death penalty

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Iranian Mom Spared Death by Stoning

Convicted adulteress may still die for crime

(Newser) - An Iranian woman convicted of adultery will be spared death by stoning—but her life may still be in jeopardy. Officials have not said if she will still be executed, reports the BBC . Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year old mother of 2, was charged in 2006 with having "illicit...

Is Death by Firing Squad the Way to Go?
 Is Death by 
 Firing Squad 
 the Way to Go? 
death penalty debate
Jun 19, 2010 5:30 PM CDT

Is Death by Firing Squad the Way to Go?

Or is lethal injection better?

(Newser) - Convicted murder Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad just after midnight yesterday—at his own request. Did he make the right choice? Though the method may sound gory—Gardner was strapped into a chair with a mesh seat to allow the blood to drain through—it's not...

'Murderer' Freed After Victim Shows Up Alive
'Murderer' Freed After Victim Shows Up Alive
10 years later
May 10, 2010 11:27 AM CDT

'Murderer' Freed After Victim Shows Up Alive

Chinese man spent 10 years in prison

(Newser) - A Chinese man has been cleared of murder, thanks to the sudden reappearance of his "victim." Zhao Zuohai was sent to prison nearly 10 years ago after his neighbor, Zhao Zhenshang, whom he'd recently had a fight with, disappeared. Police assumed he'd been murdered, later identifying a decomposing...

Victim's Family Aims to Block Killer's Execution

Kin: Slain lawyer 'didn't support death penalty'

(Newser) - A murder victim's loved ones are fighting to spare the life of the man who killed him. Ronnie Lee Gardner is due to die by firing squad in Utah next month for attorney Michael Burdell's murder, but the victim's father, former girlfriend, and close friend will testify on the killer's...

China Secretly Executes Thousands Each Year—or More

Cattle rustling, vandalism capital offenses in China

(Newser) - Want to find out how many people China executes each year? Not a chance, Kate Allen writes in the Guardian . Though China is known to execute more people each year than all other countries put together, the government keeps the actual numbers under such tight wraps that even Amnesty International...

Bin Laden: If US Executes KSM, We'll Kill Americans

US official dismisses threat as 'absurdity'

(Newser) - If the US executes admitted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qaeda will do the same to any American prisoners it takes, says Osama bin Laden in an as-yet-unverified audio tape. “The White House has expressed its desire to execute him,” bin Laden says. “When America makes this...

Amy Bishop Denied Bail; Case Goes to Grand Jury

Accused University of Alabama shooter will be held without bail

(Newser) - Accused University of Alabama shooter Amy Bishop will remain held without bail while a grand jury determines whether she will face the death penalty, a judge ruled today. It could take 6 months for a grand jury to take up the case, the DA told the Huntsville Times after a...

Guillotine Returns to Paris
 Guillotine Returns to Paris 
Mar 17, 2010 11:22 AM CDT

Guillotine Returns to Paris

On display at museum 33 years after last head rolled

(Newser) - Some 33 years after the last head rolled in France, the guillotine is back—as a cutting-edge display item in a Paris museum exhibit about crime and punishment. The former instrument of death was displayed at the request of Robert Badinter, the politician who ended the death penalty in France,...

94-Year-Old Condemned Man Dies of Old Age

Viva Leroy Nash was the oldest death row inmate in the country

(Newser) - Viva Leroy Nash, the oldest death row inmate in America, died of natural causes Friday at age 94. Nash was condemned in 1983 for shooting a store clerk after escaping from prison, but he fended off execution with numerous appeals—prosecutors were appealing to the Supreme Court against the latest,...

Iraq Executes 'Chemical Ali'
 Iraq Executes 'Chemical Ali' 
Jan 25, 2010 8:31 AM CST

Iraq Executes 'Chemical Ali'

Saddam cousin hangs for attacks on Kurds

(Newser) - Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin "Chemical Ali" was executed today, the Iraqi government reports. Ali Hassan al-Majid had four death sentences against him for his various crimes against humanity. The most infamous was a poison gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, which killed 5,000 and earned him...

Supreme Court Rules Against Ex-Panther on Death Sentence

Abu-Jamal case goes back to appeals court

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has reversed a ruling that would have nullified the death sentence of Mumia Abu-Jamal. The former Black Panther, convicted in the shooting of a Philadelphia police officer back in 1981, has argued that racism pervaded his trial and sentencing, and that there weren’t enough blacks on...

China Executes British Drug Smuggler

Akmal Shaikh, said to be mentally ill, dies by firing squad

(Newser) - Despite protests from the British government and human-rights activists worldwide, China today executed by firing squad a Briton convicted of smuggling drugs into the country. Supporters say Akmal Shaikh, 53, had bipolar disorder; the Foreign Office’s complaint centered on concerns China had not taken those issues into account in...

Supreme Court OKs One-Drug Execution

Ohio killer had argued new method would be painful

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today refused to halt the execution of an Ohio inmate, clearing the way for the nation's first death sentence to be carried out with a new single-drug injection. Kenneth Biros, the killer who scattered a woman’s body across several states, had argued that the new method...

Cleveland's Accused Serial Killer Pleads Insanity

Anthony Sowell is charged with killing 11 women

(Newser) - Alleged serial killer Anthony Sowell pleaded insanity this morning as he was arraigned by video in the deaths of 11 women and assaults on three others in Cleveland. Sowell, 50, looked calmly into the camera, offering only brief polite responses as the judge read his rights and plea. Sowell will...

China Executes Two Over Tainted Milk

But popular villain Tian Wenhua gets off with life in prison

(Newser) - China put two people to death today for their role in the tainted milk scandal, but many Chinese feel betrayed that a third wasn’t executed. The executed men, dairy farmer Zhang Yujun and production base manager Geng Jinping, were relative unknowns. Popular rage has centered instead on Tian Wenhua,...

Iran Sentences 5 to Death for Election Protests

Brings total condemned in turmoil to eight

(Newser) - Five people have been sentenced to death over the unrest that followed Iran's disputed June presidential election, according to state television reports. The report quotes a statement by the Justice Department saying the five sentenced were members of terrorist and armed opposition groups.

Death Penalty Extremely Rare in Military
Death Penalty Extremely Rare in Military
ANALYSIS
Nov 12, 2009 5:49 AM CST

Death Penalty Extremely Rare in Military

Hasan could become first to be executed by military since 1961

(Newser) - Nidal Hasan could face the death penalty for the Fort Hood shootings, but he will be prosecuted in a military justice system where no one has been executed in nearly 50 years. He may also benefit from protections the military provides defendants that are greater than those offered in civilian...

Supreme Court Won't Spare Beltway Sniper

Execution set for tomorrow as request for more time fails

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has rejected an emergency appeal from John Allen Muhammad, also known as the Beltway sniper, clearing the way for his execution tomorrow. Muhammad’s lawyers said he needed more time to prepare his appeals. Although justices Stevens, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor questioned Virginia law for not affording convicts...

Lone AP Reporter Logs 300 Executions

Writer has seen more deaths than...anyone, perhaps

(Newser) - The fever pitch of executions in Texas since the 1980s has made the taking of a life at Huntsville’s prison almost de rigueur. Newsrooms that used to send a reporter every time an inmate was put to death now rely on the AP—and one AP writer in particular:...

Jurors Used Bible to Decide Death Sentence

Amnesty International troubled by Old Testament justice

(Newser) - Death-row foes are complaining that a Texas jury ordered to consider only evidence presented in court consulted the Old Testament before condemning a man to death. Jurors examined highlighted passages in Bibles passed around the jury room to help them decide the fate of Khristian Oliver. The con killed a...

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