death penalty

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US Offers Assurances on Assange. His Wife Is Skeptical

'Blatant weasel words,' Stella Assange says of vow from US that's meant to jump-start extradition

(Newser) - The United States made its deadline Tuesday, providing London's High Court with the assurances needed to jump-start Julian Assange's extradition from the UK. The WikiLeaks founder's wife, however, isn't exactly buying it, reports Reuters .
  • Backstory: Last month, two judges said that Australia's Assange—who was
...

Supreme Court Case Tests 'Sex Shaming' Defense

Prosecutors highlighted sex life of Brenda Andrew, now on death row

(Newser) - The Supreme Court will hear an appeal from the only woman on Oklahoma's death row this month, and the case may set a precedent in regard to prosecutors focusing on a defendant's sex life. Coverage:
  • The inmate: Brenda Andrew, 60, was sentenced to death in 2004 after being
...

Mass Murderer on Death Row Asks to Be Executed
Alabama Inmate
Asks to Be Executed

Alabama Inmate Asks to Be Executed

Mass murderer Derrick Dearman says he wants the families of his victims to have closure

(Newser) - A death row inmate in Alabama says he wants to be executed so the families of the people he massacred in 2016 can have closure. Derrick Dearman tells NBC News that he has sent letters to Gov. Kay Ivey and other officials to let them know he is dropping his...

New Louisiana Law Allows 2 More Execution Methods
Louisiana Nixes
Most Future
Parole

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...

One of Longest-Serving Death Row Inmates Set to Die Today

Thomas Eugene Creech has been imprisoned since 1974

(Newser) - The hour of Thomas Eugene Creech's death has been set, and it is rapidly approaching. On Wednesday morning, Idaho prison officials will ask the 73-year-old if he would like a mild sedative to help calm him before his execution at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise. Then,...

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...

Smith Execution Took 22 Minutes
Alabama Execution
Took 22 Minutes
THE RUNDOWN

Alabama Execution Took 22 Minutes

Kenneth Smith appeared to remain conscious for minutes during world's first execution by nitrogen gas

(Newser) - Before Alabama inmate Kenneth Smith was put to death in the world's first nitrogen gas execution , officials predicted that the gas would cause him to lose consciousness in seconds. That wasn't what happened in the death chamber Thursday night. The AP reports that "Smith appeared to remain...

Alabama Carries Out World's First Nitrogen Gas Execution

Supreme Court opted not to intervene in Kenneth Smith's case

(Newser) - Alabama executed murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith Thursday night with nitrogen gas , the nation's first execution by a new method since 1982. It was, in fact, the first such execution in the world, notes the Washington Post . The execution took place soon after the US Supreme Court ruled that it...

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...

Feds Will Seek Death Penalty Against Buffalo Mass Shooter

Justice Department under Biden rarely supports capital punishment

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a white supremacist who killed 10 Black people a t a Buffalo supermarket , they said in a court filing Friday. Payton Gendron, 20, is already serving a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole after he pleaded guilty to...

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...

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...

Alabama Wants to Be First With a Nitrogen Execution

State seeks permission to use the method critics call experimental

(Newser) - Alabama is seeking to become the first state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe pure nitrogen. The Alabama attorney general's office has asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date for death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, per the AP . The court filing indicated...

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

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...

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...

I Watched My Brother Be Executed. It's Not the Answer
My Brother
Was Put to Death.
It's Not the Answer
OPINION

My Brother Was Put to Death. It's Not the Answer

Robert Towery was executed in 2012; Christine Towery was there

(Newser) - Christine Towery's first memory is an awful one: of her baby brother bound, with duct tape on his mouth, on the floor of the family car. Towery was so terrified her mother would kill her if she moved to help him that she didn't. It was an abuse-filled...

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