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News Articles: Death Penalty

A photo of Willie Pye among death penalty opponent placards.

Tagged as: 

  • Law

Georgia ends its pandemic moratorium on executions by killing Willie Pye

Wednesday, Willie Pye became the 77th person put to death by the state of Georgia since 1976.

March 21, 2024
|
By:
  • Grant Blankenship
Willie James Pye

Tagged as: 

  • News

Georgia Today: Vigils for man set for execution; New Atlanta parks; Savannah fossil fuel reduction

On the Wednesday, March 20 edition of Georgia Today: Vigils are planned across Georgia as the state's first execution in four years is scheduled for tonight; Atlanta Public schools partner with the Trust for Public Land to open new parks; and Savannah gets a funding boost to help reduce fossil fuel reliance.

March 20, 2024
|
By:
  • Peter Biello and
  • Jake Cook
This image provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows inmate Willie James Pye. A judge on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, signed the order for the execution of Pye, who was convicted of murder and other crimes in the November 1993 killing of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. The execution is set for March 20 at 7 p.m., after the judge set an execution window between noon that day and noon on March 27.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Georgia plans to put to death a man in the state's first execution in more than 4 years

A Georgia man is scheduled to be put to death in what would be the state's first execution in more than four years. Willie James Pye was convicted of killing his former girlfriend Alicia Lynn Yarbrough three decades ago.

March 20, 2024
|
By:
  • Associated Press
This image provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows inmate Willie James Pye. A judge on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, signed the order for the execution of Pye, who was convicted of murder and other crimes in the November 1993 killing of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. The execution is set for March 20 at 7 p.m., after the judge set an execution window between noon that day and noon on March 27. (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP)

Tagged as: 

  • News

Georgia Today: Mental health workforce bill; Man set for execution seeks clemency; Farmers' stress

On the Tuesday, March 19 edition of Georgia Today: A new bill may bring more mental health care professionals to the state; the man facing Georgia's first execution in four years is seeking last minute clemency; and Georgia farmers hold a summit to discuss stress.

March 19, 2024
|
By:
  • Peter Biello and
  • Jake Cook
This image provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows inmate Willie James Pye. A judge on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, signed the order for the execution of Pye, who was convicted of murder and other crimes in the November 1993 killing of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. The execution is set for March 20 at 7 p.m., after the judge set an execution window between noon that day and noon on March 27.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Georgia readies to resume executions after a 4-year pause brought by COVID and a legal agreement

An execution scheduled for next week would be the first in Georgia in more than four years. The state is trying to move past an agreement made amid the coronavirus pandemic that effectively halted executions.

March 12, 2024
|
By:
  • Associated Press
A file photo from 2008 shows a gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where inmates received lethal injections of drugs. Eight people were executed in Texas in 2023. The state policies mention a "drug team," who are not employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Tagged as: 

  • Law

Who performs a lethal injection in the U.S.? In some states, they're volunteers

A failed execution in Idaho has put a spotlight on the teams of people that prisons use to impose the ultimate penalty on condemned inmates.

March 06, 2024
|
By:
  • Bill Chappell

Tagged as: 

  • Law

Georgia sets execution date for man who killed ex-girlfriend 30 years ago

A man who killed his former girlfriend three decades ago is set to be put to death in March in what would be Georgia's first execution in more than four years. 

March 01, 2024
|
By:
  • Associated Press
This image provided by the Idaho Department of Correction shows Thomas Eugene Creech on Jan. 9, 2009.

Tagged as: 

  • National

Idaho prepares to execute one of the longest-serving death row inmates in the U.S.

Officials say Thomas Creech's spiritual adviser will be allowed to stand next to Creech with a hand on his shoulder during the scheduled Wednesday execution. Creech has been imprisoned since 1974.

February 28, 2024
|
By:
  • GPB Newsroom
The Virginia Department of Corrections recorded the execution of Travis Spencer's brother. Spencer wants his tape published to hold the state accountable.

Tagged as: 

  • Investigations

Families of executed prisoners want death penalty tapes made public

Virginia said it's keeping execution tapes secret to protect the privacy of the relatives of the prisoners the state recorded. But the families NPR talked with said they want the tapes published.

December 20, 2023
|
By:
  • Chiara Eisner and
  • Tirzah Christopher
Twenty-four people have been put to death so far in 2023, up from 18 in 2022 and 11 in 2021, according to a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center. The center attributed the increase to Florida's return to executions after a 3-year pause.

Tagged as: 

  • Law

Executions are on the rise in the U.S., even as public support wanes

Twenty-four executions have been carried out in 2023 — five more than last year, the Death Penalty Information Center says. Meanwhile, 50% of Americans say the death penalty is applied unfairly.

December 01, 2023
|
By:
  • Vanessa Romo
Inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher's wife.

Tagged as: 

  • Law

Alabama sets January execution date using nitrogen gas

Alabama has set a January execution date for what would be the nation's first attempt to put an inmate to death using nitrogen gas.

November 09, 2023
|
By:
  • The Associated Press
This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Jedidiah Murphy.

Tagged as: 

  • National

Texas executes man who questioned evidence in deadly carjacking of elderly woman

A Texas man who unsuccessfully challenged the safety of the state's lethal injection drugs and raised questions about evidence used to persuade a jury to sentence him to death was executed Tuesday.

October 11, 2023
|
By:
  • The Associated Press
A man takes a nap as the central business district is shrouded by haze in Singapore, on Sept. 23, 2019. Singapore executed a man Wednesday, July 26, 2023, for drug trafficking and is set to hang a woman Friday — the first in 19 years — prompting renewed calls for a halt to capital punishment.

Tagged as: 

  • Asia

Singapore set to execute first woman in nearly 20 years, rights groups say

The announcement of the scheduled Friday execution of a woman comes as human rights groups say Singapore is out of step with the global trend of more countries moving away from capital punishment.

July 27, 2023
|
By:
  • The Associated Press
Former President Trump at the annual New Hampshire Republican State Committee meeting in January. Trump has promised to crack down on the Mexican cartels by instituting the death penalty for drug dealers and smugglers.

Tagged as: 

  • Elections

Trump wants the death penalty for drug dealers. Here's why that probably won't happen

The former president is pledging to wage war against Mexico's drug cartels if reelected in 2024. His plan includes pushing Congress to institute the death penalty for drug dealers and smugglers.

May 10, 2023
|
By:
  • Dustin Jones and
  • Devin Speak
In this image taken and provided by Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, members of Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) hold candle outside Singapore Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Wednesday, April 26, 2023.

Tagged as: 

  • Asia

Singapore executes man for coordinating the delivery of cannabis

Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests from activists that he was convicted on weak evidence.

April 26, 2023
|
By:
  • The Associated Press
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