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The European Union and the U.N. Human Rights Office are expressing regret over the death of convicted killer Kenneth Smith. The EU called the first ever use of nitrogen gas "particularly cruel." The U.N. says the death penalty does not deter crime. APR news may be asked to explain to news listeners in eastern Europe how Alabama administers capitol punishment. The investigative news website "Dnevnik" in Bulgaria’s capitol city of Sofia contacted APR and asked for our input.
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An Alabama inmate remains scheduled to be the first person in the United States to be put to death with nitrogen gas. The U.S. Supreme Court is rejecting a request for a stay of execution for Kenneth Eugene Smith. Prior to this decision, his attorneys were hoping for a last-minute reprieve from federal courts in his bid to halt the death sentence from being carried out.
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A federal appeals court refused to stop an upcoming execution in Alabama, rejecting an inmate's argument that the state has a history of botched lethal injections. James Barber is scheduled to be put to death tonight at a south Alabama prison, in the first execution scheduled in the state since Gov. Kay Ivey paused them in November for an internal review.
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Alabama’s decision to change how it carries out executions is still drawing criticism. The state’s Supreme Court abolished the one-day time frame for executions allowing the governor to extend the amount of time needed to execute someone.
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Alabama Governor Kay Ivey is seeking a pause in executions and ordering a "top-to-bottom" review of the state's capital punishment system. The move occurred after an unprecedented third failed lethal injection.
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The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a temporary stay on the execution of an Alabama prison inmate.The nation's high court stayed the execution of Tommy…
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A federal judge says the state of Alabama may not use a large dose of a sedative to execute five death row inmates.U.S. District Judge William Keith…
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Lawmakers want to keep the identities of the companies supplying drugs for lethal injections in Alabama a secret.That's what a bill that just passed the…
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Attorneys for an Alabama death row inmate have filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the state's new lethal injection drug combination has never been tried…
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Attorneys for a condemned inmate say Alabama's new lethal injection drug combination needs review because it relies on a drug used in two recently botched…