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OKLAHOMA CITY - A call from death row inmate Terry Lyn Short interrupted a meeting in the office of his attorney, James Rowan. Short wanted a promise that, after he is put to death next month, he won't end up in a pauper's grave in the cemetery that contains the bodies of many of those hanged, electrocuted and lethally injected at the 100-year-old Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Rowan told his 47-year-old client not to be concerned about that. "It's not going to cost you anything, so don't worry about it. That's the least of your worries," he said. What worries Rowan...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court upheld the most common method of lethal injections executions Wednesday, clearing the way for states to resume executions that have been on hold for nearly 7 months. The justices, by a 7-2 vote, turned back a constitutional challenge to the procedures in place in Kentucky, which uses three drugs to sedate, paralyze and kill inmates. Similar methods are used by roughly three dozen states. The governor of Virginia lifted his state's moratorium on executions two hours after the high court issued its ruling. "We ... agree that petitioners have not carried their burden of showing...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The death penalty is under what may be an unprecedented review in the United States, mostly involving questions about lethal injection, by far the most common method of execution. "Although many of the stays of exeecutions are due to the lethal injection process, the openness of courts, of governors and legislators to reconsider issues that were thought to be settled is a sign of broad discomfort with the death penalty," said Richard Dieter, head of the Death Penalty Information Center, which works against capital punishment. About one-third of the 38 states that allow capital punishment have halted...

After a botched execution that took 34 minutes to end a convicted murderer’s life, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has suspended all death sentences until a commission can review lethal-injection procedures “to ensure they don’t inflict cruel and unusual punishment on their helpless victims.” In a gesture of goodwill, Florida’s leading association of murderers also announced a temporary hold on premeditated and/or serial killings as well as brutal rapes, according to a spokesman, “until we can determine if some of our victims experience discomfort or pain.” The Sunshine State Coalition of Capital Criminals released the statement through its ACLU attorney, pledging...

Fifty-seven suspected gang members were arrested after a yearlong investigation into the death of a CHP officer who was shot by a 16-year-old boy outside a courthouse, authorites said Monday. Investigators from local, state and federal agencies began arresting the suspected members of the Pomona 12th Street Sharkies gang Friday on charges ranging from conspiracy to commit murder to weapons and drug-related violations, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said in a statement. Authorities used wiretaps, informants, surveillance and undercover agents during the investigation to obtain evidence against alleged gang leaders. Authorities seized dozens of weapons, more than $43,000 in cash,...

Soldiers shouldn't be guinea pigs Posted: April 12, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern Editor's note: Eilhys England contributed to this column. © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com The presidential commission looking into the cluelessness of U.S. intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq recently issued its report to banner headlines that should cause every member of the American military to take a long second look at the need for – not to mention the safety of – the big-bucks "emergency" anthrax vaccination program still being pushed by the Department Of Defense. Because the acknowledgment of this disastrous intelligence failure rips the guts right...