death row

National

Texas attorney general's statement rejects supporters of death row inmate's appeal

5:29am October 24, 2024

The statement from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton "corrects falsehoods" from critics who say death row inmate Robert Roberson was unjustifiably convicted in the death of his toddler child.

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.

A gurney in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla. on Oct. 9, 2014.

National

A federal judge rules Oklahoma's lethal injection method is constitutional

4:11pm June 06, 2022

by The Associated Press

In a federal trial earlier this year, attorneys for 28 death row inmates argued the method could violate the amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.

Inmates condemned to die are spending more time on death row than years before. In this handout photo provided by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, San Quentin's lethal injection facility is shown.

U.S. inmates condemned to die are spending more time on death row

3:55pm May 12, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

Research shows the average time between sentencing and execution has increased by two-thirds in the past 20 years.

In an undated photo, Melissa Lucio is pictured with one of her young children.

National

Melissa Lucio is scheduled to be executed for a crime that may not have occurred

3:34pm April 22, 2022

by Laurel Wamsley

Lucio is scheduled to be executed for the death of her 2-year-old daughter. Her supporters say she was forced into a false "confession" and that new evidence exists that proves her innocence.

Julie Green's The Last Supper is currently on view at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Wash. There are 800 plates in the exhibit.

Arts

Julie Green, who painted plates with the last meals of death row inmates, has died

4:04pm October 21, 2021

by Joe Hernandez

The ongoing project, entitled The Last Supper, featured prisoner's final meal requests, from a stuffed-crust meat lover's pizza to an apple pie to a Coke.

Shanaye Poole (left) next to her father, Toforest Johnson, during a family visit to see him in prison in the early 2000s.

National

New Eyes On Alabama Death Row Case After Integrity Review Raises Questions

4:22pm April 05, 2021

by Debbie Elliott

Former prosecutors and judges say Toforest Johnson's murder conviction was based on shaky evidence. The case is getting a new look as district attorneys review the integrity of past prosecutions.

Lisa Montgomery was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday at the federal correctional complex in Terre Haute, Ind. The stay lets the court conduct a competency hearing to assess her mental state.

National

Government Appeals Stay Of Execution For Only Female On Federal Death Row

3:16pm January 12, 2021

by Cheryl Corley

Lisa Montgomery was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday, and would be the U.S. government's first execution of a female inmate in more than 67 years.

Dustin Lee Honken was executed by lethal injection and died at 4:36 p.m. ET, according to officials.

National

Justice Department Executes 3rd Federal Prisoner In A Week

9:04pm July 17, 2020

by Vanessa Romo

"Nearly three decades after [Dustin Lee] Honken coldly ended the lives of five people, including two young girls ... he has finally faced justice," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Death row inmate Marcus Robinson listens in 2012 as a judge concludes that racial bias played a role when he was sentenced to death. Robinson was resentenced to life, but he was sent back to death row years later after the state's Racial Justice Act was r

National

N.C. Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Racial Bias In Death Penalty Cases

7:03pm August 26, 2019

by Bobby Allyn

In 2009, the state passed a law allowing inmates to challenge their sentence if race was a "significant factor." Nearly all inmates filed claims, but the law was later repealed and the cases voided.