GA Murderer's Execution This Week:  The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles will hold a hearing Wednesday to review the clemency petition of Robert Earl Butts, Jr. who is scheduled to be executed on Thursday.  The Associated Press reports that Butts received a death sentence for the 1996 carjacking and murder of Donovan Parks.  An earlier article by LIz Fabian of the Telegraph describes how Butts and Marion Wilson, both members of a criminal gang, spotted Parks, an off-duty corrections officer, shopping at a Walmart.  Outside the store they asked Parks for a ride, then forced him at gunpoint to drive to a side street off of the highway.   Parks was taken from the car and shot in the back of the head.  The pair then stole Parks' car, drove it to another location and burned it.  Parks father was the person who discovered his body.  Georgia law provides a 7-day window for executions, meaning that Butts can be executed anytime between May 3 and May 10.  

FL Airport Shooter Gets Life in Plea Deal:  A man who killed five people and wounded six others during a shooting spree at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport last year has agreed to plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty.   Paula McMahon of the Sun/Sentinel reports that part of the agreement requires that Esteban Santiago undergo a mental health examination to assure that he is competent.  Ten of the charges stemming from the January 6, 2017 mass shooting qualified Santiago for a death sentence.  As part of the plea deal he would give up all rights to appeal his conviction and punishment.  Because the murderer was brought up on federal charges, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the final decision on the deal.  While the article notes that typically the federal process takes far longer than most states, there are exceptions.  Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was convicted in federal court in 1997 and executed in 2001.