Indiana high-speed pursuit ends with officer-involved shooting
A high-speed chase in western Indiana involving a stolen car ended with the shooting of a Wisconsin man, state police say.
Terre Haute
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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.
Southern Indiana District Court opens applications for new magistrate judge
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, one of the busiest federal courts in the country, has been allotted another full-time magistrate judge position and is taking applications for the appointment, which will start April 1, 2021.
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.
Appeals court upholds judgment for 4 cities in RFRA lawsuit
A lawsuit challenging Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act will not proceed, for now, after the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to reverse summary judgment for four cities with nondiscrimination ordinances. The appellate panel found that the conservative organizations challenging the RFRA “fix” lacked standing to challenge the ordinances on free speech and religious exercise grounds.
Indiana virus caution urged as IU seeks fraternity closures
Indiana health officials are warning residents to take coronavirus precautions seriously over the Labor Day weekend, even as new statewide COVID-19 risk ratings show most counties have minimal or moderate virus spread.
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.
Teacher sues over firing for Facebook posts critical of ‘Leader in Me’ curriculum
A reading teacher fired earlier this year for Facebook posts that criticized a curriculum enhancement program used at her school has sued her former employer, claiming her firing violated her First Amendment rights.
Southern District to resume jury trials next week
The Indiana Southern District Courts will resume jury trials next week following a COVID-19 suspension that’s been in effect since March. Potential jurors still may be excluded from service upon a showing of “undue hardship or extreme inconvenience,” the court said.
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.