33 h. ago Who are the death row executioners? Disgraced doctors, suspended nurses and drunk drivers

These are just the US executioners we know. But they are a chilling indication of the executioners we don’t knowBeing an executioner is not the sort of job that gets posted in a local wanted ad. Kids don’t dream about being an executioner when they grow up, and people don’t go to school for it. So how does one become a death row executioner in the US, and who are the people doing it?This was the question I couldn’t help but ask when I began a book project on lethal injection back in 2018. I’m a death penalty researcher, and I was trying to figure out why states are so breathtakingly bad at a procedure that we use on cats and dogs every day. Part of the riddle was who is performing these executions. Continue reading...

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3 d. ago The return of the firing squad is a defeat for death penalty supporters | Austin Sarat

The method is a vivid reminder of the brutality of state killing. That undermines the pro-capital-punishment narrativeOn 11 April, South Carolina executed Mikal Mahdi by firing squad. Mahdi had been convicted and sentenced for the 2004 killing of an off-duty law enforcement officer.One month before his execution, South Carolina put Brad Sigmon to death using the same method. He was the first person since 2010 to be killed by the firing squad. Both Mahdi and Sigmon chose the firing squad from a menu of three ways to die, the others being lethal injection and the electric chair. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Cop killer's final act of defiance before being shot dead by prison firing squad in violent execution

Mikal Mahdi, with a hood over his head, cried out as the three bullets to the heart hit him and his arms flexed. A red bull's-eye that was placed over his heart was pushed into the bullet wound in his chest.

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6 d. ago Violent murderer on death row Mikal Mahdi picks rare execution method

Mikal Mahdi gorged on ribeye steak, mushroom risotto, broccoli, collard greens, cheesecake and sweet tea as a his last meal on death row in South Carolina before he was executed

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6 d. ago Death Row man picks firing squad in second execution after failed plea for clemency

Mikal Mahdi, 41, was sentenced to death for the brutal slaying of an off-duty cop in South Carolina in 2004 after he'd already fatally shot a convenience store clerk in the head

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6 d. ago Mikal Mahdi killed by firing squad as South Carolina pushes execution spree

Mahdi, who killed an officer in 2004, endured torture in his childhood and argued he was denied a fair trialA prison firing squad in South Carolina executed Mikal Mahdi on Friday, the second recent death row killing in the state by authorized gunfire.Mahdi, 42, was shot dead by corrections employees inside the execution chamber, where authorities have carried out a rapid spree of killings as South Carolina aggressively revives capital punishment. Continue reading...

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8 d. ago Serial killer utters Death Row confession after keeping grim murders secret for 17 years

The ‘National Forest Serial Killer’ was convicted for the murders of four people after a gruesome killing spree and received the death sentence in April 2011 - but he's made a confession

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8 d. ago Lawyers fight to stop South Carolina man’s execution by firing squad

Mikal Mahdi, who killed a man in 2004, endured prolonged torture as child and didn’t receive a fair trial, lawyers argueA 42-year-old man on South Carolina death row is fighting to stop his execution by firing squad, with his attorneys arguing he endured prolonged torture as a child and did not receive a fair trial.Mikal Mahdi is due to be killed on Friday, nearly 20 years after he was sentenced to death for the 2004 killing of James Myers, a 56-year-old off-duty public safety officer. Continue reading...

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8 d. ago National Forest serial killer Gary Michael Hilton admits to murdering nurse in chilling death row confession

After 17 years of silence, National Forest serial killer Gary Michael Hilton is using the last of his days to finally unveil the depth of his horrific crimes.

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9 d. ago Previous execution reveals how South Carolina will put 2nd inmate to death by firing squad

A few more details are known about South Carolina's firing squad as the state prepares to carry out its second execution by that method

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9 d. ago Morbidly obese Death Row prisoner's final meal was exactly what you'd expect it to be

A morbidly obese Death Row inmate – dubbed a 'fledgling serial killer' – has been executed after eating a last meal some would say was expected for a man of his stature

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9 d. ago Morbidly obese death row inmate's final meal revealed as he's executed after claiming to be too fat for lethal injection

Michael Tanzi, branded a 'fledgling serial killer,' was put to death just after 6pm on Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison in Raiford after his lawyers tried to stave off his morbid end.

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1 week ago 'Fledgling serial killer' deemed 'too obese for lethal injection' to be executed

Death row killer Michael Tanzi, 48, is set to be executed this week following the murder of Janet Acosta. Officials in Florida confirmed he will be executed by lethal injection despite objections

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1 week ago South Carolina’s highest court refuses to stop another firing squad execution

Mikal Mahdi has one more opportunity to live

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2 w. ago Paul House, who spent two decades on Tennessee's death row before he was freed, has died.

Paul “Greg” House, who spent more than two decades on Tennessee's death row before he was finally freed, has died

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2 w. ago Kenyan man who spent decade on death row sues London police for role in wrongful conviction

New emails reveal ‘panic’ inside the Home Office at the case of Ali Kololo, who was wrongly imprisoned for the 2011 murder of British tourist David TebbuttA Kenyan man who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death over an attack on British tourists is suing the Metropolitan police over its role in the case.Ali Kololo was imprisoned for more than a decade in what his lawyers called “appalling conditions” before being released when his conviction was quashed in 2023. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Boxer on death row for 46 years after he was framed for quadruple murder by police awarded record payout

Iwao Hakamada is believed to be the world’s longest-serving death row inmate

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3 w. ago Exonerated prisoner awarded $1.4m after 46 years spent on death row in Japan

Iwao Hakamada, the world’s longest serving death row prisoner, had been wrongly convicted of a quadruple murderA Japanese man wrongly convicted of murder who was the world’s longest-serving death row inmate has been awarded $1.4m in compensation, an official has said.The payout represents 12,500 yen ($83) for each day of the 46 years that Iwao Hakamada spent in detention, most of it on death row when each day could have been his last. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Hallmark star Brennan Elliott’s wife Camilla Row dies after cancer battle

The actor’s wife had suffered from stage four gastric cancer for years

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3 w. ago A Texas woman was on death row for 27 years. But questions over a key witness could have her soon walk free from prison

Brittany Holberg’s murder conviction has been passed down to the district court after the prosecution failed to provide a key piece of evidence: their lead witness was a paid informant, James Liddell writes.

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