death penalty

Oklahoma executed the fourth death row inmate of the year on Thursday morning.

The clemency application for a death row inmate set to be executed next month includes new evidence that supports his claim he acted in self-defense.

“Texas seems poised to execute a man who committed no crime except that he was a man with autism who was unable to explain the very complicated medical condition of his two-year-old child,” Attorney Gretchen Sweden told TPR.

An Oklahoma death row inmate rejected the opportunity to have a clemency hearing.

Acknowledging substantive questions about Lucio’s guilt and the fairness of her conviction, the appeals court blocked her Wednesday execution so the case can be further investigated.

Earlier this year, Wesley Ira Purkey and Keith Dwayne Nelson were put to death by the federal government.

"Nearly three decades after [Dustin Lee] Honken coldly ended the lives of five people, including two young girls ... he has finally faced justice," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Wesley Purkey was executed by lethal injection on Thursday, the second federal execution this week after a 17-year hiatus. The high court's 5-4 decision allowed the execution to proceed.

Daniel Lee, 47, was put to death on Tuesday morning in the federal death chamber in the first federal execution since 2003. Other inmates are scheduled for death this week.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has barred the lethal injections that were scheduled to commence on Monday, citing the likelihood of "extreme pain and suffering." A legal conflict is likely.