US Supreme Court denies Oklahoma death row inmate’s appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a last-minute appeal filed by Oklahoma death row inmate Benjamin Cole, paving the way for him to receive a lethal injection Thursday.
Death Penalty
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Parkland school shooter to get life sentence for killing 17
Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz will be sentenced to life without parole for the 2018 murder of 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, after the jury said Thursday that it could not unanimously agree that he should be executed.
US argues Supreme Court shouldn’t review Dylann Roof case
Dylann Roof’s death sentence and conviction in the 2015 racist slayings of nine members of a Black South Carolina congregation should be upheld and don’t merit review by the U.S. Supreme Court, attorneys for the federal government wrote in a filing Wednesday.
Prosecutors seek death penalty in Indiana officer’s slaying
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a man accused of fatally shooting a young Indiana police officer last month during an early morning traffic stop, officials announced Wednesday.
Death row inmate wins habeas relief on robbery conviction, sentence
A federal death row inmate convicted in an Arkansas murder and robbery has secured habeas relief against his robbery conviction and one of his death sentences.
Man charged with killing Terre Haute cop won’t face death penalty charge
Federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against an Indiana man charged in the fatal shooting of a Terre Haute police detective who was also an FBI task force officer.
SCOTUS rules against inmates in right-to-counsel case
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled along ideological lines Monday against two Arizona death row inmates who had argued that their lawyers did a poor job representing them in state court. The ruling will make it harder for certain inmates sentenced to death or long terms in prison who believe their lawyers failed them to bring challenges on those grounds.
Texas death row inmate to get Supreme Court review
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, who claims untested crime-scene evidence will help clear him.
Parkland, Florida, school shooter’s jury selection begins
Jury selection in the deadliest U.S. mass shooting ever to go to trial began Monday with preliminary screening for the panel that will determine whether Nikolas Cruz will be put to death for murdering 17 students and staff members at a Parkland, Florida, high school.
High court: States must allow prayer, touch in executions
The Supreme Court said Thursday that states must accommodate the wishes of death row inmates who want to have their pastors pray aloud and even touch them during their executions.
Firing-squad executions get the green light in South Carolina
South Carolina has given the green light to firing-squad executions, a method codified into state law last year after a decadelong pause in carrying out death sentences because of the state’s inability to procure lethal injection drugs.
High court reimposes Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence
The Supreme Court has reinstated the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Justices take certified questions, rule Gary death row inmate didn’t ‘properly’ file PCR petition
A Gary man sentenced to death did not “properly file” a post-conviction petition in 2016, and an Indiana Supreme Court order in 2017 to file the deficient PCR petition did not render it proper, the Supreme Court has ruled in response to certified questions from a federal judge.
Grand jury indicts suspect in Terre Haute officer’s slaying
A federal grand jury indicted an Indiana man Wednesday on charges that would make him eligible for the death penalty if he’s convicted in the fatal shooting of a Terre Haute police detective and FBI task force officer.
Report: 11 executions in 2021 mark three-decade low
States and the federal government carried out 11 executions this year, the fewest since 1988, as support for the death penalty has continued to decline.
Marion County prosecutor drops death penalty for man accused of murdering Southport police officer
The Indianapolis man accused of killing a Southport police officer is no longer facing the death penalty after the Marion Superior Court accepted an agreement Friday reached by defense attorneys and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, which dropped the potential for capital punishment in exchange for a bench trial that could result in the defendant being sentenced to life in prison.
High court skeptical of Texas death row inmate prayer demand
Conservative Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism Tuesday about a Texas death row inmate’s demand that his pastor be allowed to pray out loud and touch him during his execution.
Oklahoma executes inmate who dies vomiting and convulsing
Oklahoma administered the death penalty Thursday on a man who convulsed and vomited as he was executed for the 1998 slaying of a prison cafeteria worker, ending a six-year execution moratorium brought on by concerns over its execution methods.
Alabama man put to death for 1991 killing of woman
An Alabama man who avoided execution in February was put to death Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request for a stay by his lawyers, who had argued the execution should be blocked on grounds that he had an intellectual disability.
Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to 2018 Parkland school massacre
Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty Wednesday to murdering 17 people during a rampage at his former high school in Parkland, Florida, leaving a jury to decide whether he will be executed for one of the nation’s deadliest school shootings.