MetaFilter posts tagged with Execution

20 years ago, Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were executed.

Sticherbeast — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:35:33 -0800

"The verdict was read out after a few hours. The Ceausescus were sentenced to death. They had ten days to appeal, but the sentence was to be carried out immediately. A nod to Kafka." 20 years ago on Christmas Day, the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena were sentenced to death by an impromptu revolutionary tribunal and executed by firing squad. The Times speaks with one of the men who was there that day. Footage of their trial. Translated transcript of the trial, courtesy of the very informative ceausescu.org. The timeline of that day has been previously posted.

Justice Delayed

darkstar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:11:54 -0800

Nearly 100 years had passed since nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner's "great-uncles, Thomas Griffin and Meeks Griffin were wrongfully executed in South Carolina. On Wednesday, a board voted 7-0 to pardon both men, clearing their names in the 1913 killing of a veteran of the Confederate Army. ...It marks the first time in history that South Carolina has issued a posthumous pardon in a capital murder case." "Joyner, the host of The Tom Joyner Morning Show, had known nothing of his great-uncles' murder convictions until last year. That's when esteemed Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. uncovered Joyner's past as part of the PBS documentary African American Lives 2. (Yes, that Henry Louis Gates, Jr.)

I gotta go, road dog. I love you Gabby.

desjardins — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:30:37 -0800

Expert tells Texas state-sanctioned review that they killed an innocent man. If the commission reaches the same conclusion, it could lead to the first-ever declaration by an official state body that an inmate was wrongly executed. Cameron Todd Willingham was accused of killing his three children in a house fire. There have been doubts about the case for years, thoroughly outlined in this 2004 Chicago Tribune article and this 2005 NPR interview (summarized in this Daily Kos diary). Title taken from his last statement.

Because you needed another reason to hate Twitter

cashman — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:18:56 -0800

Dennis Skillicorn was sentenced to die in 1996 for the murder of businessman/good Samaritan Richard Drummond and two other deaths in connection with a 1994 crime spree. Yesterday morning, local news outlet Missourinet, with a slight time delay, tweeted his execution. Elyria, Ohio's Chronicle Telegram is discussing plans to tweet an upcoming execution, but they are not sure if they should.

The Torture Colony

dersins — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:28:57 -0800

The Torture Colony. In a remote part of Chile, an evil German evangelist built a utopia whose members helped the Pinochet regime perform its foulest deeds... [i]nvestigations by Amnesty International and the governments of Chile, Germany, and France, as well as the testimony of former colonos who, over the years, managed to escape the colony, have revealed evidence of terrible crimes: child molestation, forced labor, weapons trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, torture, and murder. It may sound like the farfetched plot of Saw VII (or something out of Kafka) but it's horrifyingly true. [Previously]

Damn you Cromwell!

Horace Rumpole — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:44:01 -0800

For all which Treasons and Crimes, this Court doth adjudge that the said Charles Stuart, as a Tyrant, Traitor, Murtherer, and a public enemy, shall be put to death by the severing of his Head from his Body. On January 30, 1649, King Charles I was beheaded on a scaffold at Whitehall. Historical reenactment. Some background. The inspiration for the post title.

Don't murder me bro.

Mr_Zero — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:23:37 -0800

Early on New Year's Day, Oscar Grant was involved in a scuffle with an older man he hadn't previously met. The fighting continued and when the train reached Fruitvale, BART police stopped the fight and took Grant and several others into custody. The officers were armed with stun guns as well as sidearms. Three BART officers then proceed to place Grant face down to handcuff him, then one of them stands up, draws his weapon and shoots him in the back. Graphic video of the incident.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Troy Davis Appeal

x_3mta3 — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:21:38 -0800

The Supreme Court today issued a one line statement refusing to hear Troy Davis' appeal. Troy Davis was convicted of the 1989 murder of a police officer in Savannah, GA, and sentenced to death solely on eyewitness testimony. No murder weapon or any physical evidence linked him to the crime. Since the conviction, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted or changed their stories, and one of the two who haven't changed their stories is the other suspect in the case. Things were looking good for Davis when the Supreme Court issued a stay two hours before his execution last month. Justice may really be dead in this country.

Executed Today

Knappster — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:04:46 -0800

Executed Today offers "each day the story of an historical execution that took place on this date, and the story behind it."

Life and death of a black and white

mrducts — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:47:48 -0800

Texas executes Mexican national who was denied consul visit. Jose Medellin, a Mexican national, was born in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, just across the Rio Grande river from Laredo,TX. Medellín moved to the US when he was 3 years of age, and was 18 years of age in June of 1993 when he participated in the gang rape and murder of Jennifer Ertman, 14 and Elizabeth Pena, 16 in Houston,Texas. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death. In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that the Bush Administration must reconsider the case because Medellin was not informed of his right to contact Mexican consulate officials under the Vienna Convention. After the ruling, President Bush asserted authority under the Constitution and the various laws of the United States to order states to review the convictions and sentences of foreign nationals who had not been advised of their Vienna Convention rights. On March 25, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the arguments of the Bush Administration, and ruled that President Bush can't force Texas to reconsider, even if in violation of the International Court of Justice.[Previously]

Iranian man stoned to death for adultery after serving 11-year prison sentence

shivohum — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:19:43 -0800

Iranian man stoned to death for adultery after serving 11-year prison sentence. Unsuccessful, unofficial investigation here. Amnesty International pleads for life of his partner.

The Life and Death of Gary Gilmore

Nathanial Hörnblowér — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 06:28:05 -0800

Thirty years ago today, Gary Gilmore was executed at the Utah State Prison, the first prisoner to be put to death since the moratorium on executions was established four years prior, and the first execution in Utah in sixteen years. His refusal to appeal his death sentence confounded his lawyers and attracted the attention of the ACLU, among others, who fought to keep Gilmore alive, against his wishes. His frustrations with the uncertainty of his sentence led him to attempt suicide in prison twice.

His life and death have been recounted in several books, films, inspired a few songs, and even an SNL skit. His final words, “Let’s do it,” led to a major marketing campaign.

Saddam Hussein is Dead

pyramid termite — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 19:17:17 -0800

Saddam has been executed, Iraqi media reports

An eye for an eye amidst the culture of life

killThisKid — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 07:14:03 -0800

Elijah Page to be executed in South Dakota. On March 12, 2000, Page and two other brutally tortured and killed Chester Poage near Spearfish, SD.(very graphic description of events). It took Page, Briley Piper, and Darrell Hoadley nearly 3 hours to finally kill Poage. This will be the first execution in South Dakota in 59 years. (more inside)

Conversation with Stanley Tookie Williams

rmmcclay — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 09:20:28 -0800

A Conversation with Stanley Tookie Williams - Amy Goodman had a conversation with Stanley Williams days before he was executed using lethal injection at San Quentin's death chamber. It was good to listen to the audio and following along with the transcript. In listening I kept in mind Williams' violent past, his long incarceration, and his "redemption". I learned something from this. And it was redemption which Ahnold said [PDF] was the reason for no slack. In the end it was Conan the Barbarian who singularly determined Tookie's fate.

A job well done

magullo — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 03:02:45 -0800

Woman stoned to death for adultery ... ... in Afghanistan.

Cruel and unusual?

magullo — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 04:11:52 -0800

The Lancet publishes a research letter that finds inadequate anaesthesia is used in executions by lethal injection

The Serial Killer Who Hugged Me

Cassford — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:50:37 -0800

Life and Death: an extraordinary post from Chris Clarke about his connection to serial killer Stephen Peter Morin. His family chimes in meaningfully in the comments. Morin's execution is often pointed to as proof of the cruelty of lethal injection.

Another Fan Of Torture Reveals Himself

expriest — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 21:51:08 -0800

Another Fan Of Torture Reveals Himself Eugene Volokh, a former clerk to Justice O'Connor and a leading voice in conservative legal circles has some interesting opinions on punishment:

[T]hough for many instances I would prefer less painful forms of execution, I am especially pleased that the killing — and, yes, I am happy to call it a killing, a perfectly proper term for a perfectly proper act — was a slow throttling, and was preceded by a flogging. The one thing that troubles me (besides the fact that the murderer could only be killed once) is that the accomplice was sentenced to only 15 years in prison, but perhaps there's a good explanation.

Girl Hanged

tbc — Mon, 23 Aug 2004 07:49:50 -0800

A 16 year-old girl was hanged in Iran for having a "sharp tongue," i.e. back-talking the judge.

Off with their heads!

MrBaliHai — Mon, 29 Sep 2003 13:07:28 -0800

Décolleté takes you on a fascinating guided tour of decapitation through the ages that covers biblical head severers Judith and Salome, the hapless victims of the Tudor axe, as well as the dreaded guillotine. Site contains some mild artistic gore, but nothing too horrendous.

Mary, Queen of Scots

thomas j wise — Sat, 14 Jun 2003 16:21:44 -0800

Mary, Queen of Scots (warning: music) is one of British royalty's most adored and most reviled figures, putting her in the select company of arch-rival Elizabeth I (sigh: music again) and Charles I. (The latter is an Anglican saint, although not everybody is quite so enthused.) Wince at the description of her execution, read some poems about her--or, indeed, some of her own poems--or visit her grave in Westminster Abbey.

the plot sickens

donkeyschlong — Tue, 11 Mar 2003 09:18:49 -0800

"Mr. Banks, a man with no prior criminal record, is most likely innocent of the charge that put him on death row. Fearing a tragic miscarriage of justice, three former federal judges (including William Sessions, a former director of the F.B.I.) have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to block Wednesday's execution.

"So far, no one seems to be listening." [via atrios]

You have got to be kidding me series ...

magullo — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 06:24:30 -0800

Is forcing a prisoner on death row to take antipsychotic medication to make him sane enough to execute cruel and unusual punishment? (NYT link) A federal appeals court ruled that officials in Arkansas can force a prisoner on death row to take antipsychotic medication to make him sane enough to execute. The problem is that the American Medical Association's ethical guidelines prohibits precisely that. To make the case more surreal, a representative of the Arkansas attorney general's office who argued for the state later said: "The ethical decisions involving doctors are difficult ones, but they are not ones for the courts". Does this mean that COs -Correction Officers- are to figure out for themselves which medication to administer? Do they also call the shots when deciding if the "waiting" patient is sane enough???

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 30 Aug 2002 09:05:55 -0800

Three Supreme Court Justices publicy oppose executing teenage criminals. In a rare move, Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Stevens made a public statement in a delay request to state their opposition to executing someone who committed murder before the age of 18. With the Court already banning the execution of the mentally retarded this year, is this another sign of a soon-to-be next step in the abolishment of the death penalty? Or does the average American still believe that regardless of what time, when you do the crime you walk the line?