Texas has executed James Broadnax based on his teenage rap lyrics even after the man whose DNA was on the weapon confessed to the crime.
The killing occurred after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Broadnax's final appeal to temporarily stop his execution and Governor Greg Abbott chose not to grant a last minute reprieve.
I wrote in more detail about the case here.
Read a statement from James Broadnax's wife and legal team here.
Earlier this evening in Florida, according to Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP), "the State of Florida... removed a 70 year old man from his wheelchair, strapped him to a gurney, and killed him."
The execution of James “Erny” Hitchcock was another case in which there was "compelling evidence" that another man committed the murder.
FADP calls Erny Hitchcock’s execution "heartbreaking" because it "took place just hours after his neighbor on death watch, James Duckett, learned that he was entitled to a complete evaluation of his DNA results before his execution.... This is the reality of Florida’s death penalty: it is capable of recognizing uncertainty — and carries out executions anyway.
"One man gets a chance for the truth to come out, while another is silenced forever. This is the very definition of arbitrary and unfair. Florida’s death penalty is irretrievably broken."
American Christians support of the death penalty goes against what the original Christian, Jesus, practiced and preached.
According to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, Pope Leo XIV’s predecessor, Pope Francis, called the practice "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person," adding that it is "inadmissible" in all cases.
In September 2025, Pope Leo said, "Someone who says... ‘I’m in favor of the death penalty,’ is not really pro-life."
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