Mississippi plans to execute a woman despite evidence that her son confessed to the crime. » 3/24/14 11:30pm 3/24/14 11:30pm

Suzanne Basso, who was convicted of murdering a mentally impaired man, became the fourteenth female to be executed in the United States since 1976, when the Supreme Court lifted the ban on the death penalty. » 2/06/14 10:20am 2/06/14 10:20am

After four days of stressful debate, two Republicans members of the Maryland State Senate joined the 25 democrats to vote 27 to 20 to repeal the death penalty. A project of Gov. Martin O'Malley since 2007, the measure was finally able to pass due to new Senators and the changed minds of others. » 3/07/13 10:00am 3/07/13 10:00am

Troy Davis was scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m. today for the 1989 killing of a police officer in Georgia. Many believe he should be granted clemency because there isn't enough physical evidence linking him to the crime and after his trial witnesses recanted and said police threatened them. Davis' attorneys made a… » 9/21/11 10:42pm 9/21/11 10:42pm

Yesterday Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in his state. Now the families of victims are angry — and Republicans vow to reinstate executions. » 3/10/11 9:45am 3/10/11 9:45am

Despite protests from supporters, Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell has denied a stay of execution for Teresa Lewis, who was sentenced to death for planning the murders of her husband and stepson in 2002. She will be executed this week. [Guardian] » 9/19/10 3:25pm 9/19/10 3:25pm

Teresa Lewis is scheduled to be executed on September 23 for her role in her husband and stepson's murders. She'll be the first U.S. woman executed since 2005. Two very different takes on the story are here and here. » 9/03/10 12:25pm 9/03/10 12:25pm

• The 16-year-old who brought rape charges against Lawrence Taylor says she didn't recognize the NFL player at the time of the assault, but because she's a "huge Giant fan," she isn't sure she wants him to go to jail. » 5/11/10 5:40pm 5/11/10 5:40pm

• Meet Mackenzie, a child prodigy who can type 119 worlds per minute (the average professional adult types 50-70 wpm). "It makes me feel powerful," she said. "I'd like to get to at least 200." • » 12/18/09 5:40pm 12/18/09 5:40pm

In the video after the jump, the lamp is finally tried for stomping out the letter I in the Pixar intro. As punishment, he's supplied with a little too much electricity. [College Humor via Buzzfeed] » 10/19/09 3:30pm 10/19/09 3:30pm

Britain's National Archives is posting online records of crimes from the 18th and 19th centuries. At the beginning of this period, over 200 crimes were punishable by death, including forgery, wearing blackface, and "stealing from a rabbit warren." [TimesOnline] » 8/04/09 6:30pm 8/04/09 6:30pm

A poll found 35% of Americans consider wearing fur morally wrong, while only 30% consider the death penalty unacceptable. Even worse: Having a baby outside of marriage (45% opposed), homosexual relations (47%), and abortion (56%). [Gallup via U.S. News] » 7/07/09 9:20am 7/07/09 9:20am