Corinna Barrett Lain
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Profile
Professor Corinna Lain is the S. D. Roberts & Sandra Moore Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law. Professor Lain’s scholarship focuses on two areas—Supreme Court decision-making and the death penalty—and she has published numerous articles and essays about lethal injection over the last decade. Her work has appeared in the nation’s top law journals, including the Stanford Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Duke Law Journal, UCLA Law Review, and Georgetown Law Journal, among other venues. Professor Lain is a frequent presenter at both national and international conferences, and is co-author (with Ron Bacigal) of the Virginia Practice Series on criminal law, a four-volume treatise for the bench and practicing bar with new editions each year. Professor Lain graduated summa cum laude from the College of William and Mary in 1992, and received her J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1996, where she was elected to Order of the Coif. She clerked on the Tenth Circuit and then was a prosecutor for three years before joining the Richmond Law faculty in 2001. Professor Lain is a recipient of the University of Richmond’s Distinguished Educator Award and is a veteran of the United States Army. Her first book, "Secrets of the Killing State: the Untold Story of Lethal Injection," released April 2025.Expand All
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Presentations
"Lethal Injection Lies ," Webinar on the Myth of the Humane, Painless Execution, Death Penalty Focus ( 2023)
"Lethal Injection Role in What's Next," Revoking Irrevocable Punishment Symposium, Washington & Lee University Law School ( 2022)
"Death Penalty Exceptionalism and Administrative Law," Belmont Law School ( 2021)
"Proffitt v. Florida: Distorting Death," American Association of Law Schools Section on Art Law, American Association of Law Schools ( 2021)
"Why We Can't Get Lethal Injection Right (Ch. 7)," University of Texas School of Law ( 2020)
Panelist, "Why We Can't Get Lethal Injection Right," Rethinking the Sentencing Status Quo, American University School of Law/Georgetown University Law Center Symposium (October 2020)
"Execution Innovations and the Burden of Proof," 2019 Constitutional Law Schmooze, ( 2019)
"Execution Innovations and the Burden of Proof," Virginia Criminal Justice Roundtable, ( 2019)
Presentations Prior to 2019
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Memberships
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Virginia Bar Association
Elected Member, American Law Institute (2011 - present)
Member, Virginia Criminal Justice Conference (2008 - present)
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Bar Admissions
Virginia
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Professional Experience
S. D. Roberts & Sandra Moore Professor of Law (2017 - present)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAProfessor of Law (2008 - present)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAAssociate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Law (2010 - 2017)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAAssociate Professor of Law (2005 - 2008)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAAssistant Professor of Law (2002 - 2005)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAAssistant Commonwealth's Attorney (1997 - 2000)
Henrico Commonwealth Attorney's Office, Richmond, VAJudicial Clerkship, the Hon. John C. Porfilio (1996 - 1997)
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Denver, COUnited States Army (1985 - 1989)
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Presentations
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Publications
Books
Secrets of the Killing State: the Untold Story of Lethal Injection (NYU Press) (April 2025).
Virginia Practice Series: Criminal Offenses and Defenses (2021-2022) (West) (with Ronald Bacigal) (2021).
Virginia Practice Series: Criminal Procedure (2021-2022) (West) (with Ronald Bacigal) (2021).
Virginia Practice Series: Criminal Procedure Forms (2021-2022) (West) (with Ronald Bacigal) (2021).
Virginia Practice Series: Jury Instructions (2021-2022) (Thomson Reuters) (with Margaret Ivey et al.) (2021).
Virginia Practice Series: Criminal Offenses and Defenses (2020-2021) (West) (with Ronald Bacigal) (2020).
Virginia Practice Series: Criminal Procedure (2020-2021) (West) (with Ronald Bacigal) (2020).
Virginia Practice Series: Criminal Procedure Forms (2020-2021) (West) (with Ronald Bacigal) (2020).
Virginia Practice Series: Jury Instructions (2020-2021) (Thomson Reuters) (with Margaret Ivey et al.) (2020).
Virginia Practice Series: Jury Instructions (2019-2020) (Thomson Reuters) (with Margaret Ivey et al.) (2019).
Journal ArticlesDeath Penalty Exceptionalism and Administrative Law, 8 Belmont Law Review 522 (2021).
Disrupting Death: How Specialized Capital Defenders Ground Virginia's Machinery of Death to a Halt, 56 University of Richmond Law Review 183 (2021).
Three Observations About the Worst of the Worst, Virginia-Style, 77 Washington & Lee Law Review Online 469 (2021).
Madison and the Mentally Ill: The Death Penalty for the Weak, Not the Worst, 31 Regent University Law Review 209 (2019).
Mostly Settled, but Right for Now, 33 Constitutional Commentary 355 (University of Minnesota Law School) (2018).
The Highs and Lows of Michael Meltsner: A Tribute, Northeastern Law Review Extra Legal: A Festschrift Honoring Michael Meltsner (2018).
Soft Supremacy, 58 William & Mary Law Review 1609 (2017).
Death Row, Calls for Indifference, and Redemption of the Soul, 77 Ohio State Law Journal Furthermore 106 (2016).
Three Supreme Court "Failures" and a Story of Supreme Court Success, 69 Vanderbilt Law Review 1019 (2016) (symposium contribution; reviewed by Jotwell).
Death Penalty Drugs and the International Moral Marketplace, 103 Georgetown Law Journal 1215 (with James Gibson) (2015).
God, Civic Virtue, and the American Way: Reconstructing Engel, 67 Stanford Law Review 479 (2015).
The Politics of Botched Executions, 49 University of Richmond Law Review 825 (2015) (symposium contribution).
Passive-Aggressive Executive Power, 73 Maryland Law Review 227 (2013) (symposium contribution).
The Virtues of Thinking Small, 67 University of Miami Law Review 397 (2013) (symposium contribution).
Upside-Down Judicial Review, 101 Georgetown Law Journal 113 (2012).
Lessons Learned from the Evolution of Evolving Standards, 4 Charleston Law Review 661 (2010).
The Doctrinal Side of Majority Will, 2010 Michigan State Law Review 775 (2010) (symposium contribution).
The Unexceptionalism of Evolving Standards, 57 UCLA Law Review 365 (2009).
Deciding Death, 57 Duke Law Journal 1 (2007).
Furman Fundamentals, 82 Washington Law Review 1 (2007).
Countermajoritarian Hero or Zero? Rethinking the Warren Court's Role in the Criminal Procedure Revolution, 152 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1361 (2004).
Accuracy Where It Matters: Brady v. Maryland in the Plea Bargaining Context, 80 Washington University Law Quarterly 1 (2002).
Book ChaptersProffitt v. Florida: Distorting Death, in Painting Constitutional Law (M.C. Mirow et al., eds.) (2021).
The Power, Problems, and Potential of "Evolving Standards of Decency", in The Eighth Amendment and Its Future in a New Age of Punishment (William W. Berry et al., eds.) (2020).
Following Finality: Why Capital Punishment Is Collapsing under Its Own Weight, in Final Judgments: The Death Penalty in American Law and Culture (Cambridge University Press) (2017).
Book ReviewsFeminist Justice, The New Rambler (2016).
The Highs and Lows of Wild Justice, 50 Tulsa Law Review 503 (2015).
Blog Posts"Gimme My Drugs", PrawfsBlawg (April 2017).
As Arkansas Doubles Down on Death, a Look at the First Four, PrawfsBlawg (April 2017).
On the Execution Saga in Arkansas, PrawfsBlawg (April 2017).
On The (Original) Redemptive Purpose of Death Row, PrawfsBlawg (April 2017).
Re Arkansas Executions, Why Care?, PrawfsBlawg (April 2017).
On Glossip, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
“An Antidemocratic and Largely Foreign Conspiracy”, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
In Anticipation of Glossip, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
Oklahoma’s Latest Invention: Execution by Nitrogen Gas, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
If Not Lethal Injection, Then What?, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
Is Criticism of Lethal Injection Just a Front For Opposing the Death Penalty?, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
Is Lethal Injection About Us or Them?, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
Unconstitutional Repeal?, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
Got Drugs?, PrawfsBlawg (June 2015).
Why is Glossip hard?, PrawfsBlawg (May 2015).
Magazines/Trade PublicationsThe International Market for Death Penalty Drugs, NCAA News (with Jim Gibson) (Winter 2015).
Death Penalty Drugs: A Prescription That's Getting Harder to Fill, 26 Richmond Law 10 (2013).
NewslettersFollowing Finality: An Observation About the Death Penalty Over Time, 37 The National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys Newsletter 16 (2016).
Newspaper ArticlesOp-ed: What would RBG do?, Richmond Times Dispatch (September 2020).
Op-ed: What makes George Floyd’s death different?, Interfases (July 2020).
Op-ed: What made George Floyd's Death Different?, Richmond Times-Dispatch (June 2020).
Op-ed: Is the White House creating havoc on purpose?, Richmond Times-Dispatch (February 2017).
Op-ed: Against Lethal Injection Secrecy in Virginia, Richmond Times-Dispatch (February 2015).
Op-ed: Botched US execution sparks death penalty debate , Channel News Asia (May 2014).
Capital Punishment, Illuminated, Richmond Times-Dispatch (with Jim Gibson) (May 2014) (Op-Ed.).
Op-ed: Gibson and Lain: Capital punishment, illuminated , Richmond Times-Dispatch (May 2014).
Europe Taught America How To End the Death Penalty. Now Maybe It Finally Will., Guardian (with Jim Gibson) (May 2014) (Op-Ed.).
Op-ed: Europe taught America how to end the death penalty. Now maybe it finally will, The Guardian (May 2014).
Op-ed: Death penalty crisis reveals macabre options still open in US, The Conversation (February 2014).
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In the News
A death row inmate wants to be executed early for ‘justice’ (The Washington Post)
Tue., Jan. 7, 2025The ‘inner terror’ of lethal injection is cruel, law prof argues in bid to stop Gunches execution (AZ Mirror)
Mon., Jan. 6, 2025What Oklahoma Did to Clayton Lockett Ten Years Ago Changed the National Conversation About Botched Executions (Verdict)
Wed., May. 1, 2024How lethal injection problems could end the death penalty (Oak Ridger)
Wed., Apr. 17, 2024UN slams new controversial method of execution in US (BBC World News)
Thu., Jan. 25, 2024Idaho Likely To Authorize Execution by Firing Squad (Reason)
Thu., Mar. 23, 2023Death by Bullet: Why does Idaho want to bring back firing squads for executing prisoners? (Firstpost)
Tue., Mar. 21, 2023March for Life: Capital Punishment (Faithful Politics Podcast)
Wed., Mar. 10, 2021Justice Kennedy and Criminal Procedure (C-SPAN)
Fri., Oct. 5, 2018March for Truth draws Saturday crowd (Style Weekly)
Tue., Jun. 6, 2017Texas suit over death penalty drug faces steep odds (Law 360)
Wed., May. 10, 2017Virginia's lethal injection costs set to skyrocket as secret drug vendor charges $16.5K per execution (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Fri., Sep. 30, 2016As Arizona, other states struggle to find execution drugs, how far should states go to carry out executions? (KJZZ)
Thu., Dec. 3, 2015Where do the death penalty abolitionists go from here? (Bloomberg Business)
Tue., Jun. 30, 2015Gay marriage shows court at its best (Bloomberg View)
Fri., Jun. 26, 2015Pharmacy Groups Balk at Supplying Lethal Injection (NBC News)
Mon., Mar. 30, 2015McAuliffe officials try to get Va. House to change vote on lethal injection (The Washington Post)
Wed., Feb. 25, 2015Va. Senate Backs Secrecy on Execution Drugs (Courthouse News Service)
Wed., Feb. 11, 2015Virginia Senate approves bill aimed at continuing executions by lethal injection (The Republic)
Tue., Feb. 10, 2015Capital Punishment Cover-Up (Slate)
Tue., Feb. 3, 2015Bill proposes secrecy on Virginia executions (Daily Press)
Thu., Jan. 29, 2015Va. Senate panel advances bill to ensure supply of lethal-injection drug (The Washington Post)
Thu., Jan. 29, 2015Painful Death Penalty Failure (95bFM)
Fri., May. 2, 2014Could Europe Put a Stop to the Death Penalty in Texas? (KUT.org)
Thu., Apr. 24, 2014 - Links