Death penalty

10 July 2007 -- China's drug watchdog has admitted food and drug safety supervision in the country is poor and in need of improvement. The comments came as China executed the former head of its food and drug administration for allowing unsafe drugs to enter the market in exchange for bribes. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

China's food and drug administration spokeswoman, Yan Jiangying, acknowledged to reporters Tuesday China's food and drug safety was "unsatisfactory" and the country was facing a tough situation in supervising standards.    » read more »

10 July 2007 -- An Ethiopian prosecutor’s seeking of the death penalty Monday for 38 opposition activists has drawn expressions of shock from Washington and outrage from human rights groups. The defendants have until Wednesday to present evidence to reduce their sentence. They have been jailed since November, 2005, refusing to defend themselves because they did not think they would get a fair trial. Author and human rights attorney Michael Clough calls those charges unwarranted.    » read more »

03 July 2007 -- U.S. prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for a former U.S. soldier if he is found guilty of taking part in the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her family.

Prosecutors filed the notice Tuesday against the former army soldier, Private Steven Green, in federal court in the midwestern U.S. state of Kentucky. The notice cited the charges against him, including premeditated murder.

Green has been identified as the ringleader of the March 2006 rape and murders in the southern Iraqi town of Mahmudiyah.    » read more »

CHICAGO July 2, 2007 -- The United States Supreme Court correctly halted the execution of Scott Panetti and remanded the case for further proceedings at the trial level.

The Court’s decision was grounded in an essential and important acknowledgement of the severity of some mental illnesses.

The ABA, which filed an amicus brief in this case, has called for a ban on the execution of death row prisoners who, for reason of mental disorder or disability, fail to understand the nature and purpose of their punishment, or to appreciate the reason for its imposition.    » read more »

July 2, 2007 -- JEFFERSON CITY– Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed legislation designed to protect the safety of those who help carry out Missouri's death penalty law.

"Protecting the safety of all Missourians is one of the most important jobs I have as governor," Gov. Blunt said. "Capital punishment works and is an effective deterrent to crime. This legislation will protect those Missourians who assist in fulfilling the state's execution process as directed by the courts."    » read more »

June 4, 2007 -- JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Missouri's death penalty may be enforced.    » read more »