the case involves david martinez ramirez and barry lee jones, who say their lawyers failed to present evidence that could have exonerated them. writing for the court's 6-to-3 conservative majority, justice clarence thomas ruled that "serial re-litigation of final convictions undermines the finality that 'is essential to both the retributive and deterrent functions of criminal law'." critics say the ruling will prevent people wrong convicted of crimes from proving they are innocent. in a scathing dissent, justice sonia sotomayor called the decision "perverse" and "illogical." she wrote -- "two men whose trial attorneys did not provide even the bare minimum level of representation required by the constitution may be executed because forces outside of their control prevented them from vindicating their constitutional right to counsel." amnesty international said monday the number of executions globally rose by at least 20% in 2021, while the number of death sentences grew by 40%. over 500 people were executed and more than sentenced to death 2000 last year. executions in saudi arabia in