Written by: Katie Linder

Emily Hughes, the Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law at the University of Iowa College of Law, was recently cited as an expert source in a front-page Washington Post article examining the declining use of the death penalty in the United States. 

The article, "Bungled execution fuels calls to end the practice," explores the decline of capital punishment nationwide amid a recent suspension of executions in Tennessee following the botched lethal injection on Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In the article, Hughes discussed how greater public awareness of flaws in the death penalty system has contributed to growing skepticism among jurors, prosecutors, and policymakers. 

"Jurors and the public at large understand a little bit more how the death penalty system works and doesn't work," Hughes told The Washington Post. “With more information comes more skepticism, and you see it playing out in jury verdicts. You see it in prosecutors’ decisions not to seek death. You see it in state’s decision to stop.” 

Hughes is a nationally recognized expert in criminal law, the death penalty, and legal ethics. She directs annual death penalty defense training programs and has written and spoken extensively on these topics.  

The full Washington Post article is available online to subscribers.