Free Republic

April 10 (Reuters) - Allowing Ukrainian convicts to serve in the military came a step closer on Wednesday as lawmakers approved a first reading of a bill designed to help replenish and rotate troops exhausted after two years of war with Russia. The bill envisages prisoners who join the army becoming eligible for parole. Those convicted of crimes against humanity, sexual violence, murder or crimes against national security would not be allowed to serve, lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said on Telegram.

"Brian Dorsey, who was convicted of murdering his cousin and her husband in 2006, was executed in Missouri’s Bonne Terre state prison Tuesday"

A Georgia man should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled and feels remorse for killing his former girlfriend three decades ago, his lawyers wrote in seeking clemency for him. Willie James Pye, 59, is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday using the sedative pentobarbital in what would be the state’s first execution in more than four years. Pye was convicted of murder and other crimes in the November 1993 killing of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. A clemency hearing is set for Tuesday. In Georgia, those hearings are conducted in secret, with the result announced afterward. “Had defense counsel...

For nearly 50 years, Idaho's prison staffers have been serving Thomas Eugene Creech three meals a day, checking on him during rounds and taking him to medical appointments. This Wednesday, some of Idaho's prison staffers will be asked to kill the convicted serial killer. Barring any last-minute stay, the 73-year-old, one of the nation's longest-serving death row inmates, will be executed by lethal injection for killing a fellow prisoner with a battery-filled sock in 1981. Creech's killing of David Jensen, a young, disabled man who was serving time for car theft, was his last in a broad path of destruction...

Idaho is moving forward with legislation that would allow the execution of child rapists. The Idaho Capital Sun reports that the legislation, introduced by Republican lawmakers, will target those who have committed the most serious offenses against children as well as repeat offenders. The bill passed the Idaho House by a 57-11 vote. The legislation states: This legislation amends Idaho Codes 18-1508 and 19-2515 to allow a sentence of capital punishment for a person convicted of lewd conduct with a minor, if said minor is under the age of twelve (12) and there are aggravating circumstances. Upon conviction, a jury...

Zimbabwe's Cabinet decision to abolish the death penalty, announced on Wednesday, is being hailed by human rights advocates, but not all Zimbabweans are in favor of the move. Amnesty International — one of the rights groups which has pushed for the abolition of capital punishment in Zimbabwe — welcomed the announcement this week by Harare. "Zimbabwe has taken the right step towards ending this abhorrent and inhuman form of punishment that has no place in today's justice system," said Roselina Muzerengi, campaigns coordinator at Amnesty International in Zimbabwe. "Now that the Cabinet has given its nod, Parliament must ensure the...

A man who was indicted on charges of sexually abusing children is facing what could be Florida’s first death penalty case under its new law.Joseph Andrew Giampa was charged on Thursday by the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office with six counts of sexual battery against a child under the age of 12 and three counts of encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity.According to a news release, State Attorney William Gladson stated that due to the “severity of the crime and its impact on the community,” his office will pursue the death penalty for the alleged crimes.

A North Central Florida state attorney is moving forward with the first effort in the state to pursue the death penalty for an accused child rapist under a new law enacted earlier this year. State Attorney Bill Gladson announced Thursday in a press release that a Leesburg man, Joseph Andrew Giampa, was indicted for six counts of rape of a child under 12 and three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child. “Given the severity of the crime and its impact on the community, the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office has filed a notice that it intends...

Attorneys for the spiritual adviser of a soon-to-be executed inmate filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the restrictions placed upon the adviser due to the method of execution are "hostile to religion." Officials with the Alabama Department of Corrections instructed the Rev. Jeff Hood that it could be dangerous to his health when he stands by Kenneth Eugene Smith in the execution chamber, according to a report. Smith is slated to be the first inmate in Alabama to be put to death via nitrogen gas, and Hood purportedly was asked to sign a waiver recognizing the risks that could arise...

Andy Ngô @MrAndyNgo: At the Brooklyn anti-Israel protest, a person waves a new LGBTQ+ flag variation that has the Palestine colors. Homosexuality is widely condemned in the Palestinian territories & is even criminalized in Gaza. Watch on X. Oct 28, 2023 https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1718415173273231845

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Schönborn cites death penalty revision when asked about changing Catechism on LGBT issuesVATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) –– Vienna’s Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has argued that changing the Catechism’s teaching against accepting LGBT issues was a matter for the Pope, but added that the Catechism’s passages on the death penalty had already been changed.Speaking to journalists at a press briefing for the Synod on Synodality, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn fielded a number of questions regarding the synod’s process and the possible future for the Catholic Church. In particular, he was asked if he anticipated any changes to the Catechism of the...

A man who killed two women he met a day apart at north Florida bars in 1996 has been executedA man who killed two women after meeting them a day apart in north Florida bars in 1996 was put to death Tuesday evening. Michael Zack III, 54, was pronounced dead minutes after 6:14 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke. The execution started promptly at 6 p.m. Zack was asked if he had any last words, and he answered, “Yes sir.” He then lifted his head to look at the witnesses and said, “I love you...

Oklahoma is set to execute an inmate Thursday morning for the 1996 slaying of a University of Oklahoma dance student, a case that went unsolved for years until DNA from the crime scene matched a man serving time for burglary. Anthony Sanchez, 44, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection at 10 a.m. CDT at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He took the unusual step earlier this year of opting not to present a clemency application to the state’s Pardon and Parole Board, which many viewed as his last chance to have his life spared. His former attorneys blamed...

Derrick James, McAlester News-Capital, Okla. Thu, June 8, 2023 at 4:08 PM PDT·3 min read Jun. 8—A federal judge denied an Oklahoma death row inmate's request for new attorneys two months before his clemency hearing. Anthony Sanchez said in a video response posted online by his spiritual advisor, Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, the ruling was a "devastating blow." "I'm having trouble understanding the idea of me not having the lawyers I want to represent me," Sanchez said. "I would rather do my own clemency myself than let Mark Barrett or Randy Coyne represent me. I am prepared to reject clemency...

Alabama may become the first state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe pure nitrogen, a death penalty method that is authorized by three states but has never been used. The office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall asked the state Supreme Court in a court filing on Friday to set an execution date for 58-year-old death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith. The filing revealed Alabama intends to put him to death by nitrogen hypoxia. Smith was one of two men convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of a preacher’s wife. “It is a travesty that Kenneth Smith has...

The serial child killer Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another six on Friday, making her Britain’s worst child murderer. After being handed a whole life term without the possibility of parole on Monday, the debate around the death penalty has re-emerged. Reader TR says: “Back when it was abolished, the public were assured a life sentence would be for life. The guilty party would spend the remainder of their days in a cell we were promised by the abolitionists. How long did their promise last? “It is the ultimate act of justice and...

National Institutes of Health scientists raked in more than $325 million in royalties from Chinese and Russian entities — as well as pharmaceutical companies — over more than a decade, according to a new report. Former NIH director Dr. Francis Collins and former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Dr. Anthony Fauci were among the thousands of government whitecoats who took the cash between September 2009 and October 2020, the taxpayer watchdog OpenTheBooks.com revealed on Wednesday. Several of those royalties came from companies that in turn received federal contracts and grants, prompting concerns about conflicts of interest....

We’re deep into banana republic territory with this criminal regime. From the beginning, the Biden regime has wanted to render Donald Trump politically dead. Now they’ve opened the possibility of death of a more physical variety. With their latest kangaroo court charges, their bête noire now faces the death penalty. Yes, that’s right: drug dealers, murderers, and rapists walk free in blue cities all the time, but a former president and current presidential candidate who dares to stand up to the political and media elites could now get the big sleep. It has been clear from the beginning that the...

A jury has sentenced Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers to death for his crimes. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville read the verdict about 11:45 a.m. Jurors had been deliberating since about 9 a.m. Tuesday and signaled they’d reached a verdict at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday. When Bowers shot out the front window of the building Oct. 27, 2018, three congregations were preparing for services: Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light. Twenty-two people were inside the monolith at the corner of Shady and Wilkins. Half were killed: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal,...

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment Tuesday against former President Donald Trump for his role in attempting to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election includes several weighty felonies, including one for which death may be a penalty.18 U.S.C § 241, “Conspiracy Against Rights,” includes a penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison. But it adds that if death results from the actions covered under this provision, the offender may be executed:If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or...