Category: Death Penalty

Texas delays execution of man paid $2,000 to murder woman

Texas delayed the execution on Tuesday of a man convicted of murdering a woman in exchange for $2,000 from her relatives while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a last-minute appeal. Roland Ruiz, 44, was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at the state’s death chamber in Huntsville at 6 p.m. for the murder of Theresa Rodriguez, 29, in 1992 in the San Antonio area.

Texas to execute man convicted of taking money to murder woman

Texas is set to execute on Tuesday a man convicted of accepting $2,000 to murder a woman from the victim’s husband and her brother-in-law, who were looking to collect $400,000 from life insurance policies they took out on her. Roland Ruiz, 44, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at the state’s death chamber in Huntsville at 6 p.m. for the murder of Theresa Rodriguez, 29, in 1992 in the San Antonio area.

The stars are only present in darkness

“A democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities … is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” These were the last chilling words of Nelson Mandela’s three-hour speech before hundreds at his criminal trial proceeding in the Pretoria Supreme Court of South Africa on April 20, 1964.

Multiple executions rare in US, Arkansas just scheduled 4

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday scheduled four double-executions in April. If carried out, the executions would mark the first time in nearly two decades that a state executed more than one inmate in a day, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center , a nonprofit research group that opposes executions.

Federal court allows appeal for killer of TCU professor

A federal appeals court is allowing attorneys for a 44-year-old convicted killer to move forward with an appeal that questions whether he’s eligible for the death penalty for the 2004 suffocation of retired college professor abducted in Fort Worth. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Edward Lee Busby may pursue arguments that he’s mentally impaired, making him ineligible for execution, and that he’s had deficient legal help at his trial and in earlier stages of his appeals.

Proposal could resolve key death penalty issue

Lawmakers are inching toward getting Florida’s death penalty back on the books after a series of court rulings left the state without a way to condemn to death defendants convicted of capital crimes. House Judiciary Chairman Chris Sprowls on Tuesday filed a measure that would require unanimous jury recommendations for death sentences to be imposed, in response to a Florida Supreme Court ruling in October.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson unveils bipartisan legislation to abolish executions

Flanked by former Attorney General Rob McKenna and Governor Jay Inslee, current Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a major new effort to abolish the barbaric practice of state-sponsored executions in Washington, supported by a bipartisan group of legislators from each house. Declaring that it is the responsibility of leaders to lead, Ferguson said the time has come for the Legislature to take a vote on ending the costly, ineffective death penalty.

Attorney: DC sniper life sentence unconstitutional

An attorney for a man convicted of taking part in sniper shootings that left 10 people dead in the Washington area is asking a judge to toss his life sentence because he was convicted as a juvenile. In a motion filed Friday in a Maryland county court, public defender James Johnston argues that Lee Boyd Malvo’s mandatory life sentence is illegal because the U.S. Supreme Court determined such sentences are unconstitutional for juveniles.

Convicted killer of 2 in Fort Worth set to die Wednesday evening1 hour ago

Washington [United States), Jan.11 : Death row inmate Christopher Wilkins, 48, will be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday evening after he failed to get a reprieve from the United States Supreme Court,media reports in Huntsville, Texas, said. Wilkins, convicted for the slaying of two persons in Fort Worth in 2005 that stemmed from a 20 dollar drug deal, will be first execution of death row convict in the United States in 2017.

Paris police: 17 arrested over Kardashian West jewelry heist

After four days of testimony, prosecutors rested their death penalty case Monday against convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, calling more than two dozen people during the trial’s penalty phase. After four days of testimony, prosecutors rested their death penalty case Monday against convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, calling more than two dozen people during the trial’s penalty phase.

Trial of executive blamed in meningitis outbreak is underway

Opening statements are scheduled Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, in the trial of Cadden. Cadden is a former top execu… After four days of testimony, prosecutors rested their death penalty case Monday against convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, calling more than two dozen people during the trial’s penalty phase.

French corruption trial of African leader’s son postponed

Amid reports that Charles Manson has been taken from his California prison cell to a hospital, a state corrections official would confirm only that the 82-year-old killer and cult leader was still alive. Amid reports that Charles Manson has been taken from his California prison cell to a hospital, a state corrections official would confirm only that the 82-year-old killer and cult leader was still alive.

The disappearing death penalty

Just before Christmas, the Death Penalty Information Center reported that in 2016 both the death sentences by courts and death-row executions across the United States continued to decline. The 30 new death sentences handed down this year were a big drop from 49 the previous year, and were the lowest number since the US Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, the nonprofit group said.

U.S. executions in ’16 fewest in 25 years

A year that began with the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the death penalty in Florida ended with the country reaching modern lows in executions and death sentences. Still, even as capital punishment has declined in both sentencing and practice, there were also signs this year of its support among lawmakers, judges and the public.

Executions dwindle to 25-year low in U.S.

A year that began with the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the death penalty in one of the most active capital punishment states ended with the country reaching modern lows in executions and death sentences, the most glaring signs yet about how the practice has dwindled in America today. Still, even as capital punishment has declined in both sentencing and practice, there were also signs this year of its persistence from lawmakers, judges and the public, reminders that the death penalty is far from fading away.

Death sentences decline sharply as public attitudes shift

Only 30 people were sentenced to death in the United States this year, the lowest number since the early 1970s and a further sign of the steady decline in use of the death penalty. The number is a sharp drop from the 49 death sentences last year and just a fraction of the peak of 315 in 1996, according to a report from the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization that opposes capital punishment and tracks the issue.

The Latest: Man held for death of ex-reality show contestant

San Francisco appointed a deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department Tuesday to head the city police department as it deals with a number of racially charged issues. San Francisco named a new police chief, an African-American police veteran who officials and community activists hope can reform a troubled department marred by fatal police shootings of minorities.