death sentence

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Boston Marathon Bomber Has Death Sentence Overturned

New penalty-phase trial is ordered

(Newser) - A federal appeals court on Friday overturned the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man convicted in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new penalty-phase trial, finding that the judge who oversaw the case didn't sufficiently...

First Federal Execution in 17 Years Is Delayed Again

Judge says legal issues haven't been resolved

(Newser) - A US district judge on Monday ordered a new delay in federal executions, hours before the first lethal injection was scheduled to be carried out at a federal prison in Indiana, per the AP . The administration is certain to ask a higher court to allow the executions to move forward....

Iran to Execute Man Who Spied on Soleimani

Conviction is not related to Iranian general's killing in January

(Newser) - An Iranian man who provided information on Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani to US and Israeli intelligence has been sentenced to die, according to Iran's judiciary. A spokesperson described Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd as a spy for both the CIA and Mossad at a Tuesday news conference, reports Reuters . Gholamhossein Esmaili...

Man Who Killed 8 Gets 4 Death Sentences

Willie Godbolt blamed devil for Mississippi murders

(Newser) - A Mississippi man was given four death sentences by a jury on Thursday, hours after he spoke in court and blamed the devil for his actions the night eight people were shot to death . Willie Cory Godbolt, 37, was convicted Tuesday of the May 2017 slayings of eight people, reports...

DNA Will Prove If State Executed an Innocent Man

Ledell Lee maintained his innocence until he was put to death in 2017

(Newser) - Ledell Lee was executed in Arkansas in 2017 , despite legal challenges requesting more DNA testing using modern technology; the state denied those requests. Lee never stopped insisting he was innocent of the 1993 murder of Debra Reese, and now Slate reports that his case "could result in DNA evidence...

Pakistan Sentences Former Ruler to Death

But Pervez Musharraf has been out of the country for years

(Newser) - A Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced the country's former military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to death in a treason case related to the state of emergency he imposed in 2007 while in power, officials said. It's the first time in Pakistan's history that a former army chief...

Inmate Uses Last Words to Forgive Victim's Family

Donnivan Schaeffer's parents say they weren't expecting an apology anyway

(Newser) - There was no apology given nor remorse shown before Charles Rhines was put to death in South Dakota Monday night for murdering Donnivan Schaeffer in 1992—but with his last words, Rhines did "forgive" Schaeffer's family, the Rapid City Journal reports. "Ed and Peggy Schaeffer, I forgive...

Principal, 15 Others Sentenced to Death for Killing Student

Bangladesh woman had refused to drop sexual harassment charges

(Newser) - A court in eastern Bangladesh sentenced the principal of an Islamic school and 15 others to death on Thursday over the killing of an 18-year-old woman who was set on fire for refusing to drop sexual harassment charges against the principal. Judge Mamunur Rashid found Principal Siraj Ud Doula and...

He's Set to Die Tomorrow, Says Science Proves He's Innocent

Larry Swearingen has long maintained his innocence in the death of Melissa Trotter

(Newser) - Larry Swearingen is scheduled to die in Texas on Wednesday. His bid for clemency was unanimously denied Monday by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, though the 48-year-old is waiting to hear on whether the Supreme Court will stay his execution and have him sidestep death for now. It'...

Under the Banner of Heaven Killer Closer to Firing Squad

Ronald Watson Lafferty lost his latest appeal Monday

(Newser) - A Utah death row inmate featured in the popular book Under the Banner of Heaven after killing his sister-in-law and her child for resisting his polygamist beliefs inched closer to becoming the first American to be executed by firing squad in nearly a decade after losing his latest appeal Monday....

Country Hires 2 Hangmen, Says Executions Will Happen

Sri Lanka last put a man to death in 1976

(Newser) - Sri Lankan prison authorities have recruited two hangmen ahead of planned executions that would end a 43-year-old moratorium on the death penalty, an official said Monday. The recruitment of the two hangmen comes as prison authorities are preparing to carry out an order by Sri Lanka president Maithripala Sirisena, who...

Father Who Killed His 5 Kids Is Sentenced

Jurors sentence Timothy Jones Jr. to death

(Newser) - A South Carolina father was sentenced to death Thursday for killing his five children with his own hands, the AP reports. After they were dead, he drove around with their bodies for nine days before dumping them in garbage bags on the side of an Alabama dirt road. Timothy Jones...

Inmate Declines Special Last Meal, Wants to Feed Homeless

Donnie Johnson turns down $20 meal, asks supporters to feed the homeless instead

(Newser) - Donnie Edward Johnson declined to choose a special last meal, and will eat what the general prison population eats before his 7pm execution Thursday. But the convicted murderer is calling for his supporters to buy a meal for a homeless person, the Tennessean reports. Johnson's lawyer says he was...

After a Series of Apologies, Georgia Man Is Executed

Scotty Morrow killed 2 women in 1994

(Newser) - A man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and another woman nearly 25 years ago was executed Thursday evening in Georgia. Scotty Garnell Morrow's approximate time of death was 9:38pm, Warden Benjamin Ford told witnesses at the state prison in Jackson. Morrow, 52, was convicted of murder in...

Appeals Court Blocks Muslim Man's Execution Over Imam Issue

Alabama inmate wants imam present at his execution

(Newser) - Alabama may be violating the religious rights of a Muslim inmate set for execution by refusing to allow an imam at his death, a federal court said Wednesday in blocking the lethal injection. The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted an indefinite stay for Dominique Ray, 42, a day...

Boston Bomber Appeals: Nix Conviction, Death Sentence

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers say he should never have been tried in Boston

(Newser) - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's attorneys don't deny their client was behind the "heinous" 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, along with his late brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. But they're now appealing the 25-year-old's conviction and death sentence, arguing that publicity before the trial in Boston was so prevalent and "...

Maker of Electric Chair This Man Will Die in Is Concerned

Edmund Zagorski is scheduled to die Thursday in Tennessee

(Newser) - Edmund Zagorski is officially on death watch in Tennessee ahead of his planned Thursday execution. He'll be under surveillance for 24 hours in a cell next to the execution chamber as he awaits his death by electric chair , reports the AP . But there's one hiccup in terms of...

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...

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...

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