Latest news with #DeathRow
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Nike fans are just learning creepy meaning behind 'Just Do It' slogan after 37 years
One of the world's most successful and most famous marketing slogans, Nike's 'Just Do It' is hiding a much more sinister past with ties to a convicted Death Row murderer Nike is one of the world's largest sports and clothing brands – and chances are that at some point, you've owned a pair of one of their trainers. But, before the business was valued at more than $100 billion, it was a much smaller operation started by University of Oregon track athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman. The brand has lived by its classic slogan 'Just Do It' for nearly all of its history. This motto has been posted across everything from giant billboards to hoodies worn around the world. It seems perfectly innocent and motivational at first glance, but people are only just realising it has much more sinister origins. It turns out the slogan has a chilling connection with an infamous double murderer who caught headlines around the world nearly 50 years ago. The words plastered across your favourite T-shirt can actually all be traced back to the dying words of Gary Gilmore, a convicted killer who was handed a death sentence by firing squad in Utah in 1977. He gained attention after the verdict. His mother and other campaigners tried to get his sentence switched to life in jail, but instead Gilmore insisted he wanted to face a firing squad. Before lining up in front of police gunmen, Gilmore was asked if he had any last words, to which he replied, "Let's do it". Around 10 years later, marketing executive Dan Wieden was brought onto the Nike project, tasked with coming up with a catchy slogan. Unearthing the story, MrBallen on YouTube explained: "So for hours they sat pitching different ideas, pitching different concepts of who they could elevate this brand. "But even though a lot of the ideas were promising, nothing really felt right. There was no slam-dunk idea, or at least not yet. So as Dan is beginning to get frustrated, realising he doesn't have many great ideas, he suddenly has this epiphany. "As Dan was just sitting there thinking about Gilmore's execution, he remembered a very particular detail and for whatever reason, he thought 'Oh my goodness, why could we use that'." A small tweak of the words and the "Just Do It" slogan was born, going on to double the company's worth and making it a global icon. But understanding the origin has understandably left many people feeling uneasy. Responding to the YouTube video, one commenter wrote: "I'll never hear that slogan the same way again", while another added: "Yeah, I don't know if I want to do it at all anymore." Although nobody understands what brought Dan Wieden's mind to the chilling case from ten years before that meeting, the slogan has undoubtedly gone down in history as one of the most successful marketing moves ever.
Daily Mirror
27-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
‘I watched innocent man die in Death Row gas chamber – his last words haunt me'
Lawyer Clive Stafford Smith represented dozens of inmates on Death Row and claims he watched an innocent man die - and that US prisons are using black market drugs to carry out executions A former Death Row lawyer says he watched an innocent man choke to death in a gas chamber - and claims the US is now using illegal drugs to carry out executions. Clive Stafford Smith, who has represented dozens of inmates on Death Row, lost two clients to the electric chair, two to lethal injection and two in the gas chamber - including Edward Earl Johnson, executed in 1987 for the murder of a policeman and sexual assault of a woman. Johnson has always maintained his innocence. According to Smith, a woman later came forward claiming she was with Johnson at the time of the killing - but police ignored her statement. Though now retired from Death Row law, Smith continues to campaign against capital punishment. But the tragedy of Johnson, who was just 27 at the time, still haunts him today and he recalls the last thing he told him before 'choking to death'. Smith, who is British, said: 'I walked into the gas chamber with Edward. He choked to death over quite a long time, about 15 minutes. That's not really the issue, the issue was that he was locked up as a young black male in Mississippi when he was 18, and he was killed eight years later. 'I walked him into the chair, gave him a hug and he whispered in my ear 'is there something you know I don't know?' He genuinely thought they still wouldn't kill him. They then strapped him into the chair. They did it really tightly so that you couldn't see the poor guy thrashing around. 'The witnesses are behind the chair, so they can't see him. So they can't see what he's going through.' He added: 'I can see him in my mind's eye. He was the next person killed in Mississippi before they got rid of the gas chamber. I went to his funeral after his death and this woman, Mary, came up to me and she said 'well, I know Edward didn't do that because I was with him at the time'. 'I was really taken aback and I said, well, why didn't you tell someone? And she said, I did, I went to the police and they told me to buzz off and mind my own business.' Through his nonprofit, the Justice League, Stafford now works with young people and human rights. He says the recent news of botched executions doesn't surprise him. In April, South Carolina man, Mikal Madhi, suffered a prolonged death after being killed by a firing squad. An autopsy found that shooters had missed the target on his heart, causing the 42-year-old to suffer longer than the expected window of 10 to 15 seconds. Retired executioner Ron Andrews was left needing 13 years of therapy after watching Cuban refugee Pedro Medina, who claims he was innocent, 'burn to death' over a malfunctioning electric chair. In 2022 a report from the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) claimed a third of executions that year were botched or highly problematic. Smith says he's not at all surprised by a string of reports of botched executions. He claims because pharmaceutical companies do not want their drugs used for them, the US is turning to black market drugs for lethal injections. He added: 'I was surprised, when I first got involved, about botched lethal injections because that was sold to us back in the late 70s, early 80s as a gentler form of execution. 'I think a lot of us bought into that at the time, but then I had two of my clients who I watched die in front of me and I've had six who've died, but two were on the gurney. It became pretty clear that things weren't going as people advertised.' He added: 'It's totally true black market drugs are being used. This was done by a student without my permission. I'm so proud of her. The US states got so desperate to get the right drugs to kill people that they were going to China and India, and they're illegally trying to import them." 'And so this young woman called up the Chinese and pretended to be an executing state and said, 'could you get us some drugs?' This was all off her own bat. I didn't tell her to do this [...] but it turned out very well. She talked to this person and they said, 'we can send you some execution drugs, we'll send it in the diplomatic bag'. 'Then they went on to say - and you just can't make this stuff up - that if you want a special thing to make sure it doesn't get discovered, we could put it in some teddy bears and send it in the diplomatic bag that way.' The number of executions in the US hit 25 in June this year, matching the total for all of 2024, according to UK-based anti-death penalty group Reprieve. The organisation raised concerns over black market drugs used in lethal injections, as President Trump reintroduced the death penalty after returning to office. Matt Wells, deputy director of Reprieve US, said: "The message being sent from the top is clear: President Trump wants to see more people being executed, and with most federal death sentences commuted, in the short-term at least that means more executions at the state level. "As states rush to kill, ignoring red flags that their execution protocols are a recipe for torture, there is every danger we'll witness more prisoners dying in agony. Evidence shows that executions scheduled in haste are more likely to go wrong. Speeding up the machinery of death may seem politically expedient in the age of Trump, but in practice, it leads to more slow and painful deaths on the gurney.'
Malaysian Reserve
15-06-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
The Doggfather Delivers: Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records Launch TryDeathRow.com This Father's Day
BOGOs, free shipping and the best hemp products – celebrate DoggFather's Day in Snoop style LOS ANGELES, June 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — This Father's Day, the Doggfather himself is giving fans the ultimate gift: the official launch of a nationwide direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform that brings the unapologetic spirit of West Coast hip-hop and cannabis culture straight to consumers nationwide. The cannabis lifestyle site marks the next evolution of Death Row Records under Snoop's creative leadership and further expands his cannabis empire. To celebrate the launch, is offering a special DoggFather's Day promotion anticipated to outlast the holiday: all products are Buy One, Get One Free, and customers receive free shipping on orders over $100. The promotion, anticipated to gives fans across the country a chance to experience Snoop's handpicked lineup of hemp-derived cannabis products. The launch of follows Snoop Dogg's 2022 acquisition of the legendary Death Row Records—the iconic label that defined a generation with artists like Dr. Dre, Tupac, and Snoop himself. Shortly after taking the reins, Snoop launched Death Row Records Cannabis, curating a premium catalog designed for both seasoned connoisseurs and the everydayers. With the debut of Snoop is expanding that vision nationwide, giving everyone access to the same high-quality cannabis products he stands behind. 'The magic of Death Row Records has always been about realness—music that spoke to the people who lived it,' said Snoop Dogg. ' builds on the brand's authenticity, culture, and connection. This is the place cannabis was meant to live.' features a premium selection of federally compliant hemp-derived products, including CBD and Delta-9 THC items personally vetted by Snoop. Only the finest buds make the cut—no seeds, no stems, no sticks—just top-shelf flower. The site will also offer beverages, edibles, and other Death Row quality offerings. Visit to explore the full collection and experience the next chapter of Death Row's legacy—where music, cannabis, and culture collide. About is the hemp lifestyle extension of Death Row Records, offering a curated selection of hemp-derived products and additional merchandise inspired by the fusion of music and cannabis culture. Founded by Snoop Dogg, delivers a premium, direct-to-consumer experience grounded in authenticity, legacy, and innovation.
New Straits Times
14-06-2025
- New Straits Times
Convicted murderer put to death in fourth US execution this week
WASHINGTON: A South Carolina man convicted of a 2005 double murder was put to death by lethal injection on Friday, the fourth execution in the United States this week. Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6.34pm (2234 GMT) at the state prison in Columbia, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said in a statement. Stanko had a choice between his method of execution – firing squad, electric chair or lethal injection. He chose lethal injection. Stanko was convicted of the 2005 murders of his girlfriend, Laura Ling, 43, and Henry Turner, a 74-year-old friend. He also raped Ling's teenage daughter and slit her throat but she survived and testified against him at trial. In a final statement read by his attorney, Stanko said he was "truly sorry for the pain and loss that I caused. "Sorry is never enough but that does not mean it should not be said." Stanko was the fourth Death Row inmate executed in the United States this week. President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and called on his first day in office for an expansion of its use "for the vilest crimes." John Hanson, 61, was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on Thursday for carjacking and kidnapping Mary Bowles, 77, from a mall in the city of Tulsa and then shooting her to death along with a witness, Jerald Thurman. Hanson had been serving a life sentence for bank robbery in a federal prison in the state of Louisiana but the Trump administration approved his transfer to Oklahoma so he could face the death penalty. Anthony Wainwright, 54, convicted of the 1994 murder of Carmen Gayheart, 23, a nursing student and mother of two young children, was put to death by lethal injection in Florida on Tuesday. Gregory Hunt, 65, convicted of the 1988 rape and murder of his girlfriend, Karen Lane, 32, was executed by nitrogen gas in Alabama that same day. There have been 23 executions in the United States this year: 18 by lethal injection, two by firing squad and three by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a facemask, causing the prisoner to suffocate. The use of nitrogen gas as an execution method has been denounced by UN experts as cruel and inhumane. The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others – California, Oregon and Pennsylvania – have moratoriums in place.--AFP
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Convicted murderer put to death in fourth US execution this week
A South Carolina man convicted of a 2005 double murder was put to death by lethal injection on Friday, the fourth execution in the United States this week. Stephen Stanko, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:34 pm (2234 GMT) at the state prison in Columbia, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said in a statement. Stanko had a choice between his method of execution -- firing squad, electric chair or lethal injection. He chose lethal injection. Stanko was convicted of the 2005 murders of his girlfriend, Laura Ling, 43, and Henry Turner, a 74-year-old friend. He also raped Ling's teenage daughter and slit her throat but she survived and testified against him at trial. In a final statement read by his attorney, Stanko said he was "truly sorry for the pain and loss that I caused. "Sorry is never enough but that does not mean it should not be said." Stanko was the fourth Death Row inmate executed in the United States this week. President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and called on his first day in office for an expansion of its use "for the vilest crimes." John Hanson, 61, was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on Thursday for carjacking and kidnapping Mary Bowles, 77, from a mall in the city of Tulsa and then shooting her to death along with a witness, Jerald Thurman. Hanson had been serving a life sentence for bank robbery in a federal prison in the state of Louisiana but the Trump administration approved his transfer to Oklahoma so he could face the death penalty. Anthony Wainwright, 54, convicted of the 1994 murder of Carmen Gayheart, 23, a nursing student and mother of two young children, was put to death by lethal injection in Florida on Tuesday. Gregory Hunt, 65, convicted of the 1988 rape and murder of his girlfriend, Karen Lane, 32, was executed by nitrogen gas in Alabama that same day. There have been 23 executions in the United States this year: 18 by lethal injection, two by firing squad and three by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a facemask, causing the prisoner to suffocate. The use of nitrogen gas as an execution method has been denounced by UN experts as cruel and inhumane. The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others -- California, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- have moratoriums in place. cl/acb
