death row

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Alabama Sets Date for First Execution by New Method

Kenneth Eugene Smith will be first person in the US executed with nitrogen gas

(Newser) - A year after the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith by lethal injection was called off after the execution team had trouble connecting an IV line, Alabama has set a date to execute him by a different method. Gov. Kay Ivey's office says the state plans to execute Smith with...

Death Row Inmate Doesn't Want to Be 'Test Subject'
Alabama's Top Court
OKs New Execution Method
UPDATED
Nov 2, 2023 7:24 AM CDT

Alabama's Top Court OKs New Execution Method

Decision clears the way for state to execute Kenneth Smith with nitrogen gas

(Newser) - A divided Alabama Supreme Court said the state can execute an inmate with nitrogen gas, a method that has not previously been used to carry out a death sentence in the US. The all-Republican court in a 6-2 decision Wednesday granted the state attorney general's request for an execution...

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...

Serial Killer Ex-Cop Dies on Death Row

Anthony Sully was on death row for nearly 40 years

(Newser) - A former California police officer turned serial killer who was on death row after being convicted of murdering six people in the 1980s has died of natural causes, authorities said. Anthony Sully, 79, died Friday at a medical facility outside the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, where he had been housed...

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...

On Death Row, He Got a Letter That 'Brought Me to My Knees'

'Atlantic' story relays tale of forgiveness offered to a murderer from his victim's granddaughter

(Newser) - One effective way to wrangle with tough emotions is to keep a journal, but for Sarah Gregory, she channeled her rage into a letter—one sent to her grandmother's killer, now on death row in Alabama. As told to Elizabeth Bruenig in her piece for the Atlantic , Gregory recalls...

Supreme Court Sides With Alabama Death Row Inmate

Says Kenneth Smith should be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia

(Newser) - The US Supreme Court on Monday sided with an Alabama death row inmate, who had his lethal injection called off at the last minute in November, and argues he should be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia when he is ultimately executed, the AP reports. Justices without comment rejected the...

Supreme Court Blocks Richard Glossip’s Execution

Justices suspend May 18 date so they can consider the Oklahoma case

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Friday blocked Oklahoma from executing death row inmate Richard Glossip after the state's attorney general agreed Glossip's life should be spared. Glossip had been scheduled to be put to death on May 18 despite statements by new Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond that he...

No Clemency for Glossip From Oklahoma Parole Board

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond had asked board to spare him

(Newser) - In what CNN calls an "unprecedented step," Oklahoma's attorney general on Wednesday appeared before the state's parole board to lobby for clemency for Richard Glossip. The board wasn't swayed. It voted 2-2 to not recommend that Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt grant Glossip clemency, meaning the...

Florida Executes 'Ninja Killer'
'Ninja Killer'
Executed in Florida
Apr 13, 2023 12:00 AM CDT

'Ninja Killer' Executed in Florida

Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, wore ninja clothing during 1989 double murder

(Newser) - Florida executed a man known as the “ninja killer” on Wednesday for the 1989 slayings of a couple visiting the state from New Jersey, the AP reports. Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, was pronounced dead at 6:15pm after receiving a lethal injection, the governor’s office said. He was...

After 3 Last Meals on Death Row, He Could Go Free

Oklahoma AG wants Richard Glossip's murder conviction vacated based on 'new information'

(Newser) - Convicted of ordering the murder of his boss in 1997, Richard Glossip has eaten his "last meal" as a death-row inmate three times . And each time, he's "narrowly avoided death ... with reprieves or stays of execution," CNN reports. Now, after decades on death row, Glossip may...

Man on Death Row for Half a Century Gets a Retrial

Iwao Hakamada was sentenced to death in 1968 but long claimed confession was forced

(Newser) - Amnesty International calls him the world's longest-serving death row inmate—but Iwao Hakamada now has a shot at leaving prison. The 87-year-old has been granted a retrial in the case that saw him sentenced to death some 55 years ago, in 1968. Hakamada said he only confessed to robbing...

Execution Delayed for Inmate Who Gouged Out His Eyes

Lawyers will make case Andre Thomas is not competent to be put to death

(Newser) - Andre Thomas' execution had been scheduled for April 5; on Tuesday, a Texas judge pulled that date to give the 39-year-old's legal team time to prepare its case: They have until July 5 to file their argument that he is "not competent for execution." His case is...

US Executes First Transgender Inmate

Missouri puts transgender woman to death

(Newser) - A Missouri inmate was put to death Tuesday for a 2003 killing, in what is believed to be the first execution of a transgender woman in the US, the AP reports. (It's thought to be the country's first execution of any openly transgender person, male or female, CNN...

Everyone on Oregon's Death Row Gets Sentence Commuted

Gov. Kate Brown says action was taken because death penalty is 'immoral'

(Newser) - Oregon's death row will soon be empty. Gov. Kate Brown is commuting the death sentences of all 17 people on it to sentences of life without the possibility of parole, she announced Tuesday. Declaring that the death penalty "cannot be and never has been administered fairly and equitably,...

'Execution Survivor' Won't Be Subjected to Lethal Injection Again

Any future effort to execute Alan Eugene Miller will be done by nitrogen hypoxia

(Newser) - Alabama won't seek another lethal injection date for an inmate whose Sept. 22 execution had been halted because of problems establishing an intravenous line, according to the terms of a settlement agreement approved by US District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. on Tuesday. The state agreed to never use...

They Witnessed Executions. Here's How It Changed Them
They Worked
on an Execution,
and Suffered for It
longform
Nov 25, 2022 2:50 PM CST

They Worked on an Execution, and Suffered for It

Those who saw a prison execution tell NPR they do not support the death penalty

(Newser) - Four executions were carried out in the US this week . While the names of the condemned and some of the details of their final moments are known, there's an entire group of people that the same can't be said for: those who prepare for and carry out the...

Scheduled Execution Takes Several Twists and Turns

Alabama ultimately called off the planned execution of Kenneth Smith

(Newser) - An appellate court on Thursday night issued a stay halting the scheduled execution of Alabama inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, and the state then appealed to the US Supreme Court—which vacated the stay, theoretically allowing the 57-year-old's lethal injection to proceed. But the SCOTUS decision was issued just hours...

Arizona Man Executed After SCOTUS Rejects Appeal

'It’s all been said. Let it be done,' Murray Hooper told execution team

(Newser) - An Arizona man convicted of murdering two people in 1980 was put to death Wednesday in the state’s third execution since officials started carrying out the death penalty in May after a nearly eight-year hiatus. Murray Hooper, 76, died by lethal injection at the state prison in Florence for...

Texas Executes Man Who Killed His Mom, Buried Her in Yard

Tracy Beatty's lawyers had argued his mental illness history should rule out death penalty

(Newser) - A man who killed his mother and buried her body in her backyard was executed Wednesday in Texas despite his lawyers’ appeals that he should not be put to death because he had a history of mental illness, the AP reports. Tracy Beatty, 61, received a lethal injection at the...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Popular on Newser
We use cookies. By Clicking "OK" or any content on this site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. Read more in our privacy policy.