Indiana executes potential organ donor News
Indiana executes potential organ donor

[JURIST] Indiana governor Mitch Daniels refused [press release] to grant clemency or a 90-day stay of execution for Gregory Scott Johnson, a convicted murderer [Indiana Supreme Court's denial of post conviction relief] who hoped to give his kidney and liver to his sister, who suffers from non-alcoholic hepatitis. In a statement released after his death Wednesday morning, Johnson accused the parole board of failing to recognize he had changed while in prison and was capable of this humane act. The governor said he would have been amenable to a short delay if Johnson's donation offered "a clear, demonstrated medical advantage to his sister." Doctors decided Johnson was not a good match because of his weight and hepatitis B diagnosis, and the doctors reasoned Johnson's sister would likely get a liver and kidney from the transplant waiting list shortly. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.