Latest news with #DepartmentofCriminalJustice
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Selena's Killer Yolanda Saldívar Denied Parole
Originally appeared on E! Online Yolanda Saldívar has been denied an early release. Nearly 30 years after she was convicted of killing Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, commonly referred to as the 'Queen of Tejano Music,' the singer's former fan club president was denied parole in Texas, according to online records from the state's Department of Criminal Justice viewed by E! News March 27. Yolanda, 64, first filed for parole in January as she was eligible for an early release on March 30. She is serving a life sentence for murder with a deadly weapon after she shot and killed the 'Amor Prohibido' singer, who was just 23 years old at the time, at a Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 31, 1995. Days before the murder, Selena and her husband Chris Pérez fired Yolanda—who also managed the singer's boutiques—alleging she had been embezzling money from them. Yolanda previously appealed her guilty verdict in 1998 and has maintained that she 'did not intend' to murder Selena when she shot her in the back. Keep scrolling for a look back at Selena's remarkable life. More from E! Online Megan Fox Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby With Machine Gun Kelly Brian Austin Green Reveals Fiery DM From Machine Gun Kelly About Megan Fox Pregnancy Travis Barker's Role in Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly's Baby Girl's Birth Revealed Following the decision, the Grammy winner's family, along with her widower, issued a joint statement saying they were 'grateful' Saldívar would remain behind bars. 'While nothing can bring Selena back,' they said in a message posted on Selena's sister Suzette Quintanilla's Instagram page, 'this decision reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon.' They continued, 'As her family and loved ones, we remain committed to preserving her memory and ensuring that her story is honored with the dignity and respect it deserves.' The family also thanked Selena's devoted fanbase for keeping her memory alive. 'Your love has been a source of strength and healing,' the statement concluded. 'We will continue to celebrate Selena's life—not the tragedy that took her from us and we ask that all who cherish her do the same.' Keep scrolling for a look back at Selena's remarkable life. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
Boston Globe
03-03-2025
- Boston Globe
Lethal injection, electrocution, and now firing squads. A look at US execution methods.
Here's a look at how the U.S. executes people: Most US executions are by lethal injection Lethal injection has been the preferred method in the modern era, with 1,428 carried out since 1976. Texas has done the most, killing 593 inmates, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit center. Advertisement Twenty-eight states as well as the U.S. military and U.S. government authorize the use of lethal injection, in which an inmate has a deadly mixture of drugs injected into them as they are strapped to a gurney. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up But throughout its use, lethal injection has been plagued by problems, including delays in finding suitable veins, needles becoming clogged or disengaged and problems with securing enough of the required drugs. 'A number of states are beginning to experiment with new methods of execution ... because of the problems with lethal injection,' said John Banzhaf, a professor emeritus of law at George Washington University Law School. Use of electrocution is down since 2000 Nine states authorize the use of electrocution, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee. Since 1976, 163 electrocutions have been carried out. But only 19 have been done since 2000. In this method, a person is strapped to a chair and has electrodes placed on their head and leg before a jolt of between 500 and 2,000 volts runs through their body. The last electrocution took place in 2020 in Tennessee. Texas used electrocution from 1924 to 1964, killing 361 inmates, according to the state's Department of Criminal Justice. The electric chair Texas used was nicknamed 'Old Sparky.' It is now displayed at the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville, where the state's death chamber is located. Alabama resumes the use of lethal gas Lethal gas is authorized as the default execution method in eight states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Advertisement From 1979 to 1999, 11 inmates were executed using this method, in which a prisoner would be strapped to a chair in an airtight chamber before it was filled with cyanide gas. In 2024, Alabama revived this method when it became the first state to use nitrogen gas to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith. A mask is placed over a prisoner's face and nitrogen gas is pumped in, depriving the person of oxygen and resulting in death. Alabama's last such execution took place in February. Firing squads are rarely used in the modern era Since 1977, only three inmates have been executed by firing squad and all were in Utah, with the last one in 2010, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Five states including Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah authorize its use, but it is not the primary execution method. For this method, an inmate is usually bound to a chair and is shot through the heart by a group of prison staffers standing 20 to 25 feet (6 to 7.6 meters) away. Idaho has had firing squad executions on the books as a backup if lethal injection drugs are unavailable since 2023. But in the wake of last year's botched lethal injection attempt on Thomas Eugene Creech, lawmakers are considering a bill to make firing squads the primary execution method. The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Doug Ricks, has suggested Idaho could use a firing squad machine, triggering the guns electronically to eliminate the need for additional execution team members. Hanging was once the primary execution method In the U.S., hanging was the main method of execution until about the 1890s, according to the Advertisement Data collected by researchers of U.S. executions from 1608 to 2002 found 9,322 people were put to death by hanging, in which a person was blindfolded and their hands and legs were secured before a noose was placed around the neck and they fell through a trap door. But in capital punishment's modern era, only three individuals in the U.S. have been executed by hanging in 1993, 1994 and 1996. New Hampshire's remaining death row inmate could be executed by hanging if lethal injection is not available. Associated Press video journalist Cody Jackson in Fort Pierce, Florida, and writer Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
