prisoner

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Inmate Asks Court to Block Nitrogen Gas Execution

Demetrius Frazier's lawyers want Alabama to change protocol for this form of capital punishment

(Newser) - Attorneys for an Alabama inmate scheduled to be the fourth person put to death with nitrogen gas asked a federal judge on Wednesday to block the execution, arguing the first three inmates showed signs of suffering from suffocation as the gas flowed. Demetrius Terrence Frazier, 52, is scheduled to be...

Death Row Inmate Asks to Expedite His Execution

State high court rejects Aaron Gunches' request for Valentine's Day, but it could happen in March

(Newser) - Aaron Gunches doesn't want to waste any more time. The death row inmate in Arizona, convicted of murdering his girlfriend's ex more than two decades ago, put in a handwritten request on New Year's Eve to the state's Supreme Court to circumvent the legal wrangling and...

Glossip Has Unusual Ally in SCOTUS Fight

Both he and Oklahoma are pushing for new trial, citing prosecutorial misconduct

(Newser) - Glossip v. Oklahoma, a highly watched case before the Supreme Court, isn't quite what its name suggests. Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip is pushing for a new trial, arguing the one that resulted in his murder conviction and death sentence was rife with errors. But Oklahoma is of...

Family: Unjustly Held American Was Raped in Chinese Prison

Father, brother call attention to case of Chicago woman Dawn Michelle Hunt

(Newser) - Dawn Michelle Hunt thought she'd won a free trip from Chicago to Australia in 2014. Instead, the US woman landed in a Chinese prison for life, narrowly escaping execution. As the New York Times reports, the trip she thought she'd won was part of a drug trafficking scheme....

NC Murderer Escapes on His Way to Doctor Appointment
Cops Recapture
NC Murderer Who Escaped
UPDATED

Cops Recapture NC Murderer Who Escaped

Ramone Alston, 30, was found after multiday manhunt involving hundreds of officers

(Newser) - A convicted killer in North Carolina who escaped from a medical transport van on Tuesday has been recaptured. After a manhunt involving hundreds of local, state, and federal officers, Ramone Alston was arrested early Friday at a hotel in Kannapolis, a suburb of Charlotte, NBC News reports. Authorities said the...

Death Row Inmate Says He Doesn't Want 'Invasive Autopsy'
Death Row Inmate Who
Sued Over His Autopsy Wins
UPDATED

Death Row Inmate Who Sued Over His Autopsy Wins

Alabama still plans to execute devout Muslim Keith Gavin, but won't carry out post-mortem procedure

(Newser) - Alabama will break with protocol and not perform an autopsy on a death row inmate who sued the state, saying the procedure would violate his Islamic beliefs. Keith Gavin, to be executed this week, sought a court order to block an autopsy, saying it would violate a tenant of Islam...

Gershkovich Has Another Bad Day in Russian Court

Moscow court refuses 'WSJ' reporter's appeal; he'll stay jailed through the end of June

(Newser) - Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at least late June, after a Moscow court on Tuesday rejected his appeal that sought to end his pretrial detention. The 32-year-old US citizen has spent over a year behind bars. Last month, his arrest was extended...

Prosecutors Hid Evidence in Convicting Mom of Murder

Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio, convicted of killing her toddler, could now go free

(Newser) - The judge who presided over Melissa Lucio's 2008 murder trial following the death of her 2-year-old daughter now says the conviction should be thrown out. State District Judge Arturo Nelson recommended on Friday that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturn Lucio's conviction and death sentence, in response...

Supreme Court Case Tests 'Sex Shaming' Defense

Prosecutors highlighted sex life of Brenda Andrew, now on death row

(Newser) - The Supreme Court will hear an appeal from the only woman on Oklahoma's death row this month, and the case may set a precedent in regard to prosecutors focusing on a defendant's sex life. Coverage:
  • The inmate: Brenda Andrew, 60, was sentenced to death in 2004 after being
...

Here's Your 'Ewwww' Crime of the Day
Here's Your
'Ewwww' Crime
of the Day

Here's Your 'Ewwww' Crime of the Day

Mississippi cop charged after allegedly making prisoner lick urine-coated floor

(Newser) - Holding cells aren't known for their luxe accommodations, but one prisoner reportedly had an especially gross stay during his temporary detention in a Mississippi jail. Court files show that police officer Michael Christian Green has been charged with one federal count of deprivation of rights under color of law,...

Inmate's Generosity Just Made Him $100K Richer

Prisoner donated $17 paycheck—an entire month's worth of work—to Gaza; then people gave to him

(Newser) - A longtime California inmate had to put in a month's worth of work just to earn enough to buy a couple of Starbucks drinks. What he did with those earnings, however, has since made him $100,000 richer as he prepares to reenter the world upon being paroled later...

NY Murderer Freed Because He Was Held in Wrong Prison

Terrence Lewis, who was serving 22-year sentence, gets out on technicality

(Newser) - A man convicted for a 2015 killing in western New York has been freed and his indictment has been dismissed solely because he was held at the wrong prison according to an interstate law on detainees. Terrence Lewis was released earlier this month from a maximum-security prison in Seneca County,...

Italy Fumes Over Woman Held in Chains

Treatment of anti-fascist activist Ilaria Salis in Hungary creates a tricky situation for PM Giorgia Meloni

(Newser) - Italy's government is protesting Hungary's alleged holding of an Italian citizen in "humiliating conditions." Ilaria Salis is accused of attacking neo-Nazis during Hungary's Day of Honor commemorations last February. The 39-year-old elementary teacher from Monza appeared in a Budapest court on Monday wearing chains and...

UN Experts Call to Stop Alabama Inmate's Execution

Independent monitors with group are 'alarmed' nitrogen gas will be used to execute Kenneth Smith

(Newser) - An Alabama inmate's scheduled execution by nitrogen gas later this month, which would be the first-ever execution by this method in the US, is now receiving pushback from the United Nations. The Guardian reports that four independent UN monitors have issued a joint statement on the plan for Jan....

With Less Than 5 Hours to Go, Texas Court Halts Execution

Victim's sister asked state to spare the life of William Speer

(Newser) - Texas' top criminal appeals court stopped Thursday evening's scheduled execution of an inmate who had been condemned for killing another prisoner more than 26 years ago. The victim's sister and religious leaders had recently asked authorities to spare the life of William Speer, 49. His attorneys had asked...

Inmate's 'Relentless' Meth Operation Gets Him 27 More Years

Mexican gang member David 'Toro' Zavala is busted for running drug distribution from prison

(Newser) - A Mexican gang member already serving time in Georgia just got hit with a lot more time for distributing methamphetamine from behind bars. The Athens Banner-Herald reports that 30-year-old David "Toro" Zavala, who federal agents say is a known member of the Surenos 13 gang, received his additional prison...

How Prison Escapee Danelo Cavalcante Was Captured

Thermal heat technology, a US Border Patrol dog were key

(Newser) - The hunt for escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante in Pennsylvania came to a close on Wednesday morning, with Chester County authorities announcing his capture in a broadcast radio call made at 8:18am. "I'm proud to announce the subject is in custody. Repeating, subject is in custody," said...

'Please Call 911 Immediately If He Is Spotted'

Authorities say 'dangerous' homicide suspect Michael Burham broke out of Pennsylvania prison

(Newser) - Authorities were searching Saturday for an inmate described by police as "very dangerous" who escaped from a jail in northwestern Pennsylvania using bedsheets, officials said. Michael Burham was last seen wearing a blue denim coat from the Warren County Prison, white and orange pants, and orange shoes, Warren police...

Report: Ghislaine Maxwell Is the 'Prison Karen'

She's said to have made more than 400 complaints while behind bars

(Newser) - In the appeal of her conviction for helping Jeffrey Epstein traffic and sexually abuse underage girls, Ghislaine Maxwell complained of "inhumane" conditions inside the low-security prison in which she's serving a 20-year sentence. Now, a source is revealing more about what she finds so cruel, including standard-issue pillows...

This Is Among Worst Cases of Jail Abuse in US History: Suit

Family alleges Alabama man 'froze to death' while restrained in jail's walk-in freezer

(Newser) - The family of an Alabama man who died in police custody alleges he "froze to death" after he was restrained for hours in a jail's walk-in freezer. Anthony Mitchell, 33, was held at the Walker County Jail for 14 days before he was taken to a hospital on...

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