death penalty

National

Alabama executes man who killed 5 and asked to be put to death

12:57am October 18, 2024

Alabama executed a man Thursday who admitted to killing five people with an ax and gun during a drug-fueled rampage in 2016 and dropped his appeals and asked to be put to death.

President Biden Proposes Major Reforms For U.S. Supreme Court

National

Okla. AG seeks new trial for death row inmate, but Supreme Court seems split

6:32pm October 09, 2024

At issue is whether the state court wrongly refused to accept the attorney general’s findings that a death row inmate is entitled to a new trial.

Queue Listen Now

A file photo from 2008 shows a gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where inmates received lethal injections of drugs. Eight people were executed in Texas in 2023. The state policies mention a "drug team," who are not employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

National

Who performs a lethal injection in the U.S.? In some states, they're volunteers

5:01am March 06, 2024

by Bill Chappell

A failed execution in Idaho has put a spotlight on the teams of people that prisons use to impose the ultimate penalty on condemned inmates.

This image provided by the Idaho Department of Correction shows Thomas Eugene Creech on Jan. 9, 2009.

National

Idaho prepares to execute one of the longest-serving death row inmates in the U.S.

5:41am February 28, 2024

by The Associated Press

Officials say Thomas Creech's spiritual adviser will be allowed to stand next to Creech with a hand on his shoulder during the scheduled Wednesday execution. Creech has been imprisoned since 1974.

The Virginia Department of Corrections recorded the execution of Travis Spencer's brother. Spencer wants his tape published to hold the state accountable.

National

Families of executed prisoners want death penalty tapes made public

4:12pm December 20, 2023

Virginia said it's keeping execution tapes secret to protect the privacy of the relatives of the prisoners the state recorded. But the families NPR talked with said they want the tapes published.

Twenty-four people have been put to death so far in 2023, up from 18 in 2022 and 11 in 2021, according to a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center. The center attributed the increase to Florida's return to executions after a 3-year pause.

National

Executions are on the rise in the U.S., even as public support wanes

5:01am December 01, 2023

by Vanessa Romo

Twenty-four executions have been carried out in 2023 — five more than last year, the Death Penalty Information Center says. Meanwhile, 50% of Americans say the death penalty is applied unfairly.

Inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher's wife.

National

Alabama sets January execution date using nitrogen gas

1:18am November 09, 2023

by The Associated Press

Alabama has set a January execution date for what would be the nation's first attempt to put an inmate to death using nitrogen gas.

This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Jedidiah Murphy.

National

Texas executes man who questioned evidence in deadly carjacking of elderly woman

1:51am October 11, 2023

by The Associated Press

A Texas man who unsuccessfully challenged the safety of the state's lethal injection drugs and raised questions about evidence used to persuade a jury to sentence him to death was executed Tuesday.

A man takes a nap as the central business district is shrouded by haze in Singapore, on Sept. 23, 2019. Singapore executed a man Wednesday, July 26, 2023, for drug trafficking and is set to hang a woman Friday — the first in 19 years — prompting renewed calls for a halt to capital punishment.

World News

Singapore set to execute first woman in nearly 20 years, rights groups say

2:15am July 27, 2023

by The Associated Press

The announcement of the scheduled Friday execution of a woman comes as human rights groups say Singapore is out of step with the global trend of more countries moving away from capital punishment.

Former President Trump at the annual New Hampshire Republican State Committee meeting in January. Trump has promised to crack down on the Mexican cartels by instituting the death penalty for drug dealers and smugglers.

Trump wants the death penalty for drug dealers. Here's why that probably won't happen

10:02pm May 10, 2023

The former president is pledging to wage war against Mexico's drug cartels if reelected in 2024. His plan includes pushing Congress to institute the death penalty for drug dealers and smugglers.