Tag Archives: death penalty

White House Studies Death Penalty For Drug Dealers

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is studying new policy that could allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for drug dealers, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, a sign that the White House wants to make a strong statement in addressing the opioid crisis. President Trump last week suggested executing drug dealers as a way to …

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REPORT: Trump Wants To Execute Drug Dealers

Jonathan Swan reports at Axios: In Singapore, the death penalty is mandatory for drug trafficking offenses. And President Trump loves it. He’s been telling friends for months that the country’s policy to execute drug traffickers is the reason its drug consumption rates are so low. “He says that a lot,” said a source who’s spoken to Trump at length about …

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Lawyers For Florida Mass Shooter Say He’ll Plead Guilty If Prosecutors Agree Not To Seek The Death Penalty

The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports: Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old accused of killing 17 students and teachers in Parkland, Florida, would plead guilty if prosecutors agree not to seek the death penalty, his lawyers say. Public Defender Howard Finkelstein said guilt is not an issue in the case of Cruz. “There is no way anyone can minimize the tragedy of what …

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Trump: Manhattan Terrorist Deserves Death Penalty

Politico reports: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Sayfullo Saipov, the motorist accused of killing eight in New York City on Tuesday in a domestic terror attack, should face the death penalty for his actions. The comments serve as Trump’s most direct call to action against the attacker since Tuesday’s lethal incident. It is extremely unusual for a sitting president …

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UN Human Rights Council Condemns Death Penalty For Homosexuality, United States Votes Against Resolution

Forbes reports: “Horrific laws” condemning people to death because of whom they love are the focus of a new international proposal. “The question of the death penalty” resolution to denounce the most severe punishment for consensual same-sex relations was passed on Friday by the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Twenty-seven nations voted in favor of the resolution; …

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GALLUP: Americans Turn Increasingly Liberal On “Moral” Issues, New Highs For Gay Sex, Porn, Birth Control

Gallup reports: Americans continue to express an increasingly liberal outlook on what is morally acceptable, as their views on 10 of 19 moral issues that Gallup measures are the most left-leaning or permissive they have been to date. The percentages of U.S. adults who believe birth control, divorce, sex between unmarried people, gay or lesbian relations, having a baby outside …

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ARKANSAS: Federal Court Blocks Mass Executions

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Saturday halted Arkansas’ unprecedented plan to execute several inmates before the end of the month because one of its execution drugs is about to expire. U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker granted a preliminary injunction requested by the inmates to block the executions. Arkansas was set to execute the first two of six …

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BREAKING: Dylann Roof Sentenced To Death

The New York Times reports: Dylann S. Roof, the impenitent and inscrutable white supremacist who killed nine African-American churchgoers in a brazenly racial assault almost 19 months ago, shocking the world over the persistence of extremist hatred in dark corners of the American South, was condemned to death by a federal jury on Tuesday. The jury of nine whites and …

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ALABAMA: State Botches Lethal Injection, Condemned Killer Writhes And Coughs For Thirteen Minutes

AL.com reports: Alabama Death row inmate Ronald Bert Smith, Jr. was executed Thursday night by lethal injection for the 1994 slaying of Huntsville convenience store clerk Casey Wilson. During the 34-minute execution at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Smith heaved and coughed for about 13 minutes and underwent two consciousness tests to make sure he couldn’t feel pain. Smith’s …

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Bernie Wins Concessions In Democratic Platform: Minimum Wage, Death Penalty, Social Security

A draft version of the 2016 Democratic National Committee platform has been released with several new items pushed strongly by Bernie Sanders. The Hill reports: The platform explicitly calls for a $15 minimum wage, a position long espoused by Sanders. “Democrats believe that the current minimum wage is a starvation wage and must be increased to a living wage,” the …

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Pope Francis Calls For Global End To Death Penalty

Reuters reports: Pope Francis on Sunday called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, saying the commandment “You shall not kill” was absolute and equally valid for the guilty as for the innocent. Using some of his strongest words ever against capital punishment, he also called on Catholic politicians worldwide to make “a courageous and exemplary gesture” by seeking …

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SCOTUS OK’s Lethal Injections

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Final Decisions Day At SCOTUS

Via the Associated Press: The Supreme Court is meeting for the final time until the fall to decide three remaining cases and add some new ones for the term that starts in October. The court decided its two blockbuster cases last week by declaring the right of same-sex couples to marry in all 50 states and upholding a critical part …

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NEBRASKA: Legislature Overrides Pete Ricketts’ Veto Of Death Penalty Repeal

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Headline Of The Day

Via Raw Story: The wife of an Arizona pastor who predicted an “AIDS-free Christmas” if all gays were killed has condemned the Duggar family – as “worldly” liberals who promote a “false gospel.” Zsuzsanna Anderson said she had never met the stars of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” but the mother of eight children has streamed every one of their …

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FLASHBACK: That Time Jim Bob Duggar Said Incest Should Bring Death Penalty

Via Gawker: In a brief statement to People, Jim Bob and Michelle said last week that “that dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before.” Maybe that’s because Jim Bob publicly stated during his 2002 campaign for U.S. Senate that he thinks incest should be punishable by death. Jim Bob’s platform on his campaign website—preserved via …

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Nebraska To Repeal Death Penalty

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Death Sentence For Boston Bomber

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Editorial Of The Day

From the editorial board of the Boston Globe: As the trial now moves into its sentencing phase — the jury must unanimously vote to execute Tsarnaev, or else he will receive a life sentence — the defense team may also raise legal mitigating factors. Tsarnaev was 19 at the time of the bombing; he was apparently a heavy drug user; …

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Boston Marathon Bomber Found Guilty

Via the Boston Globe: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted Wednesday of carrying out the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which devastated a festive crowd near the world-renowned race’s finish line, killing three people and wounding more than 260 others. Tsarnaev, 21, who prosecutors said was a self-radicalized Muslim bent on striking a blow against America, now faces a second phase of …

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