Karen Conti was a fledgling lawyer in the early 1990s when she was asked to defend John Wayne Gacy, but she wanted “to look evil in the eye,” so she took the case. As a fierce opponent of the death penalty, Conti became the only female lawyer on his death row defense team, which led to hours of talks with …
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Governor denies clemency for Missouri double homicide convict who sexually assaulted cousin's corpse
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Monday denied clemency for Brian Dorsey one day before the inmate’s scheduled execution for killing his cousin and her husband nearly two decades ago. The governor’s decision is “devastating,” said Megan Crane, Dorsey’s attorney, in an email. The clemency petition included requests from 72 current and former corrections officers who vouched for Dorsey’s rehabilitation while …
Read More »Florida pre-med student admits to stabbing his mother to death: 'Inexplicable, vicious'
A pre-med student at the University of Florida is in custody after calling 911 on Saturday afternoon and admitting to stabbing his mother to death, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said. During a press briefing on Saturday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said that just after 2 p.m., Emmanuel Espinoza, 21, who is a pre-med student at the University of …
Read More »WATCH: Courtroom chaos as son bursts in, shoots dad's killer
A man attending the murder trial for his father’s killer in Brazil interrupted court proceedings to shoot the suspect half a dozen times and assault him. Video of the attack was captured on CCTV from the courtroom in São José do Belmonte. The video shows the judges and jury scattering for cover as Cristiano Alves Terto, 27, opened fire at …
Read More »Two dead, seven injured, including police officer, after Miami-Dade County shooting
Two people are dead and seven others injured after a shooting incident in Miami-Dade County, Florida early Saturday. A police officer was among those wounded after an altercation at a commercial establishment in Doral City turned deadly when someone pulled a gun. A security guard who attempted to intervene was shot and killed, police said. The quick response and “heroic …
Read More »California convict in Polly Klaas' murder seeks death sentence recall as girl's family warns of slippery slope
The man convicted in Polly Klaas’ 1993 kidnapping from a sleepover and subsequent murder is asking the California Superior Court to overturn his death sentence. Richard Allen Davis, who is locked up at San Quentin State Prison, was sentenced to death for abducting 12-year-old Polly — now known as the first missing girl on the internet — from a sleepover …
Read More »Missouri death row inmate could receive 'surgery without anesthesia' if no suitable vein found, attorneys say
Missouri’s execution protocol allows for “surgery without anesthesia” if the typical process of finding a suitable vein to inject the lethal drug doesn’t work, lawyers for a death row inmate say in an appeal aimed at sparing his life. Brian Dorsey, 52, is scheduled for execution Tuesday for killing his cousin and her husband at their central Missouri home in …
Read More »Suge Knight ribs Sean 'Diddy' Combs in prison call, drops ominous warning: 'Puffy, your life's in danger'
Marion “Suge” Knight, the Death Row Records founder and a central figure in hip-hop’s infamous East Coast-West Coast feud in the 1990s, issued an ominous warning to his former rival Sean “Diddy” Combs in a phone call from prison last week. “I tell you what, Puffy, your life is in danger because you know the secrets, who’s involved in that …
Read More »Idaho murders: Bryan Kohberger judge slams defense quizzing locals, says survey 'concerns' him
An Idaho judge on Thursday criticized murder suspect Byran Kohberger’s defense team for a questionnaire they sent to approximately 400 local residents — and possible jurors — who could preside over the case. John Judge’s harsh remarks come as an attorney for Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in their Moscow home in November 2022, …
Read More »Man guilty but mentally ill in Indianapolis policewoman's killing gets 25 years, credit for time served
A man found guilty but mentally ill in the killing of an Indianapolis police officer has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting his then-girlfriend but to time served for killing the officer. Elliahs Dorsey, 31, of Indianapolis, was found guilty but mentally ill of reckless homicide in February of killing Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Breann Leath …
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