execution

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Man Executed Despite Cousin's Confession to Being the Shooter

James Broadnax convicted in robbery that left 2 dead in Texas

(Newser) - A North Texas man who claimed he wasn't the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who said prosecutors misused rap lyrics he wrote to secure his death sentence was executed Thursday evening, the AP reports. James Broadnax was pronounced dead after...

Florida Executes Man Who Killed 13-Year-Old Step-Niece

James Ernest Hitchcock's death was the state's 6th execution of 2026

(Newser) - A Florida man convicted of beating and choking his 13-year-old step-niece to death nearly 50 years ago was executed Thursday evening. James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, was pronounced dead at 6:12pm after he received an injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the Florida Department of Corrections said in a...

DOJ Bringing Back Firing Squads, Lethal Injections

Agency says it wants to 'strengthen' death penalty, also touts electrocution and gas asphyxiation

(Newser) - Firing squads are back on the federal government's list of execution options. Per CBS News , the Justice Department on Friday said it's reinstating the lethal injection protocol used during President Trump's first term and adding firing squads as an approved method, part of what the agency calls...

Florida Executes Man Who Set Neighbor on Fire

'We have waited 36.5 years for justice for our mom,' woman's family says

(Newser) - A Florida man who set his neighbor on fire after she returned from work to find him burglarizing her home was executed Tuesday evening. Chadwick Scott Willacy, 58, received a three-drug injection and was pronounced dead at 6:15pm at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1990 killing of...

Iran Executions Hit a 35-Year High Last Year

NGOs say executions target protesters, minorities after mass unrest

(Newser) - Iran is putting people to death at a pace not seen there since the late 1980s, according to a new report by two rights groups. Norway-based Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty say at least 1,639 people were executed in 2025—a 68% jump from...

Florida Halts Execution of Ex-Cop Convicted of Killing Girl

State's top court issues stay pending DNA testing in James Duckett case

(Newser) - The execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was temporarily halted Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court. The court issued a stay in execution for 68-year-old James Aren Duckett, who was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison...

Tennessee's Lone Woman on Death Row Fights to Get Off

Christa Gail Pike challenging state's lethal injection protocol

(Newser) - Tennessee is moving to execute a woman for the first time in more than two centuries, though the 50-year-old death row inmate convicted of torturing and killing a romantic rival at 18 argues she's changed. Christa Gail Pike is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 30 for...

Iran Executes 3 Protesters, Including Teen Wrestler

Rights groups say they were forced into confessions through torture

(Newser) - Iran has carried out its first executions tied to January's nationwide protests, and one of the dead was a teenage wrestling standout. State media said wrestler Saleh Mohammadiwas hanged Thursday along with Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi in the city of Qom after being convicted of "waging war...

Florida Executes Man Who Raped, Killed Young Mother

Denise Amber Lee called 911 begging for help but critical information was not relayed

(Newser) - A Florida man was executed Tuesday evening for the rape and murder of a young mother who frantically called 911 on her attacker's cellphone while she was tied up in his car. Michael Lee King, 54, was pronounced dead at 6:13pm following a lethal injection at Florida State...

Man Who Killed Girlfriend and Her Young Son Is Executed

Cedric Ricks stabbed woman, then her 2 boys, one of whom survived, after they intervened

(Newser) - A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution. Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55pm CDT following a lethal dose...

Queen's Last Letter Before Execution Draws Crowds

Mary, Queen of Scots' 'relic-like' final letter is on rare public display

(Newser) - Mary, Queen of Scots has been dead for more than four centuries, but her final words are drawing fresh crowds in a small Scottish city. The last letter she wrote before her 1587 execution is now on rare public display at the new Perth Museum, about an hour from Edinburgh,...

Alabama Poised to Execute Elderly Man Who Never Killed
Op-Ed: Alabama to Execute
Man Who Never Killed
OPINION
Mar 5, 2026 10:40 AM CST

Op-Ed: Alabama to Execute Man Who Never Killed

Sonny Burton, who left scene of robbery before accomplice fired fatal shot, to die by nitrogen gas

(Newser) - Alabama is preparing to execute a man everyone agrees did not kill anyone, yet was still convicted of murder. In a New York Times op-ed, mitigation specialist Elizabeth Vartkessian, founder of a nonprofit focused on centering empathy and dignity within the criminal justice system, details the case of 75-year-old Sonny...

Florida Executes Man Who Killed Cop With His Own Gun

Billy Leon Kearse was sentenced to death in 1991

(Newser) - A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening in Florida, becoming the third person put to death by the state this year after a record 19 executions in 2025. Billy Leon Kearse, 53, was pronounced dead...

Prosecutors Drop Death Penalty Bid for Mangione

Judge's dismissal of murder charge leaves life sentence possible in UnitedHealthcare case

(Newser) - Luigi Mangione will no longer face the possibility of execution in federal court over the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Manhattan federal prosecutors told a judge on Friday that they won't challenge a ruling that blocked them from seeking the death penalty, opting against an interlocutory appeal...

Florida Executes Man for 1986 Murder

Melvin Trotter stabbed, strangled a 70-year-old grocery store owner

(Newser) - A man convicted of killing a 70-year-old grocery store owner was put to death Tuesday in Florida, becoming the second person executed by the state this year after a record 19 executions in 2025. Melvin Trotter, 65, was pronounced dead at 6:15pm following a lethal injection at Florida State...

Oklahoma Carries Out 2nd US Execution of 2026

Kendrick Simpson killed 2 men in a drive-by shooting in 2006

(Newser) - A man who admitted to killing two men in a drive-by shooting in 2006 was put to death Thursday in Oklahoma's first execution of the year. Kendrick Simpson, 45, was pronounced dead at 10:19 CT following a three-drug injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, prison officials...

Florida Sets Its First Execution of 2026
Florida Carries Out Its
First Execution of 2026
UPDATED
Feb 10, 2026 5:37 PM CST

Florida Carries Out Its First Execution of 2026

Ronald Palmer Heath and his brother murdered a traveling salesman in 1989

(Newser) - A man convicted of killing a traveling salesman during a robbery was executed Tuesday evening in the first lethal injection this year in Florida. Ronald Palmer Heath, 64, was pronounced dead at 6:12pm following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, reports the AP . Heath was convicted...

Texas Executes Killer of 2
Texas Executes Killer of 2
Jan 28, 2026 7:45 PM CST

Texas Executes Killer of 2

Charles Victor Thompson, 55, becomes the first person executed in the US this year

(Newser) - A Texas man who once escaped custody and spent three days on the run after being sentenced to death for fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend was put to death Wednesday, becoming the first person executed in the US this year. Charles Victor Thompson, 55, was pronounced dead...

Judge Opens Up Media Access for Tennessee Executions

Ruling expands existing access for reporters that offered limited viewing window

(Newser) - A judge ruled on Friday that Tennessee prison officials must grant expanded access to media members to view state-run executions, after a coalition of news groups, including the AP , sued over claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting. Before Chancellor I'Ashea L. Myles' order, reporters...

Extremist Iranian Cleric: Trump Should Expect 'Hard Revenge'

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami also demanded death penalty for protesters in Friday sermon

(Newser) - A hardline cleric leading Friday prayers in Iran's capital demanded the death penalty for protesters detained in a nationwide crackdown and directly threatened President Trump, showing the rage gripping authorities in the Islamic Republic over demonstrations that have challenged their authority. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami's sermon, carried by Iranian...

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