Southern states waste no time resuming death penalty

By R. Neal / April 24, 2008

It appears either Georgia or Mississippi will be the first state to carry out the death penalty after last week's Supreme Court decision:

Georgia first execution in nearly a year set for May 6

The Department of Corrections on Wednesday scheduled the execution of condemned killer William Earl Lynd for 7 p.m. May 6. He is to be put to death by lethal injection.

AG asks state high court to set convicted killer's execution

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is asking the state Supreme Court to set Earl Wesley Berry's execution no later than May 5.

Normally, the AG's office requests the state Supreme Court to set an execution date within 30 days of filing the motion.

But [Assistant Attorney General Sonny] White said Berry has already had the benefit of the 30 days allowed by state law.

Executions are also scheduled for late May and early June in Virginia.

According to Amnesty International, the U.S. executed more people in 2007 than 17 other countries including Iraq, Vietnam, Yemen, and Afghanistan. Only four countries executed more prisoners: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China.

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