International
Convicted murderer executed in Mississippi
AFP
A 50-year-old man convicted of murdering his estranged wife and sexually assaulting his step-daughter was executed on Wednesday in the southern US state of Mississippi, local media said.
David Cox, a former truck driver, was put to death by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.
“I want my children to know that I love them very much and that I was a good man at one time,” Cox said in his last words, according to state department of corrections commissioner Burl Cain, the Clarion Ledger newspaper reported.
“Don’t ever read anything but the King James bible. I want to thank the commissioner for being so very kind to me. And that’s all I got to say,” Cox reportedly said.
In 2009, Cox’s wife Kim Cox told police that Cox had sexually assaulted her daughter from a previous relationship.
Cox spent nine months in prison before being released on bond.
After his release, he bought a handgun and broke into a home where Kim Cox was staying with their two young sons and her daughter.
After shooting his estranged wife, Cox sexually assaulted his then 12-year-old step-daughter in front of her dying mother.
Cox was sentenced to death in 2012 after pleading guilty to murder, sexual assault and other charges.
Three years ago, Cox began writing to the courts to ask that his lawyers, who were seeking to halt his execution, be fired and that his execution be allowed to go ahead.
In one letter, he described himself as a “guilty man worthy of death.”
In another, he asked a judge to set a date to “execute my body for crimes of in which I did committ (sic) in premeditation, anger and joy.”
The Mississippi Supreme Court agreed with evaluations that Cox was mentally competent and a date was set for his execution.
Kim Cox’s daughter told the Daily Journal newspaper that she intended to attend the execution.
Cox was the 10th person executed in the United States this year and the first since 2012 in Mississippi.
The state has faced difficulties for several years in obtaining the drugs used to carry out executions by lethal injection.
Many pharmaceutical laboratories refuse to sell the products to US states that intend to use them for capital punishment.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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