Death Penalty News

Mark Geralds has waived all pend­ing and future legal pro­ceed­ings in his case and is sched­uled to be exe­cut­ed by Florida offi­cials on December 9, 2025. Mr. Geralds elect­ed to for­go his appeals just days after Governor Ron DeSantis signed his death war­rant, join­ing a doc­u­ment­ed group of death row pris­on­ers who have also decid­ed not to try and pre­vent their executions.

On March 19, I served as a witness to the execution of a man named Aaron Gunches, Arizona’s first since 2022. During his time on death row, he begged for death and was ultimately granted what is likely more appropriately described as an emotionless state-assisted suicide. This experience has profoundly impacted me, leading to deep reflection on the nature of death, humanity, and the role we play in our final moments. When someone is in the end stages of life, we talk about hospice care, comfort, care, easing suffering and humane death. We strive for a “good death” — a peaceful transition. I’ve seen good ones, and I’ve seen bad, unplanned ones. 

A Florida man accused of shooting 2 of his co-workers and then holding them hostage before beating and stabbing them to death using an assortment of office supplies pled guilty to 1st-degree murder just days into his trial. Jose Rojas, 55, also said in a 3-page letter to the judge that he would like to receive the death penalty for his actions, a fate that the jury will now deliberate next month as the trial moves to the penalty phase.

A man was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Monday on charges related to a attack on Halloween night 2021 in which he stabbed a man and lit a fire on a Tokyo train while dressed as the Joker. The Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court handed down the sentence on Kyota Hattori, 26, who was charged with attempted murder and arson offenses. He admitted to stabbing a male passenger and starting the fire on a moving express train. Prosecutors demanded 25 years, arguing that he planned to kill indiscriminately with the stated intent to get the death penalty and that "his motive was extremely selfish and deserving of strong condemnation."

TOKYO — Prosecutors have sought a 25-year jail sentence for a man charged with attempted murder and arson while dressed in a Joker costume on a Tokyo train in 2021. During a trial at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court, the prosecutors argued the actions of Kyota Hattori, 26, were premeditated and "his motive was extremely selfish and deserving of strong condemnation."

A 26-year-old man, whose trial in a 2021 arson and stabbing case on Tokyo’s Keio Line began Monday, admitted to the actions and attempting to murder the man he stabbed, but denied having intended to murder anyone by starting the fire. In the first court hearing at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court, Kyota Hattori, 26, who wore a costume resembling that of “Batman” villain the Joker during the incident , admitted to both stabbing a man and lighting a train carriage on fire, injuring 12 others. However, he denied parts of the indictment, saying that there was no intent to murder when he lit the carriage on fire. “I don’t know if the arson can be considered attempted murder,” Hattori said.

A knife attack by a 15-year-old girl shocked Japan this week, but the grim motivation for it -- an attempt to receive the death penalty -- is one that has been cited multiple times before. The suspect in the attack, who was arrested on the scene, says she randomly chose and stabbed a 53-year-old mother and her 19-year-old daughter.  The victims' serious injuries are expected to take about three months to heal. A restaurant worker near the scene of the crime told NHK that after the attacker was pinned to the ground, she stared up at the sky and asked if the daughter -- who sustained a 10-centimeter-deep wound to her back -- was dead. She didn't appear to put up any resistance, the witness said. RELATED |  Teenager Arrested After Stabbing 2 Women, Reportedly Wanted To ‘Practise’ Before Killing Mother The Metropolitan Police Department found three small knives on the suspect, including the one used in the attack. Junior high school suspect The attacker has been identified as a th...

Tokyo’s Shibuya district is usually more famous for its trendy and wholesome sights. However, the popular tourist destination recently became the scene of a shocking crime. According to Japanese media, a 15-year-old girl randomly stabbed a mother-and-daughter pair with a kitchen knife there. She reportedly did so as a ‘practice run’ as she planned to kill her mother. She also said that she “wanted to get the death penalty”. The teenager has since been arrested for attempted murder. Nippon.com reports that police were alerted to a stabbing incident at about 7.25pm on Saturday (20 Aug). The caller said that two victims, a woman in her 50s and her teenage daughter, were bleeding on the street. Kyodo News states that the suspect had approached the pair from behind as they were walking on a street near Shibuya Station. Along the narrow street lined with restaurants and houses, she stabbed them with the kitchen knife. Police said that the victims sustained serious injuries that will reported...

Violent offenders in Japan are increasingly seeking the notoriety that comes with being sentenced to death for their crimes When Kyota Hattori was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder aboard a Tokyo train on Oct. 31, he had an unsettling confession. It was his intention, the 25-year-old allegedly told police, to stab a passenger to death, and he was fully aware of his actions when he subsequently set a train carriage ablaze using lighter fluid he had carried with him. His aim was to commit multiple homicides because he knew the likely outcome. “I wanted to get the death penalty,” Hattori reportedly told police. With multiple murders a criterion for execution in Japan, the incident raised questions about how the death sentence is — and should be — meted out, and concerns about whether Hattori’s rationale indicated the presence, or absence, of responsibility, not to mention the possibility of copycat crimes should his wishes be granted. Indeed, such a copycat offense quickly surface...

You have been condemned for murder. Now you are trying to persuade an appeals court that you are innocent and deserve a new trial. One more thing: You’re not an attorney. You are clueless when the judges ask why you didn’t do something the rules demand. This is not a scenario from some morbid novel but future reality as intended by the Florida Supreme Court. It is as wrong as wrong could be. The court has proposed a rule change to allow death-sentenced inmates to represent themselves or drop their appeals entirely. Either case would require a judge’s finding that they were competent to make the choice. Self-representation is forbidden now by a rule the court adopted 5-2 in 2014. But respect for precedent walked out the door with 3 justices who had to retire in January 2019 for being older than 70. The court has also asked for comments on whether it should do away with automatic appeals, as provided by an existing rule, of judicial decisions to allow death row inmates to abandon their c...

Mississippi has executed a man who pleaded guilty to killing his estranged wife and terrorizing their family A man who pleaded guilty to killing his estranged wife and sexually assaulting her young daughter as her mother lay dying was put to death Wednesday evening, becoming the first inmate executed in Mississippi in 9 years.  David Neal Cox, 50, abandoned all appeals and filed court papers calling himself “worthy of death” before the state Supreme Court set his execution date. He appeared calm as he received a lethal injection. A coroner pronounced him dead at 6:12 p.m. CST at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Cox pleaded guilty in 2012 to capital murder for the May 2010 shooting death of his estranged wife, Kim Kirk Cox. He also pleaded guilty to multiple other charges, including sexual assault. A jury handed down the death sentence. Cox wore a red prison jumpsuit and was covered by a white sheet during the execution. Wide leather straps held him down on a gurney. ...

A judge on Monday said prosecutors can set a date in late July for Nevada's first execution in 15 years. Judge Michael Villani's order said convicted mass murderer Zane Michael Floyd had "exhausted his legal remedies," but acknowledged there were ongoing state and federal court challenges, the Associated Press reported. Villani said there was no reason to deny the execution warrant sought by Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson. "The court is unpersuaded that the Nevada Department of Corrections must first prove that it can safely carry out an execution before the court can sign an order of execution," Villani said.  RELATED |  Judge to decide on whether Nevada can set execution An exact execution date would be set during the week beginning July 26 after a death warrant is issued for Floyd. Floyd's attorney, Brad Levenson, said he would appeal to the state Supreme Court. Levenson submitted a written filing on Monday asking Villani for an executio...

Another death row inmate in Nevada wants to be executed. Nearly two months after condemned prisoner Scott Dozier killed himself in Ely State Prison, court papers filed Monday revealed that convicted Las Vegas murderer Kevin Lisle has indicated that he intends to stop fighting his case. “Given Lisle’s clear intention to waive his appeals with the understanding that he would be put to death, there is every reason to believe Lisle’s execution could and would take place prior to January 30, 2020,” Chief Deputy Attorney General Randall Gilmer wrote. In the court brief, the prosecutor included a copy of a handwritten motion from Lisle that stated he “hereby WAVES (sic) HIS RIGHT TO APPEAL of his own will with the complete and competent understanding that ELY STATE PRISON EXECUTIONERS will put him to death by leathal (sic) means.” The motion was signed by Lisle on Feb. 13. Dozier first waived his appeals in October 2016, and his death wish lingered in the court system ...

The death of a twice-convicted murderer who declared that he wanted to die and became frustrated when his lethal injection was postponed by legal challenges has been confirmed as a suicide, authorities said Monday. Scott Raymond Dozier, 48, died Jan. 4, said the office of the Clark County coroner in Las Vegas that performed the autopsy. Prison officials had reported that Dozier was found unresponsive in his solo cell on death-row at Ely State Prison. White Pine County Sheriff Scott Henriod had said there was no indication of foul play. Dozier said repeatedly he would rather be executed than live his life in prison. Critics said he sought state-assisted suicide. RELATED | Nevada death row inmate Scott Dozier dies by apparent suicide His lawyers and state attorneys revealed in federal court filings in November that Dozier tried several times in October to arrange ways to kill himself, including apparent cuts on his neck and arms and an attempt to have poiso...