Topic: Capital Punishment

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3 new novels grapple with questions of mortality

Three new works of fiction address themes of mortality, including a ghost – in an Anne Tyler novel.
Censored: 5 plays and novels banned around the globe

Censorship of the arts has a long history, from ancient Greece to present-day Thailand. Here is a list of five plays and novels banned, for a variety of reasons, in regions across the globe.
The 50 best movies of all time

From film critics Gail Kinn and Jim Piazza's new book 'The Greatest Movies Ever,' their picks for the 50 greatest films
10 best movies of 2011

From young love to a documentary on capital punishment, here are the 10 movies that wowed Monitor film critic Peter Rainer at the multiplex this year
6 of history's forgotten stories

From "The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Lincoln" by Graeme Donald, here are six stories that you didn't hear in history class.

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In China, public outcry softens sentence for Wu Ying

China's Twitter users went wild Tuesday after a court overturned the most controversial death sentence here in recent memory.
What causes wrongful convictions? Lies, mistaken eyewitnesses top the list.

Researchers examined 873 wrongful convictions and found that perjury or false accusations were responsible for more than half. New report offers insight into what leads to miscarriages of justice.
Global News Blog
Chronicle of a trial foretold: Breivik is following his manifesto's script

Anders Behring Breivik's manifesto includes instructions on what a 'Templar' should do if tried in a European court.
Breivik wants freedom or death in Norway massacre

The accused killer said that the maximum of 21 years he could face in prison is "pathetic."
Why Trayvon Martin judge is stepping down already

Judge Jessica Recksiedler disclosed a potential conflict of interest. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. will take over the Trayvon Martin case
Norway's Breivik resists prosecution's attempts to delve into his past

On his second day of testimony, Anders Behring Breivik, responsible for Norway's July 2011 terror attacks, refused to answer questions meant to shed light on how his ideology developed.
3 new novels grapple with questions of mortality

Three new works of fiction address themes of mortality, including a ghost – in an Anne Tyler novel.
Connecticut's wise move against the death penalty

A key vote in Connecticut against the death penalty means the state will likely join 16 other states in ending this harsh sentence. Practical reasons were cited for the move, but moral ones need to be argued to end capital punishment in the US.
Terrorism & Security
9/11 trial to resume at Guantánamo, ending quest for civilian trial

The Pentagon yesterday authorized five 9/11 suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to be tried in a military commission on the US base in Guantánamo Bay.
Censored: 5 plays and novels banned around the globe

Censorship of the arts has a long history, from ancient Greece to present-day Thailand. Here is a list of five plays and novels banned, for a variety of reasons, in regions across the globe.
Supreme Court sizes up teens who murder

Two cases involving life sentences for 14-year-olds who murdered will test the Supreme Court's past rulings that teens are not small adults and must be given a chance for redemption.
The 50 best movies of all time

From film critics Gail Kinn and Jim Piazza's new book 'The Greatest Movies Ever,' their picks for the 50 greatest films
Backchannels
Iran is gearing up for elections and it isn't pretty

The arrest of at least 10 reporters since the turn of the year and new Internet restrictions point to a battening down of social control ahead of Iran's March elections.
As debate roars over Haley Barbour pardons, five released convicts vanish

Mississippi's attorney general says he may call for a national manhunt to find five pardoned prisoners, including four convicted killers, who were released by outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour.
Mississippi judge blocks Haley Barbour pardon of 21 inmates

Did Haley Barbour violate the Mississippi Constitution with the pardon of 208 inmates? A Mississippi judge issued an injunction blocking the release of some inmates late Wednesday.
Did Haley Barbour's pardon spree go too far?

Outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour (R) gave reprieves to 208 inmates, including 14 convicted murderers, prompting Democratic legislators to reintroduce a bill that would curb pardon powers.
Egypt seeks death by hanging for Hosni Mubarak

Egyptian prosecutors sought the death penalty in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak. They say he was complicit in the killing of more than 800 Egyptian protesters last year.
10 best movies of 2011

From young love to a documentary on capital punishment, here are the 10 movies that wowed Monitor film critic Peter Rainer at the multiplex this year
On death row for 30 years, convicted Alabama cop-killer wins another appeal

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that convicted cop-killer Billy Joe Magwood, on death row since 1981, was not properly charged under Alabama statutes to qualify for capital punishment.
Why the death penalty is at historic low in the US

By and large, Americans still support the death penalty. But concerns about the fairness of its application, and even its costs, are playing a role in the steep drop in executions and convictions.
Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life: movie review

Werner Herzog's 'Into the Abyss' takes a fair-minded look at capital punishment – why people and the state kill.
6 of history's forgotten stories

From "The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Lincoln" by Graeme Donald, here are six stories that you didn't hear in history class.
Egyptians unhappy with lenient sentence for Khaled Said's killers

The two policemen who beat Khaled Said to death and planted evidence on his body, helping fuel Egypt's revolution, each received seven-year sentences for manslaughter.
Florida firing squads? What has death penalty supporters all riled up?

Heated rhetoric over the death penalty just got hotter with a proposal, in Florida, that firing squads replace lethal injections. Some see this as a sign that death penalty supporters are insecure.
China's debate on the death penalty becomes increasingly open

Calls for death penalty reform in China are growing, but so is the ability of the public to pressure courts into changing sentences perceived as too lenient – a development some say verges on mob justice.