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Japan | Hakamada found religion, but then felt under attack by ‘the devil’

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Editor's note: This is the last in a four-part series on letters that Iwao Hakamada wrote while on death row. About a decade after cursing God, Iwao Hakamada was baptized Catholic at the Tokyo Detention House on Dec. 24, 1984. “Since I have been given the Christian name Paul, I am keenly feeling that I should be aware of the greatness of Paul.” (June 1985)

Elena Kagan confirmed to the Supreme Court

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Washington (CNN) -- Elena Kagan was confirmed as the 112th justice to the Supreme Court Thursday and could be sworn into her judicial post by week's end.

The vote on the Senate floor was 63-37.

Five Republicans in the Senate had signaled their intention to vote for Kagan, meaning conservatives didn't have the strength in numbers to delay the proceedings with a filibuster.

Only one Democrat announced his opposition: Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

"I have heard concerns from Nebraskans regarding Ms. Kagan, and her lack of a judicial record makes it difficult for me to discount the concerns raised by Nebraskans, or to reach a level of comfort that these concerns are unfounded," he said in a statement.

Kagan will become only the fourth woman ever to sit on the prestigious bench.

The New York native and former Harvard Law School dean will replace the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

She was picked by President Obama on May 10, and the Judiciary Committee sent her nomination to the floor last month.

Source: CNN.com, August 5, 2010
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First Third Of 2024 In Saudi Arabia: Executions Rise By 189% And Portend Another Bloody Year. At Least 71 Currently Facing Execution.

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Cruel and Unusual: Documentary explores epicenter of Texas’ prison system

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Every few years, from childhood until my late teens, my granddad would take me along with him to the small Texas town where he grew up—Normangee, population 522—to visit old relatives and even older graves. The drive took us up I-45, beyond the Houston sprawl, past pine forests, and eventually through Huntsville, epicenter of the state prison system. One of the city’s seven prisons was just off the interstate, and as we passed by I’d stare at the guard towers and barbed wire before turning my attention across the street to the Texas Prison Museum, which had its own mock guard towers in the parking lot. (“Prison” and “museum” were words that never seemed to go together.) Later, I learned that the museum’s central attraction was the wooden electric chair the state used for executions until 1964.
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Missouri | Man Facing Execution Next Month Is Hospitalized With Heart Problem

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David Hosier, who is weeks away from execution, is in a hospital after suffering what a Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman described as a “medical emergency." ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri death row prisoner who is due to be executed next month has been hospitalized because of a “medical emergency,” a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections said.
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Tennessee | New law allows death penalty for child rape

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has approved legislation allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions, a change the Republican-controlled Statehouse championed amid concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court has banned capital punishment in such cases. Lee, a Republican, quietly signed off on the legislation last week without issuing a statement.
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Iran’s Execution Spree Continues

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On Saturday, human rights groups reported the execution of ten individuals in Iran, highlighting the country’s troubling rate of capital punishment.  Two women were executed for separate crimes, while eight men faced execution on drug-related charges. This incident underscores Iran’s position as a global leader in executions, particularly for drug offenses.
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SCOTUS declines death penalty cases on jury selection, right to counsel

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