US inmate scheduled to be executed tests positive for virus
A federal prisoner scheduled to be executed just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office has tested positive for coronavirus, his lawyer said Thursday.
Death Penalty
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US Supreme Court reinstates Arizona inmate’s death sentence
The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the death sentence for an Arizona prison inmate convicted of killing a man during a 1994 robbery in Yavapai County, state prosecutors said Tuesday.
US executes Louisiana truck driver who killed daughter, 2
The Trump administration continued its series of post-election federal executions Friday by putting to death a Louisiana truck driver who severely abused his 2-year-old daughter for weeks in 2002, then killed her by slamming her head repeatedly against a truck’s windows and dashboard.
After 7th Circuit, SCOTUS rulings, US carries out rare presidential transition execution
The Trump administration Thursday carried out its ninth federal execution of the year in what has been a first series of executions during a presidential lame-duck period in 130 years. A Texas street-gang member was put to death at at the US Penitentiary in Terre Haute for the slayings of a religious couple from Iowa more than two decades ago.
Inmate scheduled for Thursday execution asks 7th Circuit for a stay
With mere hours left before his scheduled execution, Brandon Bernard is awaiting a decision from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that could delay his death by lethal injection.
Judge declines to stop federal executions because of COVID
A federal judge in Indiana has declined to put a hold on upcoming federal executions, finding that although the executions likely present a COVID-related risk, the inmates who sued to stop the executions have not shown that they personally will be at risk of contracting the virus.
Judge denies Thursday execution stay as pause urged due to COVID
An Indiana judge has declined to stay a federal execution scheduled for Thursday at the Terre Haute federal prison. Meanwhile, another judge is considering whether the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means all upcoming executions should indefinitely be put on hold.
BOP defends COVID procedures as inmates challenge upcoming executions
Facing questions about COVID-19 protocols from an Indiana judge, the federal government is defending its plan to move forward with scheduled executions this month and next despite the continued surge of reported virus cases.
Trump cementing death penalty legacy up to Biden inauguration
As Donald Trump’s presidency winds down, his administration is ratcheting up the pace of federal executions despite a surge of coronavirus cases in prisons, announcing plans for five starting Thursday and concluding just days before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Full 7th Circuit rejects federal execution appeal over mental capacity
In a 7-2 decision, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected a federal death row inmate’s request for an en banc rehearing after a panel of the court in October refused to stay his execution due to his claimed mental incapacity.
Judge halts federal execution after lawyers contract virus
A federal judge is temporarily blocking the federal government’s plan to execute the first female death row inmate in almost six decades after her attorneys contracted the coronavirus visiting her in prison.
US government executes man convicted of killing Texas teen
Orlando Hall was put to death at the federal prison in Terre Haute for abducting and killing the teenager, Lisa Rene. His was the eighth federal execution this year since the Trump administration revived a process that had been used just three times in the past 56 years.
Federal inmate who killed Texas teenager set to be executed
The federal government prepared Thursday to execute an inmate at the federal prison in Terre Haute who was condemned for kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old Texas girl, bludgeoning her with a shovel and burying her alive.
Delay sought after lawyers for woman on death row get virus
The two attorneys representing the first woman scheduled to be put to death by the U.S. government in more than six decades are seeking to delay her execution because they’ve contracted coronavirus visiting their client at a Texas prison.
Habeas petition dismissed for man facing federal execution Thursday
A federal judge in Indianapolis has denied a habeas petition filed on behalf of a convicted killer scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute. Defense attorneys immediately appealed, seeking a stay of execution.
High court rejects appeal from Florida death row inmate
The Supreme Court of the United States has rejected an appeal from a Florida death row inmate whose conviction was based in part on the testimony of a controversial jailhouse informant.
Feds to execute woman who killed victim, cut baby from womb
A woman convicted of fatally strangling a pregnant woman, cutting her body open and kidnapping her baby is scheduled to be the first female inmate put to death by the U.S. government in more than six decades, the Justice Department said Friday.
SCOTUS rejects Floyd County killer’s death sentence appeals
The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected appeals from a Floyd County man sentenced to death after he was convicted of two counts of murder for killing two women eight years ago and later confessing to a 2003 slaying.
Jeffersonville man guilty of killing, cannibalism gets life term
A southern Indiana man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.
7th Circuit reverses stay of death row inmate’s federal execution
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a stay of execution for a Louisiana man scheduled to die by lethal injection in an Indiana federal prison, finding he does not meet the stringent requirements for savings-clause eligibility.