death penalty
Dispute over lethal injection drugs fuels drop in US executions
By Reuters — December 16, 2015
WASHINGTON (Reuters) Only six states carried out executions in 2015, with Texas, Missouri and Georgia the only ones to execute five or more people.
White supremacist to be sentenced for Kansas murders
By Reuters — November 10, 2015
Frazier Glenn Cross admitted during the trial that he committed the April 13, 2014, killings and said he had wanted to kill as many Jews as he could. None of those killed were Jewish.
Evangelicals soften death penalty stance
By Lauren Markoe — October 20, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) The resolution reflects a larger societal shift away from the practice, though it does not reverse the earlier support for the death penalty.
Thank God: Evangelicals shrink back from support of death penalty (COMMENTARY)
By Jonathan Merritt — October 20, 2015
(RNS) The NAE’s capital punishment resolution is a hopeful sign that evangelicals are catching up to the rest of America.
Pope Francis, Kelly Gissendaner and ‘unchanging faith in a changing world’ (COMMENTARY)
By David P. Gushee — September 30, 2015
ATLANTA (RNS) Pope Francis and contemporary Roman Catholicism oppose the death penalty. This is a huge change from the past. How do religious traditions decide when doctrines should, or should not, be updated?
Is Pope Francis changing church teachings before our eyes? (ANALYSIS)
By David Gibson — September 26, 2015
(RNS) On two issues, Francis himself may have provided some answers during this visit.
France urges Saudi Arabia to cancel crucifixion of young Shiite
By Reuters — September 24, 2015
Ali al-Nimr was given the death penalty after taking part in demonstrations three years ago for democracy and equal rights in Saudi Arabia.
White supremacist should die for 3 Kansas Jewish center murders, prosecutor argues
By Reuters — September 2, 2015
OLATHE, Kan. (Reuters) A prosecutor urged a jury to give a Missouri white supremacist he called a "remorseless killer" a death sentence for murdering three people he thought were Jewish outside two Jewish centers in Kansas last year.
Gay Muslim filmmaker risks death in pilgrimage to reconcile faith and sexuality
By Reuters — June 9, 2015
LONDON (Reuters) Millions of Muslims each year make the arduous and exhausting hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, but for one filmmaker, it was a journey that could have cost him his life.
Protestants join Catholics in reconsidering the death penalty (COMMENTARY)
By Heather Beaudoin — May 22, 2015
(RNS) Evangelicals in Nebraska and elsewhere are joining Catholics in re-evaluating their support for capital punishment.
Nebraska lawmakers vote to abolish death penalty
By Doug Stanglin — May 21, 2015
The measure passed by a wide enough margin to override a threatened veto by Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Boston Marathon bomber sentenced to death
By USA Today — May 15, 2015
From the trial's courtroom start on March 4, the defense team acknowledged his involvement in the bombings. The big question from day one was which sentence the jury would choose.
Parents of murdered boy want life for Boston bomber
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — April 17, 2015
BOSTON – In a statement published on the front page of Friday's Boston Globe, William and Denise Richard said a death sentence for convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev "could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives."
Boston Marathon victim’s parents: ‘Drop the death penalty’
By Reuters — April 17, 2015
BOSTON (Reuters) "We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives," Bill and Denise Richard said.
Racial reconciliation demands Christians reconsider the death penalty (COMMENTARY)
By Antipas L. Harris — April 1, 2015
(RNS) At the same time that the Southern Baptist Convention apologizes for its complicity in racial oppression and urges racial reconciliation, the denomination remains a vocal proponent of capital punishment.
