President Donald Trump&#8217;s Department of Justice on Friday directed the Bureau of Prisons to bring back the firing squad and lethal injection for federal executions.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-takes-actions-strengthen-federal-death-penalty">announced a series of new measures</a> to strengthen enforcement of the federal death penalty, clearing the way for the DOJ to carry out executions once inmates exhaust their appeals.
&#8220;Among the actions taken are readopting the lethal injection protocol utilized during the first Trump Administration, expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution such as the firing squad, and streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases,&#8221; Blanche said.
&#8220;These steps are critical to deterring the most barbaric crimes, delivering justice for victims, and providing long-overdue closure to surviving loved ones,&#8221; he added.
The directives fulfill a campaign promise for Trump, who on his first day back in office <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-the-death-penalty-and-protecting-public-safety/">ordered the attorney general</a> to &#8220;pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use.&#8221;
The policy marks a reversal from the Biden administration&#8217;s handling of federal executions.
In 2021, former President Joe Biden imposed an indefinite moratorium, effectively blocking all federal executions. In December 2024, he commuted the sentences of 37 of 40 inmates on federal death row at the urging of then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Those granted mass clemency included Thomas Sanders, who was convicted of murdering <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-commutes-sentences-of-dozens-of-murderers-two-days-before-christmas">12-year-old Lexis Roberts</a> and hiding her body in the woods. Another included Daryl Lawrence, who killed 33-year-old Ohio police officer Bryan Hurst during a 2005 bank robbery in Columbus.
&#8220;These actions inflicted untold damage on countless lives and, ultimately, on the public’s confidence in the rule of law itself,&#8221; Blanche <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1437806/dl?inline">said</a>.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-commutes-sentences-of-dozens-of-murderers-two-days-before-christmas">three inmates</a> excluded from the commutations were the Boston Marathon bomber, the Tree of Life synagogue shooter, and the man who murdered nine people at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Trump’s DOJ has lifted the federal execution moratorium and is seeking death sentences against <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-takes-actions-strengthen-federal-death-penalty">44 defendants</a>, including three MS-13 gang members, two of them illegal immigrants, according to the department. During Trump&#8217;s first term, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/us/politics/trump-firing-squad-executions-death-penalty.html">13 federal death row inmates</a> were executed.
“The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” Blanche said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice is once again enforcing the law and standing with victims.”

Dublin Federal Correctional Institution

Biden Commuted Death Sentences. Trump’s DOJ Is Bringing Back The Firing Squad.

Death Penalty

Trump Administration

Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset, on Monday approved a new law permitting the use of the death penalty in certain cases involving terrorism that results in fatalities.
The legislation passed by a vote of 62–48 and was backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his governing coalition.
Under the new law, individuals convicted of carrying out deadly terrorist attacks may be sentenced to death, with execution by hanging being carried out within 90 days of sentencing. Judges are granted discretion to impose life imprisonment instead in cases involving what the law describes as “special circumstances.” The measure does not apply retroactively to individuals already convicted before the law was passed.
The legislation follows Hamas’s mass abduction of Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, who were later exchanged for as many as 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including about 250 serving life sentences for deadly terror attacks. 
Supporters of the measure say it is intended to deter terror attacks and reduce incentives for terror groups to take hostages as leverage for prisoner swaps. The law explicitly forbids those sentenced to death to be exchanged.
Israel has long had laws permitting capital punishment, but has only used them once: to execute by hanging Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962. Eichmann, who was tracked down and captured in Argentina by the Mossad, was executed in Israel for his role in helping organize the Holocaust.
Previously, the death penalty required a unanimous decision by a panel of judges, but the new law lowers that threshold to a majority decision by a panel of judges.
The law outlines specific criteria for its application, permitting the death penalty in military courts, which primarily handle cases involving non-Israeli residents, such as Arab residents of the West Bank. It also allows civilian courts to impose the death penalty on individuals who “intentionally caused the death of a person with the aim of denying the existence of the State of Israel.”
Critics of the law say it targets Palestinians who are not Israeli citizens.
The application of capital punishment to non-citizens is not unique in Israel’s neighborhood. In several Middle Eastern countries where the death penalty remains legal, foreign nationals have been sentenced to death under domestic law.  
In 2025, the United Arab Emirates <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uae-court-sentences-three-terrorists-to-death-for-premeditated-murder-of-rabbi">sentenced</a> three Uzbek nationals to death for the abduction and murder of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan. Saudi Arabia <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/13/saudi-arabia-record-number-of-executions-in-2025">carried out</a> 356 executions in a recent year, including 188 foreign nationals, many of whom were convicted of non-lethal drug offenses, according to Human Rights Watch. In Lebanon, although no executions have been carried out since 2004, more than 47 people remained on death row as of 2019, including at least 16 foreign nationals, according to <a href="https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/International_Submissions/A/Index?id=195#:~:text=Such%20crimes%20include%20premeditated%20murder,of%20which%20were%20foreign%20nationals.">The Advocates for Human Rights</a>.
Officials in several European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as well as the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, <a href="https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/newsroom/news/2761862-2761862">criticized</a> the legislation, calling it &#8220;discriminatory.&#8221;
“The implementation of this new law would violate international law’s prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment,” it said. “Additionally, this law further entrenches Israel’s violation of the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid as it will exclusively apply to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Israel, who are often convicted after unfair trials.”
A U.S. State Department spokesperson deferred to Israel’s right to make its own laws on the issue.
“The United States respects Israel’s sovereign right to determine its own laws and penalties for individuals convicted of terrorism,” the spokesperson told The Daily Wire. “We trust that any such measures will be carried out with a fair trial and respect for all applicable fair trial guarantees and protections.”
Globally, capital punishment remains in use in dozens of countries, including the United States and Japan, as well as most of the Middle East. In the United States, three convicted terrorists are currently on death row: Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Robert Bowers, who carried out the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, and Dylann Roof, who perpetrated the 2015 Charleston church shooting.
Other opponents of the law claim it may escalate tensions and increase security risks to Jews who live outside of Israel.
“We are not bloodthirsty and do not seek to kill; we are a people that sanctifies life, and precisely for that reason, we cannot allow ourselves to abandon lives,” said Israeli lawmaker Tzvika Fogel, who chairs the National Security Committee.
Legal challenges are expected from several organizations opposing the law who have indicated they plan to petition Israel’s High Court in an effort to have the legislation overturned. 
The bill was backed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is known for his hard-right and hawkish positions and is frequently criticized by Western media. Following more than 12 hours of debate leading up to the vote, Ben Gvir celebrated the bill’s passage with champagne.
“This is a day of justice for the victims and a day of deterrence for our enemies. No more revolving door for terrorists, but a clear decision. Whoever chooses terrorism chooses death,” Ben Gvir said.
Addressing international criticism, he added: “I say to the people of the European Union, who have applied pressure and threatened the State of Israel, ‘We are not afraid. We will not submit.’ We are in our country with our sovereignty and will protect our citizens. And a terrorist who goes out to kill — let him know that he will go to the gallows.”
Support for the measure also came from Israeli lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech, whose husband was killed in a terror attack in 2003. She described the legislation as an example of “true Jewish morality.”
“This is a message of justice, deterrence and national responsibility,” she said. “This is also true Jewish morality — one that does not settle for momentary salvation but obligates ensuring that evil will not return to strike.”

Silhouette of Hangman’s noose knot. commit suicide concept.

Israel Draws Red Line On Terrorists As It Tightens Punishment For Deadly Attacks

Israel

Tyler Robinson&#8217;s defense team suggested during a Tuesday hearing that the Utah County Attorney&#8217;s Office had only moved to seek the death penalty because it was clear that was what President Donald Trump wanted.
Richard Novak, an attorney for Robinson (who is accused of assassinating the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk), questioned Utah County Attorney Jeffrey S. Gray during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZukNzYKgcYM">pre-trial hearing</a> aimed at having Gray&#8217;s office removed from the case due to a perceived conflict of interest.
At issue was Gray&#8217;s decision to seek the death penalty — and the fact that he announced his plan to do so early in the investigation — a move that Novak attributed to &#8220;strong emotional reactions&#8221; within the prosecutor&#8217;s office.
Novak raised several issues that he argued could have driven such an emotional response from the prosecution: the fact that Gray had campaigned on a promise to seek the death penalty in cases he deemed &#8220;appropriate,&#8221; the fact that the adult child of a prosecutor in Gray&#8217;s office had been present at the time of Kirk&#8217;s assassination, and the knowledge that President Trump had already declared his wish to see Kirk&#8217;s killer face the death penalty.
Gray, under questioning from Novak, said that he&#8217;d become aware at some point that a prosecutor in his office had an adult child who had witnessed the shooting, but that they had not discussed it and it had not been a factor in his decision-making process.
Gray also said in a previous filing that the adult child in question had returned to classes after the shooting and had not experienced lasting trauma outside of being scared in the moment.
&#8220;Under these circumstances, there is virtually no risk, let alone a significant risk, that it would arouse such emotions in any father-prosecutor as to render him unable to fairly prosecute the case,&#8221; Gray said in the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/defendant-in-charlie-kirks-killing-asks-judge-to-disqualify-prosecution-team">filing</a>, arguing that the defense&#8217;s claims were rooted in a desire to delay proceedings rather than to pursue justice.
When Novak asked whether Gray had been aware that Trump had posted about the suspect, &#8220;I hope he gets the death penalty,&#8221; Gray said he knew the president had said that, but that he had not taken Trump&#8217;s social media posts into consideration when determining whether or not to seek capital punishment.
Novak also raised the question of campaign promises, and, noting that Gray had run on a promise to seek the death penalty, wondered whether he&#8217;d simply been in a hurry to check that off his to-do list.
Gray corrected Novak then, saying that he&#8217;d promised to seek the death penalty in cases where it was appropriate to do so — and that both he and Governor Spencer Cox (R) had determined it was appropriate in this case regardless of promises he&#8217;d made during his 2022 campaign.
When given a chance to explain why he&#8217;d announced the decision to seek the death penalty as early as he did — noting that he had until arraignment to do so — Gray said that his goal had been to limit speculation from social media and the press and to lessen the anxiety felt by the victims, specifically, Charlie&#8217;s widow Erika Kirk.
&#8220;The longer you delay that decision … the more delay, then it just creates all this unnecessary speculation and everything else,&#8221; Gray said, adding that he did it to prevent &#8220;unnecessary angst with the families of victims … so Erika Kirk didn’t have to deal with that uncertainty.&#8221;
The defense also petitioned the court to bar all video recordings and still photography in the courtroom during the trial.

Charlie Kirk Murder Suspect Tyler Robinson Attends Court Hearing

Charlie Kirk’s Suspected Assassin Fights Death Penalty, Says Trump Influenced Prosecutor

assassination

Charlie Kirk

Courts

Donald Trump

Media

Utah

In 2025, executions in the United States <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/31/us-death-penalty-executions-2025#:~:text=US%20executions%20surged%20in%202025,The%20Guardian">surged</a> sharply, with 47 men put to death, marking the highest annual total in 16 years, the largest since 2009, and nearly double the number carried out in 2024.
Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas accounted for nearly three-quarters of the executions, while the number of states actively implementing capital punishment increased to 12, up from nine in 2024. Louisiana resumed executions after a 15-year hiatus, while South Carolina carried out the nation&#8217;s first firing-squad executions since 2010, using the method in three of its five killings. The Supreme Court denied all requests to stay executions throughout the year.
This spike in executions coincided with President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-the-death-penalty-and-protecting-public-safety/">executive order</a> issued on his first day back in office, declaring capital punishment an essential tool for deterring and punishing heinous crimes. The order invoked the Founding Fathers’ support for the death penalty, framed it as a moral and legal necessity, and cited its ongoing popular support. Trump’s order strongly criticized politicians and judges who have opposed or obstructed executions, specifically condemning former President Joe Biden’s 2021 federal execution moratorium and his December 2024 commutation of 37 federal death-row prisoners, labeling these actions as a defiance of the law and an insult to victims of violent crime.
The executive order directed the attorney general to pursue the death penalty in all qualifying federal cases, emphasizing the murders of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by illegal immigrants. It also instructed federal authorities to encourage state prosecutors to pursue capital charges, ensure that states have access to lethal injection drugs, and review incarceration conditions for those whose sentences were previously commuted. Additionally, the order called for efforts to overturn Supreme Court precedents that restrict capital punishment.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible c-link--underline" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Following these directives, the Department of Justice authorized more than 20 new federal capital prosecutions in 2025, expanding the use of the death penalty at both the federal and state levels.
The horrific details of murders committed by those executed by the state are too numerous to mention. For a few salient examples, see <a href="https://wbhm.org/2025/louisiana-executes-jessie-hoffman-by-nitrogen-gas-in-1st-use-of-death-penalty-in-15-years/">here</a>, <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/family-of-murdered-nashville-mom-and-daughters-wait-for-justice-after-delayed-execution-of-killer/">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/25/texas-execution-blaine-milam/">here</a>.
Famed constitutional law and political philosophy professor Walter Berns wrote, “If human life is to be held in awe, the law forbidding the taking of it must be held in awe, and the only way the law can be made awe-inspiring is to entitle it to inflict the penalty of death.” He also <a href="https://lawliberty.org/podcast/s-lerner/">stated</a>, “There is a point in the history of society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly.”

Gavel and a name plate with the engraving Death Penalty

U.S. Executions Surge To 16-Year High Amid Trump’s Support For Death Penalty

Over two dozen Republican senators are backing an effort from Texas Senator John Cornyn to toughen the punishment for criminals who violently attack enforcement officers, The Daily Wire has learned. 
On Thursday, Cornyn will introduce the “Back the Blue Act” to increase the penalties for murdering or attempting to murder law enforcement while also expanding self-defense rights for police officers. The proposal has significant support from fellow Republicans, with over 31 signing on to co-sponsor.
“Our law enforcement officers bravely risk their lives daily to protect our communities, and anyone who targets them should be met with the full force of the law, including the death penalty,” he told The Daily Wire. “America was built on the principles of law and order, and this legislation sends a clear message that targeted attacks on law enforcement will not be tolerated, dangerous criminals will be held accountable, and our men and women in blue have our full and unwavering support.”
The legislation would create a new federal crime for killing or attempting to kill a federal judge, a federal law enforcement officer, or other federally funded public safety officer. If an officer dies, the murderer would be subject to the death penalty and a mandatory 30 years in prison, according to Cornyn’s office. The proposal would make attempted murder or murder an aggravating factor when considering the death penalty as well. 
Penalties for assaulting federal law enforcement would also increase, as would the punishment for fleeing across state lines to avoid prosecution for attacking law enforcement.  The proposal would also impose time limits on when a federal court can review the state-level conviction of someone who murdered a police officer in the line of duty. 
Law enforcement officers would also be given the ability to carry their firearms into federal facilities and other areas where gun possession is typically restricted, according to Cornyn’s office. 
50% off DailyWire+ annual memberships will not return for another year, so don’t miss this deal! Join now at <a href="http://dailywire.com/cyberweek" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/cyberweek</a>.
The legislation is backed by major law enforcement organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, and the Sergeants Benevolent Association of the NYPD.
Cornyn’s proposal of the bill comes as he faces a contentious GOP primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

Sen. John Cornyn

‘Back The Blue’: Senators Demand Death Penalty For Cop Killers

Crime

John Cornyn

Law Enforcement

Police

Texas

In the wake of the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro made it clear that if either one of the two — who are currently in critical condition — do not survive, the federal government will seek charges of murder in the first degree against the suspect, making him eligible for the death penalty.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday morning, Pirro stated, “We’re working very closely with our partners, especially DHS and the FBI, to review his immigration history and the vetting process itself. What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across the country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital.”
“As we stand here today, the charges that are appropriate right now are three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, a violation of DC code 22–401 and DC code 22–4502,” she continued. “He will also be charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces 15 years under assault with the intent to kill. We intend to continue monitoring what the charges will be, depending upon the well-being of the guardsmen. We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree.”
Right now, DailyWire+ annual memberships are fifty percent off during our Black Friday sale. Join now at <a href="http://dailywire.com/blackfriday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dailywire.com/blackfriday</a>.
“But make no mistake,” she declared. “If they do not, that will certainly be the charge: murder in the first degree. The Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi is committed to a thorough and impartial investigation where we will hold this perpetrator accountable under the full weight of the law.”
“Our nation’s capital should not and must not be a place where evil comes to commit violence, whatever their cause or motive may be,” she asserted. “We should not have to live in fear in the nation’s capital, especially by one who came here from a foreign country through a process that was so absurd that he came through and released into this country as many were, knowing virtually nothing about his vetting. This is what happens in this country when people are allowed in who are not properly vetted.”
She offered a tribute to law enforcement: “These guardsmen and all who were here to protect the district are the line that separates a civilized society from a barbaric one. They are the ones who stand for law and order. This was not just an attack. It was a direct challenge to law and order in our nation’s capital and the individual will be made fully accountable.”
“Though it seems that we have been here before, under President Trump make no mistake and the attorney general: We will not allow this to be normalized. It will be confronted, condemned and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Now my message to the individual who committed these acts is you picked the wrong target, the wrong city and the wrong country and you will be sorry for the violence and the evil that you perpetrated in our nation’s capital,” she concluded.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, MPD Chief Pamela Smith, And DC Mayor Bowser Discuss Arrests In Murder Of Congressional Intern

Suspect In National Guard Shootings Could Receive Death Penalty: U.S. Attorney Pirro

Jeanine Pirro

National Guard

Politics

Shooting

Washington D.C.

By all accounts — including his own — 36-year-old roofer Joe Gonzales was an evil human being who deserved to die. In 1992, in the state of Texas, Gonzales murdered a 50-year-old building contractor who supposedly owed him $200. Gonzales robbed the man and attempted to make his death look like a suicide. But it wasn&#8217;t a very convincing defense, because people who kill themselves normally don&#8217;t rob themselves after they do it. At trial, Gonzales told the jury, “I am a man who has no regard for the law. I am a man who has no regard for humanity.&#8221;
Within just twelve minutes, in November of 1995, the jury <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/19/us/on-death-row-10-months-man-is-executed.html">convicted</a> Gonzales and recommended the death penalty.
If you had to guess how long it took Joe Gonzales to actually be put to death, what would you say? What&#8217;s the approximate timeframe for how long you think Joe Gonzales sat on death row, before he was finally executed?
Maybe you&#8217;re thinking this is a trick question, and that the answer is: He was never actually executed, he&#8217;s still on death row, appealing the jury&#8217;s decision, to this day. That&#8217;s normally how death penalty cases go. We all know that. But in this case, surprisingly enough, Joe Gonzales was indeed put to death. And he was put to death very quickly, relatively speaking. Just ten months after the jury recommended the death penalty, in September of 1996, Joe Gonzales was executed by lethal injection. It was the fastest execution in U.S. history since Gary Gilmore was executed in Utah in 1977 by firing squad, just three months after he was convicted of two murders.
The reason both of these men were executed so quickly is that, unlike most death penalty defendants, they weren&#8217;t interested in dragging the process out. They didn&#8217;t have any interest in appealing their sentences. So they allowed the government to proceed with the executions, without undue delay. And the government obliged. Left to their own devices, without any frivolous appeals, states like Texas and Utah were able to dispense justice in a reasonable timeframe.
This is not ancient history. We&#8217;re not talking about executions in colonial New England, or anything like that. In modern America, it&#8217;s entirely possible to put violent criminals to death, promptly. One of the key steps we need to take, as these cases demonstrate, is to get rid of the idea that death penalty defendants are entitled to an automatic appeal. These appeals can take decades to resolve. They&#8217;re almost always unnecessary.
But ever since the 1970s, because of a Supreme Court decision, these appeals have been mandatory (unless the defendant waives them). As a result of this decision by the Supreme Court, the average time that inmates spend on death row has ballooned.
<div id="attachment_989217" style="width: 799px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-989217" class="wp-image-989217 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Chart-Death-Row-789x576.jpg" alt="Source: Death Penalty Information Center" width="789" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Chart-Death-Row-789x576.jpg 789w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Chart-Death-Row-300x219.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Chart-Death-Row-768x560.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Chart-Death-Row-1360x994.jpg 1360w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Chart-Death-Row.jpg 1362w" sizes=" (max-width: 789px) 100vw, 789px" />Source: Death Penalty Information Center</div>
In the 1980s, as you can see here, the average time spent on death row was around 74 months. Now it&#8217;s over 260.
So it didn&#8217;t take long, after the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision in 1976, for everything to slow down. They introduced mandatory appeals, and now inmates are spending three times as long on death row.
<div id="attachment_989223" style="width: 779px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-989223" class="wp-image-989223 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Death-Penalty-age-769x576.jpg" alt="Source: Death Penalty Information Center" width="769" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Death-Penalty-age-769x576.jpg 769w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Death-Penalty-age-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Death-Penalty-age-768x575.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Death-Penalty-age.jpg 1370w" sizes=" (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px" />Source: Death Penalty Information Center</div>
Along the same lines, as you&#8217;d expect, there&#8217;s also been a dramatic change in the average age of a defendant who&#8217;s executed on death row. In 1975, the average age was 36. In 1980, the average age was 24.
By 2005, the average age was up to 44. Now it&#8217;s over 50. In fact, more than 570 prisoners on death row are over the age of 60, as of 2019. Back in 1996, that number was just 39.
Some elderly prisoners — like Vernon Madison in Alabama — are spending so much time on death row that they&#8217;re developing dementia and having strokes, which makes them ineligible for the death penalty because they&#8217;re supposedly &#8220;incompetent to be executed.&#8221; Yes, that&#8217;s an actual category of inmate. You might argue that competence is kind of irrelevant for the death penalty. You don’t need to be competent. You don’t need to do anything but die. But this is the system we have now. Even if you were competent to stand trial, it&#8217;s possible for you to lose your mind on death row. And then you go back to general population, as a confused vegetable, while the victim&#8217;s family wonders when they&#8217;re going to get the justice they were promised. This is supposedly the &#8220;humane&#8221; solution, according to the Supreme Court. We need an absurd amount of appeals and bureaucratic wrangling, lasting years and years, before we can actually execute anyone.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1677-have-you-forgotten-about-iryna-zarutska-they-want-you-to-here-s-why"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-976065 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Matt-watch-now-1-1024x171.jpg" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Matt-watch-now-1-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Matt-watch-now-1-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Matt-watch-now-1-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Matt-watch-now-1-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Matt-watch-now-1.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Keep in mind, the Supreme Court made this decision in an era before advanced DNA evidence, modern ballistics techniques, or widespread video surveillance. The general sentiment, at the time, was that innocent people might be convicted and sent to death row. So therefore, because evidence wasn&#8217;t robust, we supposedly needed mandatory appeals, to make sure that innocent people weren&#8217;t executed.
But that&#8217;s not the case any more.
Most death penalty cases are similar to the murder of Iryna Zarutska.
It’s an important case, even amid all of the other things happening in the country. And we cannot forget what happened to her.
That’s why I want to give a brief update on the case and tell you what’s going on with it now. The answer, as we’ll see, is that nothing is going on. There is no update. No movement at all. And that’s the point.
Now, of course, there is no doubt whatsoever as to who is responsible for Iryna&#8217;s death. The killer in this case has more than a dozen prior arrests. He committed the crime on camera, as we all remember. In a just society, the man responsible — Decarlos Brown Jr. — would be given a speedy trial, under our Constitution, and then put to death.
That&#8217;s true even if you buy his defense, which is that he was &#8220;mentally ill&#8221; in some way. But really, the defense is nonsense. This is a surveillance photo from the light rail, a second or so after he stabbed and mortally wounded Iryna. It&#8217;s the photo you&#8217;ve probably seen many times before.
<div id="attachment_989213" style="width: 585px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-989213" class="size-large wp-image-989213" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Char2-575x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: Surveillance video, Charlotte Area Transit System" width="575" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Char2-575x576.jpg 575w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Char2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Char2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Char2-768x769.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Char2.jpg 1070w" sizes=" (max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px" />Screenshot: Surveillance video, Charlotte Area Transit System</div>
It&#8217;s obvious that Decarlos Brown went out of his way to target a defenseless woman who wasn&#8217;t even looking at him. He sat in wait for his victim. After he killed her, he said something along the lines of, &#8220;I got that white girl.&#8221; And then, as this surveillance footage from the train station, which was just released, demonstrates, he changed his clothing.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Watch: Video shows Iryna Zarutska’s accused killer being arrested at Charlotte light rail station" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GcCtpUL9hrs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Credit: WBTV News/Charlotte/YouTube.com
This is the footage of the arrest of Decarlos Brown. The officers swarm him pretty quickly. But as you can see, he&#8217;s not wearing the red clothing anymore. He&#8217;s carrying his sweatshirt. So it looks a lot like he understood that he had just killed someone, and wanted to avoid detection.
Whether he &#8220;heard voices&#8221; or not, or whether he has &#8220;impulse control issues&#8221; or not, it doesn&#8217;t matter. Someone who decides to murder an innocent woman, for any reason, forfeits his right to live. And that&#8217;s clearly what happened here.
But because our death penalty system is a bureaucratic morass, Decarlos Brown will not be executed anytime soon.
This is the latest reporting from a <a href="https://www.wbtv.com/2025/10/15/hearing-determine-if-north-carolina-will-pursue-death-penalty-alleged-light-rail-killer-delayed/">local news station</a> in North Carolina. Here’s what’s happening with his case right now.
<blockquote>The man accused of killing a Ukrainian woman on a Charlotte light rail almost two months ago was scheduled to have a crucial court hearing on Thursday. Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused of killing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska back in late August, was scheduled to have a Rule 24 court hearing on Thursday, Oct. 16. A Rule 24 hearing is for the state to determine whether or not they would pursue the death penalty. Court documents said that the hearing has now been pushed back until April 2026. The decision to delay the hearing came from Brown and his attorney, Daniel Roberts. However, the reason for the delay was redacted, according to court documents.</blockquote>
So there&#8217;s going to be a &#8220;hearing&#8221; to &#8220;determine whether or not&#8221; the state will &#8220;pursue the death penalty&#8221; — as if there&#8217;s any doubt that they should. Decarlos Brown should&#8217;ve been put down somewhere after his 10th conviction. And he certainly should be executed now. But this hearing won&#8217;t take place until April of next year.
Of course, the best part of all is that you don&#8217;t even get to know why the hearing was delayed. You get no information whatsoever. All you can be sure of, at this point, is that the trial isn&#8217;t going to take place for a very long time — if it occurs at all. Even in a case where the defendant&#8217;s guilt is obvious to everyone in the entire country, we&#8217;re told to put up with endless delays, for no reason.
These delays are downstream from that Supreme Court decision in the 1970s. And that Supreme Court decision was downstream of the belief — which is false — that innocent defendants are sent to death row all the time. That wasn&#8217;t true in the 1970s. And it&#8217;s certainly not true anymore. We don&#8217;t need a neurotic number of hearings and appeals to determine the fate of animals like Decarlos Brown. The evidence is overwhelming. And it&#8217;s overwhelming in every other death row case, as well.
So why haven&#8217;t any states attempted to bypass this Supreme Court decision, with lawsuits or new legislation? Why haven&#8217;t we seen legal challenges to this absurd framework that essentially renders the death penalty moot? Why don&#8217;t states say, actually, we don&#8217;t need mandatory appeals anymore, or endless hearings. We can just hold a trial, present the overwhelming evidence, and then get on with the execution. There&#8217;s certainly no constitutional basis for making the death penalty effectively impossible to enforce. On the contrary, the Founders approved of the death penalty — explicitly, in many cases. So why don&#8217;t we see any legal challenges on this point?
The only explanation that makes sense is that — in the case of Decarlos Brown, and every other case like his — the people in charge of the state government want us to forget what happened. They want the outrage to subside, which it usually does. And then they can get away with giving as lenient a sentence as possible. That&#8217;s what the mayor of Charlotte clearly wants. Remember, she put out a statement saying we should feel sympathy for people like Decarlos Brown, and attacked anyone who shared the footage of Iryna&#8217;s murder. She doesn&#8217;t want Decarlos Brown to be executed. If she can arrange it, she wants him out on the streets, as soon as possible, so he can terrorize more innocent women.
And it&#8217;s not crazy to think the mayor of Charlotte might accomplish that goal. Just a week ago, we covered the case of a convicted child killer who managed to get out of prison in less than a decade. Fortunately, in the case of Decarlos Brown, there are federal charges as well — and those charges are also death-eligible. But that prosecution — and any potential conviction — could be undone by a future Democrat administration. And at this point, particularly if Decarlos Brown isn&#8217;t executed, that outcome seems like a distinct possibility. But it shouldn&#8217;t be possible. The right to a speedy trial doesn&#8217;t just apply for the benefit of the defendant. It also applies for the benefit of society at large. We have a constitutional right to see violent criminals punished, swiftly, to the fullest extent of the law.
Every once in a while, over the past month or so, I&#8217;ve come across a post on X with that picture of Iryna, along with a message like &#8220;We haven&#8217;t forgotten you,&#8221; or something along those lines. I hope that&#8217;s true. But as months turn into years, inevitably, people will become distracted. There will be more violence and chaos and tragedy — Democrats will make sure of that. And it will be easy, despite our best efforts, to forget what happened to Iryna. That&#8217;s what they want us to do. That was the whole point of the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision in the 1970s, and all the state laws that followed. Now&#8217;s the time for those laws to change. And it&#8217;s time for Iryna Zarutska&#8217;s killer to receive a fair trial, and then a speedy execution in a matter of weeks, if not days — which is, admittedly, a far more dignified death than he deserves. But under our Constitution and our common law tradition on the death penalty, which has been ignored since the 1970s, it&#8217;s the fate that Decarlos Brown should receive.
* * *
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.

MixCollage-08-Sep-2025-02-31-PM-2293

Have You Forgotten About Iryna Zarutska? They Want You To. Here’s Why. 

Charlotte

Criminal Justice

Iryna Zarutska

Matt Walsh

Murder

Opinion

Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray revealed on Tuesday that suspected Charlie Kirk assassin, Tyler Robinson, faces seven charges, including a count of aggravated murder, which makes him eligible for the death penalty.
At a press conference announcing the charges, Gray added that he would file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty, saying that the decision is based &#8220;on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.&#8221; The attorney said that the suspected assassin leaned more into leftist politics in the past year and targeted Kirk over his political expression.
Robinson is charged with one count of aggravated murder &#8220;for intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Charlie Kirk under circumstances that created a great risk of death to others.&#8221; The second count is felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury.
&#8220;The state is further alleging aggravating factors on counts one and two because the defendant is believed to have targeted Charlie Kirk based on Charlie Kirk&#8217;s political expression and did so knowing that children were present and would witness the homicide,&#8221; Gray said.
Count three is obstruction of justice &#8220;for moving and concealing the rifle used in the shooting.&#8221; Count four is another obstruction of justice charge &#8220;for disposing the clothing he wore during the shooting.&#8221; Counts five and six are witness tampering &#8220;for directing his roommate to delete his incriminating texts&#8221; and &#8220;for directing his roommate to stay silent if police questioned him.&#8221; The final count is commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child &#8220;for committing homicide knowing that children were present and may have seen or heard the murder and did so based on Charlie Kirk&#8217;s political expression.&#8221;
Robinson&#8217;s mother told investigators that her son became more political and Left-leaning over the past year, adopting pro-gay and pro-transgender views, according to Gray. Robinson was also dating his roommate, a man who identified as a woman and is in the process of &#8220;transitioning,&#8221; the attorney added, citing comments Robinson&#8217;s mother made to authorities.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨BREAKING: Utah County Attorney DESTROYS the narrative that Charlie Kirk&#8217;s suspected assassin held right-wing political views:
&#8220;Robinson&#8217;s mother explained that over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political, and started to lean more to the Left, becoming more… <a href="https://t.co/T5OnFcQk1a">pic.twitter.com/T5OnFcQk1a</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1968030776211206494?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Gray said that Robinson&#8217;s political shift to the Left and his decision to date his trans-identifying roommate led to multiple conversations with his father &#8220;who had very different political views.&#8221;
Robinson allegedly texted his roommate after the assassination and told him look under a keyboard. The roommate found a note under the keyboard, which stated, &#8220;I have the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I&#8217;m going to take it,&#8221; according to Gray. The attorney added that text messages sent between Robinson and his roommate revealed that Robinson stated that he targeted Kirk because he &#8220;had enough&#8221; of Kirk&#8217;s &#8220;hatred,&#8221; adding, &#8220;Some hatred can&#8217;t be negotiated out.&#8221; In another text message, Robinson allegedly said that he had been planning the assassination for a week.
Robinson asked his roommate to avoid speaking to the media or police, and urged him to &#8220;ask for a lawyer and stay silent,&#8221; Gray said.

Jeff Gray / Tyler Robinson Mugshot

Prosecutors Reveal Charges Against Suspected Charlie Kirk Assassin, Will Seek Death Penalty

U.S.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday morning that the repeat offender accused of stabbing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska to death on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, should be executed.
Trump referred to 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. as an &#8220;ANIMAL,&#8221; who &#8220;violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine.&#8221; Brown was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-light-rail-attacker-federal-crime">charged</a> by the Justice Department with a federal crime on Tuesday in connection with the gruesome stabbing that was caught on camera.
&#8220;The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a &#8216;Quick&#8217; (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY. There can be no other option!!!&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115180060678818221">posted</a> on Truth Social.
The DOJ charged Brown with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system. The federal charge makes Brown eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the feds &#8220;will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man.”
Video footage of the deadly stabbing, which occurred in August, shows Brown standing up behind the young woman while holding a knife before plunging the weapon into Zarutska three times, with at least one stab to the neck. The man then walks toward the door of the train, with blood dripping off the knife.
The full video footage of the killing, which was released on Tuesday, showed Zarutska looking up in shock after being stabbed before she slumped to the floor, and blood pooled around her.
Brown has a long criminal rap sheet, with 14 previous arrests for offenses such as armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fatal-charlotte-stabbing-highlights-the-failure-of-racial-equity-policies">reported</a>. He served five years for the armed robbery, but he avoided jail time after most of his other arrests. Last year, Brown had run-ins with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on at least three separate occasions, receiving referrals to resources and fines instead of jail time.
Trump has blasted Democratic policies following the fatal stabbing, saying that Zarutska&#8217;s blood &#8220;is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail.&#8221; The president has also criticized the legacy media over its lack of coverage of the killing. Some outlets, such as <a href="https://x.com/axios/status/1965010353353625669">Axios</a> and <a href="https://x.com/politico/status/1965218281830174835">POLITICO</a>, have focused on covering the Republican outrage instead of the stabbing itself or Brown&#8217;s criminal record.
“North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it! Additionally, where is the outrage from the Mainstream Media on this horrible tragedy?” Trump added.

Donald Trump/Iryna Zarutska killing

Trump Calls For ‘Quick’ Trial And Death Penalty For ‘Animal’ Who Killed Ukrainian Refugee

Death

North Carolina

Stabbing

U.S. Attorney General for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced on Thursday that the government is weighing seeking the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, the man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim earlier this year.
“This begins the statutory process of whether to seek the death penalty,” Pirro said. “This is a weighty decision. It takes time.”
Pirro said Attorney General Pam Bondi will decide whether to seek the death penalty after getting advice from a special unit that reviews such cases.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 U.S. Attorney <a href="https://twitter.com/JudgeJeanine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JudgeJeanine</a> Pirro unseals a 9-count indictment against Elias Rodriguez for the heinous murders of two Israeli Embassy staff outside D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum. <a href="https://t.co/YQSMoVzJdr">pic.twitter.com/YQSMoVzJdr</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1953481283612414175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
Lischinsky, 30, and Milgrim, 28, were allegedly shot and killed by Elias outside of an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in May. Lischinsky was a German-Israeli dual citizen and devout evangelical Christian. He immigrated to Israel at 16, served in the Israel Defense Forces, and began working as a political analyst at the embassy in 2022.
He was planning to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/friends-family-react-to-murder-of-israeli-embassy-staffers-by-keffiyeh-wearing-terrorist">propose</a> to Milgrim, who grew up in the Kansas City suburbs and was a full-time employee at the embassy’s Department of Public Diplomacy.
Rodriguez, 31, from Chicago, was detained by police and shouted “Free Palestine,” according to law enforcement and a viral video of him in custody. He allegedly told a police officer near the scene that he “did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” He also pre-scheduled his “explication” to be published on his X account, where he advocated for violence against Israelis.
“This Justice Department will not tolerate violence motivated by hatred of faith or national origin, and we will enforce our federal civil rights laws accordingly,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.
According to the DOJ, Rodriguez fired approximately 20 shots at Lischinsky and Milgrim.
Pirro unsealed a nine-count indictment against Rodriguez, including two new counts of committing a hate crime and two counts of assault with intent to kill. Rodriguez was previously charged on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charges-revealed-in-d-c-terror-attack-shooter-did-it-for-palestine-fbi-says">May 22</a> with the murder of a foreign official, firearm offenses, and first-degree murder.
“This office will leave no stone unturned in its effort to bring justice to the innocent victims of Elias Rodriguez,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “The hate charges shed further light on his evil intent in the killing of innocent victims.”
&nbsp;

Milgrim and Lichinsky

Death Penalty On The Table For Killer Of Israeli Embassy Staffers

antisemitism

Hate Crime

Washington DC

A Tennessee man who savagely shot to death his girlfriend and her six- and nine-year-old daughters in 1988 and was later condemned to death was executed on Tuesday. The headlines centered around critics of the execution who pointed to the fact that the state had refused to deactivate his implanted defibrillator, causing him pain while he was dying.
Before Byron Black, 69, executed his girlfriend, Angela Clay, 29, and her daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6, he had been involved in a dispute with Clay’s husband, Bennie, from whom she was separated. Black shot Bennie Clay in the shoulder and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with work release permitted. When he was temporarily released, Black entered Angela’s Nashville dwelling on March 28, 1988.
Court records show that Black executed the family from point-blank range. Justia <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/tennessee/supreme-court/1991/815-s-w-2d-166-2.html">summarizes</a> the findings below:
<blockquote>
Investigation revealed the bodies of Angela and her nine year old daughter, Latoya, in the master bedroom. Angela, who was lying in the bed, had apparently been shot once in the top of the head as she slept and was rendered unconscious immediately and died within minutes. Dr. Charles Harlan, Chief Medical Examiner for Davidson County, testified that she was probably shot from a distance of six to twelve inches and that her gunshot wound was the type usually caused by a large caliber bullet.
Latoya&#8217;s body was found partially on the bed and partially off the bed, wedged between the bed and a chest of drawers. She had been shot once through the neck and chest. Blood on her pillow and a bullet hole in the bedding indicated she had been lying on the bed when shot. Dr. Harlan testified that she was shot from a distance of greater than twenty-four inches from the skin surface. The bullet path and type of shot indicated that death was not instantaneous but likely occurred within three to ten minutes after her being shot. Bullet fragments were recovered from her left lung. Both victims were under the bedcovers when they were shot.
The body of Lakeisha, age six, was found in the second bedroom lying facedown on the floor next to her bed. She had been shot twice, once in the chest, once in the pelvic area. Dr. Harlan testified that she had died from bleeding as a result of a gunshot wound to the chest. She was shot from a distance of six to twelve inches and died within five to thirty minutes after being shot. Abrasions on her arm indicated a bullet had grazed her as she sought to protect herself from the attacker. Bullet holes and blood stains on the bed indicated that she was lying in bed when shot and had moved from the bed to the floor after being shot. There were bloody finger marks down the rail running from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed.
</blockquote>
But the headlines focused on the legal battle fought over the execution of Black, after a judge ruled in July that his cardioverter-defibrillator should be deactivated to avoid causing him prolonged pain when he received a lethal injection of pentobarbital.
On July 31, the Tennessee Supreme Court vacated a preliminary injunction that required the Tennessee Department of Corrections to deactivate Black’s cardioverter-defibrillator. Black’s attorneys filed requests for a stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming, among other contentions, that Black was at risk of a ​“prolonged” and ​“torturous” death. The Supreme Court denied all the stay applications on August 4.
“This is hurting so bad,” Black <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/08/05/tennessee-execution-byron-black-heart-device-angela-clay/85523148007/">moaned</a> as he was dying, according to USA Today.
“The fact that he was able to raise his head several times and express pain tells you that the pentobarbital was not acting the way that state’s experts claim it acts,” Black’s attorney Kelley Henry stated, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/05/tennessee-execute-inmate">adding</a>, “the state of Tennessee killed a gentle, kind, fragile, intellectually disabled man in a violation of the laws of our country simply because they could. No one in a position of power, certainly not the courts, was willing to stop them. What happened here was the result of pure, unbridled bloodlust and cowardice. It was the brutal and unchecked abuse of government power.”
“Henry had earlier unsuccessfully argued that Black shouldn’t be put to death due to his apparent intellectual disability,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/05/us-news/tennessee-death-row-inmate-byron-black-cries-out-in-pain-during-lethal-injection-after-state-refused-to-deactivate-defibrillator-implant/">reported</a>.
The victim’s family says Black never apologized for his murders, and will take them to the grave with him.
“His family is now going through the same thing we went through 37 years ago,” Clay’s sister, Linette Bell, said after the execution. “I can’t say I’m sorry because we never got an apology. He never apologized, and he never admitted it, even on his dying bed … He took it to his grave with him, and he knows he did it.”

untitled_design__2__720

Vicious Killer Of Mother, Young Daughters Executed. Critics Say Death Caused Him Unnecessary Pain.

murders

Tennessee

Prosecutors say Luigi Mangione kept diaries chronicling in chilling detail his plans to assassinate UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and revealing he backed off of a mass-casualty attack he had initially conceived.
The self-proclaimed anti-capitalist wrote in his manifesto that he chose to &#8220;wack the CEO&#8221; rather than bomb the UnitedHealthcare headquarters because he believed it would generate better headlines and be less likely to be deemed &#8220;terrorism,&#8221; according to court documents <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/luigi-mangione-da-omnibus-response.pdf">revealed</a> this week.
&#8220;So say you want to rebel against the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel. Do you bomb the HQ? No. Bombs=terrorism,&#8221; Mangione allegedly wrote in a red spiral notebook found in his backpack upon his arrest five days after the shooting.
Manhattan prosecutors are confident that this is “open and shut case,” pointing to evidence continuing to pile up indicating that Mangione’s goal was “to send a message.”
In parts of the diaries that had been previously <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/nyregion/luigi-mangione-manifesto.html">released</a>, Mangione reasoned that someone should &#8220;wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It&#8217;s targeted and precise and doesn&#8217;t risk innocents.&#8221;
The University of Pennsylvania graduate justified targeting insurance providers because they &#8220;literally extract human life force for money,&#8221; and seemed fixated on how his actions would be perceived by the public, adding that &#8220;the point is made in the news headline &#8216;Insurance CEO killed at annual investors conference.&#8217; It conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming.&#8221;
Mangione expressed relief that he had not followed through with a mass-casualty event, allegedly writing, &#8220;I’m glad — in a way — that I’ve procrastinated [because] it allowed me to learn more about UHC.&#8221;
“KMD would’ve been an unjustified catastrophe that would be perceived mostly as sick, but more importantly unhelpful,” Magione allegedly wrote of a potential attack in his home state of Maryland.
The accused assassin reportedly came to this conclusion by analyzing the public reaction to Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber.
&#8220;Ted K makes some good points on the future of humanity, but to make his point he indiscriminately mailbombs innocents. Normies categorize him as an insane serial killer, focus on the act/atrocities themselves, and dismiss his ideas,” Mangione wrote, apparently having a desire for his act of violence to be as palatable as possible for &#8220;normies&#8221; to get behind.
The filing adds that authorities found a note, which has been previously reported on, in Mangione&#8217;s possession during his arrest at a McDonald&#8217;s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, addressed to federal investigators.
&#8220;To the Feds, I&#8217;ll keep this short because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly I wasn&#8217;t working with anyone,&#8221; Mangione wrote, describing his attack as &#8220;fairly trivial,&#8221; involving &#8220;some elementary social engineering, basic [computer aided design], and a lot of patience.&#8221;
The note continued with an unapologetic justification: &#8220;I do apologize for any strife or trauma, but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming,&#8221; then launching into a sanctimonious rant about the state of health care in America.
“If ever there were an open and shut case pointing to a defendant’s guilt, this case is that case. Simply put, one would be hard pressed to find a case with such overwhelming evidence of guilt as to the identity of the murderer and the premeditated nature of the assassination,” prosecutors wrote regarding the entries.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued that even disregarding the mountains of physical evidence presented in Wednesday&#8217;s filing, the prosecution still would have enough to convict Mangione on the terrorism count.
“The shooting itself speaks volumes of the defendant’s intent. Defendant chose to shoot the CEO of the United States’ largest health insurance company in front of the hotel where the company was about to conduct its annual investor conference,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote in the filing.
Mangione, 27, faces both state and federal murder and terrorism charges in connection with the shooting death of Thompson in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, leading to a five-day manhunt that ended with Mangione’s arrest in Pennsylvania. Mangione has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/luigi-mangione-pleads-not-guilty-as-doj-seeks-death-penalty?author=Nathan+Gay&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Luigi+Mangione+Pleads+Not+Guilty+As+DOJ+Seeks+Death+Penalty">pleaded</a> not guilty on all charges.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
According to authorities, Mangione <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-pamela-bondi-directs-prosecutors-seek-death-penalty-luigi-mangione">murdered</a> Thompson, a father of two young children, in a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination” as an act of “political violence.”
On the federal level, Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/us/luigi-mangione-federal-charges/index.html">announced</a> in late May that the DOJ intends to pursue the death penalty in the Mangione case.
Mangione&#8217;s attorneys have moved to exclude his writings from the court record, arguing their client wasn&#8217;t afforded his constitutional rights when arrested.
Prosecutors responded, agreeing to pre-trial hearings on the admissibility of the evidence, including the red spiral notebook and statements made to police officers.
Mangione is scheduled to appear in court for his state charges on June 26.

Luigi Mangione

Luigi Mangione’s Chilling Diaries Revealed In Court: ‘Parasites Simply Had It Coming’

Menu