death penalty

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Nobel Peace Prize Winner Could Face Death in Iran

Narges Mohammadi reportedly accused of collaborating with Israel

(Newser) - The family of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was detained in Iran last week, say the veteran human rights advocate was badly beaten to the point that she twice needed to visit an emergency room. Mohammadi's family spoke out Monday, with her husband, Taghi Rahmani, confirming she...

US Executions Hit 15-Year High in 2025

40% of them were in Florida

(Newser) - Executions are on hold in much of the country, but the national total just hit a 15-year high—and Florida is the main reason why. A new report from the nonpartisan Death Penalty Information Center says 2025 saw a spike in executions driven largely by Florida, which carried out 19...

Sarah Beckstrom, Shot in Attack on Guard Members, Dies

Bondi pledges to seek death penalty in DC shooting

(Newser) - Army Spec. Sarah Beckstrom, one of two West Virginia National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, has died, President Trump announced Thursday evening. She was 20, reports the AP . Her father, Gary Beckstrom, had told the New York Times earlier in the day that his daughter had "...

Florida Isn't Holding Back on 2025 Executions

Ron DeSantis signs death warrant for Frank Walls, who will be state's 19th execution in 2025

(Newser) - A man convicted of fatally shooting a man and woman during a home invasion robbery and later confessing to three other killings is scheduled to be put to death in December under a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's setting a record pace for executions....

Why Lethal Injection Persists Despite Its Terrible Track Record

Legal scholar Corrina Lain concludes it 'hides the violence of state killing'

(Newser) - When legal scholar Corrina Lain started researching the death penalty in the US, she thought she knew the question in front of her: "Why are states so breathtakingly bad at lethal injection?" Those answers came quickly. In an interview with Inquest about her book Secrets of the Killing State,...

Florida Executes Man Who Raped, Killed Neighbor

Norman Grim is 15th inmate the state has executed this year, almost double previous record

(Newser) - A Florida man convicted of raping and killing his neighbor decades ago was put to death Tuesday evening in a record 15th execution in Florida this year. Norman Mearle Grim Jr. , 65, was pronounced dead following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of sexual...

Inmate Set to Die Thursday Asks for One Final Meeting

'Have a conversation with the guy you deemed one of the worst of the worst,' says Anthony Boyd

(Newser) - An Alabama death row inmate set to die in less than 48 hours asked the state's governor to meet with him "before an innocent man is executed." Anthony Boyd, 53, is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening by nitrogen gas at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility....

After 3 Decades on Death Row, Miss. Executes Student's Killer

Kristy Ray, 20, was abducted, raped, and killed in 1993

(Newser) - A Mississippi man convicted of kidnapping, raping, and killing a 20-year-old community college student in 1993 was executed Wednesday after spending more than 30 years on death row. Charles Crawford, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:15pm following an injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, the AP reports....

Florida Executes 14th Inmate of the Year
Florida Executes
72-Year-Old Inmate
Oct 14, 2025 5:56 PM CDT

Florida Executes 72-Year-Old Inmate

State's top court says elderly are not exempt from death penalty

(Newser) - A man convicted of killing two women whose bodies were found in a rural pond in 1996 was put to death Tuesday evening in a record 14th execution this year in Florida. Samuel Lee Smithers, 72, was pronounced dead at 6:15pm following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison...

Facebook Post Brings Death Sentence in Tunisia

Court finds 51-year-old insulted president and spread false information

(Newser) - A court in Tunisia has sentenced a 51-year-old man to death over Facebook posts deemed offensive to President Kais Saied and a threat to state security, his lawyer said Friday. The defendant, who has not been identified, was convicted on Wednesday of three charges: attempting to overthrow the state, insulting...

US Hoops Player Facing Death Penalty Over Edibles 'Mistake'

Jarred Shaw was arrested in Indonesia after being busted with gummies he says were for his Crohn's

(Newser) - American basketball player Jarred Shaw is facing the death penalty in Indonesia after being caught with a parcel of cannabis gummies he says were to treat his Crohn's disease. Shaw, a Dallas native and former Utah State standout, made a name for himself on Indonesian courts, helping the...

Pope Delivers 'Sharpest Criticism' of Trump Policies

Leo speaks out on 'inhuman treatment of immigrants' in the US

(Newser) - Pope Leo XIV addressed US politics on Tuesday, voicing concern over President Trump's rhetoric and challenging self-described pro-life advocates to reject both harsh immigration policies and the death penalty—drawing pushback from the White House. Speaking in Italy after the meeting of American military brass in Virginia, at...

Florida Carries Out 13th Execution of the Year

Victor Tony Jones killed married couple during robbery

(Newser) - A man convicted of killing a married couple during a robbery in South Florida in 1990 was put to death Tuesday in a record 13th execution this year in the state. Victor Tony Jones, 64, was pronounced dead at 6:13pm following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near...

Trump: 'Capital City, Capital Punishment'

He directs Bondi, Pirro, to pursue death penalty to the maximum extent possible in DC

(Newser) - The city council of Washington, DC, abolished the death penalty more than 40 years ago but President Trump wants to make it part of his crackdown on crime in the capital. On Thursday, he signed a memo directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty in "all appropriate cases" in...

37 Inmates Spared by Biden Are Headed to Supermax

They'll be treated like they're still on death row, Bondi says

(Newser) - Dozens of former federal death row inmates will spend the rest of their lives being treated like they're still on death row, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday. She said the 37 inmates whose sentences were commuted to life without parole by then-President Biden less than a month...

Alabama, Texas Carry Out Executions
Alabama, Texas
Put 2 Men to Death
Sep 26, 2025 12:00 AM CDT

Alabama, Texas Put 2 Men to Death

In Alabama case, son of victim had pleaded for killer's life to be spared

(Newser) - Two executions took place Thursday night, the 32nd and 33rd in the US this year:
  • An Alabama man convicted of killing a woman during a 1997 gas station robbery was put to death Thursday after apologizing to his victim's family and pleas from the woman's son to spare
...

Judge Not Happy With Trump's Comments on Luigi Mangione

White House comments risk prejudicing murder case and fair trial, judge says

(Newser) - A federal judge is demanding answers from the Trump administration after top officials publicly accused Luigi Mangione of murder, defying a court order meant to protect his right to a fair trial. The controversy began after President Trump, in a Fox News interview, claimed Mangione "shot someone in...

Mangione Lawyers Say Case Has Been 'Fatally Prejudiced'

They want death penalty off the table in federal case

(Newser) - Luigi Mangione's lawyers urged a judge on Saturday to bar federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, arguing that authorities prejudiced his case by turning his arrest into a "Marvel movie" spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see...

State's Only Death Row Inmate Granted New Hearing

NH's top court will hear appeal 6 years after state abolished death penalty

(Newser) - New Hampshire's only inmate on death row has been granted a rare opportunity to plead his case for a life sentence before the state's highest court. In a brief single-page order handed down Monday, New Hampshire's Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of Michael Addison, 45,...

Death Row Inmate Has Bizarre Take on Execution

Judge overrules Steven Bixby, who believes only treason is punishable by death

(Newser) - A South Carolina judge has ruled that Steven Bixby, a death row inmate convicted of killing two law enforcement officers in 2003, is mentally fit to be executed, despite his unconventional legal and religious beliefs. Judge R. Scott Sprouse's decision opens the way for Bixby, 58, to receive...

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