capital punishment

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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....

Death Row Inmate Doesn&#39;t Want to Be &#39;Test Subject&#39;
Alabama's Top Court
OKs New Execution Method
UPDATED
Nov 2, 2023 7:24 AM CDT

Alabama's Top Court OKs New Execution Method

Decision clears the way for state to execute Kenneth Smith with nitrogen gas

(Newser) - A divided Alabama Supreme Court said the state can execute an inmate with nitrogen gas, a method that has not previously been used to carry out a death sentence in the US. The all-Republican court in a 6-2 decision Wednesday granted the state attorney general's request for an execution...

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...

South Carolina Gets Its Hands on Death Penalty Drug

State has obtained pentobarbital to carry out lethal injections, will resume executions after 12 years

(Newser) - South Carolina has obtained a drug needed to carry out lethal injections and is ready to perform the state's first execution in over 12 years, officials announced Tuesday. South Carolina used to be one of the most prolific states in the nation when it came to putting inmates to...

Governor Slams 'Absurd' Reason for Rebuffing Death-Row Inmates

Louisiana's John Bel Edwards asks pardons board to commute death sentences for 56 prisoners

(Newser) - A mass petition from 56 Louisiana inmates seeking commutations from their death sentences has seemingly made its way to Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who this week sent a letter to the state's Board of Pardons to ask for movement on this front. Per the Louisiana Radio Network , the...

Synagogue Shooter Eligible for Death Penalty
Synagogue Shooter Is
Given Death Sentence
UPDATED
Aug 2, 2023 11:31 AM CDT

Synagogue Shooter Is Given Death Sentence

Robert Bowers killed 11 people in Pittsburgh in 2018, the nation's deadliest antisemitic attack

(Newser) - The gunman who stormed a synagogue in the heart of Pittsburgh's Jewish community and killed 11 worshippers will be sentenced to death for perpetrating the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. The same federal jury that convicted 50-year-old truck driver Robert Bowers on 63 criminal counts recommended Wednesday that...

Singapore Set to Hit a Grim Milestone on Friday
Singapore Executes
First Woman Since 2004
UPDATED
Jul 28, 2023 4:26 AM CDT

Singapore Executes First Woman Since 2004

Saridewi Djamani was convicted of trafficking just over an ounce of heroin

(Newser) - Singapore executed a woman Friday for the first time since 2004. Saridewi Djamani, 45, was convicted five years ago of trafficking just over an ounce of heroin, though she testified that she had been stocking up for personal use, the BBC reports. The hanging was the 15th drug-related execution in...

Due to Be Executed After Botched Lethal Injections, He's Concerned

James Barber says he feels 'trepidation,' but not fear, over what's to come

(Newser) - James Barber is set to be put to death in Alabama Thursday night unless an appeals court intervenes, and he will be the first prisoner the state executes since a series of botched lethal injection and lethal injection attempts led to a temporary halt in executions that started in November...

This Country Now Has One of the Toughest Anti-LGBTQ Laws

Despite outcry over bill passed nearly unanimously in March, Uganda's president signs it into law

(Newser) - Uganda just became a decidedly hostile place for the LGBTQ+ community: As Reuters reports, President Yoweri Museveni just signed into law one of the globe's harshest anti-gay measures, and it includes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," serial offenders of the law, and those who transmit diseases...

Supreme Court Sides With Alabama Death Row Inmate

Says Kenneth Smith should be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia

(Newser) - The US Supreme Court on Monday sided with an Alabama death row inmate, who had his lethal injection called off at the last minute in November, and argues he should be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia when he is ultimately executed, the AP reports. Justices without comment rejected the...

Florida Executes &#39;Ninja Killer&#39;
'Ninja Killer'
Executed in Florida
Apr 13, 2023 12:00 AM CDT

'Ninja Killer' Executed in Florida

Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, wore ninja clothing during 1989 double murder

(Newser) - Florida executed a man known as the “ninja killer” on Wednesday for the 1989 slayings of a couple visiting the state from New Jersey, the AP reports. Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, was pronounced dead at 6:15pm after receiving a lethal injection, the governor’s office said. He was...

Despite Promise, Biden Retains Trump's Death Sentence Zeal

Defense lawyers say they see no change in direction from the Justice Department

(Newser) - Rejon Taylor hoped the election of Joe Biden, the first US president to campaign on a pledge to end the death penalty, would mean a more sympathetic look at his claims that racial bias and other trial errors landed him on federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana. But two...

Man Who Killed His Wife and Her 6-Year-Old Apologizes Before Execution

Gary Green, 51, put to death in Texas

(Newser) - A Texas inmate convicted of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and drowning her 6-year-old daughter in a bathtub nearly 14 years ago was executed on Tuesday, the AP reports. Gary Green, 51, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the September 2009 deaths...

In This State, a Move Forward on a New Execution Method

Alabama says it's 'close' on protocol for using nitrogen gas to put inmates to death

(Newser) - The head of Alabama's prison system said Wednesday that a protocol for using nitrogen gas to carry out executions should be finished this year. "We're close. We're close," John Hamm, commissioner of the state's Department of Corrections, said of the new execution method that...

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