Iraqi President Jalal Talibani, a Kurd who's opposed to the death penalty, has refused to sign the execution orders, amid calls from Sunnis to spare Hashim's life.

NPR: Iraq Set to Hang Three from Saddam Era

Ms. DAHLIA LITHWICK (Legal Analyst, Slate): That's right, Alex, and 37 of the 38 states that currently have the death penalty, this is their preferred method of execution, but prisoners are complaining that it doesn't work, that it's causing a tremendous amount of pain, more so than was present in death sentences using the electric chair or gas.

NPR: Slate's Jurisprudence: Cruel, Unusual Injections?

If trial is swiftly followed by execution, they reckon, Americans will turn against the death penalty.

ECONOMIST: Execution reconsidered

The contest stated to open up as the penalty count dropped and both sides began to carve out chances only for poor execution to let them down.

BBC: Saracens 19-10 Ospreys

Papua New Guinea has not carried out an execution since 1954, despite parliament's decision to reintroduce the death penalty for murder in 1991.

BBC: PNG repeals sorcery law and expands death penalty