capital punishment

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Washington State Tosses Death Penalty

State Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional, strikes it down

(Newser) - Washington's Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty Thursday, ruling that it had been used in an arbitrary and racially discriminatory manner, the AP reports. Washington has had a moratorium on executions since 2014, but the ruling makes it the 20th state to do away with capital...

Inmate Makes His Choice Ahead of Execution

Edmund Zagorski requests electric chair, 'lesser of two evils,' over lethal injection

(Newser) - A Tennessee inmate set to be executed this week is asking the state to allow him to die by electric chair over lethal injection because it's the "lesser of two evils." Attorney Kelley Henry confirmed that Edmund Zagorski made the request roughly two hours before the Tennessee...

In a First, Saudis May Behead Female Human-Rights Activist

Canada continues to push back

(Newser) - In the midst of a fight with Canada over female human-rights activists, Saudi Arabia plans to behead one. The country's public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five activists, including Israa al-Ghomgham of the Shia Muslim minority, who documented mass protests in the Eastern Province beginning in 2011,...

Nebraska Uses Fentanyl to Kill Prisoner, a First

Carey Dean Moore was put to death Tuesday

(Newser) - For the first time, fentanyl has been used in the execution of a US prisoner. Carey Dean Moore was put to death via lethal injection at the Nebraska State Penitentiary Tuesday morning using a previously untested combination of four drugs: fentanyl citrate, the powerful synthetic opioid blamed for deadly overdoses...

Judge Halts Nevada's Controversial Execution Plan

Drugmaker accused state of using 'subterfuge' to obtain one of the drugs

(Newser) - A Nevada judge effectively put the execution of a two-time killer on hold Wednesday after a pharmaceutical company objected to the use of one of its drugs to put someone to death, the AP reports. Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez disallowed the use of the drug in a ruling...

In Japan, Mass Hanging of Cult Leader, 6 Followers

They were members of Aum Shinrikyo, responsible for Japan's worst terrorist attack

(Newser) - Japan on Friday executed the leader of a doomsday cult and six of his followers, public broadcaster NHK reports, a mass hanging that had been rumored for months . Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara, was the head of Aum Shinrikyo, the group responsible for the 1995 sarin nerve gas...

Social Media Campaign May Have Worked for Political Prisoner

Iranian man's execution has been delayed

(Newser) - A social media campaign apparently worked to delay the execution of a prisoner in Iran: After nearly 230,000 mentions of his name on Twitter in 48 hours, Ramin Hossein-Panahi's execution, originally scheduled for Thursday, was delayed and he was moved from solitary confinement to the general prison population,...

In First 4 Months of the Year, Saudi Arabia Beheaded 48

And half of those people were charged with non-violent drug crimes

(Newser) - Human Rights Watch is calling on Saudi Arabia to fix its "notoriously unfair criminal justice system" after revealing that over the past four months, 48 people have been executed in the country. Half of those people were put to death over non-violent drug charges, the group says. Rights experts...

India Seeks to Stop Child Rape With Harsh Consequence

Raping a girl under the age of 12 may soon bring the death penalty if ordinance is given green light

(Newser) - India's government has decided to prescribe the death penalty for people convicted of raping girls under the age of 12 to combat an increase in crimes against women, per the AP . An ordinance was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet and was being sent to the president...

83-Year-Old Has No Words as Alabama Executes Him

Walter Moody killed 2 with mail bombs

(Newser) - An Alabama inmate convicted of the mail-bomb slaying of a federal judge during a wave of Southern terror in 1989 was executed by lethal injection Thursday, becoming the oldest prisoner put to death in the US in modern times. Walter Leroy Moody Jr., 83, was pronounced dead at 8:42pm...

Georgia Executes &#39;Stocking Strangler&#39;
Georgia Executes
'Stocking Strangler'
Mar 16, 2018 12:24 AM CDT

Georgia Executes 'Stocking Strangler'

Prosecutors say Carlton Gary raped, killed 7 elderly women

(Newser) - A man known as the "Stocking Strangler" was executed Thursday for the rape-slayings of three older women in attacks that terrorized a Georgia city four decades ago. Carlton Gary, 67, was put to death by lethal injection at the state prison in Jackson. He was the first inmate executed...

Oklahoma Plans to Be First to Use Execution Method

Nitrogen gas will be new primary method of execution

(Newser) - If new protocols are successfully developed and the change isn't blocked by court challenges, one of Oklahoma's 49 condemned inmates will soon become the first person in the US legally executed with nitrogen gas. The state—which started exploring the use of the inert gas after a botched...

He Had His Mom, Brother Killed. Will He Die Tonight?
With His Execution Nigh,
a Big Twist in Texas
the rundown
Feb 22, 2018 11:47 AM CST

With His Execution Nigh, a Big Twist in Texas

Thomas Whitaker's case is in Gov. Greg Abbott's hands

(Newser) - The crime was horrific, the aftermath doubly so: A Texas family of four was shot by a masked gunman in December 2003. Kent Whitaker's wife and one of his two sons didn't make it, and Whitaker's initial desire for vengeance gave way to a decision to forgive,...

He's Fighting to Save His Family's Killer. The Killer: His Own Son

Bart Whitaker set to be executed Feb. 22 for killing his mom and brother, but dad isn't giving up on him

(Newser) - "My wife and son were murdered by a masked gunman, and my other son and I were left for dead, but survived." Those are the words of Kent Whitaker on his website , detailing the horrific crime that tore his life apart in December 2003. But, he adds, things...

'Tourniquet Killer' Before Death: 'I Wish I Could Undo the Past'

Anthony Allen Shore executed in Texas

(Newser) - Texas carried out the nation's first execution of 2018 Thursday evening, giving a lethal injection to a man who became known as Houston's "Tourniquet Killer" because of his signature murder technique on four female victims. Anthony Allen Shore was put to death for one of those slayings,...

Texas Executes Mexican Citizen
Texas Executes Mexican Citizen
 
Nov 9, 2017 12:33 AM CST

Texas Executes Mexican Citizen

Ruben Ramirez Cardenas killed teen cousin in 1997

(Newser) - A Mexican citizen on death row in Texas was executed Wednesday night for the slaying of his 16-year-old cousin, who was abducted from her family's apartment and fatally beaten. Ruben Ramirez Cardenas, 47, was given a lethal injection after several federal court appeals failed to halt his punishment for...

Their Client Wants to Die; They're Worried About How

Lawyers for death row inmate not asking for a stay, but wouldn't mind hitting 'pause'

(Newser) - Scott Dozier is scheduled to die via lethal injection Nov. 14, and he's ready for his execution—he requested last year that his appeals stop, and he has an agreement with his defense attorneys not to seek a delay—but his lawyers have concerns about the method that will...

SCOTUS OKs Execution of Man Who Can't Remember Crime

Vernon Madison understands he was convicted of murder, high court rules

(Newser) - In 1985, Vernon Madison shot and killed Mobile, Ala., police officer Julius Schulte after Schulte responded to a domestic call involving Madison; prosecutors say he crept up on the officer as he sat in his police car and shot him twice in the back of the head, the AP reports....

Man Maintains Innocence as He Faces 8th Execution Date

Tommy Arthur has escaped execution 7 times in past 16 years

(Newser) - When you've faced your own execution seven times with an eighth on the way, it's important to have the right mindset. “You can either let a stressful situation break you ... or you hold on to hope and use your every waking moment to fight," Tommy Arthur...

Death Row Inmate's Last Words Were an Insult

'You can kiss my white trash ass'

(Newser) - When asked if he had any final words before his execution in Georgia early Wednesday, JW Ledford Jr. did. But those words weren't an apology or a goodbye; rather, they were a taunt, ABC News reports. The 45-year-old, who murdered his 73-year-old neighbor in 1992, smiled as he tossed...

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