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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Missouri Supreme Court cancels Marcellus Williams execution

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ST. LOUIS --The execution scheduled for next week for a Missouri inmate has been called off by the Missouri Supreme Court.

The court on Thursday withdrew the execution warrant for 45-year-old Marcellus Williams, who had been set for execution at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. A court spokeswoman declined to discuss the reason.

After a state record 10 executions in 2014, the execution was the first scheduled in Missouri this year.

Williams was convicted of fatally stabbing Lisha Gayle at her suburban St. Louis home in 1998. Gayle was a former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who left the paper in 1992.

Williams' attorneys had asked the courts to stop the execution, citing a lack of evidence. 

They also sought additional DNA testing they said could prove Williams was innocent.

Source: AP, January 22, 2015

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Location: Missouri, USA
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