The ruling allows Florida to continue with the lowest standard for the death penalty in the nation, requiring just 8 out of 12 jurors to agree on death.

The Massey Commission was established after Sonya Massey was killed by a sheriff's deputy in her own home. I followed along for 9 months as its members tried to enact real policing & mental health reforms – & grappled w/ the limits of these commissions to effect change: boltsmag.org/sonya-massey...

You can help Bolts continue to provide crucial coverage of local elections. Here's how: - Repost this = I donate $1. - Follow @boltsmag.org = I donate $1. - Donate (link below) + tell me how much = I match your donation. (Donate monthly = I match a year's worth)

Why does my dog look like he’s about to deliver a lecture on 17th century literature lol

NC prison officials say “shifting economic conditions” forced them to raise their markup on basic goods like food, drinks, batteries to run radios, etc Phill Smith, who’s incarcerated there, reports on the impact of the price hike and how prisons squeeze revenue from those who can least afford it

After Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men on federal death row last year, the Trump administration is retaliating by sending them to the supermax. Prisoners are locked in cells smaller than a parking space 22-24 hours a day. One prisoner told me he fears he won't make it out alive. My latest:

Over 20 years ago, Robert Roberson was convicted based on the debunked Shaken Baby Syndrome hypothesis and sentenced to death. Now, the lead detective on his case, Brian Wharton, is fighting to save his life. New for @thenation.com. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

BREAKING: Tremane Wood, who was moments away from being executed for a killing his brother admitted to committing, received a last minute clemency grant from Gov. Kevin Stitt www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...

Incoming NJ governor Mikie Sherrill hasn't said whether she'll uphold a state policy limiting law enforcement cooperation w/ ICE. Advocates say lawmakers must pass legislation to preserve & expand protections for NJ's 2.2 million immigrants before she takes office. boltsmag.org/immigration-...

"At 5:50, correctional officers opened the curtains of the death chamber to begin the state’s grim orchestration. Before those curtains would close about 37 minutes later, Boyd would gasp for air inside the gas mask more than 225 times." www.treadbylee.com/p/after-just...

Justice Sotomayor with a graphic dissent as the Supreme Court allows Alabama to move forward with the execution of Anthony Boyd by lethal gas:

This evening, I will serve as a witness to the nitrogen gas execution of Anthony Boyd, should it move forward. Take a moment to read this story about his legacy on death row. If the state executes Boyd, an eyewitness account will be added to this piece. www.treadbylee.com/p/hope-in-th...

I met Anthony Boyd in 2018, when I was working on a story about Project Hope, the death row anti-death penalty group he now chairs. He told me he'd been involved with drugs in Anniston & had his problems with the cops, but wasn't involved in Gregory Huguley's death. boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...

"The death penalty is supposed to be reserved for the worst offenders, but the judge sentenced Mr. Boyd to death even though the State’s own evidence showed he was not even the worst of the four co-defendants." eji.org/news/anthony...

Are you aware we execute innocent people in the US quite regularly? Here's a story about Anthony Boyd, an innocent black man the state of Alabama intends to murder by gas mask next week. What can you do? Read this, and check out the thread below for how you can help. 🩷

No physical evidence connected Anthony Boyd to a murder. But a co-defendant testified against him under the threat of capital punishment. He was sentenced to death by a 10-2 jury vote. Only two states allow death sentences even when all jurors don’t agree. Alabama plans to execute him next week.

Via Lauren Gill and Bolts: No physical evidence linked Anthony Boyd to a 1993 murder. His conviction was based largely on the testimony of one witness who testified under threat of capital punishment. Alabama plans to execute Boyd on Thursday. https://ow.ly/NYak50XefHX

Alabama plans to execute Anthony Boyd next week with nitrogen gas for a 1993 murder. No physical evidence linked Boyd to the crime. He was convicted solely on the testimony of a co-defendant who avoided the death penalty by testifying against him. boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...

Everything about this case shows how easy it is to send someone to death row. Anthony Boyd was sentenced to death entirely on dubious eyewitness testimony. His lawyer had a month to prepare for trial. Alabama plans to execute him next week. My latest @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...

Anthony Boyd was sent to death row for murder with no physical evidence but rather on the word of a codefendant who testified against him to avoid execution. Boyd’s court-appointed lawyer admitted he was unprepared at trial important new story by @laurengill.bsky.social boltsmag.org/anthony-boyd...

Reupping this. Just looking for a few name lookups!

Boston's Michelle Wu has attracted notice for standing up to Trump on ICE raids. But her stance is undermined by the city's fusion center, which civil liberties advocates have warned abt for yrs: "The whole purpose of it is federal & local law enforcement collaboration." boltsmag.org/boston-polic...

Do I have any followers with Lexis Nexis access? 👀

"“They thought we were just white trash rednecks & that we would just roll over & take it & not say anything." Remarkable new feature by @laurengill.bsky.social about the doubts & resistance that Sarah Huckabee Sanders' mega prison project has spurred in rural Arkansas: boltsmag.org/arkansas-pri...

NEW: Arkansas announced plans for a mega prison in a rural town. Since then, locals are organizing to stop it. At first they opposed it in their own town. But some now say they've taken a more critical look at how we incarcerate in the country. make time for this new feature, you won't regret it

This article also marks the first time that we've commissioned original photography from an independent photographer for a @boltsmag.org article. You'll see how much it paid off! Thanks to all our readers who support us for making projects like this possible.

For @boltsmag.org & @thenation.com, I went to the farms, livestock sale barns, and roadside bars of Arkansas and the prison towns of Upstate New York to report on how rural communities are changed (or changing) when a prison comes to town. boltsmag.org/arkansas-pri...

Lawyers for an Idaho death row prisoner accused state officials of “unjustifiable” and “potentially sanctionable” conduct — and said they “obfuscated key information on lethal injections so as to mislead.” @dmoritzrabson.bsky.social has the latest in this saga: theintercept.com/2025/08/30/l...

I wrote for Truthout about how the masked plainclothes officers arresting people across the country pose a threat to everyone. Undocumented immigrants are afraid of being kidnapped by people posing as ICE as impersonation events continue occurring.

Canadian bars are making it a point to show that they’ve stopped buying bourbon bc of tariffs

Update: The ballot measured passed — Philadelphians voted overwhelmingly (75.5-23.5) in favor of creating the oversight board. Local advocates hope it will improve conditions in the city's troubled jails.

Problems with staffing, medical care, and dangerous conditions have plagued Philadelphia’s jails for decades. Tomorrow, voters will decide whether to create an independent oversight board to investigate and monitor them. More on the ballot measure here: boltsmag.org/philadelphia...

It’s a huge honor to be named a Livingston award finalist for my series on executions in Alabama. Grateful to everyone — especially Keith Gavin and Alan Miller — who trusted me with their stories.

Today, 16- and 17-year olds will vote in the Newark school board election for the first time thanks to a student-led campaign to give teens more power at the polls. Newark is the 3rd city in the US, and first in NJ, to allow young people to vote in these elections. boltsmag.org/newark-teens...

New: Conservatives are moving quickly to reject more ballots by ending "grace periods" for vote-by-mail. In the last few weeks alone, we've seen movement on this in Kansas, Utah, West Virginia, at the 5th Circuit, and through Trump's EO. boltsmag.org/restrictions...

teens in Newark pushed to extend the voting age to 16 in school board elections, and now for the first time young ppl are gearing up to vote and holding candidate forums to talk about their experiences w/ education very cool new story by @laurengill.bsky.social boltsmag.org/newark-teens...

South Carolina has scheduled another firing squad execution. The state is planning to execute Mikal Mahdi on April 11. According to his attorney,"Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney"

In January 2024 I got a one-line email from a woman I didn't know: "Jimmie Duncan an innocent man on death row is looking to get into contact with you." I've been working on the story ever since. Here it is, finally - a @motherjones.com / @bolts.bsky.social feature: boltsmag.org/the-human-co...

“Even though it may have looked peaceful, it was not.”

My colleague @psfrench.bsky.social has a stunning feature out today exploring the maddening case of Chris Duncan, sent to Louisiana's death row on junk science bite mark evidence, and Jeff Landry's quest to make it easier to kill him. boltsmag.org/the-human-co...

Louisiana has executed Jessie Hoffman with nitrogen gas, becoming the second state to use the experimental method. Still awaiting details but state officials said the gas flowed for 19 minutes. Hoffman's lawyer released a statement saying "his execution will cause lasting harm to many."

BREAKING: On a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court will not stop Louisiana from trying to suffocate Jessie Hoffman to death tonight with nitrogen gas. Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson would grant a stay of execution. Gorsuch, based on a religion claim, dissents and would also grant a stay.

Without intervention from SCOTUS (which seems unlikely), Louisiana will become the second state to execute a prisoner with nitrogen gas tonight. Wondering how we got here? My colleague, @psfrench.bsky.social explains:

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs will become the first democratic governor to oversee an execution since 2017 tomorrow. With @pascalsabino.bsky.social, I wrote about how Hobbs canned an independent review and abandoned her promise to bring transparency to executions. boltsmag.org/secrecy-as-a...

Two Connecticut companies have played a large role in US executions over the past 5 yrs despite CT abolishing the death penalty in 2012. Legislators are now proposing a bill that would make it illegal for state businesses to supply drugs and devices for executions. boltsmag.org/connecticut-...

dog or donut?

My colleague @psfrench.bsky.social breaks down what's developing into an execution spree in Louisiana

After not executing anyone since 2010, Louisiana appears to be attempting to execute three men in three consecutive days next month. Just yesterday, Landry announced that the state had finalized its protocol to execute prisoners with nitrogen gas.

Louisiana is one step closer to becoming the second state in the country to execute prisoners with nitrogen gas. State officials approved a protocol that dictates how exactly the method will work. www.nola.com/news/courts/...

CoreCivic, the private prison company, ended 2024 with "strong financial performance," acc to a press release. It says CC is expected to make even more $$ this year. "As the new administration modifies immigration policy and enacts new legislation, we expect the demand for our services to grow."