All articles tagged with #capital punishment
Tennessee paused the planned execution of death-row inmate Tony Carruthers after intravenous access problems during lethal injection, delaying the proceeding and signaling that officials will pursue a rescheduled date while attempting to resolve the issue.
Amnesty International says 2025 saw a global spike in executions to about 2,707—the highest since 1981—with Iran executing at least 2,159 people, more than doubling 2024. China likely accounts for thousands but is secrecy-bound. Other countries with confirmed increases include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Singapore and the United States, while roughly 70% of nations have abolished capital punishment. The report emphasizes a small number of states continue to use the death penalty to curb dissent.
Edward Busby Jr. was executed in Texas for the decades-old killing of a retired college professor.
Iran hanged Erfan Kiani, identified by state media as a leader of a January-protests group in Isfahan alleged to have acted for Mossad; the Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence, and authorities carried out the execution amid a broader crackdown on protest-related crimes, a move that rights groups say risks unfair trials and coercive confessions as executions continue.
Prosecutors used rap lyrics as evidence in a Texas death-row case, highlighting a controversial and increasingly common tactic that links a suspect’s music to alleged criminal intent, a move that has drawn scrutiny of how song lyrics are interpreted in court.
The Justice Department announced it will allow firing squads as a method for federal executions to accelerate capital punishment, citing practical and logistical reasons; the policy could affect inmates on federal death row, such as Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers, as the government seeks to ramp up enforcement of the death penalty.
The Department of Justice moved to strengthen the federal death penalty by re-adopting the Trump-era lethal injection protocol and adding firing squads, resuming federal executions after a moratorium, and authorizing death sentences for up to 44 defendants, while pledging to streamline capital-case reviews; five states currently allow firing squads, and public support for the death penalty has been declining in recent polls.
The Justice Department reauthorized pentobarbital for federal executions and said firing squads and additional methods could be added, part of a broader push to revive the federal death penalty. A 48-page report urges the Bureau of Prisons to consider relocating federal death row to states that permit more methods, speed up appeals, and tighten clemency limits, while proposing to broaden eligible crimes. The plan also seeks regulatory paths to preserve the use of lethal drugs amid legal and logistical hurdles, prompting criticism from lawmakers like Sen. Durbin who view the moves as regressive.
Israel’s parliament approved a law making death by hanging the default penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis in a terrorist act, signaling a major expansion of capital punishment that rights groups call discriminatory; the measure does not apply retroactively to Oct. 7 attacks and faces legal challenges.
Following the hangings of three young men in Iran, rights groups warn of a potential new wave of executions, as protests erupt in Tehran and authorities tighten security, underscoring ongoing tensions over Iran’s use of the death penalty and political dissent.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence of Charles ‘Sonny’ Burton, 75, to life without parole after Burton spent three decades on death row for a killing he did not commit; Burton participated in a 1991 robbery tied to the death but had left the building when the victim was killed.
Texas death-row inmate Charles Victor Thompson, who once escaped custody after a 2005 resentencing, is slated to be the first person executed in the United States this year for the 1998 killings of his ex-girlfriend Glenda Hayslip and her new boyfriend Darren Cain in Tomball; the lethal injection would be in Huntsville. Prosecutors describe a jealous, abusive pattern, and Thompson’s lawyers sought a Supreme Court stay arguing the death sentence should be reconsidered, but the Texas Board of Pardons denied commuting his sentence. Thompson had previously escaped from Harris County Jail and was recaptured in Shreveport.
Ruth Ellis's grandchildren are seeking a posthumous pardon for her, arguing she was a victim of domestic abuse and that her execution in 1955 was a miscarriage of justice, aiming to address historical wrongs and highlight issues of violence against women.
Roy Lee Ward was executed in Indiana for the 2001 rape and murder of 15-year-old Stacy Payne, marking the state's third execution since resuming capital punishment last year amid concerns over drug protocols and legal proceedings that spanned over two decades.
Roy Lee Ward was executed in Indiana for the 2001 rape and murder of 15-year-old Stacy Payne, after legal battles spanning over two decades, with his last words expressing remorse and a desire for peace for the victim's family.