Innocent and Executed

Staff / Truthdig Jun 30, 2011 This week on Truthdig Radio in collaboration with KPFK: Argentina's bloody past and New York's historic gay marriage moment Also, actor and activist Mike Farrell talks about death penalty injustice Plus, Robert and Peter Scheer celebrate (sort of) Justice Scalia Update: Full transcriptThis week: Argentina's bloody past, New York's gay marriage moment, Mike Farrell on death penalty injustice, and the Scheers celebrate (sort of) Scalia. Dig deeper ( 34 Min. Read )

Georgia and the U.S. Supreme Court: Tinkering With the Machinery of Death

Amy Goodman / Truthdig Mar 30, 2011 On March 28, the Supreme Court refused to hear the death penalty case of Troy Anthony Davis. It was his last appeal. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Death Penalty Meets Its End in Illinois

Staff / Truthdig Mar 10, 2011 Although not everyone was happy with his decision, including some Democrats, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn put the kibosh on capital punishment with a new state law Wednesday. Only 34 more states to go. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Illinois Is One Signature Away From Ending the Death Penalty

Staff / Truthdig Jan 12, 2011 If Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, signs off on the legislation, Illinois will become the 16th state to eliminate the death penalty. The state has not executed anyone since 1999, after it was discovered that innocent convicts had been put to death. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Are the Death Penalty’s Days Numbered in Texas?

Staff / Truthdig Dec 2, 2010 Texas is one of those states that would appear to be among the least likely to do away with capital punishment anytime soon, but as The Huffington Post's Laura Bassett reports, a district court in the Lone Star State will reconsider the death penalty this Monday. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Swiss May Consider Death Penalty Reboot

Staff / Truthdig Aug 24, 2010 Thanks to the country's democratic signatory system, the Swiss government may soon be compelled to reconsider the "neutral" nation's official stance on the death penalty in certain cases if its supporters are successful in drumming up 100,000 signatures by late February. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

America Prefers to Execute Men, Apparently

Staff / Truthdig Aug 23, 2010 Teresa Lewis is scheduled to be executed this month, the first woman to be officially killed by the state of Virginia in nearly a century. In the five years since a woman was last executed in the United States, the government put 220 men to death, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

4 New Orleans Cops Indicted in Post-Katrina Killings

Staff / Truthdig Jul 14, 2010 Four police officers have been indicted on charges related to the fatal shootings that took place on the Danzinger bridge days after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans. Two civilians were killed and four others wounded in the incident. If convicted, the officers could receive the death penalty. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Iran Backs Away From Stoning Case

Staff / Truthdig Jul 9, 2010 International support rallied around an Iranian woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Astiani, as she inched closer to death by stoning for her dubious conviction under anti-adultery laws. Now the Iranian government has announced Astiani will not be stoned, though they were unclear if her death sentence had been lifted. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Utah Executes Man by Firing Squad

Staff / Truthdig Jun 18, 2010 Utah executed a convicted murderer by firing squad on Friday. Ronnie Lee Gardner chose the method of execution months ago -- as permitted by Utah law -- which subsequently brought his case to the forefront of the capital punishment debate in the U.S. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Death by Firing Squad

Staff / Truthdig Apr 24, 2010 In a throwback to Utah's Wild West past, convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner has requested, as per state law, to be executed by firing squad. The request sets the stage for what almost certainly will be a contested debate on capital punishment. Gardner would be only the third person to be killed by the method in the U.S. since 1976. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Russia Kills the Death Penalty

Staff / Truthdig Nov 19, 2009 A once-temporary ban on the death penalty is now set to be enshrined into Russian law, permanently banning the practice as Russia prepares to join the majority of the world's countries in outlawing capital punishment. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )