■ United States
First execution of the year
A man convicted of killing four restaurant employees during a 1992 heist in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Tuesday became the first inmate to be executed in the US this year. Corey Hamilton, 37, died of a lethal injection at 6:14pm at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma. About 20 relatives of the victims witnessed the execution. In 1993, Hamilton and three others were convicted of shooting four restaurant employees in their 20s and 30s at point-blank range during a hold-up.
■ United States
Terrorism appeal heard
A federal appeals court is weighing whether to restore the only charge against alleged al-Qaeda operative Jose Padilla that carries a sentence of up to life in prison. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals was set to hear arguments yesterday over the conspiracy charge that was dismissed in August by a judge who ruled it was essentially the same as two other terrorism-support counts against Padilla and two co-defendants. The three men are charged with being part of a US cell that provided cash, supplies and recruits to Islamic extremists. Prosecutors asked the court to reinstate the charge of conspiracy to "murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country." They argue that the charge against Padilla was dropped in error, saying the District Judge Marcia Cooke used the wrong legal analysis.
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