Florida could end unanimous jury requirement for executions
2 years, 1 month ago

Florida could end unanimous jury requirement for executions

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers proposed legislation making it easier to send convicts to death row by eliminating a unanimous jury requirement in capital punishment sentencing — a response to anger from victims’ families following a verdict sparing a school shooter from execution. Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina died in the massacre, said changing the requirement from unanimity to 8-4 would prevent “an activist juror from denying the victims’ families justice.” “The people subject to the death penalty are already convicted murderers, they are not people picked off the street,” Montalto said. DeSantis, a Republican expected to launch a 2024 White House bid in the late spring or early summer, has not signed death warrants at the same rate as his predecessors, but said Cruz deserved capital punishment and he would have expedited Cruz’s execution if given the chance. Republican state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said she is open to revisiting Florida’s unanimous verdict requirement following the Cruz decision and the state Supreme Court ruling.

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History of this topic

Florida man faces execution for the killing of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother
Trending News
1 week, 5 days ago

Florida man faces execution for the killing of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother

Hindustan Times  

STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man who killed an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother on a night in which he drank heavily and used drugs is set to be executed Thursday. Florida man faces execution for the killing of an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother Edward James, 63, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection starting at 6 p.m. at …

Florida man to be executed for 1997 double murder witnessed by toddler
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Florida man to be executed for 1997 double murder witnessed by toddler

Associated Press  

STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man convicted of murdering a husband and wife during a fishing trip at a remote farm while the couple’s toddler looked on is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday in the state’s first execution this year. Ford was convicted by a jury of murdering Gregory Malnory, 25, and 26-year-old Kimberly Malnory during a fishing …

US Supreme Court clears way for Florida to execute man in 1997 killings of married couple
Trending News
1 month, 2 weeks ago

US Supreme Court clears way for Florida to execute man in 1997 killings of married couple

Associated Press  

STARKE, Fla. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied the final appeal Wednesday of James Dennis Ford, who is scheduled to be executed in Florida for the 1997 murders of a married couple. Ford was convicted by a jury of murdering Gregory Malnory, 25, and 26-year-old Kimberly Malnory during a fishing outing in 1997 at a remote sod farm in southwest …

Donald Trump signs sweeping death penalty order hours after White House return
2 months, 1 week ago

Donald Trump signs sweeping death penalty order hours after White House return

Hindustan Times  

President Donald Trump signed a sweeping execution order Monday on the death penalty that directs the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions. US President Donald Trump speaks on the day he signs documents as he issues executive orders and pardons for January 6 defendants …

Trump Vows To Pursue Executions After Biden Commutes Most Of Federal Death Row
3 months, 1 week ago

Trump Vows To Pursue Executions After Biden Commutes Most Of Federal Death Row

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am …

Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row
3 months, 1 week ago

Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row

Deccan Chronicle  

President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions.Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was …

Donald Trump says he will direct Justice Department to ‘pursue death penalty’, slams Biden's move
Trending News
3 months, 1 week ago

Donald Trump says he will direct Justice Department to ‘pursue death penalty’, slams Biden's move

Hindustan Times  

President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific …

Trump vows capital punishment for 'rapists, murderers' after Biden commutes most of federal death row
Top News
3 months, 1 week ago

Trump vows capital punishment for 'rapists, murderers' after Biden commutes most of federal death row

India TV News  

US President-elect Donald Trump once again made a big announcement by promising to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment. Trump's promise comes days after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop his successor from pushing forward their executions. Trump to take up cases of violent rapists, murderers, and monsters The President-elect wrote that …

Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row
3 months, 1 week ago

Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row

Associated Press  

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was …

Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates ahead of Trump’s return
3 months, 1 week ago

Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates ahead of Trump’s return

Firstpost  

With less than a month left in office, Biden had faced growing calls from death penalty opponents to commute the sentences of those on death row to life in prison without parole, which the 37 will now serve US President Joe Biden speaks at the White House, in Washington, December 8, 2024. With less than a month left in office, …

US carries out 25 executions this year as death penalty trends in nation held steady
3 months, 1 week ago

US carries out 25 executions this year as death penalty trends in nation held steady

Associated Press  

HOUSTON — The number of executions in the U.S. remained near historic lows in 2024 and was mostly carried out in a small group of states, including Alabama, which became the first state to use nitrogen gas as an execution method, according to an annual report on capital punishment. “The dramatic drop in new death sentences over the years, I …

Before it is too late Biden must turn words into deeds on the death penalty
4 months ago

Before it is too late Biden must turn words into deeds on the death penalty

Salon  

In the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, opponents of the death penalty are mounting a campaign to convince President Biden to commute the sentences of everyone on federal death row. José Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles and president of the conference warned that “Our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten …

A Florida man set to be executed this week appeals to the US Supreme Court for a stay
7 months ago

A Florida man set to be executed this week appeals to the US Supreme Court for a stay

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida man scheduled to be put to death on Thursday is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to delay his execution so that his challenge to Florida’s lethal injection procedures can be heard. On Monday, Cole appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution, arguing that his challenge of the state’s lethal injection procedures deserves …

Wade Wilson found guilty in murders of Florida women; faces possible death penalty
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Wade Wilson found guilty in murders of Florida women; faces possible death penalty

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Wade Wilson has been …

Lawmakers bidding to resume Louisiana executions after 14-year pause OK new death penalty methods
1 year, 1 month ago

Lawmakers bidding to resume Louisiana executions after 14-year pause OK new death penalty methods

Associated Press  

— Bidding to resume Louisiana executions after a 14-year pause, the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature gave final passage to a bill Thursday to add electrocution and the use of nitrogen gas as means of administering the death penalty. Amid ongoing challenges over obtaining lethal injection drugs, Louisiana’s bill follows in the steps of other reliably red states that have expanded their …

Joe Biden Criticized For Inaction On Death Penalty
1 year, 9 months ago

Joe Biden Criticized For Inaction On Death Penalty

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING President Joe Biden made history in 2021 when he became the first president to publicly oppose the death penalty. Death penalty abolitionists told HuffPost during the early days of Biden’s presidency they hoped he would use his clemency power to commute the sentences of everyone on federal death row as a failsafe against Congressional inaction. In July …

Louisiana lawmakers reject bill to abolish death penalty
1 year, 10 months ago

Louisiana lawmakers reject bill to abolish death penalty

Associated Press  

— For the fifth time in six years, Louisiana lawmakers have blocked attempts to abolish the state’s death penalty. John Bel and testimony of proponents from all walks of life — exonerated death row inmates, religious leaders, a judge, family members of murder victims and other members of the public — a GOP-controlled legislative committee voted 11-4 Wednesday against a …

Man executed in Florida for woman’s 1986 stabbing death
1 year, 10 months ago

Man executed in Florida for woman’s 1986 stabbing death

Associated Press  

STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man was executed Wednesday for breaking into a woman’s home and stabbing her to death in 1986, a crime committed months after he was released from prison for a rape. Barwick didn’t meet in person with family members in his final hours, but had spoken with them by phone in recent days, prison officials said …

Florida eases path for death penalty after Parkland verdict
1 year, 11 months ago

Florida eases path for death penalty after Parkland verdict

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday ending a unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing, a response to a verdict that spared the life of a school shooter who killed 17 people. “I’m proud to sign legislation that will prevent families from having to endure what the Parkland families have and ensure proper justice will …

Florida eases path for death penalty after Parkland verdict
1 year, 11 months ago

Florida eases path for death penalty after Parkland verdict

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday ending a unanimous jury requirement in death penalty …

EXPLAINER: Biden inaction, mixed signals on death penalty
2 years, 2 months ago

EXPLAINER: Biden inaction, mixed signals on death penalty

Associated Press  

In Boston, the Justice Department is pressing judges to uphold Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s death sentence. The Justice Department continues to press for the death penalty in certain cases, even though it has imposed a moratorium that means no federal executions are likely to happen anytime soon. But they will be Biden executions.” A White House email on Wednesday said …

Parkland shooter’s life sentence could bring changes to law
2 years, 5 months ago

Parkland shooter’s life sentence could bring changes to law

Associated Press  

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It wasn’t long ago that Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz would have been looking at a near-certain death sentence for murdering 17 people in Parkland, even if his jury could not unanimously agree on his fate. And while the Cruz jurors all said they could vote for the death penalty if chosen, they didn’t say they …

Parkland shooter's life sentence could bring changes to law
2 years, 5 months ago

Parkland shooter's life sentence could bring changes to law

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy It wasn't long ago that …

Parkland school shooter spared from execution for killing 17
2 years, 5 months ago

Parkland school shooter spared from execution for killing 17

Associated Press  

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A divided jury spared Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz the death penalty Thursday for killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, sending him to prison for the rest of his life in a decision that left many families of the victims angered, baffled and in tears. “We need justice.” Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty …

Florida jury recommends Parkland shooter serve life in prison
2 years, 5 months ago

Florida jury recommends Parkland shooter serve life in prison

Al Jazeera  

Jury says Nicolas Cruz should not get the death penalty for the murder of 17 students and staff at US high school. A Florida jury has recommended that a gunman who killed 17 people in a 2018 school shooting be spared the death penalty and instead be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She said it …

Florida school shooting judge reverses; confusion follows
2 years, 11 months ago

Florida school shooting judge reverses; confusion follows

Associated Press  

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The judge overseeing the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz reversed herself Wednesday and said she is not dismissing more than 200 potential jurors who survived a first round of screening earlier this month. In the latest confusing turn since jury selection began three weeks ago, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer overturned her Monday decision …

Report: 11 executions in 2021 mark three-decade low
3 years, 3 months ago

Report: 11 executions in 2021 mark three-decade low

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy States and the federal government carried out 11 executions this …

US attorney general freezes all federal executions
3 years, 8 months ago

US attorney general freezes all federal executions

Al Jazeera  

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, pledged during his campaign to support legislation to end the death penalty. US Attorney General Merrick Garland has ordered a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department continues its review of the death penalty, the department said in a statement. “The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system …

Biden's silence on executions adds to death penalty disarray
3 years, 9 months ago

Biden's silence on executions adds to death penalty disarray

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Sup​port for the death penalty among Americans is at near-historic lows after peaking in …

Biden’s silence on executions adds to death penalty disarray
3 years, 9 months ago

Biden’s silence on executions adds to death penalty disarray

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — Activists widely expected Joe Biden to take swift action against the death penalty as the first sitting president to oppose capital punishment, especially since an unprecedented spate of executions by his predecessor ended just days before Biden took office. Support for the death penalty among Americans is at near-historic lows after peaking in the mid-1990s and steadily declining …

They were innocent and on death row. The exonerated want to ensure Biden keeps pledge
4 years ago

They were innocent and on death row. The exonerated want to ensure Biden keeps pledge

CNN  

CNN — Sabrina Smith was only 17 when a predominately White Mississippi jury convicted her in 1989 for fatally beating her 9-month-old son. These individuals should instead serve life sentences without probation or parole,” according to Biden’s “Plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice.” Led by Pressley and Illinois Rep. Dick Durbin, lawmakers have introduced legislation and cosigned letters to …

‘We can be sure innocents died’, US death row exonerations show
4 years, 1 month ago

‘We can be sure innocents died’, US death row exonerations show

Al Jazeera  

The Death Penalty Information Center added 11 cases to its “Innocence List” that tracks American death row exonerations on Thursday, bringing the total to 185 and raising concerns over the likelihood more innocents – especially people of colour – will be condemned. “Everybody’s worst fear about capital punishment is that innocent people will be wrongfully convicted and executed,” Robert Dunham, …

82 advocacy groups call on Biden to end federal executions
4 years, 1 month ago

82 advocacy groups call on Biden to end federal executions

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Dozens of civil rights and advocacy organizations are calling on …

More than 80 civil rights organizations call on Biden to abolish the federal death penalty
4 years, 1 month ago

More than 80 civil rights organizations call on Biden to abolish the federal death penalty

CNN  

CNN — More than 80 nationally recognized criminal justice and civil rights advocacy organizations have joined in the call to President Joe Biden on Tuesday urging him to abolish the federal death penalty and commute the sentences of 49 death row inmates to life in prison. While the Justice Department has not scheduled any federal executions since the last of …

Can Biden abolish the death penalty?
4 years, 1 month ago

Can Biden abolish the death penalty?

Al Jazeera  

On Wednesday, February 3 at 19:30GMT: Joe Biden was the first presidential candidate in US history to run on a pledge to end the federal death penalty and win. Last year marked the first time in US history in which a greater number of executions were carried out at the federal level than in all states combined. Twenty-two states have …

Biden Is The First President To Openly Oppose The Death Penalty. He Can Help End It.
4 years, 2 months ago

Biden Is The First President To Openly Oppose The Death Penalty. He Can Help End It.

Huff Post  

Joe Biden has a chance to end the federal death penalty. “But there’s a waking up in the country that thing isn’t working and we’re making a lot of mistakes.” But Biden’s position is no guarantee that the federal death penalty will end under his watch. The only hint of Biden’s plans comes from his campaign platform, in which he …

After Trump's Execution Spree, Criminal Justice Leaders Urge Biden To End Death Penalty
4 years, 2 months ago

After Trump's Execution Spree, Criminal Justice Leaders Urge Biden To End Death Penalty

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING During Donald Trump’s final week in office, the federal government executed three prisoners on death row. Now, a coalition of prosecutors and attorneys general is calling on Biden to immediately end the federal death penalty, calling it “an assault on human dignity and an affront to American values.” In a letter sent on Monday, nearly 100 criminal …

Trump administration carries out 13th, final federal execution
4 years, 2 months ago

Trump administration carries out 13th, final federal execution

Al Jazeera  

Number of federal death sentences carried out under Trump since 2020 is more than the previous 56 years combined. The US government carried out the 13th and final federal execution under President Donald Trump’s administration early on Saturday just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office with a promise to end the death penalty. Execution during transition Not since the …

People Are Not Paying Attention To The Trump Administration’s Execution Spree
4 years, 3 months ago

People Are Not Paying Attention To The Trump Administration’s Execution Spree

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING The Trump administration has executed 10 people over the last five months — the first federal executions in nearly two decades. Although the Trump administration’s spate of executions has not attracted widespread national attention, it has mobilized death penalty opponents to ramp up pressure on the incoming Biden administration to put an end to the practice. That …

Trump is on a death row killing spree: Bill Barr now wants to bring back firing squads
4 years, 4 months ago

Trump is on a death row killing spree: Bill Barr now wants to bring back firing squads

Salon  

The Trump administration is rushing to execute an unprecedented number of people before President-elect Joe Biden, an opponent of the death penalty, takes office on January 20. The last time a federal execution was carried out under a "lame duck" president was in 1889, after President Grover Cleveland lost his first bid at reelection, the Death Penalty Information Center reports. …

Trump set to execute more inmates than any other president - with more due before Biden takes office
4 years, 4 months ago

Trump set to execute more inmates than any other president - with more due before Biden takes office

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Three death row prisoners …

Florida Supreme Court on the death penalty: We got it wrong
5 years, 2 months ago

Florida Supreme Court on the death penalty: We got it wrong

Associated Press  

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court said Thursday it erred in 2016 when it ruled a jury must be unanimous in deciding a convicted murderer should be sentenced to death, announcing a dramatic legal reversal that could affect dozens of death row cases. The opinion pulled back from the court’s 2016 state Supreme Court decision that subsequently led the …

Resumed federal executions raise death penalty’s 2020 stakes
5 years, 8 months ago

Resumed federal executions raise death penalty’s 2020 stakes

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The question to Michael Dukakis, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1988, was brutally personal. “If Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?” Bernard Shaw, a CNN anchor, asked, referring to the Massachusetts governor’s wife. Democratic strategist Mike Lavigne said that, despite the planned federal executions, he doesn’t see the …

US government will execute inmates for first time since 2003
5 years, 8 months ago

US government will execute inmates for first time since 2003

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Thursday the federal government will resume executing death-row inmates for the first time since 2003, ending an informal moratorium even as the nation sees a broad shift away from capital punishment. Though there hasn’t been a federal execution since 2003, the Justice Department has continued to approve death penalty prosecutions and federal courts have …

The Federal Government Plans to Revive the Death Penalty After 16 Years
5 years, 8 months ago

The Federal Government Plans to Revive the Death Penalty After 16 Years

Slate  

On March 19, 2003, the federal government executed Louis Jones Jr., a 53-year-old Gulf War veteran who raped and killed a female soldier. All of the executions will take place at the facility in Terre Haute, and the Department of Justice says additional executions will be scheduled “at a later date.” Mounting difficulty in obtaining lethal injection drugs and uncertainty …

Florida Executes Inmate As Report Cites 'Continuing Erosion' Of Death Penalty
6 years, 3 months ago

Florida Executes Inmate As Report Cites 'Continuing Erosion' Of Death Penalty

NPR  

Florida Executes Inmate As Report Cites 'Continuing Erosion' Of Death Penalty toggle caption Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images At 9:48 p.m. on Thursday, Jose Jimenez became the 25th person to be executed in the United States in 2018. In the past two years, executions have ticked up slightly, but the report says that a broader look at the data reveals the …

Florida man may escape death row caught on camera kidnapping 11-year-old girl later raped murdered
6 years, 11 months ago

Florida man may escape death row caught on camera kidnapping 11-year-old girl later raped murdered

Daily Mail  

Former death row inmate Joseph Smith, now 52 but seen here at 37, was granted a new sentencing hearing for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Carlie Brucia, 11, by Florida's highest court on Thursday A Florida man on death row for the kidnapping, raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was granted a new sentencing hearing by Florida's highest court …

Florida prosecutors seeking death penalty in school shooting
7 years ago

Florida prosecutors seeking death penalty in school shooting

Associated Press  

MIAMI — Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for the former student charged with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month even though attorneys for Nikolas Cruz indicated he would plead guilty if his life was spared. “Cruz will rot in hell no matter when it is that he arrives there.” Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter …

Florida executes man for pair of killings dating to 1991
7 years, 4 months ago

Florida executes man for pair of killings dating to 1991

Associated Press  

STARKE, Fla. — A man convicted of killing two people in 1991 on Wednesday became the third inmate executed in Florida since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty after a hiatus. Then as the execution began at 8:38 p.m., the woman made eye contact with Hannon and raised her hand as if to wave “bye, bye.” Hannon’s body …

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