execution

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Oklahoma Inmate's Last Words: 'I've Said My Goodbyes'

State executes Richard Rojem, convicted of murdering 7-year-old ex-stepdaughter

(Newser) - Oklahoma executed a man Thursday who was convicted of kidnapping, raping, and killing his 7-year-old former stepdaughter in 1984, per the AP . Richard Rojem, 66, received a three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was declared dead at 10:16am, prison officials said. Rojem, who had...

After 'Years of Effort,' Indiana's Death Penalty May Resume

Officials finally get hands on pentobarbital for lethal injections, though it's not clear from where

(Newser) - The state of Indiana hasn't put someone to death in 15 years, but that streak is soon about to be broken. GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb announced on Wednesday that he and fellow Republican Todd Rokita, the state's attorney general, are seeking to execute 49-year-old Joseph Corcoran, with Rokita...

Texas Executes Prisoner Who Murdered His Dealer's Girlfriend

Ramiro Gonzales' appeal for clemency was denied

(Newser) - Ramiro Gonzales, the Texas death row inmate who once made headlines with his desire to donate a kidney before his death, was executed in the state Wednesday. Gonzales, 41, sexually assaulted and murdered 18-year-old Bridget Townsend, the girlfriend of his drug dealer, in 2001. His attorneys and other supporters had...

Missouri Executes Man Who Killed Former Lover, Husband

Governor refused to grant clemency, citing David Hosier's 'lack of remorse'

(Newser) - A man convicted of killing his former lover and her husband in what prosecutors described as a fit of rage was executed Tuesday evening in Missouri. David Hosier, 69, was pronounced dead at 6:11pm following a single-dose injection of the sedative pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre....

One Country Carried Out 74% of 2023's Known Executions
One Country Imposed 74%
of 2023's Known Executions
in case you missed it
Jun 2, 2024 12:20 PM CDT

One Country Imposed 74% of 2023's Known Executions

With China excluded, Iran led the world last year, according to Amnesty International

(Newser) - The number of executions carried out around the world jumped to an eight-year high in 2023, largely due to a single country, according to Amnesty International . Though the number of countries delivering death penalties fell to an all-time low of 16, Amnesty logged at least 1,153 executions last year,...

Alabama Switches to Injection After a Nitrogen Gas Execution

Jamie Ray Mills was convicted of killing an elderly couple

(Newser) - Alabama carried out its second execution of the year on Thursday, months after the nation's first execution via nitrogen gas . Jamie Ray Mills, 50, was pronounced dead at 6:26pm after receiving a three-drug injection at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southwest Alabama, authorities said, the AP...

Family of Teen Executed, Then Exonerated: 'They Need to Pay'

Alexander McClay Williams was exonerated of murder in 2022, nearly a century after he died

(Newser) - The family of the youngest person ever executed in the state of Pennsylvania—a Black 16-year-old sent to the electric chair in 1931 and exonerated by the governor in 2022—is suing the county that prosecuted him. Alexander McClay Williams was convicted of murder in the October 1930 icepick stabbing...

Alabama Sets Date for 2nd Execution by Nitrogen Gas

Alan Eugene Miller is suing to block the execution, now scheduled for September

(Newser) - Alabama death row inmate Alan Eugene Miller is now scheduled to become the second person in the US executed by nitrogen gas, reports CBS News . Gov. Kay Ivey set the date for Sept. 26, per the AP . The governor's action comes a week after the Alabama Supreme Court authorized...

Prosecutors Hid Evidence in Convicting Mom of Murder

Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio, convicted of killing her toddler, could now go free

(Newser) - The judge who presided over Melissa Lucio's 2008 murder trial following the death of her 2-year-old daughter now says the conviction should be thrown out. State District Judge Arturo Nelson recommended on Friday that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturn Lucio's conviction and death sentence, in response...

With Hours Left, SCOTUS Rejects Inmate's Appeals
Missouri Executes
Brian Dorsey
UPDATED
Apr 9, 2024 6:47 PM CDT

Missouri Executes Brian Dorsey

SCOTUS rejected 2 appeals

(Newser) - This story has been updated with news of Dorsey's execution. Missouri inmate Brian Dorsey was executed Tuesday evening after the US Supreme Court declined to intervene. The court turned down two appeals by Dorsey's lawyers, one arguing that their client did not have proper legal representation by his...

Missouri Governor Denies Clemency for Brian Dorsey

Prison guards, jurors, and a judge had called for inmate's life to be spared

(Newser) - Despite the chorus of calls to grant clemency to Brian Dorsey, Missouri's Republican Gov. Mike Parson decided not to prevent the execution scheduled for Tuesday. "Governor Parson has chosen to ignore the wealth of information before him showing that Brian Dorsey is uniquely deserving of mercy," Dorsey'...

Mass Murderer on Death Row Asks to Be Executed
Alabama Inmate
Asks to Be Executed
Apr 5, 2024 5:55 AM CDT

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...

SCOTUS Unanimously Declines to Stop Execution

Willie James Pye is first inmate executed in Georgia since early 2020

(Newser) - A Georgia man convicted of the killing of his former girlfriend three decades ago was put to death Wednesday evening in the state's first execution in more than four years. Willie James Pye, 59, received an injection of the sedative pentobarbital and was pronounced dead at 11:03pm at...

Case Highlights a Quirk in Georgia's Death Penalty

The state requires intellectual disability be proved 'beyond a reasonable doubt'

(Newser) - Georgia is planning its first execution in more than four years this month—as activists petition for it to be halted. Willie James Pye is set to be put to death on March 20 for the November 1993 killing of ex-girlfriend Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. Georgians for Alternatives to the Death...

New Louisiana Law Allows 2 More Execution Methods
Louisiana Nixes
Most Future
Parole
Mar 8, 2024 1:55 PM CST

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...

Idaho Abandons Execution Attempt After an Hour

Lawyers say they're angered, but not surprised that state 'botched' execution of Thomas Creech

(Newser) - On Wednesday, Idaho attempted to carry out its first execution in almost 12 years . It did not go smoothly. Prison officials say the attempt to execute 73-year-old serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech by lethal injection was abandoned after almost an hour because the medical team was unable to establish an...

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
Jan 26, 2024 6:37 AM CST

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...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser