Capital Punishment
The Capital Punishment section covers all things related to the death penalty — from legal decisions to ethical considerations.
“I’ve decided to drop my appeals and have my sentence carried out… I was fairly tried and convicted. I agreed with the court’s decision,” the inmate said
The inmate is the first person executed in Oklahoma this year and the 12th put to death since the state resumed executions in 2021 following a nearly seven-year hiatus
The inmate was sentenced to die for the 1999 beating death of Daisy Hallum, 70, and to life without parole for the shotgun slaying of her son, Sam Hallum, 38
“The justice that James Barber managed to avoid for more than two decades has finally been served,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said
Jemaine Cannon, 51, stabbed a woman to death with a butcher knife in 1995 after he escaped from a prison work center
Jemaine Cannon, 51, is set to become Oklahoma’s second executed death row inmate on July 20 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester
Anthony Sanchez is scheduled to be executed in September for the 1996 killing of a University of Oklahoma dance student
On July 1, death by firing squad will become an approved back-up method of execution in Idaho
James Barber has asked a federal court to call off his lethal injection and rule that he is only allowed to die by nitrogen suffocation
Barry Lee Jones had spent 29 years behind bars for murder, child abuse and sexual assault convictions in the death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter
Of the more than 290 people on Florida’s death row, Duane Owen was one of the longest held there
The 51 clemency applications came after a bill to abolish the death penalty failed during Louisiana’s legislative session
The AG’s Office challenged the credibility of the inmate’s psychiatric evaluation; saying medical records show his mental illness is managed through medication
Eight loved ones of correctional officers Jason Acton and Leon Egley attended the execution
Steven Petric turned down the possibility of one day being set free and instead wants to take his chances with a jury - again
Michael Tisius, 42, died by lethal injection at 6:10 p.m. for killing two COs during a botched jail escape
Michael Tisius is scheduled to die by injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing Leon Egley and Jason Acton at the Randolph County Jail
Investigators believe Heather Leavell-Keaton and her boyfriend physically abused the children for years, locked them in closets and gave them little food
The delay comes after Michael Tisius’ lawyers claimed a juror in his 2010 resentencing could not read or write
The corrections commissioner said the prison system has also added medical professionals, ordered new equipment and conducted additional rehearsals
Michael Tisius was 19 years old when he murdered two Randolph County corrections officers during a botched escape attempt in 2000
Bryan Kohberger’s trial has been set for early October. The prosecutor now has 60 days to inform the court whether he will seek the death penalty in the case
When Michael Tisius tried to escape the Randolph County Jail in 2000, he shot and killed corrections officers Jason Acton and Leon Egley
Smith was set to die in 2022, but survived after workers couldn’t start an intravenous line for the lethal injection drugs before the state’s execution warrant expired
Lethal injections were put on hold after Alabama called off two due to difficulties establishing IV access and another execution was delayed because of IV line problems
The new law no longer requires unanimous jury recommendations for judges to impose death-penalty sentences
S.C. has had an unintended 12-year moratorium on the death penalty after its lethal injection drugs expired and pharmacies refused to sell the state more
Micky Ray Cage’s death is under investigation. He had been on death row for about 20 years
After being brought into the death chamber, Darryl Barwick said, “I can’t explain why I did what I did. It’s time to apologize to the family ... I’m sorry”
In an unusual move for a prosecutor, the Attorney General filed his motion agreeing with defense attorneys that Richard Glossip deserves a stay
Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed a bill to end a unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing
Richard Glossip is scheduled to die by lethal injection on May 18
Along with hiding the name of the sellers of drugs, the bill also keeps the names and normal jobs of the members of the execution team from the public
MOST POPULAR
- Death sentence for Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmate upheld
- 60 Mo. prison staffers advocate for commuting man’s death sentence
- Death sentence for sex offender who killed CO
- Report: Fla. death row inmate died of fentanyl overdose
- ‘Botched execution’ lasted 90 minutes as Ala. inmate survived ‘torture,’ lawsuit says