National Guard helps operate Indiana prison amid COVID-19
National Guard units are helping operate a northern Indiana prison that’s faced with staffing shortages after several prison workers were stricken with COVID-19.
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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.
AP Exclusive: Inmate beaten to death at Terre Haute federal prison
The killing of an inmate who was beaten to death at a federal lockup in Terre Haute is under investigation by the FBI, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press about an attack that revives questions about safety in the beleaguered federal prison system.
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.
Native American man seeks further delay of federal execution
Attorneys for the only Native American on federal death row are asking a judge to delay his upcoming execution while they argue that the procedures should be consistent with Arizona law.
Studies show initial success in state pretrial release assessments
With the implementation of Criminal Rule 26 in January, courts across Indiana have been required to begin using evidence-based practices to make pretrial release decisions. But do those practices actually improve the criminal justice system?
Resumed federal executions further divide country
The deaths of Daniel Lewis Lee, Wesley Ira Purkey and Dustin Honken roused the anger of civil liberties lawyers, who say the executions were carried out in a rushed and even unlawful manner. The overarching question in public discussion has been “why” — why did Attorney General William Barr make the executions a priority? And why were they carried out while the country was dealing with a pandemic, racial unrest and a looming election?
Protesters restricted from Terre Haute execution site sue ISP
Protesters kept away from the federal prison in Terre Haute during executions last month have filed a lawsuit in federal court, arguing the Indiana State Police violated their First Amendment rights by erecting roadblocks and preventing them from holding vigils immediately outside the entrance of the facility.
Killers of Indy pizza deliveryman were cellmates till one was beaten to death
Derek Romano and Jeremiah Roberts had been drinking homemade wine on a Saturday night in their cell at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, Romano explained, as he told an investigator how he lost control and beat his cellmate to death. Romano, who is now charged in Roberts’ murder, shared not just a cell with Roberts, but also a criminal history.
Inmate charged with murdering accomplice in pizza deliveryman’s slaying
A Wabash Valley Correctional Facility inmate was charged with murder Tuesday in the slaying of another prisoner in May, state police said. Both men had been convicted in connection with the robbery and murder of an Indianapolis pizza deliveryman.
US executes 3 in first federal death sentences since 2003
The federal government last week carried out its first executions in almost two decades after the US Supreme Court in separate 5-4 rulings turned away last-minute appeals from two condemned inmates’ legal teams. Their executions, and that of a third defendant, were carried out by lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute.
One reporter, two executions and haunting last words
Daniel Lewis Lee, a condemned man and convicted murderer, was asked if he wanted to make a final statement from the execution chamber at the federal prison in Terre Haute. He did. He leaned his head up and we locked eyes. “You’re killing an innocent man,” Lee said, looking directly at me. Those were his last words. He said them to me.
Iowa meth kingpin is third executed by US government this week
The U.S. government on Friday afternoon put to death an Iowa chemistry student-turned-meth kingpin convicted of killing five people, the third execution by the federal government this week at the federal prison in Terre Haute.