Tagged News

• North Texas man executed as his cousin claims he was the shooter in fatal 2008 robbery

  April 30, 2026 11:12 AM

  HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A North Texas man who claimed he wasn't the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who said prosecutors misused rap lyrics he wrote to secure his death sentence was executed Thursday evening. James Broadnax was pronounced dead... more »

• Justice Department to allow firing squads for executions in move to ramp up capital punishment

  April 24, 2026 4:21 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will adopt firing squads as a permitted method of execution as the Trump administration moves to ramp up and expedite capital punishment cases, officials said Friday. The Justice Department is also reauthorizing the use of single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital that were used... more »

• Prosecutors used rap lyrics to help send a man to death row in Texas. It's not an uncommon tactic

  April 24, 2026 4:19 PM

  When he was 19, James Broadnax jotted down rap lyrics, thoughts and even job leads in a notebook that would become evidence at his capital murder trial. Prosecutors selected lyrics with alleged references to gang affiliation and shootings to convince jurors that instead of life in prison, Broadnax, who... more »

• Former FedEx driver pleads guilty to killing 7-year-old girl after making delivery at her Texas home

  April 7, 2026 3:40 PM

  FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A former FedEx driver accused of killing a 7-year-old girl after he said he accidentally struck her with his van while delivering a Christmas gift to her Texas home, and then strangled her during a fit of panic, pleaded guilty to capital murder just after... more »

• Bullets in Luigi Mangione's bag convinced police that he was UnitedHealthcare CEO killing suspect

  December 8, 2025 4:03 PM

  NEW YORK (AP) — Moments after Luigi Mangione was put in handcuffs at a Pennsylvania McDonald's, a police officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear. The discovery, recounted in court Monday as Mangione fights to exclude evidence from his New York... more »

• Luigi Mangione fights to exclude evidence from his trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO

  December 1, 2025 2:30 PM

  NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione watched stoically in court Monday as prosecutors played surveillance videos showing the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City sidewalk last year and Mangione's arrest five days later at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania. The videos, including footage from the... more »

• Pope intervenes in US abortion debate by raising what it really means to be 'pro-life'

  October 2, 2025 10:40 AM

  ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has intervened for the first time in an abortion dispute roiling the U.S. Catholic Church by raising the seeming contradiction over what it really means to be "pro-life." Leo, a Chicago native, was asked late Tuesday about plans by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich... more »

• Lawyer for suspect in Charlie Kirk killing wants more time to review 'voluminous' evidence

  September 29, 2025 2:34 PM

  PROVO, Utah (AP) — An attorney for the 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk asked a judge Monday for more time to review the large amount of evidence in the case before deciding if the defense will seek a preliminary hearing. A preliminary hearing would determine if there... more »

• Texas man executed for the 'exorcism' killing of his girlfriend's 13-month-old daughter

  September 25, 2025 11:11 AM

  HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas man was executed Thursday for killing his girlfriend's 13-month-old daughter in a torturous ordeal the couple said was part of an "exorcism" to expel a demon from the child's body. Blaine Milam, 35, received a lethal injection Thursday evening at the state penitentiary... more »

• Suspect left note saying he planned to kill Charlie Kirk, later confessed in texts, prosecutor says

  September 16, 2025 4:06 PM

  PROVO, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors brought a murder charge Tuesday against the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk and outlined evidence, including a text message confession to his partner and a note left beforehand saying he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation's leading conservative voices "and I'm... more »

• New York judge tosses terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, lets murder count stand

  September 16, 2025 9:50 AM

  NEW YORK (AP) — A judge on Tuesday dismissed terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione in New York state's case over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but he kept the state's second-degree murder charges against him. In a written decision, Judge Gregory Carro said that although there is... more »

• Long-elusive Mexican drug lord Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada pleads guilty in US

  August 25, 2025 3:50 PM

  NEW YORK (AP) — Former Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada pleaded guilty Monday to U.S. drug trafficking charges, saying he was sorry for helping flood the U.S. with cocaine, heroin and other illicit substances and for fueling deadly violence in Mexico. "I recognize the great harm illegal... more »

• Mexico says 26 capos sent to US were requested by Trump administration, not part of tariff talks

  August 13, 2025 5:31 PM

  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico sent 26 alleged cartel figures to face justice in the United States because the Trump administration requested them and Mexico did not want them to continue running their illicit businesses from Mexican prisons, officials said Wednesday. The mass transfer was not, however, part of... more »

• Death penalty being sought for suspect charged in deadly drug deal gone wrong in Donna Play Video

  July 25, 2025 2:47 PM

  Hidalgo County District Attorney Terry Palacios said the state is seeking the death penalty for a man accused of killing a 16-year-old male in a drug deal gone wrong. Geoffrey Jay Luna was arrested and charged with capital murder back in January. The shooting took place at the 1900... more »

• Man charged with killing Minnesota lawmaker plans to plead not guilty

  July 16, 2025 12:06 PM

  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man plans to plead not guilty to charges he killed the top Democratic leader in the state House and her husband after wounding another lawmaker and his wife, his attorney said. Vance Boelter, 57, is due in federal court for his arraignment on Sept.... more »

• Appeals court throws out plea deal for alleged mastermind of Sept. 11 attacks

  July 11, 2025 11:36 AM

  WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided federal appeals court on Friday threw out an agreement that would have allowed accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to plead guilty in a deal sparing him the risk of execution for al-Qaida's 2001 attacks. The decision by a panel of the federal... more »

• Man sentenced to life in prison following deadly McAllen motel stabbings Play Video

  June 11, 2025 7:18 PM

  An Alamo man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to fatally stabbing two people at a McAllen Motel 6. Carlos Antonio Cardenas Jr, 29, pleaded guilty to charges of capital murder of multiple persons and criminal attempted murder, court records show. The... more »

• Pharr man accused of choking, killing 7-year-old-brother Play Video

  January 9, 2025 2:04 PM

  A man accused of choking and killing his 7-year-old brother in Pharr was charged with capital murder and issued a $2 million bond. Brandon Dion Garza, 24, was arraigned at the Pharr Municipal Court on Thursday. He faces a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty.... more »

• Hidalgo County judge grants extension for man accused of killing state trooper Play Video

  May 27, 2020 8:02 PM

  There’s still no decision on whether prosecutors in Hidalgo County will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing State Trooper Moises Sanchez. A judge granted another extension request for Victor Godinez on Wednesday, who is charged with capital murder. The judge had warned prosecutors there... more »

• Laredo Border Patrol Agent Accused of Murder Pleads Not Guilty Play Video

  January 8, 2019 4:37 PM

  UPDATE (5:00p.m.): The border patrol agent accused of killing four people pleads not guilty. The District Attorney says they are pursuing the death penalty on the capital murder charge if Juan David Ortiz is convicted. ------- LAREDO – A Laredo Border Patrol agent turned murder suspect will... more »