executions

A former Virginia Department of Corrections employee donated hundreds of execution documents, including these photographs, to the Library of Virginia more than a decade ago. NPR is now exclusively publishing a selection of the documents.

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Virginia hid execution files from the public. Here's what they don't want you to see

1:32pm May 11, 2023

by Chiara Eisner

In January, the Virginia Department of Corrections restricted public access to execution records. NPR is now publishing a selection of those secret files.

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This photo shows the gurney in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla., on Oct. 9, 2014. A scheduled execution in Alabama that was called off Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, after prison officials could not find a suitable vein to inject the lethal drugs into is the latest in a long history of problems with lethal injections.

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Alabama is pausing executions after a 3rd failed lethal injection

2:36pm November 21, 2022

by The Associated Press

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.

Richard Moore, scheduled for execution later this month, has chosen to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair.

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South Carolina's planned execution by firing squad is on hold for now

2:38pm April 20, 2022

by The Associated Press

The state Supreme Court is temporarily blocking what was set to be South Carolina's first-ever firing squad execution. The planned April 29 execution of Richard Bernard Moore is now on hold.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has signed into law a bill that forces death row inmates to choose between the electric chair or a firing squad if lethal injection drugs aren't available. The state's electric chair is seen here in Columbia, S.C.

With Lethal Injections Harder To Come By, Some States Are Turning To Firing Squads

2:48pm May 19, 2021

by Laurel Wamsley

Unable to obtain lethal injection drugs, some states have turned to outmoded alternatives to execute prisoners on death row.

Willie B. Smith is on death row for his conviction in the 1991 abduction, robbery, and murder of 22-year-old Sharma Ruth Johnson.

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Supreme Court Stays Execution Of Alabama Inmate Who Requested Pastor's Presence

8:13am February 12, 2021

by Jaclyn Diaz

Willie B. Smith III's death by lethal injection in an Alabama prison is on hold after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered state officials to allow him to have his pastor with him when he dies.

This undated photo from the Alabama Department of Corrections shows Nathaniel Woods. Woods was executed late Thursday in Alabama.

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Alabama Executes Man Convicted As Accomplice In Slaying Of Police Officers

11:24pm March 05, 2020

by Scott Neuman

The case of Nathaniel Woods garnered national attention, including from Martin Luther King III, the son of the late civil rights leader, who was among those who fought to block the execution.

Calif., Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign an order on Wednesday imposing a moratorium on California's death penalty.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom Suspends Death Penalty In California

11:33pm March 12, 2019

by Scott Shafer

California voters are the only ones who can repeal the death penalty, something they've rejected twice in recent elections. The Governor's moratorium will spare the lives of over 700 inmates.

This file photo shows Alabama's lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala. Inmate Domineque Ray was put to death Thursday night without his spiritual adviser present in the chamber.

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Justices Let Alabama Execute Death Row Inmate Who Wanted Imam By His Side

9:35am February 08, 2019

by Matthew S. Schwartz

Domineque Ray said the state was violating his constitutional rights by only offering a Christian chaplain. The high court ruled 5-4 that the execution could go ahead as planned.

This photo combo shows death row immates, from left, Thomas Whitaker from Texas, whose sentence was commuted Thursday, Doyle Lee Hamm from Alabama, and Eric Scott Branch from Florida.

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Texas Commutes Death Sentence, As Execution Carried Out In Florida; Alabama Postpones

3:34am February 23, 2018

by Scott Neuman

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott granted clemency for 38-year-old Thomas Whitaker. Meanwhile, Florida put to death Eric Scott Branch, and Alabama will have to reschedule the execution of Doyle Lee Hamm.

Arkansas death-row inmate Kenneth Williams is scheduled to be executed on Thursday.

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Arkansas Poised To Carry Out Its Fourth Execution This Month

2:16pm April 27, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

And hours before his scheduled execution, lawyers for death-row inmate Kenneth Williams continued to try to stop it in court. He is the fourth and final inmate scheduled to die in Arkansas this month.