Alabama prepares to carry out first execution by nitrogen asphyxiation
Atmore, Alabama Reuters Alabama was preparing on Thursday to carry out the first execution of a condemned prisoner using asphyxiation by nitrogen gas, a new method the state hopes to advance as a simpler alternative to lethal injections. Kenneth Smith, convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire, is a rare prisoner who has already survived one execution […]
Essay: Replacing vengeance with mercy in our death penalty policy
KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says the troubling case of Andre Thomas in the US invites a closer look at all the factors that play a part in the death penalty…
UK condemns “barbaric” execution of British-Iranian national
London, UKReuters Britain on Saturday called the execution by Iran of British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari a barbaric act, and imposed sanctions on Iran’s prosecutor general in response. The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency had earlier reported the execution of the former Iranian deputy defence minister who had been sentenced to death on charges of spying […]
Iran’s Raisi promises to pursue crackdown on protesters; cleric critical of execution
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters A prominent dissenting Sunni cleric on Friday said the death sentence of an Iranian protester involved in anti-government unrest violated sharia law, as President Ebrahim Raisi promised to press on with a crackdown a day after the man’s execution. On Thursday, Iran hanged Mohsen Shekari, who had been convicted of injuring […]
Updated: Singapore grants 11th-hour stay of execution for Malaysian with COVID-19
Updated 11pm (AEDT)SingaporeReuters A Singapore court on Tuesday stayed the execution of a Malaysian convicted of drug smuggling for reasons of “common sense and humanity” after confirming he had tested positive for COVID-19, a day before he was due to be hanged. The judge did not rule on a last-minute appeal filed on behalf of […]
In the US, Missouri man executed for killing three workers in ’94 robbery
Bonne Terre, Missouri, US AP A Missouri man was put to death Tuesday for killing three workers while robbing a convenience store nearly three decades ago, an execution performed over objections from racial justice activists, lawmakers and even the Pope. Ernest Johnson died from an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre. […]
In the US, Missouri Governor denies clemency to death row inmate
AP Missouri Governor Mike Parson on Monday declined to grant clemency to death row inmate Ernest Johnson, despite requests for mercy from the Pope, two federal lawmakers and thousands of petition signers. Johnson, 61, was convicted of killing three convenience store workers during a closing-time robbery in 1994. He is scheduled to die by injection […]
World Council of Churches condemn murder of Nigerian Brethren leader Lawan Andimi
The World Council of Churches has condemned the murder of Nigerian Brethren leader Lawan Andimi, executed by Islamist terror group Boko Haram earlier this week. Rev Andimi, an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN) and chair of Christian Association of Nigeria for the Michika district in the nation’s north-east Adamawa state, […]
ESSAY: CHRISTIANS CAN’T ALLOW THE US BIBLE BELT TO BE THE “DEATH BELT”
US Christian author and activist SHANE CLAIBORNE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, argues that it’s time for Christians to take a stand against the death penalty…
Murder of man with albinism in Malawi sparks call for death penalty
Thomson Reuters Foundation The latest murder of a man with albinism in Malawi – the 22nd in four years – has sparked calls for their killers to be executed to deter a wave of attacks in the poor southern African nation. The dismembered corpse of 22-year-old McDonald Masambuka was found buried in southern Malawi several […]