In this Slate article, Fordham Law Professor Deborah Denno, death penalty expert and founding director of Fordham Law’s Neuroscience and Law Center, sheds light on one of the reasons why firing squads did not gain much use beyond Utah—where most executions by shooting have taken place in the United States since 1608. In addition, firing squads “did not gain much use,” law professor Deborah Denno explains, because even when they went as planned, people “viewed them as barbaric” and were offended by their “bloody reality.” … Borrowing from what Justice Sonia Sotomayor suggested in 2017, we can’t know whether his death was “comparatively…
Author: Newsroom
In this Slate op-ed, Bennett Capers, associate dean for research at Fordham Law, comments on the recommendation by the independent lawyer appointed in New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ criminal case, Paul Clement, to not only be dismissed, but to be done so “with prejudice.” Last week, we came one step closer to a resolution of the federal corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams. On Friday, Paul Clement, the lawyer Judge Dale Ho appointed to offer arguments against the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss charges against Adams without prejudice, made his recommendation: dismissal, but with prejudice. As a former prosecutor at…
A book chapter in The Elgar Companion to Capital Punishment and Society that explores six different U.S. execution methods—written by Deborah Denno, founding director of the Neuroscience and Law Center at Fordham Law School, in 2024—was referenced in this Atlantic article. Read “The Way of the Gun” in The Atlantic.
Perkins Coie risks losing clients over President Donald Trump’s latest executive order requiring companies to disclose their ties to the law firm. The executive order also authorizes federal agencies to terminate their contracts with the firm. Bruce Green, director of the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham Law, commented on whether Perkins Coie has a strong case against the directive in this Bloomberg Law article. Perkins Coie will have a strong case against the “arbitrary and capricious” directive, said Bruce Green, a legal ethics professor at Fordham Law School. “This violates those parties’ right to legal assistance…
This week marked the five-year anniversary of COVID-19 being declared officially a global pandemic. Fordham Law Professor Aaron Saiger authored an op-ed for the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law’s State Court Report, explaining how both the political culture and cultural attitudes toward public schooling have shifted over the last several decades—but particularly since 2020. Read “What Is a ‘Public Education’?” on State Court Report.
Fordham Law Professor Atinuke Adediran was quoted in Yahoo Finance about champions and critics of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies pushing companies to either bolster or diminish their DEI policies via shareholder proposals this annual meeting season. So far, neither pro- nor anti-oriented measures have gained much majority support. In fact, Bieber said, support levels among S&P 500 companies dropped for both pro- and anti-DEI proposals over the last couple of proxy seasons. Fordham University School of Law professor Atinuke Adediran said “it’s coming from all sides.” Adediran — who researches reputation, financial, and social risks related to corporate race policies…
Fordham Law Professor Deborah Denno, death penalty expert and founding director of Fordham Law’s Neuroscience and Law Center, is quoted in Straight Arrow News ahead of a South Carolina prisoner’s scheduled execution by firing squad—marking the first time in 15 years the method will be used in the United States. According to one law expert, Sigmon’s choice is not surprising, and speaks to a larger conversation happening across the U.S. about execution methods. “We have six methods of execution in this country,” Deborah Denno, a professor of law at Fordham School of Law, said. “I think firing squad is the…
After a South Carolina man chose death by firing squad Friday, Fordham Law Professor Deborah Denno, death penalty expert and founding director of Fordham Law’s Neuroscience and Law Center, spoke with NBC News about today’s methods of executions—including which one is gaining more traction across the United States. Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham Law School who studies the death penalty, said execution by firing squad remains one of the “least inhumane” options compared to other methods, including lethal injection and nitrogen gas, given how quickly someone can die after being shot in the heart. Its return hearkens back to other…
Fordham Law Professor Olivier Sylvain was quoted in The Fordham Observer, arguing there might be an underlying double standard when it comes to scrutiny of TikTok, but not scrutiny of other U.S.-based apps. Sylvain, who specializes in public lawmaking and information technology issues, agreed that the national security concerns are a little hazy. He said that there might be an underlying double standard when it comes to scrutiny of TikTok, but not scrutiny of other U.S.-based apps. “A lot of social media companies are in the business of collecting consumers’ information, and TikTok is not the only one,” Sylvain said.…
Fordham Law Professor Deborah Denno, death penalty expert and founding director of Fordham Law’s Neuroscience and Law Center, is quoted at length in a USA Today article about firing squads. Death by firing squad has been used as an execution method for nearly as long as firearms have existed, and it is still used by countries around the world, Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor, told USA TODAY. But in the U.S., firing squads have not been widely used since they were supplanted in popularity by another archaic method, hanging, in the mid-19th century, Denno said. … In recent…