Rick Halperin
Sat, 3 Jan 2009 11:13:01 -0600
Jan. 3 IRAN----executions Iran hangs 2 drug traffickers Iran on Saturday hanged 2 men in prison in the southeastern city of Zahedan after they were convicted of drug trafficking, the state broadcaster reported. The report said the unnamed men were found guilty of smuggling 300 kilos (660 pounds) of drugs. The hangings are the first to be reported in 2009. Iran executed at least 246 people last year, according to an AFP count. The human rights group Amnesty International says Iran's total of 317 executions in 2007 exceeded those of any other country apart from China. Capital offences in the Islamic republic include murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery. (source: Agence France-Presse) ENGLAND: Home News Local West Yorkshire News ---- Local lawyer's death row mercy misson A YOUNG woman who has never set foot inside a prison is to come face to face with some of the USAs most notorious criminals in their death row cells. Lawyer Roz Breaks from Brighouse will work on appeals for inmates awaiting execution in the USA. It is a cause close to the 24-year-old's heart, describing their lengthy wait for the death penalty as inhumane. Roz will move to Jackson in Mississippi, where she will spend 5 months working with some of the 61 men and 3 women on death row in the state. If they are executed they will be given lethal injections. Roz, of Millroyd Mill flats in Brighouse, said: "I'm totally against the death penalty. It's disgusting that a state can execute its own people. "It's inhumane to put someone through that after making them wait 5, 10 or even more years. "One example is of a man with a history of drug use who was given the lethal injection. Staff couldn't find his vein, so he had to help them. "It's important for me to do this because there have been cases where the person will be innocent and should never have been convicted in the first place. "But it will always be too late if they have been executed or given the lethal injection. "That's why I am going and hope to make a difference." The legal advocate is originally from Bradford and moved to Brighouse in 2007. She has since worked throughout Yorkshire and Lincolnshire as a county court advocate for London-based firm LPC. Roz who has trained to be a barrister and is an advocate in county courts added: "I've never been into a prison in the UK, so it's a big step going to America to do it. "I imagine I will be a little intimidated when I first meet some of the people on death row. "After speaking to people currently working out there it's apparent the inmates just want to talk about last night's baseball game or what they had for lunch. "I will also be able to interview jury members and witnesses, as in America you can ask them why they found someone guilty and whether they were under any pressure to find for the death sentence." Roz went on: "I think more and more people in America are beginning to think that the death penalty isn't always the best idea. "There are just too many flaws with the American legal system to justify it; the judges are elected and are too politicised." Her trip to Mississippi is being organised by the charity Amicus, which aims to provide legal representation for people awaiting trial and punishment on capital charges. America has 36 states where the convicted criminals can be put on death row after being found guilty of murder. (source: Huddersfield Dailly Examiner)