Posts by Sarah Russo
Secrets of the Killing State fall 2025 book tour
Dear friends, On September 3, I set out on a book tour for Secrets of the Killing State to talk to people about how the death penalty actually works and…
Read MoreCorinna Lain interviewed by Carol Steiker on the fight to end the use of lethal injection
The Myth of Forever Sleep: A new book examines why states continue to sell the American people on the utility of lethal injection—despite its well-documented, monstrous failings. In recent years,…
Read MoreCorinna Lain warns execution by lethal injection could be deceptively agonizing
Arizona is set for its 2nd execution this year. It could be torturous. The state will kill Richard Djerf on Friday. Experts warn his execution by lethal injection could be…
Read MoreCorrina Lain interviewed by Straight Arrow News on Luigi Mangione’s defense seeking to have death penalty charge dismissed
The defense counsel for Luigi Mangione asked a federal judge to dismiss several charges related to the case. One of those charges, levied by the Trump administration, carries the death…
Read MoreWhen the evidence hissed: the snake-killer trial that led to California’s last hanging execution
May 1, 1942: Robert James was the state’s last hanging execution. By that point the state had already decided to replace the noose with the ostensibly more humane gas chamber,…
Read More‘Hard to Look Away’: Death Penalty Expert Brings Research to Law School
Author Corinna Barrett Lain, Death Penalty Expert, reveals findings from seven years of research on lethal injection. Lethal injection is the primary method of execution in 28 of the 29…
Read MoreCorinna Barrett Lain interviewed on EWTN News Nightly
Ethical Questions Arise After Tennessee Execution of Death-Row Inmate In Tennessee, a death-row inmate was executed despite concerns that his medical device may have caused additional pain. The inmate, Byron…
Read MoreBook author slams Tennessee’s lethal injection drug choice for executions
Is the use of pentobarbital a humane choice for an execution? Syndicated to Yahoo! News. On May 22, Oscar Smith, who was convicted of killing his wife and her two…
Read MoreCorinna Lain interviewed on The Academic Life podcast
Professor Corinna Barrett Lain interviewed by Dr. Christina Gessler, producer of the Academic Life podcast. In the popular imagination, lethal injection is a slight pinch and a swift nodding off…
Read MoreCorinna Lain interviewed on The Curious Man podcast
In today’s episode, we’re joined by Corinna Barrett Lain, a law professor and the author of Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection. With meticulous research and…
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