Ross put to death in first New England execution for 45 years News
Ross put to death in first New England execution for 45 years

[JURIST] Connecticut serial killer Michael Ross [advocacy website] was executed by lethal injection early Friday morning in New England's first execution in 45 years, made possible after the state Supreme Court ruled earlier this week that he was competent to end his appeals [JURIST report]. Ross, convicted for raping and killing eight women in the 1980s, had previously chosen to waive his right to death row appeals [JURIST report] despite objections from his lawyer and family members. Both Ross' father and sister attempted to appeal his case in his stead, claiming that Ross was too narcissistic and had difficulties changing his mind after making a decision and that he suffered from "death row syndrome," leading to mental incompetency after 18 years on death row. A last-minute plea to the state governor [press release] by anti-death penalty activists seeking to have the execution halted was unsuccessful. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.