Latest news with #Pye
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After Executing an Intellectually Disabled Man, Georgia Rewrote Its Death Penalty Law
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill Tuesday that will transform how intellectual disability is handled in death penalty cases in Georgia. Now in alignment with 26 other states that still practice capital punishment, Georgia will require a judge to determine during a pretrial hearing whether a defendant is intellectually disabled or not. Prior to the signing of this bill, intellectual disability was determined by a jury while also considering the defendant's guilt or innocence. 'Yesterday marked a significant step forward for Georgia and the intellectual disabilities community. After over a decade of advocacy to end the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities, Georgia lawmakers from across the political spectrum have responded bravely,' said Joia Thornton, in a statement to Capital B Atlanta. Thornton is the national director of the Faith Leaders of Color Coalition, which is one of many advocacy groups to support the bill. As it is with the criminal justice system overall, Black people make up a disproportionate percentage of death row inmates nationally. In Georgia, where the population is about one-third Black, 44% of death row inmates are Black. Anti-death penalty and disability advocates have criticized the system for years because defendants had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were intellectually disabled, one of the highest standards of proof required in criminal law. Since Georgia passed a law in 1988 banning the execution of intellectually disabled people, not a single defendant has proven they were intellectually disabled. Over a decade later, the U.S. Supreme Court would rule in 2002 in Atkins v. Virginia that executing an intellectually disabled person would violate the Eighth Amendment's 'cruel and unusual punishment' clause. In the 23 years since the Supreme Court's ruling, however, Georgia had fallen behind other death penalty states who updated their laws to comply with the court's decision. Last year, Georgia drew national attention for executing a man who multiple experts deemed intellectually disabled. Willie James Pye and two other men were convicted in 1996 of the kidnapping, robbery, rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend Alicia Yarbrough. Pye's death sentence had been overturned after his original attorney's competence was called into question. But it was later reinstated by an appellate court, and he was executed by lethal injection on March 20, 2024. According to the AP, Pye was determined to have suffered from frontal lobe brain damage that may have been caused by fetal alcohol syndrome, which would inhibit his planning ability and impulse control. Though legislation to address intellectual disability in death penalty cases has been in the works for many years, it wasn't successful until it gained support from GOP leaders like Speaker of the House Jon Burns and the bill's author, state Rep. Bill Werkheiser. In March, the bill passed unanimously in the state House and 53-1 in the state Senate. 'In our work, we know that progress doesn't happen overnight. The signing of HB 123 into law is a testament to the persistence, steadfastness, and community behind this effort. This law will undoubtedly save lives. We are thankful we had Chairman Werkheiser as a champion and partner in this monumental victory,' said Terrica Redfield Ganzy, executive director for the Southern Center for Human Rights, in a statement. House Bill 123 became active law when it was signed Tuesday, unlike many other bills from this legislative session that Kemp has signed that do not take effect until July 1. The bill, however, will not impact the sentences or convictions of the 34 people currently on death row in Georgia. The post After Executing an Intellectually Disabled Man, Georgia Rewrote Its Death Penalty Law appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
USA Today
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Savory Tomato Pie at 2025 Masters: So what's the verdict on its taste?
Savory Tomato Pie at 2025 Masters: So what's the verdict on its taste? The Masters Tournament's newest menu item has gained a lot of publicity over the past week. While so many are focused on gnomes, there's another buzz at Augusta National Golf Club going on — at the concession stand. The Savory Tomato Pie took the social media world by storm following a Masters X (formerly Twitter) post on April 1, so much so that some thought it may be an April Fools' Day prank. That was not the case. The empanada-style treat was available to patrons visiting for Saturday's Augusta National Women's Amateur final round and Sunday's Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals. It should continue to be a popular menu item throughout Masters week. For starters, it's not your typical tomato sandwich. Think tomato sandwich meets Hot Pocket. The pie comes in a rectangle-shaped container designed to retain heat. Augusta native Preston Pye, 34, tried one for the first time after he and his wife, Meg, visited the Patron Shop early Sunday afternoon. At first glance, he said it resembled an apple pie from a prominent restaurant chain. Pye described it as almost like a personal pizza roll, noting the container makes it easy to eat on the go while walking around the course. The immediate reaction after Pye bit into the pie? It was HOT. As for the most important answer on everyone's mind, Pye said he would buy it again. On an interesting note, he also floated the idea of combining the pie with a Pimento Cheese sandwich. He didn't try it on Sunday, but just know it's a possibility if you're feeling experimental later this week. It's another option on the menu, joining the classics like the Pimento Cheese, Egg Salad, Masters Club, Classic Chicken and BBQ sandwiches. Will it stick around? Time will tell, but the early feedback looks positive. The Savory Tomato Pie can be purchased at concession stands for $3 apiece.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
SPD officers save suspect's life after high speed chase, crash
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A high-speed chase in a stolen sports car led to a violent crash Friday night, and Shreveport Police officers saved the life of a suspect involved, police say. On March 28, just after 9:30 p.m., police officers conducted a traffic stop in the 6900 block of Bert Kouns Industrial Loop after observing a gray Chevrolet Corvette that matched the description of a recently stolen vehicle. According to police, the driver, DeQuinton Pye, initially complied with the stop, but as officers tried to verify the vehicle identification number, Pye and his passenger, Dementa Bell, began questioning officers. 19-year-old first of three co-defendants convicted in fatal shooting of BTW student They say Bell demanded to speak to a supervisor, and officers allowed them to talk to one on a cell phone. According to police, once officers confirmed the VIN matched the stolen Corvette, Pye floored the gas pedal, starting a high-speed pursuit. The chase ended when Pye and Bell crashed into a power line pole on Meriweather Road, causing a transformer explosion. According to SPD, Bell tried running from the crash but was quickly arrested. Police say Pye couldn't run, his femoral artery was cut in the accident, and he was bleeding profusely. Officers applied a tourniquet to stop him from bleeding out. A search of the wreckage found that Pye had a firearm, which he was prohibited from carrying due to an active protective order against him. Pye is charged with a series of crimes, including aggravated flight from an officer and the illegal possession of a stolen vehicle. Bell is charged with resisting an officer and interfering with a law enforcement investigation. Both suspects were booked into the Shreveport City Jail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
One Year After Controversial Execution, Georgia Looks to Reform Death Penalty Laws
Georgia made national headlines last year when the state executed Willie James Pye, a man who multiple expert witnesses had deemed intellectually disabled. Pye and two other people had been convicted of the 1996 murder, kidnapping, rape, and robbery of his ex-girlfriend, Alicia Yarbrough, in Spaulding County. Anti-death penalty advocates worked diligently to get Pye off death row, and they almost succeeded. After his attorney's competence was called into question, Pye's death sentence was reversed, only to be reinstated by an appellate court. He was executed by lethal injection on March 20, 2024. One year after Pye's execution, Georgia advocates are hopeful that a bill making its way through the State Legislature can reform the way intellectual disability is handled in death penalty cases. 'It's almost a little bittersweet knowing that had the standard been [different], that might well have prevented the execution of Willie Pye,' said Nathan Potek, Pye's attorney through the Federal Defender Program. House Bill 123 would align Georgia with the other 26 states that practice capital punishment. Under current state law, a defendant must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are intellectually disabled; the decision is made by a jury at the same time as those jurors decide the defendant's guilt or innocence. The new bill, which is currently awaiting approval by the senate judiciary committee, would require that intellectual disability be determined in a pretrial hearing and set a lower threshold for proving it. Black people are overrepresented on death rows nationally; in Georgia, Black residents make up one-third of the state's overall population but 44% of all people currently on death row. Ten people on death row have been convicted in metro Atlanta, four in Fulton County, four in Cobb County, and one in Gwinnett County. Seven of them were Black. 'There's a lot of historical racial terror implications built within and baked into the death penalty system in America,' said Joia Thornton, founder and national director of the Faith Leaders of Color Coalition, a nonprofit that organizes with Black and Indigenous clergy who are working to end the American death penalty system. Though race is a component to any criminal justice reform conversation, advocates for this bill, like Wesley Myrick, executive director at the Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center, chose not to make it central to their work. 'This bill does not seek to resolve any conversations related to the death penalty and race — it is simply not topical,' Myrick said. 'Rather, this bill is about our shared obligation to love and protect our neighbors with intellectual disabilities to ensure they are treated compassionately through our adjudication processes and in a manner that honors their humanity above all.' While the bill is limited in its scope — Georgia has tried 90 death penalty cases since 2015 but only 10 have had intellectual disability claims — advocates believe it would be an important step in the right direction. 'If we as a society have determined that it's wrong to execute folks with intellectual disability, then we should make sure that we aren't doing that,' Potek said. In 1988, Georgia became the first state to ban the execution of intellectually disabled people. The law was passed more than a decade before the Supreme Court made its 2002 ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, finding that it was a violation of the 'cruel and unusual punishment' clause in the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to execute a person with an intellectual disability. Though Georgia's legislation was ahead of its time, critics say the law is ineffective. Since it was adopted, no one has been declared intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution, according to the Southern Center for Human Rights. Critics of the law have been working to change it for years. Myrick said their relative success this year has been due to the interest of the speaker of the house and the support of the majority party, which he described as dedicated to ensuring that persons with disabilities are protected. The post One Year After Controversial Execution, Georgia Looks to Reform Death Penalty Laws appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
BBC News
20-03-2025
- BBC News
New images of how Eden Project Morecambe could look
New images of how parts of the Eden Project Morecambe could look like have been as a "global garden", the attraction will feature three large shell-shaped pavilions overlooking Morecambe release of artist's impressions of the seaside attraction comes as it was announced John Pye would be project director for the development with a new external design team also Eden Project Morecambe is expected to open in 2028. Mr Pye will be based in Morecambe and drive the project on the former site of the Bubbles leisure complex to completion, the Eden Project has said he would oversee construction, horticulture, and visitor experience while aligning with the Eden Project's vision of public benefit and previously acted as head of estates north at the Royal Horticultural Society, as well as director of capital projects at Blackpool and The Fylde College and the acting head of project delivery of estate management at Lancaster University. Andy Jasper, chief executive of the Eden Project, said it was "an exciting time" for the Morecambe scheme as it moved into the delivery integrated design team has also been appointed headed up by WSP and architects Grimshaw. "We believe their wealth of expertise will be invaluable in ensuring that Eden Project Morecambe becomes the best destination that it possibly can be," Mr Jasper said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
