Judge: Execution can’t proceed without religious requests By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge has issued a temporary order telling Texas prison officials that they can carry out next week’s scheduled execution of a death row inmate only if they grant all of his religious accommodations, including allowing his spiritual adviser to hold his hand …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court has set aside the death penalty for the final two inmates awaiting execution after the state’s 2009 repeal of capital punishment. In a divided opinion on Friday, the state’s highest court concluded that sentences against Timothy Allen and Robert Fry were disproportionate in comparison with comparable murder cases.The cases were …

OKLAHOMA CITY — After trying unsuccessfully for months to obtain lethal injection drugs, Oklahoma officials plan to use nitrogen gas to execute inmates once the state resumes using the death penalty, marking the first time a U.S. state would use the gas to carry out capital punishment. State Attorney General Mike Hunter and Department of Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh jointly …