In Georgia, corrections officials killed Willie James Pye last week, the state’s first execution since 2000. The 59-year-old Pye was sentenced to death after being convicted of the 1993 murder and rape of his onetime girlfriend, Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty delivered petitions and letters supporting commutation of Pye’s death sentence to the state Board of Pardons and Parole, but the board refused clemency. His lawyers cited mitigating evidence that was never presented at his trial, including his intellectual disability (his lawyers argued his IQ was 68), troubled childhood, and ineffective assistance of counsel. In addition, three of Pye’s jurors were opposed to his execution, saying they weren’t aware of his background when he was sentenced to death.
In Louisiana, lawmakers passed a bill that would allow the state to execute people using nitrogen gas, NBC News reports. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-bill-legalize-nitrogen-gas-executions-passes-special-session-rcna140706 Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to sign the bill, despite the many witnesses to Kenneth Smith’s recent execution in Alabama by nitrogen gas — the first in history — one of whom stated that Smith was “thrashing against the straps, his whole body and head violently jerking back and forth for several minutes.” Two other states, Mississippi and Oklahoma. have also authorized the method, but neither has yet developed a protocol.
Congo reinstated its death penalty earlier this month after a 21-year hiatus, Reuters reports. https://tinyurl.com/48r9pxhs According to a statement released by Justice Minister Rose Mutombo, the death penalty can be imposed in cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, espionage, rebellion, and criminal conspiracy. Agence France Presse reports https://www.barrons.com/news/dr-congo-restores-death-penalty-after-20-years-59695a2a that Motumbo stated that the 2003 ban was lifted in response to a two-year offensive by March 23 Movement (“M23”) rebels, who Congo says are being aided by Rwanda and some members of the Congolese military.
In Massachusetts, a federal appeals court ordered Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s case to be returned to a lower court to determine whether his death sentence in the Boston Marathon case was tainted by juror bias, CBS News reports. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-marathon-bombing-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-appeals-court-juror-bias/ Tsarnaev’s death sentence remains for now, but if the court does find two jurors should have been stricken, it would mean the courts would hold a new penalty phase trial to determine whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison, according to CBS.
