News and announcements
What’s happening at the Academy for Justice
Governor Ducey discusses ethical dilemmas of abortion laws, executions
ABC15 Arizona “Our laws are supposed to represent the ethics and morals of our community. They’re supposed to be a representation of what we value in society,” says Beety. A4J
Legal team seeks clemency for blind, mentally ill Arizona man scheduled for execution
Valena Beety, Professor of Law and Deputy Director of the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, says the purpose of the clemency hearing is not to relitigate Dixon’s crimes, but to review his behavior after his sentence was imposed.
Was Melissa Lucio interrogated and coerced into confessing to something she didn’t do?
Today we talk about the reliability of memory and the psychology of false confessions. Plus, the impact on women, in particular, within the criminal justice system. Interview with Deputy Director
Biden Grants Relief to People With Federal Marijuana and Drug Convictions After More Than A year in Office
After more than a year in office, President Joe Biden granted clemency to dozens of people with non-violent federal drug convictions on their records.
The Texas courts have spared Melissa Lucio’s life. Now she can prove her innocence.
Texas planned to execute Melissa Lucio on Wednesday. Republican and Democratic state legislators had prayed with her on death row and called for her execution to be halted.
The Golden Boy
The rise and fall of Winnebago County District Attorney Joe Paulus reveals the immense power of prosecutors – and how it can be abused. A4J Deputy Director Valena Beety was a guest on episode two of the new podcast Open and Shut.
Will Justice Jackson Help Shape More Progressive Criminal Justice?
Story by Jill Mceldowney; With her confirmation by the Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first United States Supreme Court justice who previously served as a public defender and, for the first time since the court’s founding in 1790, the first Black woman to sit on the highest court.
Advocate scrutinizes use of faulty conviction methods in new book
A new book by Chris Fabricant, director of the Innocence Project, sheds light on what he calls the broken, racist justice system in our country. It’s called, “Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System.”