(Newser) – Come on home, Edward Snowden; the Obama administration promises not to try to execute you or anything! Eric Holder has sent a letter to Russian authorities promising that if they extradite Snowden he won't be charged with any capital offenses, and that even if he were, the administration would not pursue the death penalty, the AP reports. Holder says he sent the July 23 letter in response to news that Snowden's asylum application argued that he would be tortured and killed if returned to the US.

A Vladimir Putin spokesman today said that the FBI and FSB are "in talks" over Snowden's fate, the BBC reports, and he reiterated that Putin is determined to avoid any damage to US-Russian relations. But he also added that Russia "will not hand anyone over." (Read more Edward Snowden stories.)

