death row

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>

Troy Davis: I Want to Take a Polygraph Test

In effort to save him, Georgia Democrats urge prison strike

(Newser) - Troy Davis is hours from death, but he’s not giving up. The Georgia death row inmate, who claims he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989, wants to take a polygraph test. "Mr. Davis believes he is innocent and he wants to show it,"...

Georgia Refuses to Spare Troy Davis' Life

Decision means tomorrow's execution will likely occur

(Newser) - Troy Davis will die tomorrow. Georgia's pardons board today rejected a last-ditch plea for clemency for the death row inmate, despite calls from the likes of Pope Benedict, Amnesty International, and Jimmy Carter for his sentence to be commuted. The panel announced its decision after hearing hours of testimony...

Troy Davis Execution: Former FBI Chief William Sessions Says Too Much Doubt Exists for Death Penalty
 Georgia May 
 Execute an 
 Innocent Man 
OPINION
Sep 15, 2011 12:32 PM CDT

Georgia May Execute an Innocent Man

State should commute sentence of Troy Davis: Ex-FBI chief William Sessions

(Newser) - Former FBI chief William Sessions joins those pleading with Georgia to call off next week's execution of Troy Davis, a death row inmate convicted of killing a police officer in 1989. "Serious questions about Mr. Davis' guilt, highlighted by witness recantations, allegations of police coercion, and a lack...

No. 1 Governor in Executions: Rick Perry

234 executions in 11 years sparks debate from death penalty opponents

(Newser) - Rick Perry holds one impressive record as Texas governor that even some of his competitors for the GOP's presidential nomination might not want—overseeing more executions than any governor in modern history, reports the Washington Post . With 234 people executed in Texas in Perry's 11 years as governor,...

Ala. Judges Override Juries— but Not to Be Merciful

Most of the time power is used, it's to impose the death penalty

(Newser) - It sounds sensible, even merciful: Alabama judges are allowed to override the decisions of capital juries. Justice Thurgood Marshall, a staunch death penalty opponent, was in favor of the system, because it allows "someone who had seen more than one case" to make the ultimate decision, says one retired...

Illinois Shuts Down Death Row

State no longer executes criminals

(Newser) - After spending years at the center of national debate over capital punishment, Illinois' death row officially died yesterday when a state law abolishing the death penalty quietly took effect. The fate of executions in the state was sealed in March when Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation ending the death penalty,...

UK to Ban Export of Execution Drugs to US

We 'needed to take the lead' on this, says Brit minister

(Newser) - The British export of three drugs used in US executions will be banned within a matter of days, according to officials. Pentobarbital, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride will all be blocked by the government, which is also urging a Europe-wide ban on sales of the drugs to the US. "...

John Thompson, Wrongly Sent to Death Row for 14 Years, Doesn't Get His $14M in Damages
Guy Wrongly Sent to Death Row Loses $14M Award
supreme court
Mar 30, 2011 8:37 AM CDT

Guy Wrongly Sent to Death Row Loses $14M Award

DA not liable for mistakes of prosecutors, rules Supreme Court

(Newser) - John Thompson spent 14 years on death row after New Orleans prosecutors hid evidence that would have cleared him—but yesterday, a divided Supreme Court tossed out the $14 million in damages Thompson won in a civil suit against the DA. Clarence Thomas read the 5-4 decision, which found that...

DEA Seizes Georgia's Execution Drug
DEA Seizes Georgia's Execution Drug
Mar 16, 2011 2:12 PM CDT

DEA Seizes Georgia's Execution Drug

Sodium thiopental may have been acquired improperly

(Newser) - The DEA has seized Georgia’s supply of sodium thiopental, one of the key drugs used to execute prisoners, because it believes the state may have improperly imported it. Like many states, Georgia was forced to import the drug from England last year thanks to a shortage in the US,...

Convicts Win Right to Sue for DNA Testing

Supreme Court rules in favor of Texas death row inmate

(Newser) - Convicts can use a federal civil rights law to seek DNA testing of evidence, the Supreme Court decided yesterday. The court ruled in favor of Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner, who was sentenced to death for the 1993 murder of his girlfriend and her two sons. Skinner—who was...

Border Vigilante Gets Death in Killing of Girl, Dad

Shawna Forde plotted home invasion turned murder

(Newser) - Shawna Forde, the self-styled border vigilante convicted in the deaths of a 9-year-old Arizona girl and her father, was sentenced to death yesterday. Forde’s attorney had asked jurors to spare Forde’s life because repeated childhood abuse had left her a “broken person,” but the DA noted...

Texas Could Soon Rule Death Penalty Unconstitutional

State has unfair risk of wrongful conviction, lawyers will argue

(Newser) - In Texas of all places, the death penalty could soon be declared unconstitutional. The state (which leads the US in number of executions since 1976, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ) has a disproportionately high number of wrongful convictions, attorneys will argue at a hearing Monday. Twelve...

O'Reilly: Execute WikiLeakers

And why is Obama keeping his mouth shut about this, Bill wonders

(Newser) - Bill O'Reilly knows just what to do with the people responsible for the trove of documents revealed on WikiLeaks: execute 'em. "There are traitors in America," O'Reilly said on his program yesterday. "Whoever leaked those State Department documents is a traitor and should be executed—or put...

Arizona Executes Man Using Unapproved Drug

Shortage of sodium thiopental could be a big problem

(Newser) - What to do when faced with a nationwide shortage of a lethal injection drug? In Arizona's case, take the slightly sketchy step of buying it from somewhere else. The state last night executed Jeffrey Landrigan for a 1989 murder in the state's first execution since 2007—using sodium thiopental it...

Condemned Man Spared During Last Meal

Murder convict Hank Skinner granted last-minute reprieve

(Newser) - A death row inmate in Texas was spared Wednesday just as he was finishing his last meal on earth—chicken, a bacon cheeseburger, fries, catfish, onion rings, and a salad. Hank Skinner, who had been on death row since 1995, was convicted of bludgeoning to death his live-in girlfriend and...

Chocolate Penis May Trigger Death Trial Redo

Supreme Court rules over bizarre gift from jurors to judge

(Newser) - A Georgia death row inmate may win a reprieve because of a chocolate penis and pair of breasts. Jurors at the 1993 murder trial of Marcus Wellons sent the lewd gifts to the judge and chief bailiff after Wellons was sentenced to death. "There were unusual events going on...

Lifer Seeks Better Life on Death Row

Killer eyes amenities that come with capital punishment

(Newser) - Living on death row looks like a better deal than dying as a lifer, convicted killer Billy Joe Johnson told a California jury yesterday. "You get out of your confined cell a little more," said Johnson, whose trial has moved to the penalty phase after he was found...

Ga. Death Row Inmate Wins New Hearing
Ga. Death Row Inmate Wins New Hearing
Aug 17, 2009 12:42 PM CDT

Ga. Death Row Inmate Wins New Hearing

Supreme Court gives convicted cop killer a stay of execution

(Newser) - The Supreme Court says condemned inmate Troy Davis should get another chance to prove his innocence before the state of Georgia executes him. The high court today ordered a federal judge in Georgia to determine whether there is evidence that proves Davis did not kill a police officer in 1991....

Death Row Challenges Hurt by Newsroom Cuts

Lawyers fear shortage of media resources may result in innocent people being executed

(Newser) - The huge cuts in newsroom staff around the country may have inadvertently condemned some innocent prisoners to death, the New York Times reports. Lawyers complain that many of the investigative journalists who would have once hotly pursued a story about a wrongly accused Death Row inmate aren't working any more....

Brit Mom Pleads for Pregnant Daughter in Laos Prison

(Newser) - The mom of a pregnant London woman who may face a Laotian firing squad for drug smuggling pleaded with government officials to save "my baby, my angel," reports the Telegraph. "I'm appealing to the British government, to the Laos authorities, to please release her. I'm down on...

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>