Appeals court vacates order delaying woman’s execution
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.
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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.
DTCI: Life lesson from a year in prison: Don’t take it personally
Nearly 30 years ago, between college and law school, I spent a year of my life in prison — working that is — as a correctional officer for the Indiana Department of Correction. While the work was anything but glamorous, I have always appreciated that experience, where I learned more than a couple of important lessons.
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.
Judge denies Thursday execution stay as pause urged due to COVID
An Indiana judge has declined to stay a federal execution scheduled for Thursday at the Terre Haute federal prison. Meanwhile, another judge is considering whether the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means all upcoming executions should indefinitely be put on hold.
BOP defends COVID procedures as inmates challenge upcoming executions
Facing questions about COVID-19 protocols from an Indiana judge, the federal government is defending its plan to move forward with scheduled executions this month and next despite the continued surge of reported virus cases.
DOC partnership provides Narcan kits to released inmates
In light of an increase of relapses and overdose numbers, the Indiana Department of Correction this month announced it would start offering naloxone, an agent used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, to every offender released from a DOC facility.
Judge: Kosher meals don’t infringe on Muslim inmate’s rights
A Muslim inmate in the Indiana Department of Correction is not entitled to a halal diet, a federal judge has ruled, finding that the inmate failed to prove that eating a kosher diet instead would violate his Islamic beliefs.
Judge halts federal execution after lawyers contract virus
A federal judge is temporarily blocking the federal government’s plan to execute the first female death row inmate in almost six decades after her attorneys contracted the coronavirus visiting her in prison.
US government executes man convicted of killing Texas teen
Orlando Hall was put to death at the federal prison in Terre Haute for abducting and killing the teenager, Lisa Rene. His was the eighth federal execution this year since the Trump administration revived a process that had been used just three times in the past 56 years.
Federal inmate who killed Texas teenager set to be executed
The federal government prepared Thursday to execute an inmate at the federal prison in Terre Haute who was condemned for kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old Texas girl, bludgeoning her with a shovel and burying her alive.
Delay sought after lawyers for woman on death row get virus
The two attorneys representing the first woman scheduled to be put to death by the U.S. government in more than six decades are seeking to delay her execution because they’ve contracted coronavirus visiting their client at a Texas prison.
Web Exclusive: Incarcerated vets pay it forward with challenge coins
A group of incarcerated veterans dedicated to encouraging their fellow servicemen participating in a veteran’s treatment court program have, for the past several years, made an impact by taking up their pencils and paintbrushes.
Indiana man sentenced to 53 years in 2018 murder of wife
A northwest Indiana man who pleaded guilty to the 2018 murder of his wife has been sentenced to 53 years in prison.
Trump grants clemency to former Gary boxer, 4 others
President Donald Trump on Wednesday granted clemency to a former Gary boxer and four others convicted of committing drug and financial crimes. All of the cases were pushed by prison reform advocate and Trump ally Alice Johnson.
Feds to execute woman who killed victim, cut baby from womb
A woman convicted of fatally strangling a pregnant woman, cutting her body open and kidnapping her baby is scheduled to be the first female inmate put to death by the U.S. government in more than six decades, the Justice Department said Friday.
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.
ISBA section calls for nonviolent sentencing reforms
More than six years after sweeping criminal code reforms were enacted in Indiana, a section of the Indiana State Bar Association is calling for additional sentencing reforms to establish parity with those who received longer sentences before the reforms were enacted.