execution

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State May Be First to Mainly Use Firing Squads in Executions

Idaho is aiming for this method, using remote-control system

(Newser) - Idaho is preparing to make firing squads its main execution method, a first for any US state, as it works to build a new death chamber south of Boise, to be ready by next summer. Under a new state law, firing squad executions will take priority starting in July...

Utah: Prisoner With Dementia Won't Face Firing Squad

Lawyers argue Ralph Leroy Menzies can't understand why he's facing execution

(Newser) - The impending execution of a man by firing squad in Utah was blocked by the state's Supreme Court on Friday after his attorneys argued he should be spared because he has dementia. As the AP reports, Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was set to be executed Friday for abducting and...

Florida Carries Out Record 11th Execution of the Year

Curtis Windom killed 3 people in 1992

(Newser) - A man convicted of killing his girlfriend, her mother, and a man he claimed owed him $2,000 was put to death Thursday in a record 11th execution this year by the state of Florida, the AP reports. Curtis Windom, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:17pm following a lethal...

Florida Executes Woman's Killer
Florida Executes Woman's Killer
Aug 19, 2025 6:20 PM CDT

Florida Executes Woman's Killer

Janet White's husband witnesses death of Kayle Bates

(Newser) - A man convicted of abducting a woman from a Florida Panhandle insurance office and killing her received a lethal injection Tuesday evening in the state's 10th execution this year. Kayle Bates, 67, was pronounced dead at 6:17pm following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke under...

On Alabama's Agenda: a Nitrogen Gas Execution

Gov. Kay Ivey has set an execution date of Oct. 23 for Anthony Boyd

(Newser) - Alabama has scheduled an October execution by nitrogen gas for an inmate who has an ongoing lawsuit challenging the new method as unconstitutionally cruel. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday set an Oct. 23 execution date for Anthony Boyd. Boyd, 53, is one of four men convicted in the 1993...

Lawyer Says Defibrillator Didn't Shock During Execution

Byron Black reported being in pain when receiving injection

(Newser) - A Tennessee convict who said he was "hurting so bad" during his lethal injection this week for the 1980s killings of his girlfriend and her two young daughters was not shocked by his implanted defibrillator, his attorney said Friday. Kelley Henry, the federal public defender for Byron Black, said...

In Iran, a Rare Execution of a Nuclear Scientist

Executed scientist accused of leaking nuclear secrets to Israel's Mossad

(Newser) - In a rare move, Iran has executed a top nuclear scientist accused of spying for Israel—exposing just how deeply foreign intelligence may have infiltrated one of the country's most sensitive programs, the New York Times reports. According to Iran's judiciary, Roozbeh Vadi worked at a sensitive...

'It's Hurting So Bad,' Says Inmate Amid Execution

Byron Black gets lethal injection in Tennessee after legal fight over defibrillator

(Newser) - Tennessee executed an inmate on Tuesday after being allowed to do so without disconnecting his heart defibrillator. Convicted murderer Byron Black, 69, died at 10:43am after receiving a lethal injection, reports the AP . A reporter who witnessed his death said Black groaned in pain and told a spiritual adviser...

Florida Executes Man Who Killed His Wife and Children

Edward Zakrzewski's death sets a Florida record

(Newser) - A man convicted of the 1994 machete killings of his wife and their two children was put to death Thursday, becoming the ninth person executed in Florida this year and setting a state record for a single-year total since the Supreme Court restored the death penalty decades ago. Officials said...

Inmate's Path to Execution Is Unusually Complicated
Inmate Loses a Battle in
Complicated Execution Fight
the rundown
Jul 31, 2025 2:27 PM CDT

Inmate Loses a Battle in Complicated Execution Fight

There's a legal dispute in Tennessee over Byron Black's defibrillator and his intellectual ability

(Newser) - As of now, a 68-year-old death row inmate is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, but the case of Byron Black is unusually complicated one and could take more twists and turns before then. The main issue involving Black, who murdered his girlfriend and her two young daughters in 1988,...

Man Lawmakers Fought to Save Is Scheduled to Die Oct. 16

Lawyers say they have 'powerful new evidence' of Texas inmate's Robbie Roberson's innocence

(Newser) - A judge on Wednesday set a new execution date for Robert Roberson, a Texas man who won a last-minute reprieve last year and could become the first person in the US to be put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. State district...

Florida Executes Man Who Killed 2 in Mistaken Revenge

This year is already tied with 2024 for executions

(Newser) - A man convicted of fatally shooting two people outside a Florida bar in 1993 as part of an attempted revenge killing was executed Tuesday evening, the 26th person put to death in the US this year. Michael Bernard Bell, 54, was pronounced dead at 6:25pm after receiving a lethal...

Japan Executes 'Twitter Killer'
Japan Hangs 'Twitter Killer'
Jun 27, 2025 3:26 AM CDT

Japan Hangs 'Twitter Killer'

Takahiro Shiraishi raped, dismembered suicidal women and girls he contacted online

(Newser) - A man convicted of murder for killing and dismembering nine people in his apartment near Tokyo was executed Friday, Japan's Justice Ministry said. Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the "Twitter killer," was sentenced to death in 2020 for the killings in 2017 of the nine victims, most of...

Mississippi Executes Kidnapper of Bank Executive's Wife

Richard Gerald Jordan was sentenced to death in 1976 for killing Edwina Marter

(Newser) - Mississippi's longest-serving death row inmate was executed Wednesday, nearly five decades after he kidnapped and killed a bank loan officer's wife in a violent ransom scheme. Richard Gerald Jordan, a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, received a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary...

Florida Executes Thomas Gudinas
Florida Executes
Thomas Gudinas
Jun 24, 2025 5:54 PM CDT

Florida Executes Thomas Gudinas

Man who raped, killed woman near bar in 1994 is 7th inmate the state has executed this year

(Newser) - A man convicted of raping and killing a woman near a central Florida bar was executed Tuesday evening. Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:13pm after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, said Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis. Gudinas was...

Saudi Journalist Executed After Tweets Criticizing the Kingdom

Turki al-Jasser spent 7 years in prison before he was reportedly put to death Saturday

(Newser) - A Saudi journalist who once warned that writers could be killed by their own governments has been executed for treason—raising new questions about the kingdom's crackdown on dissent in the digital age. Turki al-Jasser, believed to be in his 40s, was put to death in Riyadh on...

Lawsuit: Firing Squad 'Intended to Miss'

Lawyers for condemned SC inmate say shots were meant to cause 'extreme suffering'

(Newser) - An inmate scheduled to die by lethal injection in South Carolina on Friday challenged the state's execution methods in a lawsuit, arguing that lethal injection, the electric chair, and the firing squad are all cruel and unusual punishments. Lawyers for Steven Stanko claimed that in the April firing squad...

Alabama Carries Out Its 5th Nitrogen Gas Execution

Gregory Hunt put to death for woman's 1988 murder

(Newser) - An Alabama man convicted of killing a woman in 1988 was put to death Tuesday evening in the nation's sixth execution by nitrogen gas, the AP reports. Gregory Hunt, 65, was pronounced dead at 6:26pm at a south Alabama prison, authorities said, one of four executions scheduled this...

Florida Executes Man for 1994 Rape, Murder

Anthony Wainwright is 6th inmate state has executed so far this year

(Newser) - A man convicted of raping and killing a woman three decades ago after kidnapping her from a supermarket parking lot was executed Tuesday in Florida. Anthony Wainwright, 54, received a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted in the April 1994 killing of 23-year-old Carmen Gayheart,...

US Execution Pace Is Fastest in a Decade

There may be 4 more taking place this week

(Newser) - It's another busy week in an unusually busy year for US executions: Four more are scheduled—in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Oklahoma, reports the Guardian . The latter has been blocked by a judge temporarily, though a challenge by the state attorney general could put it back on...

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