Execution

September 4, 2007 -- (Lincoln, NE) Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning today commented on the death penalty case of child killer Raymond Mata of Scottsbluff. Oral arguments were presented to the Nebraska Supreme Court today.

“Today the State argued that electrocution does not violate the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the 8th Amendment,” said Bruning. “We asked the court to uphold the Nebraska Legislature's chosen method of execution and allow justice to move forward.”    » read more »

Association Outlines Serious Concerns with Department of Justice Plan to Certify State Capital Systems

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Aug. 30, 2007--The American Bar Association is taking issue with proposed regulations to implement a statute that offers states a drastically streamlined habeas corpus review in death penalty cases in exchange for improvements in their post-conviction defense process. In comments filed Aug. 25 with the Department of Justice, the ABA said the proposed rule ignores key parts of the authorizing legislation and fails to follow what Congress outlined.    » read more »

Aug. 30, 2007 -- AUSTIN – Texas Governor Rick Perry today commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Eugene Foster of San Antonio to life imprisonment after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (TBPP) recommended such action.    » read more »

August 29, 2007 -- AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Tony Roach, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Wednesday, September 5, 2007.

Roach was sentenced to die for the burglary-related murder of Ronnie Dawn Hewitt in Amarillo.

FACTS OF THE CRIME    » read more »

August 23, 2007 -- AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Kenneth Foster, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Thursday, August 30, 2007.

Foster was sentenced to death for the 1996 attempted robbery and murder of Michael LaHood, Jr. in San Antonio.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

On the night of August 14, 1996, Kenneth Foster and three other men rode around San Antonio, looking for someone to rob. The four men committed four robberies and split the proceeds from each encounter.    » read more »

August 22, 2007 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher today signed a death warrant for Ralph Baze, Jr. The warrant sets an execution date of Sept. 25.

In December 1993, Baze was convicted of the 1992 murders of Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe.    » read more »

August 21, 2007 -- AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about DaRoyce Lamont Mosley, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 28, 2007.

On October 28, 1995, Mosley was found guilty of the 1994 capital murder of Patricia Colter and was sentenced to death. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows.

FACTS OF THE CRIME    » read more »

Aug. 21, 2007 -- “230 years ago, our forefathers fought a war to throw off the yoke of a European monarch and gain the freedom of self-determination.

Texans long ago decided that the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens.

While we respect our friends in Europe, welcome their investment in our state and appreciate their interest in our laws, Texans are doing just fine governing Texas.”

Source: Texas Governors office

August 21, 2007 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Office of Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher announced today that Governor Fletcher intends to sign a death warrant for Ralph Baze, Jr. on Wednesday. The warrant affirms the finding of an impartial jury and the decisions of the Rowan County Circuit Court, the Kentucky Supreme Court and various federal courts.

In December 1993, Baze was convicted of the 1992 murders of Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe. The substantive appeals of the case are exhausted and the execution is no longer stayed.    » read more »

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 »

7/5/2007 -- Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker offers the following information in the case against Troy Anthony Davis, who is currently scheduled to be executed on July 17, 2007 at 7:00 pm.    » 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 »

06/18/2007 -- Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson today asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to set an execution date for Cleveland County death row inmate Frank Duane Welch.

Welch, 45, was convicted and sentenced to death for the Feb. 25, 1987, murder of 29-year-old Jo Talley Cooper in her Norman home. Cooper died of strangulation, and her murder remained unsolved for almost 10 years.

After Welch was linked to an almost identical unsolved murder, DNA evidence recovered from the scene of the Cooper murder was compared to samples taken from Welch. The samples matched.    » read more »

June 13, 2007 -- RICHMOND – “Christopher Scott Emmett was convicted of the murder of friend and co-worker John Fenton Langley on October 10, 2001. He killed Langley in their hotel room and then proceeded to rob him of $100 to purchase cocaine. Emmett was sentenced to death.

“Given the nature of this crime, I have no reason to question the prosecutor’s decision to seek the death penalty or the jury’s decision that death was an appropriate punishment. State and federal courts have consistently upheld Emmett’s conviction and sentence.    » read more »