An Indiana man who admitted killing his girlfriend's two children was executed early Thursday in the first of three lethal injections scheduled for the same day in the U.S.
asserted
who → admit → U.S.
Jeffrey Weisheit killed the children, ages 8 and 5, by setting fire to his girlfriend's house in the Evansville area in 2010.
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Weisheit → kill → 2010
Weisheit died at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
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Weisheit → die → City
The lethal injection started just after midnight and he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m., according to Noelle Russell, Indiana Department of Correction chief communications officer.
uncertain
he → start → Correction
She said Weisheit's final meal was barbecue ribs and he had no final words.
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he → say → words
Florida and Alabama were also set to carry out executions Thursday, which would mark the second time this year that three people in the U.S. would be put to death on the same day.
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people → set → day
Alabama, Tennessee and Oklahoma
.It would be Florida's 19th execution this year under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, matching a
, but was the first this year in Indiana.
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Alabama → match → Indiana
The death penalty has faced renewed scrutiny following the September
in Tennessee, although courts have rejected efforts to halt other executions since she survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital.
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she → face → pentobarbital
Pike said in a statement dictated to her lawyers and released a month after the botched execution that she's been in pain every moment since she woke up confused in a hospital.
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she → say → hospital
"I had not contemplated life beyond that night," she said.
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she → contemplate → night
Lawyers wanted Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun to allow Weisheit, 50, to undergo brain scans in an effort to reinforce their argument that he has a history of head injuries and mental health problems.
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he → want → injuries
Braun declined, and he also turned down a request to reduce the sentence to life in prison.
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he → decline → prison
Weisheit's latest objection centered on the state's planned use of lethal drugs purchased from a pharmacy that is facing a disciplinary hearing next week at the Indiana Pharmacy Board.
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that → center → Board
The Indiana Department of Correction said it's confident "in our ability to humanely carry out" the execution.
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it → say → execution
Following the execution, Braun issued a brief statement noting Weisheit's case was reviewed many times by state and federal courts.
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case → follow → courts
"These reviews have never resulted in an overturned sentence," he said.
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he → result → sentence
"Today, Weisheit's sentence has been carried out as ordered by the court."
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sentence → carry → court
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said that the execution provided "long-awaited justice for Alyssa Lynch and her brother Caleb, two innocent children whose lives were stolen in an act of unspeakable cruelty."
The execution on tap in Florida
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lives → say → Florida
In Florida, Jesse Guardado confessed and quickly pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a 75-year-old woman inside her Walton County home in 2004 before stealing her jewelry box, $80 and other valuables to support his drug habit.
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Guardado → confess → habit
She had helped him get a job and housing.
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him → help → job
A federal appeals court in 2024 said Guardado, now 64, had received a "full and fair" hearing during the death penalty phase of his case.
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Guardado → say → case
Florida has carried out more than half the 32 total executions in the U.S. so far this year.
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Florida → carry → U.S.
DeSantis, who leaves office in January, has said that his goal is to bring justice to families who have waited decades for the death sentences to be carried out.
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sentences → leave → decades
Alabama's scheduled execution
Michael Taylor, 54, faces execution in Alabama, 35 years after fatally beating an older couple with a metal bar during a robbery in their Gadsden home.
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Taylor → schedule → home
Police arrested the 19-year-old Taylor with the victims' Cadillac, an hour away in Birmingham.
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Police → arrest → Birmingham
Death penalty opponents had urged Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to reduce Taylor's sentence to life in prison, noting his age and immaturity at the time of the killings.
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opponents → urge → killings
She declined.
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She → decline → ?
"If the state kills Michael, it is not the 19-year-old who made the worst mistake of his life who it kills.
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it → kill → who
But the mature, well-respected, God-fearing man sitting in that cell today," said Esther Brown of Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty.
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Brown → respect → Penalty
The state plans to execute Taylor by lethal injection after a
.
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state → plan → a
His attorneys objected to the last-minute switch to lethal injection since he selected nitrogen gas as his method several years ago, but a judge ruled against Taylor.
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judge → object → Taylor
The Aporia
