death penalty

COMMENTARY: A pastor’s solitary march to end an injustice
By Shane Claiborne — June 18, 2014
(RNS) It’s not just liberals anymore, but all sorts of reasonable people (including conservative faith leaders), who are convinced that we can do better than this as a country -- and we must.

Botched execution could slam brakes on death penalty
By Gregg Zoroya — May 1, 2014
(RNS) Richard Dieter, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, said the Oklahoma case would add momentum to efforts to halt lethal injection until the process is better understood and there is more transparency to what states are trying to do.

As execution drugs grow short, states scramble on capital punishment
By Gregg Zoroya — March 10, 2014
(RNS) In a nation in which the overwhelming method of execution is via lethal injection, corrections officials are having difficulty getting their hands on the drugs they need.

Pakistan faces criticism for harsh blasphemy law
By Naveed Ahmad — February 19, 2014
(RNS) The growing misuse of the blasphemy law has riled some Pakistanis and, increasingly, foreign powers.

Poll: Younger Christians less supportive of the death penalty
By Jonathan Merritt — January 17, 2014
(RNS) One day after the state of Ohio executed a man for murder, a new poll shows younger Christians are not as supportive of the death penalty as older members of their faith.

Exonerated inmates push Ohio to scrap the death penalty
By David Yonke — October 23, 2013
TOLEDO, Ohio (RNS) As a state task force reviews the administration of the death penalty in Ohio, a man who spent 15 years on death row said lawmakers “should not be looking at fixing the death penalty; they should be looking to get rid of it.”

Al Jazeera Video: Bangladesh PM rules out blasphemy law
By Sally Morrow — April 9, 2013
Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh, has ruled out introducing the death penalty for blasphemy.

Death penalty grows rarer in U.S.
By Lauren Markoe — December 18, 2012
(RNS) Though states put the same number of people to death this year as last, an anti-death penalty group says several other indicators show capital punishment is on the wane. By Lauren Markoe.

What won, what lost on 2012 state ballot measures
By Jeanie Groh — November 7, 2012

(RNS) Here's a quick tour of selected state ballot measures from the 2012 elections. By Jeanie Groh.

Woman crusades to save sister’s life, end the death penalty
By Tracy Simmons — October 29, 2012

SPOKANE, Wash. (RNS) Victoria Ann Thorpe's sister has been on death row for 18 years for a crime she says she didn't commit. Now Thorpe is leading a grass-roots campaign to abolish the death penalty in Washington state, saying Jesus would never tolerate it. "Nothing that he did or said can be manipulated into harshness," she said. By Tracy Simmons.

Shifts seen in support for death penalty
By Kevin Johnson — April 25, 2012

WASHINGTON (RNS) The campaign to abolish the death penalty has been freshly invigorated this month in a series of actions that supporters say represents increasing evidence that America may be losing its taste for capital punishment. By Kevin Johnson/USA Today.

Study says no evidence that death penalty deters crime
By Kevin Johnson — April 19, 2012

WASHINGTON (RNS)  In the more than three decades since the national moratorium on the death penalty was lifted, there is no reliable research to determine whether capital punishment has served as a deterrent, according to a review by the National Research Council. By Kevin Johnson / USA Today.

← Page 7
Page 8 of 8

Latest Stories

Opinion
Harrison Butker’s commencement speech almost made a good point
Opinion
The meaning of an Orthodox Christian deaconess’s ordination may depend on where you live
Flunking Sainthood
Eternal polygamy? How LDS temple sealings and cancellations became a raw deal for women
Protestant
Background checks are essential for kids’ ministry. No one knows how many churches do them.
News
Photos of the Week: Bun Festival; Billy Graham statue