execution
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Ahead of Brandon Bernard's Execution, Urgent Requests to Save His Life Come From Politicians, Over 400,000 Petitioners and Kim Kardashian
As the Trump administration’s Department of Justice prepares to execute Brandon Bernard on Thursday for participating in the 1999 gang killing of a couple when he was 18 years old, calls are intensifying from various corners for the commutation of his death sentence. Bernard, now 40, is scheduled to be executed at the U.S. Penitentiary…
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Nathaniel Woods' Sister Confronts Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey: 'You Killed My Brother'
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey expected to answer questions about 2020 Census on Thursday. Instead, she was confronted by the Pamela Woods, the sister of Nathaniel Woods, who was executed by the state on March 5 for the murder of three police officers. Video from WAFF TV shows Woods calmly walking up to the governor as…
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Ayanna Presley and Other Lawmakers and Legal Experts Call for End to Death Penalty in the Wake of Nathaniel Woods Execution
The unfathomably unjust execution of Nathaniel Woods on Friday has sparked widespread outrage and scorn from activists, lawmakers and legal experts and has inspired a renewed sense of urgency in the call to abolish the death penalty. Woods was a criminal but he was not a murderer—a fact not even disputed by prosecutors or the…
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MLK III Advocates for Nathaniel Woods, Asks Alabama Governor to Halt His Execution
The American criminal justice system has no shortage of people who were convicted under questionable if not completely wrong circumstances. Nathaniel Woods is one of those people and the consequences could soon prove fatal. According to ABC News, Martin Luther King III has made a plea to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to stop the execution…
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Death Row Inmate Keith Tharpe Died in Prison Before Execution. Here's Why His Story Leaves Me Conflicted
The curious case of Keith Tharpe, a story that spans nearly three decades, has finally come to its end; although, not the way many expected. Tharpe—whose saga has been followed by The Root’s own Michael Harriot since he was first set to be executed back in September 2017—was a convicted murderer and death row inmate…
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Tennessee Supreme Court Puts Execution of Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman on Hold Amid Concerns of Racial Bias
For the first time since resuming capital punishment last year, the Tennessee Supreme Court has pumped the brakes on an execution scheduled for April 16. The reason? Racism. From the Tennessean: The high court delayed Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman’s April 16 execution to allow a lower court time to consider if racial bias surrounding his trial should…
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James Byrd Jr. Was Dragged to Death More Than 20 Years Ago. One of His Killers Is Scheduled to Be Executed This Week
The dragging death of James Byrd Jr. was one of the most gruesome hate crimes in recent memory; rightfully referred to as a “modern-day lynching.” Picked up by the side of the road by three white men in the early morning hours of June 7, 1998, the 49-year-old black man was beaten and his face…