Capital Punishment
Alabama Execution Set Today For 1982 Murder
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Tommy Arthur, now 75, has managed to delay his execution for decades. While he maintains his innocence, a lawyer for the state says he has “successfully manipulated the system.”
Capital Punishment
Georgia Executes Man For Killing Doc Who Delivered Him
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In its first execution this year, Georgia today put to death J.W. “Boy” Ledford Jr. for the 1992 murder of his 73-year-old neighbor, Dr. Harry Johnston. Ledford had requested death by firing squad, but he was given a lethal injection.
Capital Punishment
Report: Death Row Population Declined Slightly to 2,881 in ’15
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It was the 15th consecutive year in which the number of condemned inmates in state and federal prisons had declined, according to a new statistical brief by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Capital Punishment
Condemned Man Lurches as AR Wraps Up Execution Spree
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Kenneth Williams was the fourth killer executed in eight days in Arkansas. Witnesses say he lurched violently against his restraints. A spokesman for the governor called it “an involuntary muscular reaction.” Williams’ attorneys called it “horrifying.”
Capital Punishment
Study Faults Use of Solitary Confinement on TX Death Row
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A report by University of Texas law students concludes that the treatment of death row inmates falls “woefully behind international standards for confinement.” Some spend decades living amid cruel conditions, including no physical contact with loved ones and little exposure to natural light and physical activity.
Capital Punishment
OK Panel Urges Dozens of Fixes in Death Penalty System
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Bipartisan private commission says the state should not execute anyone until “significant reforms” are made. If you’re going to have the death penalty, it ought to be done right,” said former Gov. Brad Henry.
Capital Punishment
Arkansas Executes Two Death Row Inmates
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Jack Jones and Marcel Williams received lethal injections on the same gurney last night. Another execution is scheduled for Thursday. Four others have been blocked by courts.
Capital Punishment
Six ‘Respectable’ Citizens Must Watch AR Executions
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Arkansas has struggled to find enough witnesses. Robert Dunham of the Death Penalty Information Center says that, “If the role of the witness has changed, it’s because the importance of that role has grown,”says Robert Dunham of the Death Penalty Information Center.
Capital Punishment
Federal Judge Won’t Halt Two Arkansas Executions
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U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker denied requests to stop the executions of Jack Jones and Marcel Williams, who argued that their poor health could make lethal injections especially painful.
Capital Punishment
CA Could Resume Executions Within a Year
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So says expert Robert Weisberg of Stanford University, but nothing seems to move quickly in the state with the largest death row — 750 inmates — which hasn’t conducted an execution for more than a decade.