skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Florida to Execute First White Man for Killing Black Man

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 24, 2017   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For the first time in state history, Florida is scheduled to execute a white man for killing a black person.

Mark James Asay's death warrant schedules his execution for six o-clock this evening. Asay was convicted by a jury for two racially-motivated and premeditated murders in Jacksonville in 1987. Barring a stay, it will be Florida's first execution since the U.S. Supreme Court halted the practice in the state more than 18 months ago.

Death penalty opponent Mark Elliott with Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty says the criminal justice system isn't fair.

"Ordering the execution of Mark Asay, who is a white person, that one of his victims was black doesn't change the history, doesn't change the reality of the death penalty and how it's applied, and who it's applied against," he explains.

Since Florida reinstated the death penalty in 1976, at least 20 black men charged with killing white victims have been executed, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center.

Florida also plans to use for the first time a drug called Etomidate and potassium acetate in its execution cocktail. Elliott argues that life in prison is a better alternative to a death sentence, considering the state's track record.

"We've had 27 people released off of Florida's death row due to wrongful convictions," he adds. "That's far more than any other state - so, we make more mistakes than any other state."

Asay would be the 24th person executed since Gov. Rick Scott has taken office, the most under any governor in Florida history.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021