Oklahoma has carried out its first execution of the year on a man convicted of killing two men in a drive-by shooting. Prison officials say 45-year-old Kendrick Simpson received a three-drug injection Thursday morning at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Simpson’s execution was the first this year in Oklahoma and the second in the U.S. after a lethal injection carried out Tuesday in Florida. Simpson admitted last month that he shot and killed 19-year-old Anthony Jones and 20-year-old Glen Palmer following an altercation at an Oklahoma City nightclub. The state’s five-member Pardon and Parole Board narrowly denied recommending clemency for Simpson.
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Venezuela’s government has released several prominent opposition members from prison, including one of the closest allies of Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado. The releases come as acting President Delcy Rodríguez faces pressure to free those detained for political reasons. The move follows a visit from representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. On Sunday, Foro Penal confirmed the release of at least 30 people. Machado’s ally Juan Pablo Guanipa, a former governor, and her attorney, Perkins Rocha, were among the released. The National Assembly is debating an amnesty bill that could lead to more releases.
AP Wire
U.S. charge d’affaires Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas on Saturday to reopen the American diplomatic mission in Venezuela after seven years of severed ties.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez has announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the United States-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodríguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military attack in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. Rodríguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates and others that the ruling party-controlled National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency.
AP Wire
President Donald Trump plans to pardon former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez, a White House official said. The official who confirmed the planned pardon on Friday wasn’t authorized to reveal the news by name and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Vázquez pleaded guilty last August to a campaign finance violation in a federal case that authorities say also involved a former FBI agent and a Venezuelan banker. Her sentencing was set for later this month. Federal prosecutors had been seeking one year behind bars. Vázquez was the U.S. territory’s first former governor to plead guilty to a crime, specifically accepting a donation from a foreigner for her 2020 political campaign.
Trump plans to pardon ex-Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez on campaign finance violation charge, White House official says.