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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Larry Swearingen granted a stay

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HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A federal appeals court has stopped this week's scheduled execution of a man condemned for abducting, raping and strangling a 19-year-old suburban Houston woman 10 years ago.

Larry Swearingen, 37, faced lethal injection Tuesday evening for the death of Melissa Trotter, whose body was found Jan. 2, 1999, in the Sam Houston National Forest south of Huntsville. The discovery came 25 days after she was last seen leaving the library at Montgomery College near Conroe.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the reprieve Monday after Swearingen's attorneys raised questions about the timing of Trotter's death. Swearingen insisted he couldn't have killed Trotter because he was in jail for outstanding traffic warrants when newly evaluated forensic evidence indicates the woman's body was dumped in the woods not far from his home.

Source: Houston Chronicle, Jan.26, 2009
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