The Latest Breaking News from Death Penalty

Japan is one of the few economically developed countries to still have the death penalty, and hanging has been its sole execution method for around a century and a half

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has announced a pause in her state’s use of capital punishment. It follows a run of botched lethal injection executions in the state, including two where the procedure had to be abandoned before the inmates succumbed to the cocktail of death drugs.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremist Israeli lawmaker and who is set to become the minister in charge of police under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for the resumption of “targeted assassinations” against Palestinian factions. “We must exact a price from terror,” he said at the scene of one of two explosions…

While the pause comes as a relief to those opposed to the death penalty, Ivey's full-throated defense of the practice makes it clear that she seeks only a temporary pause in executions, not an end to the policy.

William J. Kunkle Jr. secured the death penalty for serial killer John Wayne Gacy and later taught about the infamous trial and some of its legal peculiarities.

Kuwait criticized what it labeled as interference in its internal affairs, and the Kuwaiti foreign minister called on EU countries to respect his country's laws and sovereignty, rejecting European disapproval regarding the recent implementation of the death penalty against seven convicts. Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah expressed wishes that European…

The man suspected of murdering UFC heavyweight Walt Harris' stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, could be sentenced to death if convicted.

NPR spoke with 26 people who were involved with more than 200 executions across the country. Most said their health suffered and they had little support to help them cope with their unusual jobs.

There have been reports that about 300 people have been killed and that 14,000 to 15,000 protesters have been arrested