Updated
Updated · Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting · Aug 17
Ashonti Ford Probes Alabama Death Penalty in 4-Part Series
Updated
Updated · Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting · Aug 17

Ashonti Ford Probes Alabama Death Penalty in 4-Part Series

2 articles · Updated · Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting · Aug 17

Summary

  • A four-part investigative series examines how Alabama’s capital punishment system works, from sentencing through execution, in one of the nation’s most active death penalty states.
  • Ford’s reporting focuses on procedures many residents rarely see, including the state’s recent adoption of nitrogen hypoxia and evolving execution protocols.
  • The project draws on prosecutors, defense attorneys, faith leaders, victims’ advocates and execution witnesses to map the legal, ethical and human disputes around capital punishment.
  • Rather than arguing for or against executions, the series aims to give audiences a factual framework for understanding how Alabama’s system operates and why it draws national attention.

Insights

Why is Alabama fighting to execute an inmate using a gas protocol that a federal judge just blocked?
What happens when a death row inmate faces execution based on a judge overriding a jury's plea for life?