Court Blocks Sri Lanka Leader’s Bid to Resume Hangings
Sri Lanka’s top court on Tuesday effectively blocked a plan by the president to bring back hangings for the first time since 1976 before he leaves office next month.
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Execution Scheduled for Georgia Inmate Despite Appeals for DNA Test
Despite calls for the use of DNA testing in a two-decades-old murder case, Georgia officials announced on Wednesday that death row inmate Ray Jefferson Cromartie will be executed near the end of the month.
Read moreTexas Stays Execution Based on Judge’s Use of Anti-Semitic Slurs
Texas’ highest criminal court stayed the execution of a Jewish man Friday, remanding his case for vetting of his claims the trial judge called him anti-Semitic slurs.
Read moreNews Outlets Sue Virginia for Full Access to Executions
A Virginia newspaper and a handful of national and international outlets filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s prison system demanding public access to the full execution process, claiming current policy allows much of the proceedings to be blocked by a curtain.
Read moreArizona Must Keep Execution Chamber Mics Hot, Ninth Circuit Rules
The Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Arizona Department of Corrections’ policy of turning off an execution chamber microphone during lethal injection goes against the public’s right of access to government proceedings.
Read moreSerial Killer Who Menaced Gay Community Set for Execution
A serial killer who preyed on older gay men faces the death penalty Thursday night after failing to secure a stay of execution from the 11th Circuit on the basis of mental disability.
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House Democrats to Probe Trump Revival of Death Penalty
The Trump administration’s decision to resume federal executions, and to use a single drug with a history of problems to carry them out, prompted the launch of an investigation Wednesday by House Democrats.
Read moreMissouri Sets Date to Execute Man With Rare Disorder
Missouri has set an October execution date for a convicted murderer who claims his unique medical condition could cause intense pain and suffering during the lethal-injection process.
Read moreHuman Rights Group Locates North Korean Execution Sites
A human rights group said Tuesday it has identified hundreds of spots where witnesses claim North Korea carried out public executions and extrajudicial state killings as part of an arbitrary and aggressive use of the death penalty that is meant to intimidate its citizens.
Read moreHigh Court Blocks Texas Execution for Second Time
In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed for the second time a Texas appeals court’s finding that a death-row inmate is not mentally disabled and can be executed for a 1980 shooting.
Read moreElectric Chair Maker Wary of Tennessee Execution
Calling it “an accident waiting to happen,” the man who built Tennessee’s electric chair told Courthouse News that modifications made to the machine may not do an effective job in Thursday night’s planned execution of a double murderer.
Read moreUN Rights Chief Condemns Execution of Iran Juvenile Offender
The U.N. human rights chief is condemning the execution in Iran of a woman convicted of murdering her husband five years ago when she was 17 years old.
Read moreTexas Can Keep Supplier of Execution Drug Secret
To ensure Texas can keep executing prisoners, it does not have to reveal the supplier of its lethal injection drug to a group of Arkansas death-row inmates, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
Read moreSaudi Arabia Crucifies Myanmar Man Convicted of Murder
Saudi Arabia says it executed and crucified a man from Myanmar convicted of killing a woman and carrying out other crimes.
Read moreJapan Hangs 6 More Members of Cult Behind Subway Gas Attack
The last six members of a Japanese doomsday cult who remained on death row were executed Thursday for a series of crimes in the 1990s including a sarin gas attack on Tokyo subways that killed 13 people.
Read moreClaiming Racism, Texas Inmate Asks Judge to Halt Execution
A black death-row inmate set to die Tuesday night claims that racism led the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to vote against sparing his life, and now a federal judge is considering whether to postpone the execution.
Read moreTexan’s Death Penalty Reinstated After High Court Halt
A divided Texas appeals court reaffirmed Wednesday its denial of an inmate’s petition to get off death row, finding he is not too intellectually disabled to be executed as suggested by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read moreLethal Injection
The Texas Supreme Court declined Friday to hear the state’s appeal of a ruling requiring prison officials to disclose the source of execution drugs.
Read moreMedia Sue California Over Access to Executions
The state of California wants to use unconstitutional rules to hide the most gruesome aspects of inmate executions from the public, three news outlets claim in a new lawsuit.
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