Rebecca Petty

Arkansas' attempt to carry out its first execution in nearly 12 years wasn't thwarted by the type of liberal activist judge Republicans regularly bemoan, but by a state Supreme Court that's been the focus of expensive campaigns by conservative groups to reshape the judiciary. read more >

Arkansas' stockpile of a paralytic drug needed for the executions of eight death row inmates will expire at midnight Thursday, leaving the state without a means to resume executions for the first time in a decade. read more >