Alfred Bourgeois Execution Follows Brandon Bernard As Trump Rushes Through Federal Killings

Alfred Bourgeois is scheduled to be the second of five federal executions that the Trump administration is rushing through before Joe Biden takes office in January.

The 56-year-old Louisiana trucker has spent the last 17 years on death row after murdering his two-year-old daughter, JG, in Texas in 2002.

He is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Friday at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) said Bourgeois "abused, tortured, and beat to death his young daughter."

After a paternity test identified him as the father in the spring of 2002, a court ordered that he pay child support to the mother and Bourgeois took temporary custody of the infant.

While on a long-haul trucking route with the family, Bourgeois was said to have punched the girl in the face, whipped her with an electrical cord and burned the bottom of her foot with a cigarette lighter.

Two months later, in July 2002, Bourgeois arrived at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station for a delivery. The DoJ said that while Bourgeois was backing his truck up to a loading dock, his daughter tipped over her training potty. He became angry and repeatedly slammed the back of her head into the truck's window and dashboard, killing her.

After a two-week trial in 2004, the jury found Bourgeois guilty of murder. The court heard there was also evidence of sexual abuse. It was unanimously recommended that he receive a death sentence and his conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal.

He had been due to be executed in January 2020 but legal challenges prevented that from going ahead.

Lawyers for Bourgeois argue their client has intellectual disabilities and therefore can't understand his punishments, referencing the Eighth Amendment, which bans executing people with such impairments as cruel and usual punishment.

"Mr Bourgeois is a person with intellectual disability, and both the Constitution and the plain language of the Federal Death Penalty Act bar his execution," said defense attorney Victor J. Abreau.

"The jury that sentenced Mr. Bourgeois to death never learned that he was a person with intellectual disability because his trial lawyers did not present the evidence that was available to them."

His execution is one of two that has been scheduled at the Indiana jail this week.

On Thursday, Brandon Bernard was killed by lethal injection—the first of five executions planned for the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency. His impending death—the first during a presidential lame-duck period in 130 years—had triggered a nationwide campaign for clemency.

Bernard's execution was the ninth federal execution since July, when Trump ended a 17-year hiatus in federal executions. Bourgeois would be the tenth.

After Bourgeois, the remaining three inmates due to be executed before Trump leaves office are: Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, who is scheduled to die on January 12 for the 2007 kidnapping and killing of Bobbie Jo Stinnett; Corey Johnson, who is scheduled to be executed on January 14 for his part in multiple murders as part of a drug gang; and Dustin Higgs, whose execution is set for January 15 for his role in the murders of three people.

Lawyers for Montgomery said she suffers from severe mental illness and the devastating impacts of trauma and abuse she suffered as a child, including being sexually trafficked.

Johnson's attorneys said there was "compelling evidence demonstrating his intellectual disability" but that no jury or court has ever listened to the evidence at a hearing to decide if that is true.

And the attorney for Higgs has argued that his client did not kill anyone and should not be executed. "All witnesses agree that the sole shooter was Mr Higg's co-defendant, Willis Haynes, who was tried separately and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release," lawyer Shawn Nolan said.

"It would be arbitrary and inequitable to punish Mr Higgs more severely than the person who committed the murders. Although compelling evidence was available at time of the trial and would have supported a plea for life, the jury that sentenced Mr Higgs to death did not hear all of the mitigating information."

Source: newsweek.com, Tom Batchelor, December 11, 2020

🚩 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Maldives | Death penalty law for drug trafficking now in effect

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

Prosecutors seek death penalty in 2 Georgia cases

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.

Georgia | Death penalty sought against woman in brutal killing of 4-year-old

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Prosecutors in Hall County are seeking the death penalty against a woman accused of the brutal killing of a 4-year-old girl whose body was found in a parked car last fall. In a court filing Monday, the State announced its intent to pursue capital punishment for Jessica Motes, who faces a litany of charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, and first-degree cruelty to children. The case began on Oct. 26, 2025, when authorities discovered the body of 4-year-old Autumn Fox. The child’s remains were found inside the trunk of a vehicle parked at a Sam’s Club in Oakwood, approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Alabama | Gov. Ivey commutes Charles “Sonny” Burton’s death sentence

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, who was set to be executed Thursday. The governor’s office released the following statement: “Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced that she has commuted the death sentence of Charles L. Burton to life in prison with no chance of parole. Mr. Burton was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1991 capital murder of Doug Battle in Talladega, Alabama. As required by law, the governor first reached out to a representative of Mr. Battle’s family. She also notified the attorney general. Governor Ivey’s letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm is attached.

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks is set to be killed on March 11 Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” The Tarrant County jury was unmoved. Ricks has spent the last 13 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on March 11.

Supreme Court Denies Alabama Appeal, Allowing New Trial in Death Row Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a new trial for one of Alabama’s longest-serving people on death row after declining to review a lower court ruling that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors. According to an article written by the Associated Press, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in Alabama might receive a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that prosecutors had violated his rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors. According to the article, on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision paved the way for Michael Sockwell, the 63-year-old death row inmate, to receive a new trial.

Missouri Man Said DNA Test Could Prove Innocence. He Was Executed Before a Court Ruled.

Lance Shockley died by lethal injection last year. State courts have rejected prisoners’ requests for DNA testing in recent years. Lance Shockley, a man on death row in Missouri, wanted items from the crime scene to undergo DNA testing to potentially prove his innocence. The court scheduled proceedings on his request — but the date set was for two days after his execution. Patty Prewitt can’t have her DNA tested — and fully clear her name — because her sentence was commuted and she is no longer in prison. And others, including Lamar McVay, who is serving 30 years for a robbery, can’t even get an answer from the state on his DNA testing request. He's still awaiting a ruling on a motion he filed in September 2022.

Florida executes Billy Kearse

Florida executes man who killed Fort Pierce police officer during 1991 traffic stop Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.” A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the third person put to death by Florida this year after a record 19 executions in 2025.

Chinese courts conclude trials of 2 criminal gangs from northern Myanmar, 16 sentenced to death

Chinese courts have concluded the trials of 2 major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Thursday. At a press conference held by the SPC, it was revealed that by the end of 2025, courts across the country had concluded first-instance trials of over 27,000 cases related to telecom fraud operations in northern Myanmar, with more than 41,000 returned suspects sentenced. Notably, among the trials of the so-called "4 major families" criminal gangs -- which had drawn widespread domestic and international attention -- those of the Ming and Bai groups have completed all judicial proceedings.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog