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…
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…
Coalition forms to end capital punishment state by state
A coalition of anti-death penalty groups has united to end capital punishment state by state and just as U.S. executions are surging. The alliance of more than 50 organizations was launched earlier this month to coordinate nationwide abolition efforts led…
Trump orders death penalty restored in DC and nationwide
President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum reimplementing the death penalty in the District of Columbia, and the administration said it also will begin pushing capital punishment nationwide. Existing law permitting the federal government to conduct executions for “aggravated crimes”…
Faith leaders urge Arkansas governor not to resume executions
August has been a busy month for capital punishment in Arkansas even though no executions are scheduled and the state’s governor said she’s in no rush to resume executions following an eight-year pause. The first development came Aug. 5 when…
Veterans urge DeSantis to stop execution
Five veterans have been executed since Ron DeSantis became governor of Florida in 2019 with a sixth scheduled to die this month. But a group of former service members wants the killing to stop and are pleading with the governor…
Tennessee governor urged to commute death sentence of intellectually disabled man
Advocates and families of people with intellectual disabilities are pleading with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to halt the Aug. 5 execution of an inmate suffering from brain damage, dementia and lifelong cognitive impairment. While federal legal precedent and state statute…
The kingdom within: Reclaiming the sacred in an age of contradiction
“The kingdom of God is inside you, and all around you, not in mansions of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood, and I am there; lift a stone, and you will find me.” — Gospel of Thomas, Saying…
Louisiana gasses inmate despite victim’s family appeals not to do so
On Tuesday evening, March 18, the state of Louisiana executed Jessie Hoffman Jr., putting him to death with nitrogen gas. Faith leaders from around the state gathered at Angola Prison to support Hoffman’s family and to hold a public vigil…
US Supreme Court says Oklahoma Death Row inmate deserves new trial
Capital punishment opponents are rejoicing after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Oklahoma Death Row inmate Richard Glossip must receive a new trial in the 1997 killing of a motel owner in Oklahoma City. But death penalty abolitionists also acknowledge…
Louisiana set to gas 81-year-old man in wheelchair
Update: Christopher Sepulvado died in prison Feb. 21 before the state could execute him. On Feb. 17, an interfaith group of religious leaders gathered at Touro Synagogue in New Orleans for a prayer vigil in protest of Louisiana’s plan…
Biden commutations leave only 3 on federal Death Row
Two days before Christmas, President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates remaining on federal Death Row. The action follows an organized campaign by death penalty opponents — including some evangelicals — asking Biden to…