
Number of executions continued to fall this year but many were botched, report says
CBSN
Public support and use of the death penalty in 2022 continued their more than two-decade decline in the U.S., and many of the executions that were carried out during the year were "botched" or highly problematic, an annual report on capital punishment says.
There were 18 executions in the U.S. in 2022, the fewest in any pre-pandemic year since 1991. There were 11 executions last year. Outside of the pandemic years, the 20 death sentences handed out in 2022 were the fewest in any year in the U.S. in a half-century, according to the report by the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center.
"All the indicators point to the continuing decline in capital punishment and the movement away from the death penalty is durable," said Robert Dunham, executive director of the nonprofit, which takes no position on capital punishment but has criticized the way states carry out executions.

As federal policies and staffing levels rapidly change in the name of government efficiency and energy independence, historical sites across the United States — sites that help the public understand the cultures that came before them and built their communities of today — are in jeopardy of losing out on important federal protections. "National Park Service employees are deeply committed to preserving our public lands and serving visitors. At times, team members may step into a range of responsibilities outside their usual scope to help ensure continued access, safety, and stewardship across the park system. This flexibility reflects the dedication and collaborative spirit of our workforce.

Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys' visionary and fragile leader whose genius for melody, arrangements and wide-eyed self-expression inspired "Good Vibrations," "California Girls" and other summertime anthems and made him one of the world's most influential recording artists, has died, his family said in a statement posted to his website and social media. He was 82.