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Death penalty controversy

Iraq stays execution of man allegedly held at 16
Iraq has suspended the execution of a Yemeni prisoner whose family claims was 16 years old when he was taken into custody, an Iraqi official and human ...
At 450 pounds, Ohio killer fights execution
At about 450 pounds, Ohio death row inmate Ronald Post is so fat that his executioners won't be able to find veins in his arms or legs for the lethal ...
John Wayne Gacy's blood could solve old murders
Detectives have long wondered what secrets serial killer John Wayne Gacy and other condemned murderers took to the grave when they were executed — ...
Uganda's anti-gay bill won't contain death penalty
The Ugandan lawmaker who originally authored an anti-gay bill proposing death for some homosexual acts said Friday that a new version of the proposed ...
Judge rejects obese Ohio inmate's execution claim
A condemned killer trying to delay his execution because of his extreme weight hasn't raised enough new issues to warrant the legal challenge, a ...
Gay marriage, marijuana backed in historic votes
Altering the course of U.S social policy, Maine and Maryland became the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, while Washington ...
Gruesome video raises concerns about Syria rebels
A video that appears to show a unit of Syrian rebels kicking terrified, captured soldiers and then executing them with machine guns raised concerns ...
Calif. death penalty opponents say it's too costly
Death penalty opponents in California are trying a new argument this year: Abolish capital punishment because the perpetually cash-strapped state just ...
Pot, gay marriage, suicide are ballot-item topics
After all the economy-focused campaign talk, voters in some states will get a chance on Election Day to sound off on intriguing topics that the ...
Judge stays execution of mentally ill mass killer
A federal judge on Saturday granted a stay of execution for a convicted mass killer in Florida, who is mentally ill and was scheduled to be put to ...
Should appeals wait for inmates to be competent?
The Supreme Court seemed inclined Tuesday to eliminate the authority of federal judges to indefinitely delay a death row inmate's federal appeals in ...
Scalia says abortion, gay rights are easy cases
Justice Antonin Scalia says his method of interpreting the Constitution makes some of the most hotly disputed issues that come before the Supreme ...
US citizen sentenced to life in Iraqi prison
An Iraqi court has sentenced an American citizen to life in prison on charges of assisting al-Qaida and financing terrorist activities in Iraq, ...
Civilians struggle to check Pakistan army's power
The footage was startling: A group of what appeared to be Pakistani soldiers gunning down several blindfolded men in a forested area. As the clips ...
Another manufacturer blocks drug for execution use
A manufacturer of the anesthetic blamed for Michael Jackson's death said Thursday it won't sell propofol for use in U.S. executions, a setback for ...
Man once on death row faced financial problems
Joyce Robbins wanted to know why her aunt wasn't coming to a big family barbeque. Mamie Brown and her husband, Joseph Green Brown, who was on ...
Iraq shrugs off calls to reconsider death penalty
Iraq has executed nearly 100 people so far this year, a big increase over previous years that has intensified concern about whether defendants are ...
Gambia: President Jammeh halts executions
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has halted the executions of prisoners on death row, at least for now. Jammeh issued a statement Saturday saying that ...
HRW: Rebels in Congo commit widespread war crimes
The 25-year-old lay on a hospital bed in the Congolese city of Goma, his leg wrapped in a bandage tinted by the blood still seeping from his bullet ...
Gambia: Islamic Council supports executions
Gambia's highest Islamic body has endorsed President Yahya Jammeh's recent decision to execute nine death row inmates. The executions on Aug.
Senegal threatens sanctions against Gambia
Senegalese President Macky Sall is calling for sanctions against the neighboring nation of Gambia, after that country's President Yahya Jammeh began ...
Gambia executes 9 death row inmates
Gambia's government says nine inmates who were on death row have been executed by a firing squad. President Yahya Jammeh had announced during his ...
Evidence mounts of new massacre in Syria
Row upon row of bloodied bodies wrapped in colorful blankets laid out on a mosque floor in a Damascus suburb. Long narrow graves tightly packed with ...
Gambia civic activists say 9 executed
Gambia has executed nine convicted criminals, the Civil Society Associations reported Saturday as Amnesty International warned that dozens more on ...
German grandmother facing possible death sentence
Attorneys for an elderly German woman accused of drowning her 5-year-old grandson in the bathtub of a Florida beach house say she suffered from ...