Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s recent declaration that he will sign no death warrants is emboldening lawmakers who want to abolish executions in the Keystone State.Â
To that end, state Representative Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) is circulating a memorandum asking colleagues to cosponsor a measure he plans to offer ending the state’s death penalty.Â
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) today announced the execution by lethal injection of death row inmate Frank Atwood.
“The execution took place at 10:16 a.m. at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. Atwood was sentenced to death nearly 35 years ago and exhausted all appellate remedies after lengthy and numerous post-conviction proceedings,” Brnovich said in a statement.Â
Brnovich shared words expressing his condolences to the family of Vicki Lynne Hoskinson, the 8 year old Tucson-area girl Atwood kidnapped and murdered in 1984.
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Tennessee has suspended executions for those on death row after an “oversight” in the lethal injection process of one prisoner caused the execution process to be halted in the prisoner’s final hours.Â
During the suspension period, a review of the execution process will be conducted, according to Monday reports.Â
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After a process that took more than a year, Arizona’s attorney general is one step closer to resuming the use of the death penalty in the state.Â
Friday reports said that Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) had requested execution warrants for convicted killer Clarence Dixon and Frank Atwood, but it’s a process that has been long in the making.Â
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In a surprise decision, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered a moratorium on all executions in the state of Ohio following concerns that the currently approved practice could be considered a violation of the Eighth Amendment. Warren Keith Henness was convicted and found guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Richard Myers. He has never admitted to the crime and continues to plead innocence. He has been on death row since January 27, 1994. As his date drew near, his legal defense proposed alternatives to the currently accepted form of lethal injection. A 2015 Supreme Court case grants inmates this right. The presiding judge refused the proposed alternative and said he must use the state approved means, though he conceded that it was almost a form of torture. Following this, DeWine decided the state’s approach to lethal injection must be reexamined before any more are carried out. He noted: In 2017, the Court heard extensive evidence that midazolam was not achieving the intended result of blocking the severe pain caused by the second and third drugs…we have good evidence that midazolam will cause the ‘waterboarding’ effects of pulmonary edema. If Ohio executes Warren Hennes under its present protocol, it will almost certainly subject…
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