execution news stories on Newser

Death Penalty Extremely Rare in Military

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 5:49:52 CST

Nidal Hasan could face the death penalty for the Fort Hood shootings, but he will be prosecuted in a military justice system where no one has been executed in nearly 50 years. He may also benefit from protections the military provides defendants that are greater than those offered in civilian...

Beltway Sniper Executed

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:25:42 CST

The state of Virginia executed John Allen Muhammad, the so-called Beltway sniper, tonight, with the man who led the 2002 shooting spree that killed 10 dying of lethal injection at 9:11 EST. The 48-year-old was “quiet and relaxed,” a prison official tells CBS’ Andrew Cohen . “I didn’t hear him...

Va. Gov Denies Clemency to DC Sniper

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:13:30 CST

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has denied clemency for Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad, clearing the way for Muhammad's execution at 9pm tonight. Muhammad, whose appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court yesterday, will die by lethal injection, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch . His 2002 shooting spree with younger accomplice Lee Boyd...

Supreme Court Won't Spare Beltway Sniper

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:47:04 CST

The Supreme Court has rejected an emergency appeal from John Allen Muhammad, also known as the Beltway sniper, clearing the way for his execution tomorrow. Muhammad’s lawyers said he needed more time to prepare his appeals. Although justices Stevens, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor questioned Virginia law for not affording convicts a...

UN to US: Drone Attacks Could Be Unlawful

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:58:46 CDT

A UN human rights watchdog has some strong misgivings about the CIA drone attacks on suspected terrorists in Pakistan that have killed 600 people since last year. "Extralegal executions" are a violation of international law, Philip Alston tells the BBC. “These Predators are being...

Lone AP Reporter Logs 300 Executions

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:22:36 CDT

The fever pitch of executions in Texas since the 1980s has made the taking of a life at Huntsville’s prison almost de rigueur. Newsrooms that used to send a reporter every time an inmate was put to death now rely on the AP—and one AP writer in particular: Michael...

Failed Execution Cited in Stay for Another Man

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:55:00 CDT

A federal appeals court today halted the execution of an Ohio inmate three weeks after problems with a lethal injection foiled another man's execution. The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to grant a stay to 43-year-old Lawrence Reynolds Jr., who had been sentenced to die for strangling...

Execution Set for DC Sniper

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:50:28 CDT

John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind behind the sniper attacks that rocked the Southeast in 2002, will be executed on Nov. 10, the AP reports. The attorney general’s office had requested a Nov. 9 execution, but a Virginia judge chose to set it a day later so that it would fall...

Ohio Con Wins Week Break After Botched Execution

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 1:21:54 CDT

An Ohio death row inmate was given a week-long reprieve by the governor yesterday after the execution team couldn't find a usable vein in over 2 hours of trying at his planned execution, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer . Rowell Broom, convicted of raping and killing a teen girl in 1984,...