capital punishment

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5 Inmates Scheduled to Die in a 7-Day Span

If all goes through, it would be the highest in the US in 20 years

(Newser) - Death row inmates in five states are scheduled to be put to death in the span of one week, an unusually high number of executions that defies a yearslong trend. If carried out as planned, the executions in Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas will mark the first time...

Witness Now Says Inmate to Be Executed Is Innocent

Co-defendant says Freddie Owens wasn't shooter in 1997 murder, which South Carolina's Supreme Court rejects

(Newser) - Earlier this month, the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for Freddie Owens and kept him on the docket to be the first individual executed in the state in 13 years. This week, attorneys for the 46-year-old Owens, sentenced to death for the 1997 murder of a convenience...

John Grisham on Man 30 Days From Execution: There Was No Murder
Dozens Beg Texas
Not to Execute 'Innocent' Man
the rundown
Sep 18, 2024 12:00 AM CDT

Dozens Beg Texas Not to Execute 'Innocent' Man

More on the 'shaken baby syndrome' conviction of Robert Roberson

(Newser) - Despite much controversy , Robert Roberson is still scheduled to be executed in Texas on October 17 for the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002—but support is coalescing around him. Roberson was convicted of killing the toddler via the now-widely-discredited "shaken baby syndrome," but...

Utah Executes Inmate for First Time in 14 Years

Taberon Honie was put to death by lethal injection in Salt Lake City

(Newser) - A Utah man who killed his girlfriend's mother by slashing her throat was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday in the state's first execution since 2010. Taberon Dave Honie, 48, was convicted of aggravated murder in the July 1998 death of Claudia Benn, the maternal grandmother...

Texas Executes Man Who Claimed Intellectual Disability

Arthur Lee Burton killed a woman jogging near her Houston home in 1997

(Newser) - A Texas man who claimed an intellectual disability in a late attempt at a reprieve was executed Wednesday evening for the killing of a woman who was jogging near her Houston home more than 27 years ago, the AP reports. Arthur Lee Burton, 54, received a lethal injection at the...

Death Row Inmate Says He Doesn&#39;t Want &#39;Invasive Autopsy&#39;
Death Row Inmate Who
Sued Over His Autopsy Wins
UPDATED
Jul 15, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

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...

Report: Texas Bought Its Execution Drug From 'Pill Mill'

NPR probe finds state scooped up pentobarbital made by San Antonio compound pharmacy

(Newser) - When Texas tried in the past to get its hands on pentobarbital, a drug used in lethal injections there to mixed success, pharmaceutical companies said they wanted no part of the execution circuit. The state apparently found another conduit. After a review of federal DEA records and files from the...

On Executions, More Should Follow Connecticut's Lead

Austin Sarat writes a piece in favor of a planned bill in the state

(Newser) - Connecticut became the 17th state to abolish capital punishment in 2012, and some of its lawmakers are looking to double down on that anti-death penalty stance. In a piece for Slate , Austin Sarat looks at the legislative push and encourages "legislators in other abolitionist states" to follow Connecticut's...

After 'Years of Effort,' Indiana's Death Penalty May Resume

Officials finally get hands on pentobarbital for lethal injections, though it's not clear from where

(Newser) - The state of Indiana hasn't put someone to death in 15 years, but that streak is soon about to be broken. GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb announced on Wednesday that he and fellow Republican Todd Rokita, the state's attorney general, are seeking to execute 49-year-old Joseph Corcoran, with Rokita...

Texas Executes Prisoner Who Murdered His Dealer's Girlfriend

Ramiro Gonzales' appeal for clemency was denied

(Newser) - Ramiro Gonzales, the Texas death row inmate who once made headlines with his desire to donate a kidney before his death, was executed in the state Wednesday. Gonzales, 41, sexually assaulted and murdered 18-year-old Bridget Townsend, the girlfriend of his drug dealer, in 2001. His attorneys and other supporters had...

Iran Flips Death Sentence for Popular Rapper

Nation's Supreme Court overturns sentence for Toomaj Salehi

(Newser) - Iran's Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of a government critic and a popular hip-hop artist, Toomaj Salehi, who came to fame over his lyrics about the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022, his lawyer, Amir Raisian, said Saturday. In a post on X, Raisian said...

One Country Carried Out 74% of 2023&#39;s Known Executions
One Country Imposed 74%
of 2023's Known Executions
in case you missed it
Jun 2, 2024 12:20 PM CDT

One Country Imposed 74% of 2023's Known Executions

With China excluded, Iran led the world last year, according to Amnesty International

(Newser) - The number of executions carried out around the world jumped to an eight-year high in 2023, largely due to a single country, according to Amnesty International . Though the number of countries delivering death penalties fell to an all-time low of 16, Amnesty logged at least 1,153 executions last year,...

Alabama Switches to Injection After a Nitrogen Gas Execution

Jamie Ray Mills was convicted of killing an elderly couple

(Newser) - Alabama carried out its second execution of the year on Thursday, months after the nation's first execution via nitrogen gas . Jamie Ray Mills, 50, was pronounced dead at 6:26pm after receiving a three-drug injection at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southwest Alabama, authorities said, the AP...

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...

New Louisiana Law Allows 2 More Execution Methods
Louisiana Nixes
Most Future
Parole
Mar 8, 2024 1:55 PM CST

Louisiana Nixes Most Future Parole

New law applies to anyone convicted after Aug. 1; another bill allows for 2 more execution methods

(Newser) - As Louisiana's attorney general last year, Jeff Landry pushed back hard against efforts to commute the sentences of the state's death row inmates. As governor, the Republican signed a bill this week to allow two more execution methods in the state, NOLA.com reports. "This is what...

Texas Inmate's Last Words: I Didn't Do It

Ivan Cantu has long claimed he didn't kill his cousin, cousin's girlfriend

(Newser) - A Texas man who had long claimed his conviction more than 20 years ago was based on false testimony and questionable evidence was executed Wednesday for fatally shooting two people, including his cousin, the AP reports. Ivan Cantu received a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 6:47pm at...

A New State Considers Controversial Execution Method

Ohio could join Alabama, which was the first to use nitrogen method

(Newser) - Another state could soon join Alabama in using a controversial new execution method. Ohio, where executions have been paused since 2018 due to problems obtaining lethal injection drugs, is considering the use of nitrogen gas executions, USA Today reports. Two Republican state representatives have introduced legislation that would allow death...

Inmate's Spiritual Adviser: Protection Needed for Nitrogen Execution

Nitrogen gas could present a problem in the case of a leak

(Newser) - The spiritual adviser for an Alabama prisoner set to be the first person executed with nitrogen gas has asked the state prison system to provide additional precautions to ensure the safety of bystanders and witnesses at the execution, the AP reports. The Rev. Jeff Hood, who will stand near Kenneth...

US' First Nitrogen Execution Can Go Forward: Judge

Kenneth Eugene Smith's attorneys say they will appeal

(Newser) - Alabama will be allowed to put an inmate to death with nitrogen gas later this month, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, clearing the way for what would be the nation's first execution under a new method the inmate's lawyers criticize as cruel and experimental, the AP reports. US...

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....

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