State & Federal Info
Military
People serving in the military are subject to a separate system of laws, courts, and procedures — including those regarding capital punishment.
Federal Death Penalty
Death Penalty Information Center Page: Additional Information on the Federal Death Penalty
Overview
People serving in the military are subject to a separate system of laws, courts, and procedures. Defendants retain certain rights guaranteed under the constitution, such as the right to representation.
The military death penalty has been used sparsely outside times of war. Only a few individuals are on the military death row, which is based at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. All were convicted of murder. There have been no executions in the modern era of the death penalty.
The military also has jurisdiction over military commissions, which are tribunals convened to try people accused of unlawful conduct associated with war, such as those established in Guantánamo Bay after the September 11, 2001 attacks. No one has been sentenced to death under these commissions.
Jan 10, 2019
Chaos Continues in Guantánamo Death-Penalty Trial, As Another Military Judge Quits
The already chaotic Guantánamo death-penalty trial of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, accused of orchestrating the October 2000 attack on the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole, hit another snag as the most recent judge assign…
Read MoreNews & Developments
Federal Death Penalty
Mar 18, 2022
Plea Talks Are Under Way in Guantánamo September 11 Case that Could Take Death Penalty Off the Table
Military prosecutors and defense attorneys are reportedly discussing plea deals that could take the death penalty off the table in the Guantánamo military commission cases of five men accused of involvement in the September 11, 2001 terrorist atta…
Military
Feb 15, 2022
Department of Justice Reverses Course, Rejects Use of Evidence Obtained by Torture in Guantánamo Death Penalty Case
In what one analyst described as “an important step to restore the rule of law,” the U.S. Department of Justice has pledged not to use statements obtained by torture in its Guantánamo Military Commissions prosecut…
Military
Jul 21, 2021
At Odds with Biden Administration’s Concern Over Use of Statements Obtained by Torture, Chief Guantánamo Prosecutor Retires
After clashing with Biden administration officials over the propriety of using statements obtained through torture from Guantánamo detainees, Army Brigadier General Mark S. Martins (pictured), the chief prosecutor…
Military
Mar 26, 2020
News Brief — Retirement of Guantánamo Military Judge Likely to Further Delay Sept. 11 Death-Penalty Trial
NEWS (3/25/20): Guantánamo Bay — In an action that adds further uncertainty to the already tumultuous proceedings in the Guantánamo Sept. 11 death-penalty trial, the military commission judge presiding over the case has announced that he w…
Representation
Mar 06, 2020
News Brief — Recent Death-Penalty Decisions Through March 6
NEWS (3/6/20): The United States Court of Military Appeals has upheld the conviction and death sentence of Timothy Hennis, following his acquittal in Nor…
Innocence
Oct 11, 2019
100th Execution or 30th Exoneration? Florida Sets Execution Date for 73-Year-Old Military Veteran Who May Be Innocent
Florida has scheduled the execution of 73-year-old James Dailey (pictured) for November 7, 2019, despite substantial evidence that he had no involvement in the killing, including a statement by the admitted killer, Daley’s co-defe…
Costs
Sep 23, 2019
Former Guantánamo Officials Blast Waste and Mismanagement As Costs To Taxpayers Top $6 Billion
As U.S. taxpayers pick up a tab of more than $6 billion and climbing, former top officials involved in the military commission death-penalty cases against Guantánamo Bay detainees have blasted the military tribunals for waste, mis…
Costs
Sep 23, 2019
Former Guantánamo Officials Blast Waste and Mismanagement As Costs To Taypayers Top $6 Billion
As U.S. taxpayers pick up a tab of more than $6 billion and climbing, former top officials involved in the military commission death-penalty cases against Guantánamo Bay detainees have blasted the military tribunals for waste, mis…
Mental Illness
May 23, 2019
Florida Executes Mentally Ill Vietnam Veteran Diagnosed with “Traumatic Brain Disease”
Florida has executed Bobby Joe Long (pictured), a mentally ill Vietnam veteran with service-related traumatic brain injuries, after the U.S. Supreme Court on May 23, 2019 declined to review his ca…
Military
Apr 17, 2019
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Two Years of Guantánamo Tribunal Decisions in USS Cole Case
A civilian federal appeals court has dealt another blow to the Guantánamo military commission death-penalty proceedings, striking more than two years of decisions in the USS Co…
