#death-penalty

#death-penalty

I oppose the death penalty. There are several reasons for this. First, I consider it barbaric. Second, I am uneasy with the idea of the state wielding such irreversible power (especially given that most states are less competent than we, and they, would like to believe). Third, the line separating those eligible for execution from those not eligible is forever elastic; its scope is always subject to expansion and reinterpretation. Finally, and this is less a philosophical objection than an experiential one, I have stood inside an execution chamber, at the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas. It is not a place I ever wish to see again.

Israeli lawmakers have approved setting up a livestreamed special tribunal with the power to sentence to death Palestinians convicted of taking part in the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza. The measure was passed by 93 votes to none in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel's parliament, reflecting widespread support among Israel's Jewish majority for punishing those found responsible for the deadliest single attack in Israel's history. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained from voting.

A federal appeals court has temporarily halted Thursday's scheduled execution of Texas death row inmate Edward Busby, citing concerns over his eligibility for capital punishment because of intellectual disability. The 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is in place "pending further order" of the court. Busby argued that a federal district court improperly denied the inmate's request for funding to test him for intellectual disability. The appeal also provided two new tests from experts, including one provided by the state, that his lawyers argue prove Busby is intellectually disabled.

To wake up and see every day an execution of political prisoners and protesters, and many of them actually very young. I think, actually, the brutality of execution is not comparable to anything. And they're just people like all of us with the same demand, with the same dreams.

"It denies rap music the status of art. It is characterized as autobiography," said Erik Nielson, co-author of the book "Rap on Trial." "It really does speak to underlying assumptions that some people have about young men of color - and that's almost exclusively who this practice targets - that they aren't sophisticated enough to engage in various literary devices. That there isn't metaphor here."

The Department of Justice acted to restore its solemn duty to seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences, clearing the way for the Department to carry out executions once death-sentenced inmates have exhausted their appeals.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could not conclusively connect a bullet fragment recovered during an autopsy to the rifle found near the scene. The FBI is running additional tests.

Emails Show Ken Starr Was Very Buddy-Buddy With Epstein: Read about former Baylor University president's exchanges here.

The gunman accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., killing one and seriously wounding the other, has pleaded not guilty to the nine charges against him including first-degree murder. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was also shot before he was taken into custody, made his brief court appearance on Wednesday in a wheelchair and an orange jumpsuit, CNN reported.

Tyler Robinson is charged with aggravated murder in Kirk's Sept. 10 shooting on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. Prosecutors with the Utah County Attorney's Office plan to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted. Robinson has not yet entered a plea. An 18-year-old child of a deputy county attorney attended the campus event where Kirk was shot.

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday said they were seeking the death sentencefor former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to declare martial law in December 2024. The special counsel team, assembled in the wake of Yoon's impeachment in April, described the former president as the ringleader of an insurrection, citing his efforts to seize control of the judiciary and legislature during the abortive martial law attempt. The entire episode lasted six hours.

LOS ANGELES Alan Jackson, the high-power attorney representing Nick Reiner in the stabbing death of his parents, producer-actor-director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, withdrew from the case Wednesday. Reiner will now be represented by public defender Kimberly Greene. Wearing a brown jumpsuit, Reiner, 32, didn't enter a plea during the brief hearing. A judge has rescheduled his arraignment for Feb. 23.

A Utah judge on Monday ordered the release of a transcript from a closed-door hearing in October over whether the man charged with killing Charlie Kirk must be shackled during court proceedings. State District Judge Tony Graf said the transcript must be posted on the court docket by the end of the day. Attorneys for media outlets including The Associated Press had argued for details of the closed hearing to be made public.

Edward Zakrzewski's wife had known him since they were in the fourth grade. Growing up in the same neighborhood in Michigan, she and Zakrzewski had a close friendship. "I always had a crush on him, but I always knew that he was a ladies' man in high school, and I was a good girl, so I wasn't having that," she said. As happens with many childhood friendships, they lost touch when her family moved away to Illinois.