capital punishment

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Her Lawyers Got COVID. Now an Execution Reprieve

Federal judge orders Lisa Montgomery not be put to death before 2021

(Newser) - Lisa Montgomery is getting a bit of a break. Montgomery was set to be executed on Dec. 8 in Terre Haute, Ind., which would make her the first woman put to death by the federal government in nearly seven decades. But two of her attorneys last week requested a delay...

Lawyers for Death Row Inmate: We Got COVID Due to Bill Barr

Lisa Montgomery's attorneys: Surprise execution date set during pandemic forced us to travel

(Newser) - Two attorneys for a female death-row inmate are blasting Attorney General Bill Barr, saying they contracted COVID-19 because he "recklessly" put their client's execution on the calendar for next month, all while the pandemic is still raging. In a lawsuit filed on behalf of Lisa Montgomery against the...

Bangladesh's Death Penalty for Rape Isn't Enough: Advocates

Rights groups say system doesn't support victims or hold rapists accountable

(Newser) - From now on, rapists could face the death penalty in Bangladesh. The government is making the change in the face of public outrage over a series of well-publicized attacks on women, the New York Times reports, though human rights groups said the change in the law won't solve the...

Death Row Inmate's Last Words: 'I'm Ready, Father'

Christopher Vialva is first Black inmate put to death since federal executions resumed this year

(Newser) - A man who killed a religious couple visiting Texas from Iowa was executed Thursday, the first Black inmate put to death as part of the Trump administration's resumption of federal executions after a nearly 20-year pause. Christopher Vialva, 40, was pronounced dead shortly before 7pm ET after receiving a...

Iran Shows No Mercy to Accused Wrestler

Navid Afkari said he gave a false confession under torture

(Newser) - Iranian state TV on Saturday reported that the country's authorities executed a wrestler for allegedly murdering a man, after President Trump asked for the 27-year-old condemned man's life to be spared, the AP reports. State TV quoted the chief justice of Fars province, Kazem Mousavi, as saying: "...

World Rallies Behind Wrestler Facing the 'Rope'

Navid Afkari says Iranian authorities tortured him into confessing

(Newser) - Navid Afkari has the world's attention. Sports groups are rallying behind the Iranian wrestler who insists his murder confession was forced under torture, the New York Times reports. Now his execution appears imminent: "We really are at one minute to midnight," says Brendan Schwab, head of the...

Native American's Last Words: 'No, I'm Good'

Lezmond Mitchell has died by lethal injection in Indiana

(Newser) - The only Native American on federal death row was put to death Wednesday, despite objections from many Navajo leaders who had urged President Trump to halt the execution on the grounds it would violate tribal culture and sovereignty, the AP reports. With the execution of Lezmond Mitchell for the grisly...

This Man Will Die Tonight Against a Government's Wishes

The Navajo Nation has been opposed to the death penalty for Lezmond Mitchell from the start

(Newser) - After a 17-year pause, federal executions resumed this summer, with three men put to death. A fourth man on federal death row is slated to experience the same fate tonight in Terre Haute, Ind., but that fate is one a government—the Navajo government—has vehemently opposed. That's because...

Navajo Nation Turns to Trump As Execution Nears

Judge called the prosecution 'a betrayal of a promise'

(Newser) - With the execution scheduled for less than two weeks from now, the Navajo Nation has asked President Trump to spare the life of Lezmond Mitchell. Capital punishment violates Navajo beliefs and would pose a challenge to tribal sovereignty, leaders said. "We strongly hold to our cultural, traditional, and religious...

Facing Execution, Inmate Comments on His 'Sanitized Murder'

Wesley Ira Purkey was 2nd US inmate executed this week

(Newser) - Wesley Ira Purkey was pronounced dead by lethal injection Thursday morning—America's second execution this week after a 17-year hiatus, the Tribune-Star reports. A 5-4 Supreme Court decision in the wee hours allowed the lethal injection to proceed in Terre Haute, Ind., despite concerns over Purkey's mental competency....

First Federal Execution in 17 Years Is Delayed Again

Judge says legal issues haven't been resolved

(Newser) - A US district judge on Monday ordered a new delay in federal executions, hours before the first lethal injection was scheduled to be carried out at a federal prison in Indiana, per the AP . The administration is certain to ask a higher court to allow the executions to move forward....

Supreme Court Clears Way for Federal Executions

First since 2003 schedule to take place in July

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Monday refused to block the execution of four federal prison inmates who are scheduled to be put to death in July and August, per the AP . The executions would mark the first use of the death penalty on the federal level since 2003. The justices rejected...

Drug Dealer Hears Death Sentence Over Zoom

Malaysian man sentenced for drug trafficking in Singapore

(Newser) - A man has been sentenced to death in Singapore over a Zoom call, which is probably not how Zoom CEO Eric Yuan envisioned his product being put to use. Reuters reports it's "one of just two known cases where a capital punishment verdict has been delivered remotely."...

For First Time in US During Pandemic, an Execution

Missouri puts Walter Barton to death

(Newser) - Many states have postponed scheduled executions amid the coronavirus pandemic, but on Tuesday night, an inmate was put to death for the first time since March 5. Walter Barton, 64, was convicted of murdering his former landlord, 81-year-old Gladys Kuehler, in 1991, USA Today reports. Kuehler operated a mobile home...

22nd State Abolishes Death Penalty
22nd State
Abolishes
Death Penalty
Mar 24, 2020 9:00 AM CDT

22nd State Abolishes Death Penalty

Colorado governor also commutes sentences of 3 men on death row

(Newser) - Colorado has become the 22nd state to abolish the death penalty, which it hasn't used since 1997. Forty-four years after capital punishment was reinstated in the Centennial State, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Monday banning its use—"consistent with the recognition that the death penalty cannot be,...

Governor Faces Unexpected Spectator: 'You Killed My Brother'

Pamela Woods faces off against Kay Ivey in Alabama on death of Nathaniel Woods

(Newser) - An event kicking off the Alabama census got somewhat heated Thursday when the state's governor was confronted by the family of a man executed last week under her charge. The Washington Post reports that Gov. Kay Ivey was taking questions from reporters in Montgomery, and she was answering one...

The People Trying to Halt His Execution Are Unexpected

Among them: the daughter of one of the people Nick Sutton murdered

(Newser) - Death row inmate Nick Sutton has an unusual group of supporters seeking to block his scheduled execution Thursday. Among them are family members of his victims, as well as past and present prison workers calling for clemency. Sutton, 58, was sentenced to death in 1986 for killing fellow inmate Carl...

Executions Are About to Resume in Oklahoma

A 'reliable' drug supplier has been found, says the state

(Newser) - Oklahoma is set to resume executions after a five-year lull prompted by drug mix-ups, but it won't be relying on nitrogen gas . As a 2015 law allowing the state to pursue execution by nitrogen hypoxia only permits the method if lethal injection drugs are unavailable, executions will be carried...

DNA Will Prove If State Executed an Innocent Man

Ledell Lee maintained his innocence until he was put to death in 2017

(Newser) - Ledell Lee was executed in Arkansas in 2017 , despite legal challenges requesting more DNA testing using modern technology; the state denied those requests. Lee never stopped insisting he was innocent of the 1993 murder of Debra Reese, and now Slate reports that his case "could result in DNA evidence...

Texas Executes Man Who Killed Over His Job Assignment

Travis Runnels didn't want to work in shoe factory

(Newser) - A Texas inmate was executed by lethal injection Wednesday evening for killing a supervisor at a state prison shoe factory in Amarillo nearly 17 years ago. Travis Runnels, 46, was convicted of slashing the throat of 38-year-old Stanley Wiley on Jan. 29, 2003. Runnels was executed at the state penitentiary...

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