Propofol, the drug that killed Michael Jackson, will now be used to execute death row inmates in Missouri, reports the New York Post. The drug made headlines in June of 2009 when it was discovered that a lethal dose of it caused the King of Pop to stop breathing, after he allegedly requested that he be given it in order to sleep. more ›

A jury recommended the death penalty for a man accused of gunning down high school student Jamiel Shaw Jr. in 2008. Last month the same jury found Pedro Espinoza, 23, guilty of killing Shaw early this month. more ›

The man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend and taking the lives of their two young sons has been charged with three counts of murder. Shazer Fernando Limas, 31, could face the death penalty for the crimes. more ›

The California Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence of a pimp convicted of burning one of his prostitutes to death. Justices ruled today that jurors were improperly instructed on a special circumstance allegation of kidnapping. more ›

A 32-year-old Rowland Heights woman has been sentenced to death for the brutal 2007 murders of her husband and two young sons. Manling Tsang Williams was convicted in 2010 on three counts of first-degree murder for taking the lives of her family members while they slept so that she could be free to be with her lover. more ›

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas expects to be up against an insanity defense in the case against the man whose shooting spree in Seal Beach left eight dead this week. Rackauckas had said earlier this morning that he would be seeking the death penalty against the gunman Scott Dekraai. more ›

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announced Friday morning he is seeking the death penalty for the suspect in the Seal Beach salon killing spree that claimed eight lives and left a ninth victim injured. more ›

A new study by U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Loyola Law School professor Paula M. Mitchell, predicts that by 2030 San Quentin's death row population will have grown to over 1,000 and that death penalty costs will reach $9 billion, according to the L.A. Times. more ›

A Pennsylvania couple renting a Downtown hotel room near Skid Row could face the death penalty for their accused role in the murder and dismemberment of 49-year-old man, according to LA Now. Today Edward Garcia, Jr, and his wife, Melissa, made their first court appearance following their arrest on the street in Hollywood on Friday, and "they were charged with murder with special circumstance allegations that could bring the death penalty." The body of Herbert White was found in several pieces inside the Garcia's vacated room at the Continental Hotel on November 29th. more ›

The Canoga Park man charged with murdering his elderly relatives could face the death penalty, according to the District Attorney, although ultimately that decision will come when the case gets closer to trial. more ›

On the same day that serial killer Rodney Alcala was handed a death sentence for the murder of a pre-teen girl and four women in Orange County in the 1970's, the ACLU released a report on death penalty sentences in the United States, noting that while nationwide such sentences are on decline, in California they are, in fact, on the rise. more ›

Rodney Alcala, the serial killer convicted last month in the death of a 12-year-old Orange County girl and four other women in the late 1970s, will be given his sentence today, according to abc7. more ›

Stephanie Lazarus, "a veteran Los Angeles police detective," faces murder charges with a special circumstance in the "1986 shooting death of Sherri Rasmussen, a hospital nursing director, at the victim's condo in Van Nuys," according to an AP report in the Huffington Post. The 49-year-old was arrested in February, and is scheduled to appear at a hearing today to determine "whether there is enough evidence against her in connection with the decades-old murder of her ex-boyfriend's wife." DNA evidence linked Lazarus to the crime, which also involves her alleged "personal use of a handgun." She "was arrested by detectives who worked across the hall from her," and now could face the death penalty. more ›

The way things are going now, being on California's death row seems cozier than a life term without possibility of parole, the LA Times finds. On death row, you get a single cell, good telephone access and "exclusive control over the television, CD player or other diversions in their cells," among other perks. What about that whole death penalty part? A four-year-old moratorium has stopped the practice, at least for now. And in any case, since 1977, 13 executions have occurred while 71 condemned prisoners died by other causes. 685 are currently on death row, making the state's death row population the largest in the country. more ›

Prosecutors revealed today that they will seek the death penalty for Pedro Espinoza, the 18th Street "gang member accused of murdering a local high school football player," reports KTLA. Espinoza is charged with the March 2008 murder of Jamiel Shaw, a 17-year-old Los Angeles High School student who was known for his football talent. The accused, it was revealed, has been residing in the US illegally, and "had just been released from jail on a firearms charge the day before Shaw was killed." Espinoza's immigration status was part of the fuel re-stoking the fire about Special Order 40. more ›

Raymond Lee Oyler, who set the deadly Esperanza Fire in 2006, was sentenced to death today after a jury recommended the penalty with the judge concurring in his final sentence. Five firefighters died when flames overtook them while protecting a house in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains. 41,000 acres burned and 34 homes were lost, too. The 38-year-old arsonist was convicted in March of five counts of first-degree murder, 20 counts of arson and 17 counts of using an incendiary device. more ›

It's been 130 years since the Supreme Court has heard direct arguments about the method of execution -- back then, it was the firing squad. Today, it'll be on a Kentucky case; Kentucky, like California and 35 other states, uses lethal injection. more ›

• A body was found yesterday afternoon in the Angeles National Forest, off Highway 2 near Big Pines. The identity of the person has not been revealed.
• Now you can get all the penis-biting snake action you want on the web: the next "Jackass" sequel is set to premiere on the web through Blockbuster's new online movie service.
• In New Jersey, the state assembly has voted to outlaw the death penalty, "poising the state to become the first since 1965 to eliminate capital punishment.The state Senate earlier this week also voted to end executions and replace them with sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole."
• Do not mix illegal camping with alcohol and fires! Arrests are being made in the Malibu Corral Canyon arsons: "the suspects were having an illegal late-night campfire near a cave when the blaze broke out. Investigators found evidence such as alcohol containers, food wrappers and bundled fire logs."
• The contest for Rufus Wainwright and Belinda Carlisle on New Years Eve ends tonight! Enter to win! Enter to win!
• LA Weekly reports on gang activity in LA and elsewhere -- it's bad and getting worse.
• So the Golden Globe noms were announced...but if the writer strikes are still going, who's gonna show up for the ceremony? Wow I actually might watch this year. Is that wrong?
• ESPN is on top of fallout from the this morning's report on steroid use in the big leagues: "Baseball slow to react."

Photo by Adamina via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

Last month an LA jury agreed that Chester Turner should suffer the death penalty. The 40 year-old Turner had been found guilty of killing ten people including one woman who was 6 1/2 months pregnant. Today Superior Court Judge William R. Pounders agreed with the jury. more ›

It's hard to live in Los Angeles and not be a sucker for a good courtroom drama, particularly the televised kind. And chances are, if you’re a Gen Xer, you’re already very familiar with Twelve Angry Men. That’s because the classic 1957 Sidney Lumet film (adapted from the 1954 television show) was a standard in most American classrooms. You know the story: place twelve white men in a jury room, put the life of... more ›

10) While LA's Silversun Pickups can't seem to shed the Smashing Pumpkins comparisons despite releasing a record -- "Carnavas" -– that tops anything Billy Corgan's done since Siamese Dream, the only think rockin' in Chicago these days is the back seat of R. Kelly's stretch Benz. more ›

Whether you subscribe to a belief system (or sub-set thereof) that is trigger happy, enforces strict lex talionis, upholds the supreme sanctity of life, or is a little confused, it's inevitable that humans have and will continue to execute each other. An Amnesty International report shows that a minimum of 2,148 people were executed in 2005, and suspects the actual number around at least 20,000. For perspective, 2,403 people were killed in Pearl Harbor... more ›

- African-American LAFD firefighter Tennie Pierce (no relation) awarded $2.7 million in a racial harassment suit that was settled yesterday. A Captain bought dog food, a second firefighter mixed in into Pierce's spaghetti, and another Captain knew what Pierce was about to eat but didn't warn him. - LA Times - Unrelated: Fire Captain allegedly tortured Eagle Rock woman before he strangled her, making the murder eligible for the death penalty - LA Times... more ›

Stan Tookie Williams was pronounced dead at 12:35 this morning in San Quentin, after being executed by lethal injection for the deaths of four people in 1979. more ›

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency for Crips founder Stan Tookie Williams this afternoon. more ›

This is California's execution chamber. Our taxes pay for it, so in some sense it's our responsibility. But right now there's not a darn thing we can do to prevent Stan Tookie Williams from walking in there at 12:01am next Tuesday to die. more ›

With only three weeks until his scheduled execution, it is high time LAist talked about Stanley "Tookie" Williams. As Snoop might say, we gots ta do it. The oddest story in the battle for Tookie's life has to be the prison's attempt to destroy Williams's credibility as a reformed man. What stake does the penal system have in this? They shouldn't care what sentence is meted out for any of their inmates. Their only job is to penalize, reform and rehabilitate for the time issued. We fully understand what interest prosecutors, police and the families of victims have, but the guards and the warden? Shut it. more ›

At Dutton's Beverly Hills, Bill Kurtis will be signing his new book, The Death Penalty on Trial, at 7 PM. There will also be a roundtable discussion with Kurtis and members of the Death Penalty Focus Group. more ›

Two men and two women are accused of the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, which could make them eligible for the death penalty for the killing of Jae Yang Dec. 18 at his liquor store just east of the Beverly Center. more ›