Inmate scheduled for Friday execution loses 7th Circuit appeal
A federal prisoner scheduled to be executed Friday at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute has failed to secure habeas relief from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Murder
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Lawyers: Inmate set for Tuesday execution is seriously mentally ill, ineligible for death penalty
“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
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.
Terre Haute inmates renew bid to postpone executions as COVID cases rise in prison
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.
Terre Haute man charged in killing of woman found dead in storage unit
A Terre Haute man has been charged in the slaying of a woman whose body was found last week in a storage unit where she had apparently been living with her alleged assailant.
Escaped murder suspect recaptured in northwest Indiana
A murder suspect who escaped from a security company’s van while the vehicle was stopped at a McDonald’s in northwest Indiana was recaptured Wednesday morning after more than two weeks on the lam, authorities said.
Man gets 115 years for killing Goshen professor, wounding wife
An Indiana man has been sentenced to 115 years in prison for fatally stabbing a Goshen College professor and leaving the man’s wife with nearly two dozen stab wounds during a home invasion in 2011.
Judge delays execution of only woman on US death row
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.
Split COA reverses post-conviction denial in teen murder case
A split Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed the denial of a teenager’s petition for post-conviction relief of his murder conviction, finding his attorneys performed deficiently in a 2017 trial related to the fatal shooting of a South Bend toddler.
Panel rejects Gary killer’s post-conviction appeal
A Lake County man sentenced to 120 years in prison after he was convicted in a second jury trial of a 2013 murder and attempted murder lost his appeal claiming his defense counsel was ineffective.
Indiana teen convicted of murder committed when he was 13
A teenager who was 13 when accused of killing an 18-year-old in northern Indiana has been convicted of murder.
US inmate scheduled to be executed tests positive for virus
A federal prisoner scheduled to be executed just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office has tested positive for coronavirus, his lawyer said Thursday.
Authorities: Video contradicts account of murder suspect’s escape
Video of a murder suspect’s escape from a security company’s transport van contradicts the driver’s story that the man jumped through an open window while the vehicle was stopped at a McDonald’s in Indiana, authorities say.
US Supreme Court reinstates Arizona inmate’s death sentence
The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the death sentence for an Arizona prison inmate convicted of killing a man during a 1994 robbery in Yavapai County, state prosecutors said Tuesday.
Murder suspect fled through van window at Gary McDonald’s
A man charged with murder escaped by jumping through an open window in a transport van while it was stopped at a McDonald’s, Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said.
US executes Louisiana truck driver who killed daughter, 2
The Trump administration continued its series of post-election federal executions Friday by putting to death a Louisiana truck driver who severely abused his 2-year-old daughter for weeks in 2002, then killed her by slamming her head repeatedly against a truck’s windows and dashboard.
After 7th Circuit, SCOTUS rulings, US carries out rare presidential transition execution
The Trump administration Thursday carried out its ninth federal execution of the year in what has been a first series of executions during a presidential lame-duck period in 130 years. A Texas street-gang member was put to death at at the US Penitentiary in Terre Haute for the slayings of a religious couple from Iowa more than two decades ago.
Inmate scheduled for Thursday execution asks 7th Circuit for a stay
With mere hours left before his scheduled execution, Brandon Bernard is awaiting a decision from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that could delay his death by lethal injection.
Murder conviction COA vacated over attorney juror’s misconduct reinstated
Indiana Supreme Court justices affirmed Wednesday that a Vanderburgh County man who murdered his wife was not harmed when an attorney juror in his trial committed gross misconduct. The high court reinstated the man’s convictions that had been vacated by the Indiana Court of Appeals over the attorney’s misconduct in providing a misleading answer on a jury questionnaire.
Judge declines to stop federal executions because of COVID
A federal judge in Indiana has declined to put a hold on upcoming federal executions, finding that although the executions likely present a COVID-related risk, the inmates who sued to stop the executions have not shown that they personally will be at risk of contracting the virus.