Death Penalty

An exploration of historical and modern botched executions, from seventeenth-century hangings to electric chairs and lethal injections, examining the legal dilemmas of survival.

Iran sentenced 23-year-old student Najmeh Amini to death over a social media post insulting Shia imams, sparking strong condemnation from human rights organizations.

James Robertson, a 63-year-old Florida inmate who murdered his cellmate in 2008 to secure a death sentence, was executed Tuesday evening after waiving all appeals.

Christa Pike, who survived a botched lethal injection execution attempt in Tennessee, has been discharged from the hospital and returned to prison to continue her medical care.

A controversy surrounds U.S. capital punishment after Texas executed an inmate while Tennessee paused executions following a botched procedure where an inmate miraculously survived.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is reportedly weighing a historic commutation of death sentences for all 563 inmates on the state's death row to life imprisonment.

US President Donald Trump approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting. This marks the first US military execution since 1961.

Christa Pike remains in critical condition following a botched lethal injection in Tennessee after receiving lethal substances without dying, prompting an independent review.

DNA evidence has cleared death row inmate Douglas Stewart Carter after 41 years in Utah. Prosecutors dropped the death penalty for his upcoming retrial, ending execution threats.

Tyler Robinson, 23, is accused of shooting and killing the conservative activist at an event at Utah Valley University last year. The judge rejected the defense's request to dismiss the case or remove the death penalty from the table. The prosecution argues that firing into a crowd of more than 3,000 people created a real risk of death for others.

A Chinese court has handed down a suspended death sentence to a former party secretary convicted of bribery and corruption. The case is causing a stir in the country and signals an escalation in the government's anti-corruption campaign.

The start of work on an execution facility is nothing more than an election gimmick by a minister whose essence is provocation: after the pitas and the crocodiles, the gallows have arrived. It is just a pity that along the way, it contaminates us all.

Waseem Badia al-Assad, cousin of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, received a death sentence for murder, torture, and crimes committed during the civil war. He is in custody in Syria and was present in the courtroom during the sentencing, which was broadcast live.

Lebanon becomes the first Arab country to abolish the death penalty. Palestinian students at Columbia sue the university for discrimination. And the British infrastructure project that surrendered to the struggle of Harry Potter fans. Global Zoom.

A Los Angeles grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner for the murder of his parents, director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner. The indictment includes a new allegation that he lay in wait for them, which could make him eligible for the death penalty. Reiner has pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors have yet to decide on seeking the ultimate punishment.

Nick Reiner, the director's son, pleaded not guilty after being indicted for stabbing his parents to death. He is being held without bail, and if convicted, he could face life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty.

The Lebanese parliament has approved a law abolishing the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment with hard labor. The Hezbollah faction was the only one to vote against the measure, making Lebanon the first Arab nation to take this step.

A court in Damascus convicted the former Syrian dictator of premeditated mass murder. Along with him, the head of his intelligence apparatus in the Daraa district, Atef Najib, was also convicted.

A Malaysia Airlines pilot was arrested last July in Indonesia after being caught smuggling a massive quantity of hard drugs. It is suspected that the 39-year-old pilot used drugs while flying a plane with 170 passengers on board, putting their lives at risk.

Authorities in Tehran hanged Amid Behzad and Pouria Safvat this morning, accusing them of passing military locations to Israel. Human rights organizations warn that the regime is exploiting security tensions to execute dozens of young people.

At least 1,500 death row inmates at Iran's Ghezel Hesar prison have been on a two-week hunger strike to protest a surge in executions. Some prisoners have sewn their lips shut, demanding international intervention against the regime's brutal crackdown.