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supreme-court

South African authorities deny issuing arrest warrant for Pistorius

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African authorities on Friday denied issuing a warrant of arrest for Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted on appeal of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, rejecting an earlier report by a local television station. “It is not the case,” Luvuyo Mfaku told Reuters. “No such warrant has been issued.” The Supreme Court on Thursday upgraded the 29-year-old athlete's sentence to murder from “culpable homicide”, South Africa's equivalent of manslaughter, for which he had received a five-year sentence. …

Connecticut judge drops 1992 murder case against disabled man

A mentally disabled Connecticut man whose 1992 murder and rape conviction was overturned earlier this year after he spent a quarter century in prison can never be tried again for the crimes, a Connecticut judge ruled on Friday. Prosecutors had asked a state Supreme Court judge to leave open the possibility of another trial for Richard Lapointe, 69, drawing fire from his defense attorneys who said new DNA evidence proved him innocent. Lapointe spent 26 years behind bars for the 1988 rape and murder of his ex-wife's grandmother, 88-year-old Bernice Martin.

U.S. Supreme Court allows Oklahoma to proceed with execution

(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Oklahoma to proceed with an execution planned for Thursday, which would be the state’s first since a flawed execution in April 2014 led to widespread criticism. In a decision released on Thursday, the court denied an appeal for a stay, with four of the nine justices dissenting. Oklahoma plans to execute convicted murderer and rapist Charles Warner later on Thursday. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Walsh)