death penalty

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Judge Balks at Retrial for Death Row's Rodney Reed

More than 20 witnesses implicated another man in 1996 murder in Texas

(Newser) - Update: A Texas judge says a death row inmate backed by celebrities including Kim Kardashian West and Rihanna should not receive a new trial. The judge in Bastrop County said Rodney Reed—sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of a young woman—"has not proven by clear and...

At Oklahoma Execution, a Rare Occurrence

John Marion Grant vomited, convulsed as he was being put to death

(Newser) - Oklahoma administered the death penalty Thursday on a man who convulsed and vomited as he was executed for the 1998 slaying of a prison cafeteria worker, ending a six-year execution moratorium brought on by concerns over its execution methods, the AP reports. John Marion Grant, 60, who was strapped to...

2 Oklahoma Death Row Inmates Get Reprieve

Federal appeals court granted stays of execution Wednesday

(Newser) - A federal appeals court granted stays of execution on Wednesday for two Oklahoma inmates who were scheduled to receive lethal injections in the coming weeks, the AP reports. A three-member panel of the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stays for death row inmates John Marion Grant, who...

Judge OKs Oklahoma's Plans for 5 Executions

The method is at issue, with other condemned inmates choosing other drugs or firing squad

(Newser) - A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled Monday that the state can move forward with scheduled lethal injections for five death row inmates, including Julius Jones, whose case has drawn international attention and who is scheduled to die on Nov. 28. Judge Stephen Friot denied a motion for a preliminary injunction...

Alabama Execution Cancelled at Last Minute
After a Brief Reprieve,
Alabama Inmate Executed
UPDATED
Oct 22, 2021 1:40 AM CDT

After a Brief Reprieve, Alabama Inmate Executed

Willie B. Smith III was convicted of killing Sharma Ruth Johnson

(Newser) - Update: An Alabama man who avoided execution in February was put to death Thursday for the 1991 killing of a woman who was abducted during a robbery and then shot in a cemetery. Willie B. Smith III, 52, received a lethal injection at a prison in southwest Alabama, the AP...

Man to Be Hanged for Bringing Bundles of Pot Into Singapore

Appeal that centered on claiming confession was coerced was dismissed Tuesday

(Newser) - A man in Singapore is going to be hanged for bringing three bundles of cannabis into the country. Omar Yacob Bamadhaj, 41, lost an appeal Tuesday of a sentence handed down in February. In July 2018, Bamadhaj had hopped across the border from the tiny city-state into Malaysia to run...

Pope Urges Missouri to Halt Execution

Gov. Mike Parson says he won't spare Ernest Lee Johnson

(Newser) - Lawyers say Ernest Lee Johnson has the intellectual capacity of a child, and Pope Francis is among those urging Missouri to spare the death row inmate—but the state is proceeding with plans to execute him at 6pm Tuesday. Johnson, 61, was sentenced to death for killing three people during...

Death Row Inmate Suing for a Final Touch Gets Reprieve

Supreme Court blocks John Henry Ramirez's execution

(Newser) - A Texas death row inmate won a reprieve Wednesday evening from execution for killing a convenience store worker during a 2004 robbery that garnered $1.25 after claiming the state was violating his religious freedom by not letting his pastor lay hands on him at the time of his lethal...

He Has Eaten 3 Last Meals, Is Fighting to Avoid No. 4

'Rolling Stone' looks at the case of Richard Glossip in Oklahoma

(Newser) - How close has Richard Glossip come to execution? He has eaten the same "last meal" three different times, writes Brenna Ehrlich at Rolling Stone . For the record: fish and chips, a Baconator sandwich from Wendy's, pizza, and a strawberry shake. Each time, Glossip has won a late stay...

After Wave of 13 Federal Executions, a Halt

Department of Justice reviewing policies

(Newser) - After the Trump administration restarted federal executions following a 17-year hiatus, Donald Trump oversaw 13 executions —more than any US president since the 1800s, Reuters reports. (Those executions also included the first woman put to death by the federal government in almost seven decades.) On Thursday, US Attorney...

Longest Serving Death Row Inmate Is Resentenced

Raymond Riles is now serving a life sentence

(Newser) - Raymond Riles has been on death row for more than 45 years—longer than anyone else in the US. But no longer: On Wednesday, the 71-year-old Texas man was resentenced to life in prison, CBS DFW reports. Riles, who shot and killed used car dealer John Thomas Henry at a...

South Carolina Judge Won't Block 2 Controversial Executions

They're scheduled for June 18 and June 25

(Newser) - A South Carolina judge on Tuesday refused to block two executions set for later this month as she considers a lawsuit over the state’s new capital punishment law, which effectively forces condemned prisoners to choose to die by either the electric chair or firing squad. State Circuit Judge Jocelyn...

Texas Executes Quintin Jones Without Media Witnesses Present

Oversight will never happen again, agency spokesperson says

(Newser) - A Texas man convicted of fatally beating his 83-year-old great aunt more than two decades ago was executed Wednesday evening without media witnesses present because prison agency officials neglected to notify reporters it was time to carry out the punishment, the AP reports. Quintin Jones received the lethal injection at...

Atlanta Suspect to Face Death Penalty, Hate Crime Charges

Grand jury returns indictment against Robert Aaron Long in four of the spa shootings

(Newser) - A man accused of killing eight people , six of them women of Asian descent, in shootings at three Atlanta-area massage businesses was indicted Tuesday on murder charges, and a prosecutor filed notice that she'll also seek hate crime charges and the death penalty. A Fulton County grand jury indicted...

He's an Example of Prison Redemption, Deserves to Live

Writer Suleika Jaouad makes her case for Texas death row inmate Quintin Phillippe Jones

(Newser) - Quintin Philippe Jones is scheduled to be executed in Texas on May 19, and writer Suleika Jaouad makes a plea to save his life in a New York Times essay. The 41-year-old Jones was convicted of murdering his great-aunt in 1999 to buy money for drugs, and Jaouad isn't...

Lawmakers Add Firing Squad to Execution Options

South Carolina has run short of lethal injection drugs

(Newser) - The South Carolina House voted Wednesday to add a firing squad to the state's execution methods during a lack of lethal injection drugs—a measure meant to restart executions in a state that once had one of the busiest death chambers in the nation. The bill, approved by a...

Convicted Killer Wants Firing Squad Considered

Nevada inmate's lawyers say 3-drug combo state wants to use is cruel and unusual

(Newser) - A convicted killer who is fighting a possible June execution date that would make him the first person put to death in Nevada in 15 years is calling for the state to consider the firing squad as an option, a rare method in the United States. Attorneys for Zane Michael...

Virginia Outlaws Death Penalty
Virginia Outlaws Death Penalty
Mar 24, 2021 6:10 PM CDT

Virginia Outlaws Death Penalty

It's the 23rd state to do so, and the first in the South

(Newser) - Virginia's governor signed legislation Wednesday making it the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, a dramatic shift for the commonwealth, which had the second-highest number of executions in the US. The bills were the culmination of a yearslong battle by Democrats who argued the death penalty has been...

Court May Reinstate Boston Bomber's Death Sentence

Supreme Court agrees to consider Dzhokhar Tsarnaev case

(Newser) - The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider reinstating the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , presenting President Biden with an early test of his opposition to capital punishment. The justices agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Trump administration, which carried out executions of 13 federal...

Virginia to Become First Southern State to End Executions

Repeal bill is headed to governor's desk

(Newser) - State lawmakers gave final approval Monday to a bill that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people in its history than any other. The legislation repealing the death penalty now heads to Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who has said he...

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