Death Penalty - The Indiana Lawyer

Executioners sanitized accounts of deaths in federal cases

February 18, 2021 | Associated Press

Executioners who put 13 inmates to death in the last months of the Trump administration likened the process of dying by lethal injection to falling asleep and called gurneys “beds” and final breaths “snores.” The sworn accounts by executioners, which government filings cited as evidence the lethal injections were going smoothly, raise questions about whether officials misled courts to ensure the executions scheduled from July to mid-January were done before death penalty opponent Joe Biden became president.

82 advocacy groups call on Biden to end federal executions

February 9, 2021 | Associated Press

Dozens of civil rights and advocacy organizations are calling on the Biden administration to immediately halt federal executions after an unprecedented run of capital punishment under former President Donald Trump and to commute the sentences of inmates on federal death row.

Biden pressed to end federal death penalty

February 8, 2021 | Associated Press

Joe Biden, the first sitting U.S. president to openly oppose the death penalty, has discussed the possibility of instructing the Department of Justice to stop scheduling new executions, officials have told The Associated Press. But it remains unclear whether Biden may take broader action to halt the federal death penalty.

Analysis: Federal executions likely a COVID superspreader

February 8, 2021 | Associated Press and IL Staff

As the Trump administration was nearing the end of an unprecedented string of executions in Terre Haute, 70% of death row inmates were sick with COVID-19. Guards were ill. Traveling prison staff on the execution team had the virus. So did media witnesses, who may have unknowingly infected others when they returned home because they were never told about the spreading cases.

Feds withheld info on virus cases after Terre Haute executions

January 28, 2021 | Associated Press

At least two journalists tested positive for coronavirus after witnessing the Trump administration’s final three federal executions, but the Bureau of Prisons knowingly withheld the diagnoses from other media witnesses and did not perform any contact tracing, The Associated Press has learned.

Suspect in IMPD officer’s slaying to face death penalty

January 26, 2021 | IL Staff

The man accused of fatally shooting an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer will face a potential death sentence, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday.

Indiana inmate agrees to plead guilty in inmate’s killing

January 25, 2021 | Associated Press

An inmate at a central Indiana prison has agreed to plead guilty in the fatal stabbing of another inmate, four months after he rejected the same plea agreement. The inmate has previously requested the death penalty.

Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution

January 18, 2021 | Associated Press and IL Staff

The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution in Terre Haute since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, an opponent of the federal death penalty.

Despite riot, impeachment, business as usual for high court

January 15, 2021 | Associated Press

At this fraught moment in American history, the Supreme Court of the United States is doing its best to keep its head down, going about its regular business and putting off as many politically charged issues as it can, including whether President Donald Trump’s tax returns must be turned over to prosecutors in New York.

US executes Virginia gang killer despite COVID-19 infection

January 15, 2021 | Associated Press

The federal government executed a drug trafficker Thursday in Terre Haute for slaying seven people in a burst of violence in Virginia’s capital in 1992, with some witnesses in the death chamber building applauding after the 52-year-old was pronounced dead.

Drug dealer convicted in 7 killings faces possible execution

January 14, 2021 | Associated Press

It was one of the worst bursts of gang violence ever seen in Richmond, Virginia. At least 11 people were killed in a 45-day period in 1992, all at the hands of gang members who eliminated anyone they thought would get in the way of their growing crack cocaine business.

US executes first woman since 1953

January 13, 2021 | Associated Press and IL Staff

A Kansas woman who briefly won a reprieve earlier this week from an Indiana federal judge was executed early Wednesday morning in Terre Haute for strangling an expectant mother in Missouri and cutting the baby from her womb. It was the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government has put to death a female inmate.

Judge halts first US execution of female inmate in 67 years

January 12, 2021 | Associated Press and IL Staff

An Indiana federal judge has halted the U.S. government’s first execution of a female inmate in nearly seven decades, saying a court must first determine whether the Kansas woman who killed an expectant mother, cut the baby from her womb and then tried to pass off the newborn as her own is mentally competent.

Inmate scheduled for Friday execution loses 7th Circuit appeal

January 11, 2021 | Olivia Covington

A federal prisoner scheduled to be executed Friday at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute has failed to secure habeas relief from the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lawyers: Inmate set for Tuesday execution is seriously mentally ill, ineligible for death penalty

January 8, 2021 | Olivia Covington

“Broken before she was born.” That’s how lawyers describe Lisa Marie Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row and the next person scheduled for execution. Her lawyers and advocates who cite her horrific history of childhood abuse and trauma are calling on President Donald Trump to commute her sentence to life without parole or to grant her a reprieve.

Judge halts executions unless additional COVID precautions implemented

January 8, 2021 | Olivia Covington

The federal executions scheduled for next week cannot proceed unless the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute takes additional measures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spread, a federal judge has ruled.

Appeals court vacates order delaying woman’s execution

January 4, 2021 | Associated Press

A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the only woman on federal death row to be executed before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Terre Haute inmates renew bid to postpone executions as COVID cases rise in prison

December 31, 2020 | Olivia Covington

Two inmates are renewing their bid to postpone upcoming executions at the Terre Haute federal prison, claiming this time to have an evidentiary link between recent executions and an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among inmates.

Judge delays execution of only woman on US death row

December 28, 2020 | Associated Press

A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row in Terre Haute, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Lawyers: 2nd US inmate scheduled to be executed has COVID-19

December 18, 2020 | Associated Press

A second federal inmate scheduled to be put to death next month in a series of executions by the Trump administration has tested positive for COVID-19, his lawyers said Friday.

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