Death-row inmate dies before execution

TAMPA, Florida - A Tampa, Florida, man sentenced to die 23 years ago for the deaths of an elderly couple has died in prison of natural causes, state authorities said. Alphonso Green needed money for crack cocaine when he went to the Tampa home of Robert J. Nichols, 77, and Dora V. Nichols, 72, the night of Oct. 10,1986, killing them with a butcher knife--More

Texas Searches Prisons After Phone Found on Death Row

HOUSTON — Gov. Rick Perry ordered Texas prisons locked down Monday and searched for contraband after death-row inmates made thousands of calls on a smuggled cell phone. An inmate's mother was arrested Monday at Austin's airport and accused of buying minutes for the phone, and authorities said more arrests were expected. Perry's office said the cell phone was smuggled into the prison by a bribed corrections officer. More...