- Seventy percent of the world’s nations have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice, including 36 since 2000.
- 32 states, plus the federal government and the military, have a death penalty statute on their books. eighteen states do not. New York’s death penalty statute was struck down by its state supreme court on procedural grounds in 2004 and it has not been replaced. New Jersey repealed its death penalty in 2007, New Mexico followed suit in 2009, Illinois in 2011, Connecticut in 2012, Maryland in 2013. The Nebraska legislature repealed its death penalty in 2015, but a ballot measure struck down the ban in 2016.
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Currently on Death Row in Indiana
SENTENCED |
INMATE |
CURRENT STATUS |
---|---|---|
06/23/86 |
Debra Brown |
Federal Habeas (Dist. Ct.); successive state post-conviction petition – Atkins. |
03/26/93 |
Eric D. Holmes |
Cert. from Federal Habeas denial denied. |
6/17/97 |
[John Stephenson] |
Death sentence reversed on Federal Habeas; new penalty phase pending. |
8/26/99 |
Joseph Corcoran |
Cert. from Federal Habeas denial denied. |
7/31/00 |
Michael Dean Overstreet |
Affirmed on Federal Habeas; cert. denied by U.S.S.Ct. Found incompetent to be executed, 11/10/2014, on state successor PCR. AG did not appeal. |
10/15/02 |
Benjamin Ritchie |
Cert. from Federal Habeas denial denied. |
4/18/2005 |
[Wayne Kubsch] |
Conviction and sentence reversed in Federal Habeas. Third trial pending. |
6/9/2005 |
[Frederick Michael Baer] |
Death sentence reversed on Federal Habeas; state is appealing. |
6/8/2007 |
Roy Ward |
Cert. from Federal Habeas denial denied. Lethal injection litigation pending on transfer. |
3/8/2013 |
Kevin Isom |
Pending State Post-Conviction Review |
7/11/2013 |
Jeffrey Weisheit |
Pending State Post-Conviction Review |
11/26/2013 |
William Clyde Gibson III |
State Post-conviction denied, appeal pending |
8/15/2014 |
William Clyde Gibson III |
State Post-conviction denied, appeal pending |
Information Current as of December 8, 2017
Pending Indiana Death Penalty Cases
County Filed In | Defendant | Date DP Requested | Current Status |
Allen | Marcus D. Dansby | 1/5/2017 | Pending Trial |
Boone | Zachariah Wright | 9/19/2017 | Pending Trial |
Clark | Joseph Oberhansley | 12/5/2014 | Pending Trial, found incompetent to stand trial on 10/25/2017 |
Lake | Darren Vann | 4/7/2015 | Pending Trial |
Marion | Jason Brown | 9/28/17 | Pending Trial |
St. Joseph | Wayne Kubsch | 4/7/1999 | Pending Trial 3 after reversal |
Warrick | John Stephenson | PENDING | Pending new jury penalty phase after reversal in Federal Habeas Corpus review |
No Longer on Indiana's Death Row
According to records available to the Indiana Public Defender Council as of January 13, 2018, ninety-seven individuals have been sentenced to death in Indiana since the 1977 reinstatement of capital punishment here. Eighty-five individuals, listed below, are no longer on death row, including twenty-two individuals who have been executed (20 by Indiana and 2 by other states), six who died while on death-row, fifty-seven who have had their death sentences set aside. One man has had his conviction and sentence reversed and is pending a new trial, another had his sentence reversed and is pending a new penalty phase, and a third had his sentence reversed and the state is appealing. Nine individuals are currently under sentence of death.
Name |
Year Sentenced to Death |
Status |
---|---|---|
Hicks, Larry |
1978 |
New trial granted by trial court, two weeks before scheduled execution; acquitted on retrial, 11/20/1980. |
Judy, Steven |
1980 |
Executed, March 9, 1981, after waiving non-mandatory appeals. |
Hollis, David |
1982 |
Suicide while awaiting appeal. |
Dillon, Richard |
1981 |
New trial ordered on federal habeas, Dillon v. Duckworth, 751 F.2d 895 (7th Cir. 1984);Pled to term of years prior to retrial. |
Vandiver, William |
1984 |
Executed, October 16, 1985, after waiving all non-mandatory appeals. |
Thompson, Jay |
1982 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; remanded for new judge sentencing based on jury recommendation against death, Thompson v. State, 492 N.E.2d 264 (1986); resentenced to sixty years. |
Patton, Keith |
1984 |
Guilty plea vacated on state PCR, Patton v. State, 517 N.E.2d 374 (1987). Sentenced to 120 years at Trial, 3/17/1990. |
Martinez-Chavez, Eladio |
1985 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; Indiana Supreme Court orders sixty year sentence imposed. Martinez-Chavez v. State, 534 N.E.2d 731 (1989). |
Cooper, Paula |
1986 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; Indiana Supreme Court orders sixty year sentence imposed, Cooper v. State, 540 N.E.2d 1216 (1989). |
Smith, Charles |
1983 |
New trial ordered on appeal of state PCR, Smith v. State, 547 N.E.2d 817 (1989); DP request dropped before new trial; acquitted on all counts. 5/9/1991 |
Thacker, Lois |
1985 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; Indiana Supreme Court orders sixty year sentence imposed, Thacker v. State, 556 N.E.2d 1315 (1990). |
Brewer, James |
1978 |
New penalty phase ordered on federal habeas, Brewer v. Aiken, 925 F.2d 850 (7th. Cir. 1991); fifty-five year plea bargain. |
Williams, Larry |
1980 |
New penalty phase ordered on appeal of state PCR, Williams v. State, 525 N.E.2d 1238 (1988); DP request dropped; sentenced to sixty years, 2/28/1992. |
Harris, James |
1984 |
Plea bargain for term of years entered during state PCR hearing, 1992. |
Jackson, Donald |
1988 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; remanded for imposition of term of years, Jackson v. State, 597 N.E.2d 950 (1992). |
Evans, Charles |
1986 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; remanded for imposition of term of years, Evans v. State, 598 N.E.2d 516 (1992). |
Landress, Cindy Lou |
1989 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; remanded for imposition of term of years, Landress v. State, 600 N.E.2d 938 (1992). |
Bellmore, Larry |
1986 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; remanded for new sentencing determination, Bellmore v. State, 602 N.E.2d 111 (1992); while rehearing pending, Tr.Ct. resentenced to 60 years, 11/29/1993. |
Boyd, Russell |
1983 |
Sentence vacated by PCR court in summary judgment, 1993. Pled to 80 years while resentencing pending. |
Kennedy, Stuart |
1988, 1992 |
Death vacated on direct appeal; remanded for imposition of term of years, Kennedy v. State, 620 N.E.2d 17 (1993). |
James, Victor |
1991 |
Sentence vacated on direct appeal, James v. State, 613 N.E.2d 15 (1993); remanded for new penalty phase; death penalty dropped pending new penalty phase, 12/6/1993. |
Spencer, Terry (Lowery) |
1985 |
Pled guilty, for 60 year sentence, pending state PCR, 1994. |
Resnover, Gregory |
1981 |
Executed, December 8, 1994, after exhausting appeals. |
Roark, Dennis |
1989, 1992 |
1989 conviction and death sentence reversed & remanded for new trial, Roark v. State, 573 N.E.2d 881 (1991). Reconvicted and resentenced to death, 1991. 1992 death sentence reversed and 200 year sentence imposed, Roark v. State (1994), 644 N.E.2d 565. |
Benirschke, William |
1988 |
Pled guilty, for 140 year sentence, pending state PCR, 1995. |
Potts, Larry D. |
1988 |
Pled guilty, for 210 year sentence, pending state PCR, 1995. |
Castor, Marvin D. |
1988 |
Sentence vacated on direct appeal, Castor v. State, 587 N.E.2d 1281 (1992); remanded for new penalty phase; Death penalty request dismissed pending resentencing, 1995. |
Davis, Frank |
1984 |
State agreed to resentencing during PCR; resentenced to two 60-year terms, 7/10/1996. |
Smith, Tommie |
1981 |
Executed, July 18, 1996, after exhausting appeals. |
Schiro, Thomas |
1981 |
Sentence vacated on appeal of third post-conviction petition, Schiro v. State, 669 N.E.2d 1357 (1996). |
Huffman, Richard |
1985 |
Conviction set aside on PCR; pled pending retrial, 8/5/1996. |
Underwood, Herbert |
1985 |
Conviction set aside on PCR; on retrial, jury acquitted on felony supporting aggravator; state dismissed DP, 8/30/1996. |
Spranger, William |
1983 |
Sentence vacated on PCR; on resentencing, judge imposed 60-year term, 11/6/1997. |
Burris, Gary |
1981 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, November 20, 1997. |
Lockhart, Michael Lee |
1989 |
Executed in Texas for crime committed there, December 9, 1997. |
Smith, Robert |
1996 |
Executed after waiving non-mandatory appeals, January 29, 1998. |
VanCleave, Gregory |
1983 |
Sentence vacated on PCR; resentencing judge found state had not proved aggravating circumstance and dismissed death penalty request, 6/5/1998. |
Games, James |
1984 |
Sentence vacated on PCR; DP dismissed by agreement pending resentencing, 1999. |
McCollum, Phillip |
1985 |
DP dismissed by agreement pending appeal of PCR denial, 2/17/1999. |
Townsend, Johnny, Jr. |
1985 |
DP dismissed by agreement pending appeal of PCR denial, 1999. |
Fleenor, D. H. |
1984 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, but declining clemency request, December 9, 1999 |
Rondon, Reynaldo |
1985 |
Sentence set aside on PCR; pled pending new penalty phase, 8/2/2000. |
Vincent Prowell |
1994 |
Conviction and sentence set aside on PCR, Prowell v. State, 741 N.E.2d 704 (2001); DP dismissed pending new trial, 3/19/2002. |
Gerald Bivins |
1992 |
Executed after waiving federal habeas corpus review, March 14, 2001. |
John Ingle |
1998 |
Death sentence set aside on direct appeal, May 8, 2001, due to insufficiency of evidence on aggravators; remanded for entry of term of years. |
Jim Lowery |
1983 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, June 27, 2001. |
Perry Steven Miller |
1991 |
Conviction and death sentence vacated on federal habeas corpus review, June 29, 2001; pled to 138 years, August 7, 2001. |
Alton Coleman |
1986 |
Executed in Ohio for a crime committed there, April 26, 2002. |
Jerry Thompson |
1996 |
Stabbed while direct appeal was pending, 10/27/2002. |
Kevin Lee Hough |
1987 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, May 2, 2003 |
Joseph Trueblood |
1990 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, June 13, 2003 |
Gamba Rastafari |
1987 |
Death sentence vacated on successor PCR due to mental retardation. Appeal dismissed 12/3/2003. |
Benny Saylor |
1994 |
Override death sentence vacated on PCR petition for rehearing, on state constitutional grounds, May 21, 2004. |
Darnell Williams |
1987 |
Death sentence commuted to life without parole by Gov. Joe Kernan, July 2, 2004. |
Walter Dye |
1998 |
Pled to LWOP pending new trial, November 8, 2004. |
William Minnick |
1982 |
Override death sentence vacated on successor PCR petition, December 1, 2004. |
Michael Daniels |
1979 |
Death sentence commuted to life without parole by Gov. Joe Kernan, January 7, 2005. |
Donald Ray Wallace |
1982 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, March 10, 2005. |
Bill Benefiel |
1988 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, April 21, 2005. |
Gregory Scott Johnson |
1986 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, May 25, 2005. |
Keith Canaan |
1986 |
Death sentence reversed on federal habeas review, 395 F.3d 376 (7th Cir. 2005); DP dismissed by agreement pending resentencing, 6/7/2005. |
Phillip Stroud |
2002 |
Death sentence reversed on direct appeal, 809 N.E.2d 274 (Ind. 2004); DP dismissed by agreement pending resentencing, 6/30/2005. |
Kevin Conner |
1988 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, July 27, 2005. |
Arthur Baird |
1987 |
Death sentence commuted to life without parole by Gov. Mitch Daniels, August 29, 2005. |
Alan Matheney |
1990 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, September 28, 2005. |
Obadyah Ben-Yisrayl |
1992 |
Sentenced to death in both Lake and Porter Counties. Lake County sentence was reversed August 10, 2004. Porter County conviction and sentence were reversed December 13, 2005, and the state has not retried him. |
Charles Barker |
1996 |
Death sentence reversed and remanded for new penalty phase on Direct Appeal; sentenced to LWOP pursuant to agreement while new penalty phase was pending, December 19, 2005. |
Roche, Charles |
1990 |
Committed suicide while awaiting a new penalty phase, January 10, 2006. |
Bieghler, Marvin |
1983 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, January 27, 2006. |
Moore, Richard D. |
(1980) 2000 |
Died of cancer at age 75, December 23, 2006. |
Aki-Khuam, Akeem |
1993 |
Conviction & death sentence reversed on federal habeas review , 328 F.3d 366 (7th Cir. 2003); pled pending retrial, March 30, 2007. |
Woods, David Leon |
1985 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, May 4, 2007. |
Lambert, Michael |
1992 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, June 15, 2007. |
Timberlake, Norman |
1995 |
Died of natural causes November 10, 2007. |
Ben-Yisrayl, Chijoke Bomani |
1984 |
Death sentence vacated in state post-conviction proceedings, 738 N.E.2d 253 (Ind. 2000); state dismissed death penalty request pending new penalty phase, January 17, 2008. |
Harrison, James Patrick |
1991 |
Conviction and death sentence vacated in federal habeas proceedings, 428 F.3d 652 (7th Cir. 2005); pled to 150 years pending re-trial, May 5, 2008. |
Azania, Zolo Agona |
1982 |
Death sentence set aside twice on state PCR; while pending third penalty phase, resolved by sentencing agreement, October 17, 2008. |
Stevens, Christopher |
1995 |
Death sentence set aside in federal habeas proceedings, 489 F.3d 883 (7th Cir. 2007) ; lwop sentencing agreement reached September 23, 2009. |
Wrinkles, Matthew Eric |
1995 |
Executed after exhausting appeals, December 10, 2009. |
Wisehart, Mark |
1983 |
Conviction and death sentence vacated in federal habeas proceedings, 408 F.3d 321 (7th Cir. 2005); pled to 75 years pending retrial, September 1, 2010. |
Daniel Wilkes |
2008 |
Death sentence vacated and LWOP imposed by PCR court after learning that jury deadlocked 11-1 for LWOP at trial, August 12, 2011. |
Howard Allen |
1988 |
F.Dist. Ct. vacated DP after finding Allen to have mental retardation. State dismissed its appeal pursuant to sentencing agreement June 4, 2013. |
Tommy Pruitt |
2003 |
7th Cir. Vacated DP after finding Pruitt to have mental retardation, June 2, 2015. |
Paul McManus |
2002 |
7th Cir. Vacated convictions and death sentence after finding that McManus had been incompetent to stand trial. Pled to LWOP while awaiting retrial, August 6, 2015. |
Resources
DEATH PENALTY DEFENSE TRAININGS FOR 2018
*February 16 – 20, 2018, Capital Case Defense Seminar, San Diego, CA. Sponsored by California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and California Public Defender Association. For more information, Click Here.
*March 8 - 9, 2018, 2018 Death Is Different Seminar XXIV, Lake Mary, FL. Sponsored by Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. For more information, Click Here.
*May 3 - 4, 2018, Death Penalty Defense, Columbus, OH. Sponsored by Ohio State Bar Association. For more information, Click Here.
*May 17 - 19, 2018, National Capital Voir Dire Training Program, Boulder, CO. Sponsored by the National College of Capital Voir Dire. For more information, Click Here.
*May 22 – 26, Darrow - Baldus Death Penalty College, Iowa City, IA. Sponsored by the University of Iowa Law School. For more information, Click Here.
*July 28 - August 2, 2018, The Brian R. Shechmeister Death Penalty College, Santa Clara, CA. Sponsored by the Santa Clara University School of Law and the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project. For more information, Click Here
*September 13 - 14, 2018, NACDL's 20th Annual Making the Case for Life Seminar, Memphis, TN. For more information, Click Here.
*Indicates program has previously been approved by PD Commission to satisfy training requirement of CR 24.