Death Penalty News

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- In deciding whether the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter will face the death penalty, the jury must first decide if he is eligible for the ultimate punishment.  On Monday, the final witness in this phase of the trial testified he meets all the qualifications.  Forensic psychiatrist Park Deitz is a nationally known expert in criminal psychology who has analyzed defendants or consulted in high-profile cases like Jeffrey Dahmer and unabomber Ted Kaczynski.  Deitz told the jury the gunman doesn't have schizophrenia or epilepsy but a personality disorder resulting in social isolation. The gunman, he said, was a loner who lacked close friends and communicated hour after hour only with other white supremacists on the internet who stoked his antisemitic hatred and wild conspiracy theories about Jews.

The inmate, Ernest Johnson, argued that Missouri’s planned use of pentobarbital to execute him would cause excruciating pain. Over the dissents of its 3 liberal members, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from a death row inmate in Missouri who said the way the state planned to execute him would cause him excruciating pain. The inmate, Ernest Johnson, had asked to instead be put to death by a firing squad. As is the court’s custom, it gave no reasons for refusing to hear the case. Mr. Johnson was convicted of murdering three people during a 1994 robbery of a gas station. He later learned he had a brain tumor and underwent surgery to address it, leaving him with a seizure disorder. Mr. Johnson sued to challenge Missouri’s execution protocol, which uses a lethal injection of pentobarbital, saying it would very likely cause him to suffer intense and painful seizures. As required by Supreme Court precedent, he proposed alternative methods of execution, starting with nitr...

On Friday, Long’s attorneys argued in Hillsborough Circuit Court that the lethal drugs might cause a seizure. TAMPA — A Tampa judge has denied an effort to stop the scheduled May 23 execution of Bobby Joe Long, a Tampa Bay area killer who murdered eight women in the 1980s. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Michelle Sisco issued an order Monday afternoon rejecting arguments from Long’s defense, including the contention that Florida’s lethal injection drugs might cause Long to have a seizure during the execution. Long’s case now heads to the Florida Supreme Court. His defense must file initial arguments by Thursday and the state must respond by Monday. The defense can then respond to the state’s arguments by May 14, after which the court will decide whether oral arguments are necessary. RELATED |  Florida: Judge to rule whether lethal drug is 'cruel' for serial killer Bobby Joe Long If the state high court denies Long’s claims, he can still make a final appeal in th...

A Hillsborough County judge is expected to rule Monday whether the execution of Bobby Joe Long through lethal injection would be a cruel and unusual punishment. During a hearing Friday, a doctor from California testified about the anesthetic drug etomidate, which is one of the first drugs administered during the execution.  Dr. Steven Yun said Long should have any an adverse reaction to the drug, based on the serial killer’s medical history. However, Long’s attorney said his client had traumatic brain injury when he was younger and suffers from epilepsy.  He argued that his condition, coupled with the cocktail of lethal drugs, could, could cause him to have a seizure during the execution. During the hearing, Long's attorney challenged the doctor's expertise, pointing out he didn’t even read up on the drug before his testimony. "As a critical practicing anesthesiologist, I don't need to read basic textbooks to review my knowledge on etomidate,...