May 25, 2020Only two, of 91 passengers survived a plane crash in Pakistan. The remaining 89 passengers and eight crew members died during the crash, which is under investigation. The plane crashed into several homes, damaging 19 homes and injuring four people on the ground. Pray for the families of the deceased. Pray for healing for the injured.
May 25, 2020Two dams failed near Edenville, Michigan, causing over 10,000 residents to flee their homes due to flooding threats. Flooding was substantial, reaching record highs, but has since greatly subsided, leaving behind damaged and destroyed roads, bridges, buildings, and other areas. Pray for all who have been affected.
May 27, 2020Carlos Trevino was scheduled to be executed at 6 pm local time, on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. His execution has been rescheduled to Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Forty-five-year-old Carlos is convicted of the murder of 15-year-old Linda Salinas in a park in San Antonio, Texas on June 9, 1996.
May 25, 2020While the coronavirus has greatly reduced the protests being carried out, a new security plan that China is seeking to enforce on the territory has caused protests to resume. The new security law would ban “treason, secession, sedition, and subversion.” Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam has voiced her support for the law. The protests resulted in tear gas and water cannons being used by the police, with over 100 arrested. Pray for peace.
May 25, 2020Over 80 people have been killed in India and Bangladesh due to Cyclone Amphan, with hundreds of others reporting injuries. The cyclone broth with it powerful winds that snapped power lines, uprooted trees, and damaged homes, and severe rain that caused substantial flooding. Over one million people have been left without power. Pray for the families of the deceased. Pray for healing for the injured. Pray for all affected.
May 30, 2020Oscar Franklin Smith was scheduled to be executed at 7:10 pm local time, on Thursday, June 4, 2020, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. His execution has been rescheduled for February 4, 2021. Seventy-year-old Oscar is convicted of murdering his estranged wife, 35-year-old Judy Robirds Smith, and her two sons, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett on October 1, 1989, in Nashville, Tennessee.
May 25, 2020A massive storm around Perth, Australia has left over 60,000 homes without power and several homes destroyed, as the storm ripped off roofs and toppled trees. No injuries or deaths were reported. The cause of the rare storm was likely from two colliding systems, an out-of-season tropical cyclone, and a cold front. Further heavy rain is expected. Pray for all those affected.
May 25, 2020The coronavirus pandemic has caused President Sebastián Piñera to issue a statement that the healthcare system is under severe pressure and almost at its limit. The nation has recorded almost 70,000 cases of the virus, with over 700 deaths. Santiago, the capital of Chile, has also been placed under a strict lockdown. Pray for the nation during this time. Pray for all nations struggling with the coronavirus.
Updated: Thursday, August 9, 2018 8:59 pm EDT
The state of Tennessee has executed Billy Ray Irick. For more information, click here.
Updated: Thursday, August 9, 2018 4:11 pm EDT
The Supreme Court of the United States has refused to halt the execution of Billy Ray Irick. Billy and his attorneys were arguing that he is mentally incompetent, therefore ineligible for execution, and that Tennessee's execution protocol will amount to a torturous death.
Updated: Monday, August 6, 2018 10:40 am EDT
Billy Ray Irick is scheduled to be executed at 7:10 pm CDT on Thursday, August 9, 2018, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee. Fifty-nine-year-old Billy is convicted of raping and murdering 7-year-old Paula Kay Dyer on April 15, 1985, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Billy has spent the past 31 years on Tennessee’s death row.
Billy Irick was friends with Paula’s mother, Kathy, and step-father, Kenneth, and lived with them for a time, looking after their five young children while they worked. On April 14, 1985, Paula was living with her mother, while Irick and her step-father were staying with Kenneth’s mother. Paula’s mother left Irick to watch the children while she went out to look for work. She was uneasy about leaving the children with Irick since he had been drinking, although he did not seem intoxicated. She called Kenneth, telling him her fears. He agreed to check on Irick and the children.
Around midnight, Irick called Kenneth, asking him to come by, saying he was unable to wake up Paula. When he arrived, Paula was lying on the living room floor with blood between her legs. Kenneth checked to see if Paula had a pulse, which she did, and then took her to the Children’s Hospital. Paula was pronounced dead a short time after arriving, as they were unable to resuscitate her.
An autopsy determined that Paula likely died from asphyxiation or suffocation. She also had some bruising and cuts on her face. Additionally, evidence showed she had been raped.
Irick was arrested the following day after he was discovered hiding under a bridge. After being arrested, Irick confessed to the crime. He was sentenced to death on December 3, 1986.
In 2010, Irick claimed that he was in the middle of a psychotic break when Paula was murdered and has no memory of his actions from that day. Irick also claims that he was set up by Paula’s step-father, Kenneth, whom, Irick alleges, was the one that murdered Paula.
At the age of six, a clinical psychologist determined that Billy Irick was “suffering from a severe neurotic anxiety reaction with a possibility of mild organic brain damage.” The following year, Billy was hospitalized and treated with anti-psychotic medication for the next 10 months. Following treatment, Billy was discharged to a Church of God home where he remained until he was a teenager. At the age of 13, Billy visited his family, which resulted in him destroying the television with an axe and cutting up his sister’s pajamas with a razor while she slept in them. After returning to the home, Billy snuck into the girl’s dormitory. Billy was expelled and sent back to the hospital, where it was discovered that he had been taken off of his psychotropic drugs. He remained at the hospital until he was 14, at which time he was released to his parents. Billy joined the Army at 17, but was quickly discharged. Billy’s mother also suffered from a psychiatric disorder.
According to interviews conducted by Billy’s attorneys, in the weeks leading up to Paula’s murder, Billy exhibited strange behavior, such as chasing a young girl down the street with a machete because he “didn’t like her looks.” Billy also claims that he was hearing and talking back to voices inside of his head. Billy claims that if this information had been presented at his trial, it could have changed the outcome.
Billy has asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to halt his execution, as he is part of a lawsuit with 32 other death row inmates, who are all arguing that the drugs Tennessee plans to use in lethal injections will amount to torturing them to death. Additionally, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is currently evaluating the claims of Billy's diminished mental status as he considers whether Billy should be granted clemency.
This is not Billy’s first execution date. Billy was previously scheduled to be executed in October 2014, however his execution was stayed due to ongoing legal challenges to Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol.
Please pray for peace for the family of Paula. Please pray for strength for the family of Billy. Please pray that if Billy is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will be presented prior to his execution. Please pray that Billy may come to have a peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, if he has not already found one.
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