Outgoing California Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted the death sentences of all 561 of the state’s Death Row inmates Nov. 5 and the Democrat’s long-expected move inspired death abolitionists nationwide. “We are grateful that Gov. Newsom, like other Republican and Democratic…
In rare move, DeSantis cancels an execution
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for the first in his two-term administration, withdrew the death warrant of an inmate who had been scheduled to die by lethal injection earlier this month. Groups such as Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty,…
When justice becomes a spectacle
When did killing someone become a measure of justice? And when did watching someone die become entertainment? Let’s begin with Christa Pike. On Sept. 30, the state of Tennessee attempted to execute Pike by lethal injection. She was administered two…
Catholic and Methodist leaders condemn livestreamed firing squad
Roman Catholic and United Methodist leaders have joined the condemnation of Pete Hegseth’s planned livestreamed execution of Nidal Malik Hasan. Any Catholics assigned to the firing squad are “obliged” to request to be excused from this action, which is “contrary…
Pete Hegseth’s gospel of violence
The last widely recognized public execution in the United States took place on Aug. 14, 1936, in Owensboro, Ky. Rainey Bethea, a 22-year-old Black man, was hanged before an estimated crowd of 20,000 people. Bethea had been accused of raping…
‘Bring back the electric chair,’ Tennessee GOP candidate urges after botched execution
Christa Pike remained in critical condition in a Tennessee hospital Oct. 1 after surviving two execution attempts and numerous agonizing efforts to insert IVs during her failed lethal injection the day before. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee responded by announcing…
Tennessee botches another execution
For the second time in four months, Tennessee’s death penalty protocol has failed to work. On Wednesday, Sept. 30, inmate Christa Pike was “alive and loudly snoring after the attempted lethal injection and taken by ambulance from the prison,” her…
He pleaded guilty to murder. As he awaits execution, Catholic supporters say he’s changed.
One of the most important relationships in Briley Piper’s conversion to Catholicism while on death row began with a request that had little apparent connection to religion.
Why Tanner Horner should not be executed
On Nov. 30, 2022, 7-year-old Athena Strand was kidnapped and murdered by FedEx driver Tanner Horner. Horner was at Strand’s house delivering a package when he instead abducted and then later murdered the young girl. When arrested by police, he…
Death penalty abolitionists at work in Ohio and Tennessee
Death penalty abolitionists in Ohio and Tennessee are hard at work trying to prevent the executions of Death Row inmates in those states. More than 500 faith leaders signed a May 4 letter to the Ohio General Assembly pleading with…
Texas executes man who didn’t kill anyone
Texas executed James Broadnax April 30 despite DNA evidence and another inmate’s confession showing he did not kill two men in 2008. Broadnax, 37, died by lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville for the shooting deaths of Matthew…
Alabama is about to execute a man who did not kill anyone
The state of Alabama is scheduled to execute Sonny Burton on March 12. An execution in Alabama is not unusual. Since 2016, the state has executed 73 people. Gov. Kay Ivey has granted clemency one time in almost 10 years…