Jeffersonville man guilty of killing, cannibalism gets life term
A southern Indiana man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.
Death Penalty
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7th Circuit reverses stay of death row inmate’s federal execution
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a stay of execution for a Louisiana man scheduled to die by lethal injection in an Indiana federal prison, finding he does not meet the stringent requirements for savings-clause eligibility.
Feds execute first Black inmate since execution restart
A man who killed a religious couple visiting Texas from Iowa was executed Thursday, the first Black inmate put to death as part of the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions after a nearly 20-year pause.
Lawyer: Case of Black inmate set to die reveals racial bias
The lawyer for the first Black inmate scheduled to die this year as part of the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions says race played a central role in landing her client on death row for slaying a young white Iowa couple and burning them in the trunk of their car.
US government executes killer obsessed with witchcraft
The U.S. government on Tuesday executed a former soldier who said an obsession with witchcraft led him to kill a Georgia nurse he believed had put a spell on him. The lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute was the sixth carried out this year after a nearly two-decade moratorium.
7th Circuit vacates intellectually disabled killer’s death sentence
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the death sentence of a federal death row inmate convicted of murdering a teen girl. The condemned man has spent years claiming he is intellectually disabled, and the appellate court agreed, citing evidence withheld by the government during his trial.
US execution planned today for killer who said witchcraft drove him
A former U.S. soldier who said an obsession with witchcraft led him to slay a Georgia nurse in a bid to lift a spell he believed she put on him is the first of two more inmates the federal government is preparing to put to death this week.
7th Circuit denies bid to stay execution of Black man convicted of murder
The first Black man scheduled to be executed since the resumption of lethal injection on federal death row lost his appeal for a stay Friday when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found he had almost no chance of relief arguing his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and that the judge who condemned him was an alcoholic.
Jury convicts Jeffersonville man accused of killing, cannibalism
A southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body was convicted of a murder charge Friday.
2 dead of virus at Terre Haute federal prison
Two inmates have died in as many days from coronavirus at the federal prison complex ion Terre Haute where the U.S. government plans to carry out two executions next week.
Report: Death penalty cases show history of racial disparity
Black people have been overrepresented on death rows across the United States and killers of Black people are less likely to face the death penalty than people who kill white people, a new report found.
Kansas girl’s killer 5th federal inmate executed this year
A Kansas girl’s killer Friday became the fifth federal inmate put to death this year, an execution that went forward only after a higher court tossed a ruling that would have required the government to get a prescription for the drug used to kill him.
Fifth federal execution of 2020 on again after late ruling
The scheduled federal execution of a 10-year-old Kansas girl’s killer was back on track Friday after an appellate panel tossed a lower court’s ruling that would have required the government to get a drug prescription before it could use pentobarbital to kill the inmate at the federal prison in Terre Haute.
Judge halts planned Friday execution of Kansas girl’s killer
A judge in Washington halted the federal government’s planned Friday execution of a man who kidnapped, raped and killed a 10-year-old Kansas girl, saying the law requires the government to get a prescription for the drug it plans to use.
Only Native American on federal death row executed
The only Native American on federal death row was put to death Wednesday, despite objections from many Navajo leaders who had urged President Donald Trump to halt the execution on the grounds it would violate tribal culture and sovereignty.
Only Native American on federal death row set to be executed
The only Native American on federal death row is set to die Wednesday for the slayings of a 9-year-old and her grandmother nearly two decades ago, though many Navajos are hoping for last-minute intervention by President Donald Trump to halt the execution at the federal prison in Terre Haute.
Lawyers: Purkey autopsy suggests he suffered during execution
An inmate suffered “extreme pain” as he received a dose of pentobarbital during just the second federal execution following a 17-year lag, according to court filings by lawyers representing one of the inmates scheduled to be executed next.
Navajo man on federal death row seeks stay of execution
The only Native American on federal death row is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to put his execution on hold while he seeks review of a lower court decision over potential racial bias in his case.
Web exclusive: Young attorney driven in fight to abolish capital punishment
Attorney Ashley Eve was one of more than a dozen death penalty protesters who claimed that their First Amendment rights were violated when Indiana State Police set up roadblocks that kept capital punishment protestors almost 2 miles away from the federal prison in Terre Haute while three executions took place there last month. Eve was motivated to a career in law by her opposition to the death penalty.
Indiana police to stop blocking roads during executions
Indiana State Police agreed Friday to stop blocking roads to the federal prison in Terre Haute where federal executions resumed last month and are set to continue, backing down after anti-death penalty activists said in a lawsuit the roadblocks impeded their free speech rights.