Alabama executed a man Thursday who admitted to killing five people with an ax and gun during a drug-fueled rampage in 2016 and dropped his appeals and asked to be put to death.

At issue is whether the state court wrongly refused to accept the attorney general’s findings that a death row inmate is entitled to a new trial.

Willie James Pye was put to death by lethal injection in the state’s first execution in over four years last week. But despite the case’s significance and national attention over Pye, the public’s view of the execution itself was restricted under state protocol blocking critical parts of the process. 

A week after his execution, the Georgia Department of Corrections has released the final recorded statement of Willie Pye.

On the Thursday, March 21 edition of Georgia Today: State lawmakers want drug dealers to face murder charges in overdose cases; Georgia ended its pandemic era-moratorium on executions last night; and it could now be more difficult for some local employees to form a union in their workplace. 

Wednesday, Willie Pye became the 77th person put to death by the state of Georgia since 1976.

On the Wednesday, March 20 edition of Georgia Today: Vigils are planned across Georgia as the state's first execution in four years is scheduled for tonight; Atlanta Public schools partner with the Trust for Public Land to open new parks; and Savannah gets a funding boost to help reduce fossil fuel reliance.

A Georgia man is scheduled to be put to death in what would be the state's first execution in more than four years. Willie James Pye was convicted of killing his former girlfriend Alicia Lynn Yarbrough three decades ago.

On the Tuesday, March 19 edition of Georgia Today: A new bill may bring more mental health care professionals to the state; the man facing Georgia's first execution in four years is seeking last minute clemency; and Georgia farmers hold a summit to discuss stress.

An execution scheduled for next week would be the first in Georgia in more than four years. The state is trying to move past an agreement made amid the coronavirus pandemic that effectively halted executions.

A failed execution in Idaho has put a spotlight on the teams of people that prisons use to impose the ultimate penalty on condemned inmates.

A man who killed his former girlfriend three decades ago is set to be put to death in March in what would be Georgia's first execution in more than four years. 

Officials say Thomas Creech's spiritual adviser will be allowed to stand next to Creech with a hand on his shoulder during the scheduled Wednesday execution. Creech has been imprisoned since 1974.

Virginia said it's keeping execution tapes secret to protect the privacy of the relatives of the prisoners the state recorded. But the families NPR talked with said they want the tapes published.

Twenty-four executions have been carried out in 2023 — five more than last year, the Death Penalty Information Center says. Meanwhile, 50% of Americans say the death penalty is applied unfairly.