Death Penalty

A South Carolina man who killed his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat was executed by firing squad Friday, the first U.S. prisoner in 15 years to die by that method.

Opponents of the death penalty had urged President Biden to take this step, given the number of executions that took place during President-elect Donald Trump's first term.

North Carolina death penalty opponents will begin a 136-mile walk across the state, to bring attention to those on death row here. Participants in the march will walk a mile for each of the state’s 136 death row inmates.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s methods of executing death row inmates are constitutional. The ruling effectively opens the door for the state to restart executions.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey sought a pause in executions and ordered a "top-to-bottom" review of the state's capital punishment system Monday after an unprecedented third failed lethal injection.

South Carolina is preparing to resume executions after a decade, now that death row inmates have the option to be executed by firing squad. But The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, reports the Department of Corrections won't release critical information about its plans and is requiring those helping to carry out executions to sign confidentiality agreements.

Executions in South Carolina came to a stop a decade ago when pharmaceutical companies stopped providing drugs for lethal injections. In a move to restart executions, the state updated its capital punishment law to include the choice of execution by firing squad.

Attorney General Merrick Garland cited the impact of federal executions on inmates of color and the recent exonerations of people on death row. The department will its review policies and procedures.

The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked two executions that had been set for this month under the state’s recently revised capital punishment law.

Days before what could be South Carolina's first execution in a decade, the two inmates scheduled to die this month under the state’s recently revamped capital punishment statute want an emergency order to stop their planned electrocutions while they appeal their cases.