death penalty

National

Florida Gov. Removes State Attorney From Death Penalty Case

6:58pm March 17, 2017

by Brendan Byrne

After saying she wouldn't seek the death penalty, a state attorney was removed from prosecuting a high-profile killing case by Florida Gov. Rick Scott. The state death penalty continues to be debated.

Queue Listen Now

Death row inmate Duane Buck, seen here in an undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, won his request for an appeal of his death sentence.

National

Citing 'Racial Stereotype,' Supreme Court Says Texas Inmate Can Appeal Death Sentence

6:53pm February 22, 2017

by Bill Chappell

Chief Justice John Roberts calls the case "a perfect storm" of circumstances that culminated in a lower court "making a decision on life or death on the basis of race."

The death chamber at the Southern Ohio Corrections Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, as seen in 2005. A federal judge has rejected the state's lethal injection drug protocol, postponing three upcoming executions.

Federal Judge Blocks Ohio's Lethal Injection Protocol

2:20pm January 26, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

The judge rejected the state's use of midazolam, one of the drugs used in botched executions in Arizona, Ohio, Oklahoma and Alabama. The ruling puts Ohio's next three scheduled executions on hold.

Ricky Gray is scheduled to be executed at the Greensville prison in Jarratt, Va., Wednesday night.

National

Virginia Executes Convict With Drug From Anonymous Compounding Pharmacy

10:20pm January 18, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

The execution of Ricky Gray on Wednesday was the first known instance of a state using midazolam, a sedative, that was not manufactured by a pharmaceutical company.

An undated photo shows Tywanza Sanders, who was among the nine people killed by Dylann Roof.

National

'What Happened To You, Dylann?' Victim's Friend Asks Roof At Sentencing

8:01pm January 11, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

The white man who murdered nine black people in a church in Charleston, S.C., is the first person to receive the death penalty in a federal trial that included hate crimes charges.

Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof told a federal judge Wednesday that he will not present evidence or witnesses in the penalty phase of his trial. Roof (pictured in 2015) faces the death penalty.

Charleston Shooter Won't Call Witnesses, Offer Evidence During Penalty Phase

4:05pm December 28, 2016

by Ammad Omar

Dylann Roof is facing the death penalty for the 2015 shooting rampage that killed nine black churchgoers. The self-avowed white supremacist also plans to represent himself.

A 2010 photo shows the interior of the lethal injection facility at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif.

National

Death Sentences And Executions Are Down, But Voters Still Support Death Penalty Laws

12:05am December 21, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

In 2016, 30 people were sentenced to death in America, and 20 people were executed. Both numbers are the lowest in decades, but voters in three states also voted to keep execution on the books.

The lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., as seen in 2002.

National

Alabama Inmate Coughed, Heaved For About 13 Minutes During Execution

1:05pm December 09, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

Ronald Bert Smith Jr. died by lethal injection late Thursday night, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stay his execution. A judge sentenced Smith to die for murdering a man in 1994.

Officers with the Department of Homeland Security patrol outside the federal courthouse in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 7.

National

Charleston Church Shooting Suspect Will Represent Himself In Death Penalty Trial

11:46am November 28, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

The judge in the federal trial of Dylann Roof, who is accused of murdering nine people in the basement of a historically black church, has ruled that the defendant may represent himself in court.

Politics & Government

Texas Death Case Tests Standards For Defining Retardation

8:09pm November 22, 2016

by Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court questions how states may determine whether a capital defendant is intellectually disabled and thus cannot be executed.