Troy Davis, the death row inmate whose guilt in the 1989 murder of Officer Mark Allen MacPhail has been seriously called into doubt, was executed by lethal injection at 11:08 p.m. ET after the Supreme Court refused to stay his execution. With his last words, he reportedly maintained his innocence to the McPhail family.
While convicted double murderer Duane Buck's guilt is not in question, his death penalty sentence is. So in a last-minute measure — Buck had already eaten his last meal — his execution was stayed, because during his sentencing hearing the prosecution had a psychologist testify that black people are more likely to commit crimes.
Andrew DeYoung was to be executed via lethal injection on Wednesday night in Georgia — an execution of some historic significance, in that it was to be the first to be videotaped in nearly two decades. But his execution was postponed at the last minute, and officials aren't saying why.
Everyone knows that the only country that loves killing its own citizens more than the U.S. is China. But on Friday, the Chinese decided it loved killing its citizens just a little bit less: The government "ruled out" the death penalty as a punishment for thirteen "economic" and "nonviolent" offenses, including financial fraud, theft, tax fraud and smuggling cultural products out of China. The thing is—according to the AP—people rarely are executed for these crimes right now, so it's unlikely to make a dent in China's massive execution rate. The U.S. has so much to learn, when it comes to capital punishment! [AP]
Here's the latest horror story about Texas' justice system, where the same tale never ceases to shock: A convicted murderer executed in 2000, after being denied a crucial last-minute DNA test by Gov. George W. Bush, may have been innocent.
If you feel like killing someone, make sure you do it in Jersey—starting today all you'll get for it is a roof over your head and three square meals a day for the rest of your life. (Also: the inability to walk more than 6 steps in one direction.) If we were us, which we may very well still be, and in a particularly vengeful state of mind, which we also may be, we'd want dibs on whoever miscalculates our ConEd bill every single fucking month. And maybe that little smart mouth from our fourth grade class who taunted kids by saying "I'm not laughing with you, I'm laughing at you." Also totally worth it—people who don't seem to understand that sidewalks in New York City operate the same way as major highways. Dawdle in the passing lane on the left at your own peril, got it? But surely there are better candidates for a one-way ticket to the afterlife under our sister state's friendly new policy?
