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Wesley Purkey
USA - Wesley Purkey
USA - The federal execution of Wesley Ira Purkey has been accomplished

July 16, 2020:

Wesley Ira Purkey, 68, White, was executed. He was pronounced dead at 8:19 a.m. local time, which means 13:19 GMT, and 14:19 in Italy.

Media witnesses were allowed into the brick building at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, where executions are performed, at 7:53 a.m. Two minutes later, the shades were lifted, allowing them a view of Purkey, already strapped to the execution table. IVs that carried the lethal injection drugs were already inserted into each of his hands. Dark purple veins stood out on his left hand.

After a legal battle that involved Purkey's mental state, he appeared to be lucid and aware of where he was and what was happening.

When asked if he wanted to make a final statement, Purkey said: “I deeply regret the pain and suffering I caused to Jennifer’s family. I am deeply sorry. I deeply regret the pain I caused to my daughter, who I love so very much. This sanitized murder really does not serve no purpose whatsoever.”

When the lethal pentobarbital was pumped into his body, Purkey began to blink rapidly. His chest continued to rise and fall deeply. After several minutes, his breaths became shorter. His mouth opened slightly.

All the while, a chaplain in full PPE stood in the execution chamber with his hands before his face in prayer.

A witness last saw Purkey's chest move at 8:02 a.m.

Seventeen minutes later came the announcement: "Death occurred at 8:19 a.m. This concludes the execution of inmate Purkey."

The curtains closed.

U.S. district court judge in Indiana had refused just one hour before to hear the very last Purkey's appeal, and lifted the temporary stay of his execution. In the order, the judge wrote Purkey's lawyers engaged in "procedural gamesmanship" by filing appeals in several courts. Purkey, now 68, White, was sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of 16-year-old Jennifer Long in Kansas City, Missouri. He repeatedly stabbed her, cut her body into pieces with a chainsaw, burned her remains then dumped her ashes in Kansas. 9 months later, Purkey was arrested in the killing of 80-year-old Mary Ruth Bales in Kansas. He was working for a plumbing company when he went to her home in October 1998 to fix a kitchen faucet. Purkey was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to Bale's murder. A federal jury in the Western District of Missouri convicted Purkey in 2003 of kidnapping Long, resulting in her death. He was then sentenced to death in January 2004 (see Hands off Cain Nov. 19, 2003).

His lawyer argued Purkey has an 'excruciating history of trauma at home and school' and that his trial lawyer failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence of his traumatic childhood, which included sexual abuse by a Catholic priest.

Despite the Supreme Court's order, Purkey's attorneys continued to challenge his execution. Attorneys for Purkey argued that his execution warrant expired at midnight on July 15 and that any subsequent execution date must be predicated by 20 days advance notice.

Purkey's lawyers had also filed two last-minute claims in federal court in Indiana renewing his argument that he is mentally incompetent, making any execution unconstitutional.

For the long series of appeals that have overlapped in the last few days and hours, see HoC 15 July 2020.

Wesley Ira Purkey was the 9th person executed this year in the USA, the 1,521st executed in the United States since 1976, the 5th person executed in the federal system, and the 1,341st person executed by lethal injection.

https://eu.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2020/07/16/wesley-purkey-executed-terre-haute/5442505002/

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/16/politics/federal-execution-wesley-purkey/index.html

https://www.foxnews.com/us/wesley-ira-purkey-execution

 (Source: National Post, Indystar.com, cnn.com, foxnews.com, 16/07/2020)

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USA - Dustin Honken, 52, White, was executed at Terre Haute federal prison.
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SUDAN: DEATH PENALTY REMOVED FOR GAY SEX, APOSTASY
IRAN: MAN EXECUTED FOR SELLING MISSILE INFORMATION TO CIA
USA: THE FEDERAL EXECUTION OF WESLEY IRA PURKEY HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED
LIBERIA: ARMED FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF WANTS DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPISTS
CHAD: DEATH PENALTY COMPLETELY ABOLISHED
IRAN: TWO KURDISH POLITICAL PRISONERS EXECUTED IN URMIA
USA: DANIEL LEWIS LEE WAS EXECUTED AT THE U.S. PENITENTIARY IN TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA
IRAN: PRISONER EXECUTED IN KERMANSHAH CENTRAL PRISON FOR MURDER
TAIWAN: NEW LAW REQUIRES PRISONERS BEING EXECUTED TO WEAR HOOD
DEATH PENALTY: HANDS OFF CAIN, TRUMP RETURNS AMERICA TO THE PAST
BAHRAIN: TOP COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCES AGAINST TWO ACTIVISTS
USA - U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan (District of Columbia) again halted federal executions
IRAN: UNIDENTIFIED PRISONER EXECUTED IN MASHHAD CENTRAL PRISON FOR DRINKING ALCOHOL
USA - The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeal overturned the decision to suspend the execution of Daniel Lewis Lee.
SUDAN SCRAPS APOSTASY LAW AND ALCOHOL BAN FOR NON-MUSLIMS
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USA - European Union. EU condemns U.S. for resuming federal executions.
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NIGERIA: 37-YEAR-OLD SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BEHEADING MAN FOR RITUAL
INDONESIA: SOME 100 DRUG OFFENDERS SENTENCED TO DEATH THIS YEAR

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IRAN - Wife of Djalali pleads for EU action
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  HUMAN RIGHTS: DEMONSTRATION OF THE RADICAL PARTY BEFORE IRANIAN EMBASSY 14 FEBRUARY  
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