginia Hughes @virginiahughes]

Some significant news for forensic genealogy here, my latest — Two New Laws Restrict Police Use of DNA Search Method https://t.co/03f0Uo6uhN

[National Legal Aid & Defender Association @NLADA]

With murders up 36 percent in L.A., Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department claims “we’ve lost more than a decade of progress.” @tarangoNYT discusses the reasons for this as well as how we can move forward. https://t.co/nUtXchANGz

#RethinkJails

[Kit Thomas @KatherynPThomas]

This is a big deal. The standard shouldn’t be so stringent to hold officers accountable, but let’s celebrate even the small victories.

[ABA Journal @ABAJournal]

Chemerinsky: The U.S. Supreme Court hands down a rare civil rights victory on qualified immunity. https://t.co/PYa5qvvcJ1 #SCOTUS #civilrights @BerkeleyLaw

[Vida B. Johnson @vidabjohnson]

Can you imagine all of the effort and risk it took to execute a man in the midst of terrible epidemic? Cruel and evil.