Prosecutor to seek death penalty for mutilator
A prosecutor intends to seek the death penalty for a southern Indiana man who has confessed to fatally stabbing his girlfriend and mutilating her body, including cooking and eating some of her organs.
Death Penalty
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State declines to appeal Overstreet competency ruling
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General announced Tuesday it will not appeal a special judge’s ruling that a man on death row is not competent and therefore cannot be executed.
Judge rules man on death row not competent to be executed
A special judge in Johnson County has ruled that Michael Dean Overstreet is not currently competent to be executed.
7th Circuit will hear killer’s appeal en banc
The full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether an Arkansas man on death row should die for killing a Texas woman nearly 20 years ago. The judges decided Wednesday to grant Bruce Carneil Webster’s petition for rehearing en banc.
Senator seeks stiffer punishment for decapitations
The chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee says Indiana needs stronger penalties for decapitation.
Death penalty sought in shooting death of Gary cop
A northwest Indiana prosecutor has notified the court he plans to seek the death penalty for a man charged with murder in the shooting death of a Gary police officer.
Victim’s mother wants inmate cleared for execution
The mother of an Indiana college student killed nearly 17 years ago says it is time for the man convicted of her murder and rape to be executed.
Judge refuses inmate’s request for execution
A northern Indiana judge has turned down the request of a murder convict who asked to be executed even though he wasn't sentenced to death.
How the Supreme Court handles death cases
Supreme Court of the United States decisions to allow inmates to be put to death or to grant a rare reprieve often come at the last minute, and sometimes after the appointed hour of execution has come and gone.
Hoosiers play integral roles in historic military commissions
The words Indianapolis attorney Richard Kammen used to describe the trials taking place at Guantanamo Bay are jarring – “legally grotesque situation,” “huge stain on American justice,” “secret expedient rigged justice.”
Justices grant new avenue for relief for killer claiming insanity
A man condemned for the 1997 rape and murder of an 18-year-old Franklin College student is entitled to a new avenue of post-conviction relief on his argument that he is not mentally competent to be executed, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
US Supreme Court declines to take Indiana Planned Parenthood cases
The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday denied certiorari to two cases stemming from an Indiana law disqualifying a health care provider in participating in a government program because it provides abortion care.
Federal court stays Roy Lee Ward’s execution
A federal appeals court judge Tuesday granted a stay of execution for an Indiana man convicted of the torturous rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl.
Death penalty foe Foster pumps up federal defenders
Taking charge at Indiana Federal Community Defenders Inc. in the Southern District, Monica Foster’s seeking, and getting, bigger caseloads.
Death row inmate’s habeas petition denied
A federal judge in South Bend has denied a death row inmate’s request for habeas corpus, rejecting the man’s claims that he is mentally retarded and, therefore, cannot be sentenced to death.
Supreme Court affirms death sentence in 2001 rape, murder
A man whose death sentence and murder and rape convictions previously were reversed on appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court remains condemned after the justices on Thursday affirmed a trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief.
7th Circuit sends Corcoran case back to trial court
Following a remand from the United States Supreme Court in late 2010, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals admitted it made mistakes in its recent decision involving a convicted murderer’s appeal and sent the case to the District Court to address habeas relief claims.
What’s next for Indiana’s death penalty?
Unlike other states, Indiana has not abolished or suspended use of executions.
The evolution of capital punishment
The Indiana Lawyer takes a historical look at how the death penalty system has evolved during the past 40 years and how Indiana has amended its practices and procedures through the decades.
Views shift on use of executions
What if 1976 hadn’t played out the way it did, and some of the jurists on the U.S. Supreme Court had held the view of capital punishment at that juncture that they did at the end of their judicial careers? The death penalty may never have been reinstated.