Texas Executes 17th Murderer: A New York parolee was executed in Texas Thursday as reported by the Associate Press. Denard Manns, who had an extensive criminal record, was convicted and sentenced to die for the 1998 robbery, rape and murder of 26-year-old Michelle Robson, an Army medic at Fort Hood.

Money & Judges: Should judges who gain their seats in contested elections recuse themselves in cases involving contributors to their campaigns? The Supreme Court has taken the case of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company, Inc., et al. to make that determination. An Associate Press story by Mark Sherman reports that the case involves a member of the West Virginia Supreme Court who ruled in favor of $3 million contributor to his election.

Death Penalty a Bargaining Tool: A Utah man facing changes of capital murder has plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty. A story by Stephen Hunt in the Salt Lake Tribune reports that Donald Bret Richardson agreed the plea rather than face trial for first strangling his ex-girlfriend to death and then shooting a former friend an hour later. Richardson admitted to the killings last April shortly after his arrest. According to the story, he originally wanted to be executed but eventually agreed to the plea bargain to avoid putting his family through a lengthy capital trial.