Sept. 23
CANADA:
Feb. 3, 1953: Last hanging at Hamilton's Barton Jail ---- Harry Lee, last man
to hang in Hamilton, was convicted of murdering Mary Rosenblatt.
The last person sentenced to the death penalty in Hamilton and hanged at the
Barton Jail was a man named Harry Lee, a synagogue caretaker who was convicted
of the rifle-slaying of Mary Rosenblatt, a married Jewish mother of two.
Rosenblatt's body and Lee were found by police in a car on a side road near the
village of Sheffield. Lee was wounded by the same weapon that killed
Rosenblatt. He claimed the pair had been kidnapped, driven to a secluded area
and shot. But the jury didn't buy it.
SIGNIFICANCE
Lee, who was deeply religious, held out he was innocent right to the end -
saying, "No ... I did not (kill her). They're hanging the wrong man." He
refused a Crown offer to plead guilty to manslaughter, which would not have
carried the death penalty.
There was a letter-writing campaign and petition to try to save him. But Lee
was hanged on Feb. 3, 1953. Many still contend Lee - whose mother was black and
father was of Spanish background - was victimized for racial reasons.
"It was racism. There was no doubt about it, as far as I am concerned," Allison
Gowling told The Spectator in 2013. Her father knew Lee in the small village of
Canfield in Haldimand. Lee grew up in the community before moving to Hamilton
in the late 1930s.
"The general consensus was, I remember my mother talking about it, is that he
did not do it. He was set up. They were a target because she was a Jewish girl
running around with a black man."
Hanged in Hamilton
A total of 8 people were hanged at Hamilton's Barton Street jail for murder
from 1876 to 1953. All were men.
March 14, 1876
Michael McConnell, 38, was hanged for the murder of Nelson Mills. Mills was a
tenant of McConnell, and a dispute escalated to a fit of rage on the part of
McConnell, who stabbed Mills to death.
June 23, 1899
Benjamin Parrott, 30, was hanged for the murder of his 60-year-old mother,
Bridget. During a drunken argument, Parrott split his mother's head open with
an axe.
Dec. 7, 1900
George Arthur Pearson, 20, was hanged for murdering Annie Griffin. He claimed
he meant only to threaten her with a revolver when the gun went off and the
victim was struck in the head. After this, and realizing the "enormity" of what
had taken place, he said he panicked and shot her a 2nd time.
Dec. 27, 1907
Jacob Sunfield was hanged for shooting and killing Andrew Radzik. Sunfield
claimed he was innocent. His last words were, "I have been warned not to make a
statement. Goodbye, gentlemen."
Dec. 19, 1919
Paul Kowalski was hanged for murdering Ignace (Knot) Trembluk during a robbery
of $700. 2 weeks before his hanging, Kowalski murdered 2 of his jailers. He was
not charged in those cases because it was argued he was being hanged and no
further punishment could be inflicted on him.
Jan. 12, 1927
John Barty, 50, was hanged for the hammer killing of Nancy Cook of Welland.
It's said that "he took his last hours as calmly as if he were settling down
before the fireplace for an evening's smoke."
July 8, 1930
Mike Smith, 46, was hanged for the brutal murder of John Iwanetz, who was shot
and pushed down some stairs at his Winona home during a robbery. F4 faced
charges in the robbery, but Smith was the one to go to gallows. He claimed he
was not the robber who fired the shot.
Feb. 3, 1953
Harry Lee, 37, was hanged for murdering his girlfriend, Mary Rosenblatt. Lee
claimed innocence but the Crown held that Rosenblatt died during a
murder-suicide attempt that Lee managed to live through after shooting himself.
Capital punishment in Canada
Between 1867 and 1962, 702 executions were carried out; 691 of them were men.
The last Canadian execution took place on Dec. 11, 1962, at the Don Jail in
Toronto. Ronald Turpin and Arthur Lucas hanged for separate murders.
Crimes that have been punishable by death at various times included murder,
rape and treason. Only 2 people have been executed for treason, 1 of whom was
Louis Riel in November 1885 for leading an uprising.
After years of commuting death sentences, the House of Commons abolished
capital punishment on July 14, 1976, in a free vote. 1st-degree murder became
punishable by life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
(source: The Hamilton Spectator)
SINGAPORE:
Singapore tells world leaders to take balanced view as it defends death
penalty----Death penalty has deterred major drug syndicates from setting up in
Singapore.
Singapore has come out strongly backing capital punishment for drug-related
offences, telling world leaders to respect the alternative views held by other
countries. The city-state held itself up as a poster-boy for the effectiveness
of the capital punishment deterrent, saying it has helped keep the nation
drug-free and safe.
Speaking at a meeting taking place on the sidelines of the United Nations
General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, 21 September, Singapore's Foreign
Minister Vivian Balakrishnan urged world leaders to take a more balanced
assessment of the death penalty.
"This debate is a heated, painful and emotional one but I just ask members ...
to respectfully reflect on the views expressed, the diversity of the
circumstances and the impact on the ground. And to give each state its
sovereign right to choose the most appropriate judicial approach so that we can
adopt a more balanced perspective on this complex issue," he said.
The Straits Times noted that speakers at the panel had placards stating
#EndExecutions.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his opening speech at the meeting, had
called on all countries to stop meting out capital punishment. "The world
reached a major turning point in 2007 when the general assembly called for a
worldwide moratorium. Since then the movement against capital punishment has
been growing," he said.
Not directly referring to the spate of vigilante executions of drug offenders
in the Philippines following newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte's fight
against illegal drugs, Ban said: "I am gravely concerned that some countries
are suddenly resuming executions. Others are considering reintroducing the
death penalty. We have to keep up the fight for the right to life."
Both the Philippines and Turkey are considering imposing the death penalty on
certain crimes.
While not disagreeing that all human life is sacred, Balakrishnan said: "The
immediate question that confronts all of us, whether within or without this
room, is whether the death penalty, within the proper context, and in strictly
limited circumstances, plays any role in protecting the sanctity of life."
Death penalty key in keeping Singapore safe
The minister outlined Singapore's approach to the use of the death penalty and
why it continues to remain on its statute books. He said that the death penalty
is applied "strictly in the context of an unwavering commitment to the rule of
law ... resting on a strong and independent judiciary, there must be fair,
transparent laws and due process."
He argued that the way Singapore has implemented its judicial system "has been
pivotal in our efforts to foster a peaceful, safe, harmonious and inclusive
society."
Balakrishnan added that capital punishment meted out to drugs-related offences
and murder "has been a key element in keeping Singapore drug free and keeping
Singapore safe. Singapore is probably one of the few countries in the world
which has successfully fought this drug problem."
He continued: "We do not have slums, we do not have ghettos, we do not have
no-go zones for the police. The death penalty has deterred major drug
syndicates from establishing themselves in Singapore, and successfully kept the
drug situation under control."
"For what it is worth, I can stand here and tell you that Singapore is one of
the safest countries in the world. Our residents, including women and children,
can go anywhere they please, freely and without fear, at any time of the day or
night."
While there was strong support from Singaporeans for the death penalty, he
said: "From time to time we will continue to review our legislation and make
changes, according to our circumstances."
(source: ibtimes.co.uk)
PAKISTAN:
COAS confirms death penalty of 7 terrorists
Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Thursday confirmed death sentences
awarded to another 7 hardcore terrorists who were involved in committing
heinous offences, including the killing of innocent civilians, police officials
and armed forces personnel.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the convicts - tried
by military courts - were also involved in sectarian killings, while firearms
and explosives were recovered from their possession at the time of their
arrests.
According to the military spokesman, 3 of the convicts - Muhammad Qasim Tori
s/o Muhammad Farooq, Abid Ali s/o Muhammad Ramzan and Muhammad Danish s/o Noor
Bux - were active members of different proscribed organisations. They were
involved in attacking personnel of law enforcement agencies, which resulted in
the death of Inspector Ali Asghar Dahri and Head Constable Raja Tariq.
Similarly, convicts Syed Jehangir Haider s/o Syed Karam Haider and Zeeshan s/o
Mureed Abbas were involved in sectarian killings and attacking personnel of law
enforcement agencies. The spokesman said that both the convicts had confessed
to their crimes and hence were awarded death sentences.
Moreover, convicts Mutabar Khan s/o Parvanat Khan and Rehmanuddin s/o Moamber
were active members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). They were involved
in attacking personnel of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies, and
the killing of a member of a peace committee.
(source: Daily Times)
PHILIPPINES:
Australian child molester Peter Scully faces death penalty in Philippines
WARNING: Graphic content
He is a 53-year-old Australian accused of the torture and murder of children
for his own sexual gratification that authorities are considering reintroducing
the death penalty for.
Peter Gerard Scully, a father of 2 from Melbourne, is in a Philippine prison
charged with some of the vilest acts known to humanity.
During court hearings and while being filmed in prison, the man believed to
have perpetrated some of the worst crimes against children laughed, joked and
acted nonchalant about his alleged crimes.
His former lawyer Alejandra Jose Pallugna has revealed Scully treats jail like
a holiday and has demanded a mobile phone and fresh beef, pork and chicken.
But that may change now the Philippines is considering putting him before a
firing squad.
And it is the fate of 1 victim in particular that has prompted appalled
Filipino prosecutors to call for Scully's execution.
Shocking details can be revealed about the 5-year-old girl who Scully hung
upside down as he raped and tortured her with 2 accomplices.
Recording on videos which he then sold to paedophiles around the world, Scully
also sexually abused a baby, and filmed his torture and rape of young girls as
he made them dig their own graves.
Filipino police say Scully also buried a 11-year-old under the floor of a house
he was renting after making a film of him raping her and strangling her to
death.
Now the Philippines may reinstate the death penalty as the only punishment
appropriate for Scully's "heinous crimes".
Capital punishment was outlawed in 1986 at the end of the brutal Marcos
regimen, but assisted by widespread poverty, the country has become a hub of a
billion-dollar, global child cybersex industry.
Scully allegedly committed unspeakable acts of abuse on young girls for his own
sexual gratification.
Scullys 2 accomplices Carmen Alvarez and Liezyl Magallo wore masks for his most
vile exploitation film, Daisy's Destruction.
According to a Fairfax report, during a court hearing where he faced the first
6 of 75 charges, Scully laughed and joked with his co-accused, who include 4
men, Christian Rouche, Alexander Lao, and Marshall Ruskin and Haniel Caetano de
Oliveira.
Chief Philippine prosecutor Jaime Umpa told Fairfax that Scully was the
mastermind of an extreme child sex and torture video syndicate based in the
southern cities of Surigao, Cagayan de Oro and Malaybalay.
Scully fled to the Philippines from Australia in 2011 after he was charged with
fraud.
Scully lured children away from impoverished parents with the promise of food
and education or used teenage girl accomplices to kidnap them.
He then drugged the children and made films of him raping and torturing them
for an international paedophile ring.
The title page of Peter Scully's most depraved video, Daisy's Destruction on
his Dark Web 'No Limits Fun' channel shocked police.
Operating a secret child pornography site on the Dark Web called "No Limits
Fun", he sold the videos for up to $10,000 per view.
But of all his despicable acts, his most infamous is the film he made for the
Dark Web is Daisy's Destruction.
It is this film which shocked even seasoned child trafficking investigators, a
Filipino police chief calling it "the worst we have encountered in our years
campaigning against child pornography".
It is believed the victim in the film is a girl called Barbie, who was taken
from her family at the age of 5 by one of Scully's cohorts, Liezyl Magallo.
Margallo and another young girl Carmen Ann Alvarez are also facing charges of
child exploitation.
Alvarez is said to have been taken in by Sully as his girlfriend after he met
her as a 14-year-old prostitute.
In the film, with Barbie playing "Daisy", Alvarez and Margallo participate in
the child's torture and sexual assault.
The little girl screams and cries as she is beaten, raped, tortured and defiled
by Scully and his 2 masked accomplices.
Scully uses hot wax, a lighter, barbed wire, submersion in water and sex aids.
Scully sold his videos to customers in Germany, the US and Brazil.
His vile crimes went largely undetected until 2 of his victims, cousins Queenie
and Daisy, aged 9 and 12, escaped.
Offered food and shelter by Alvarez, the girls were taken in, raped and
tortured and held captive wearing dog collars and chains for 5 days.
Alvarez, known as Mistress Scully, made them perform sexual acts upon each
other while Scully filmed it.
On camera, they were recorded digging their own graves while being continually
raped. Alvarez reportedly let them go out of guilt.
Assisted by the Australian Federal Police and filmed by the Nine's 60 Minutes,
Philippine police arrested Scully in February last year.
Alvarez led them to the apartment where the 11-year-old was buried and to
another addresses where Scully raped and tortured his child victims.
Scully has pleaded not guilty to the rape and trafficking of 2 teenage girls
and is being held in the Cagayan de Oro City jail.
(source: news.com.au)
AUSTRALIA:
Some crimes, like those of Peter Scully, deserve nothing but the death penalty
I'm sure the invitation is in the mail. But the delay is understandable. It's
probably been pretty busy at your end this week, waiting for your moral cloak
of superiority to come back from the dry cleaners as you begin to summon a
fresh sense of outrage over the decision by Philippines prosecutors to call for
the reintroduction of the death penalty for the Australian Peter Scully.
You know about his case, of course. You must be angry. Again. Scully fled
Melbourne a few years ago after being involved in the fleecing of more than
$2.6 million in a property scam. Made his way to the Philippines, where he set
himself up filming the torturing and sexual abuse of little girls, which he
later sold on a pay-per-view basis to like-minded scum around the world.
Australian Peter Scully appears in court on Tuesday facing child sex abuse and
human trafficking charges in the southern Philippines.
He told 60 Minutes last year he wasn't sure why he'd ended up following such a
depraved path but he was still wrestling with the notion of regret over his
actions. "At what point do you have remorse? I can't answer that honestly yet,"
he said. Scully is now facing more than 70 charges, including the murder of an
11-year-old girl whose body was found, strangled, in a shallow grave beneath a
house he was renting.
Prosecutors want the death penalty brought back for this case after the
Philippines scrapped it in 2006, largely at the instigation of the Catholic
Church.
This is a tough case for you, isn't it. You're opposed to capital punishment on
all the usual grounds - that it debases us as a civilised society, that it
lowers us to the same level as the perpetrator, that errors in law too often
see the wrong person executed, that there is no evidence that the death penalty
serves as a deterrent. But Scully's crimes are so horrendous that even you,
staunch moral guardian that you are, must have paused and thought about your
stance.
Still, your anger that anyone would dare question the sanctity of life and
raise the spectre of execution has surely won out. That's why I'm keen to know
if you have sent out the invitations for a candlelight vigil for Peter Scully.
After all, you're morally obliged to hold one, aren't you?
Last year you wept and railed in Martin Place against the Indonesian
government's decision to slay Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan over their role
in a stupidly botched attempt to smuggle drugs.
You wrote letters of condemnation. You organised petitions on street corners
and throughout social media. You called for all Australians to boycott travel
plans to Bali and the rest of that nation.
And you spoke from a position of strength. Federal Parliament passed
legislation 6 years ago preventing any state from reintroducing the death
penalty. The people we elect won't even broach the subject. And if the
Philippines do bring back the death penalty and execute Scully, it will be
those same representatives in Canberra who will be obligated to lodge a formal
protest with the Filipino government, as we do in all circumstances when an
Australian is sentenced to death overseas. What an outstanding moral stance
that will be.
So how about we add a question to next year's planned plebiscite on gay
marriage asking Australians if they would support the idea of execution in
certain circumstances where crimes are deemed so horrendous they are beyond
comprehension. Cases like Peter Scully.
That won't happen, of course, because you know what the result would be. God
help us. It might trigger a wave of changes that could see majority opinion
becoming the norm in this country. And as you know, the masses have never known
what's good for them.
The tiring argument you put forward is that sentencing people to life
imprisonment, to be trapped by their thoughts and drown in their remorse, is a
punishment befitting the snuffing out of an innocent human life. Do you
honestly think Martin Bryant has suffered more than his victims and their
families after the devastation he inflicted at Port Arthur?
Take off that moral cloak. People who believe in capital punishment in certain
circumstances don't want to drag society back to the Middle Ages. Most don't
even believe it is a deterrent. And they're even willing to take a risk that
sometimes the law might get it wrong if it means real justice is served in
certain circumstances.
Try a different moral standpoint. We should have no qualms about executing
people like Peter Scully if found guilty because they have forfeited what it is
to be human. Once you stop treating him as a fellow being, the rest comes
naturally.
Most of us would like him to die as slowly and as horribly as his victims did.
The last thing he realises in his miserable life? The knowledge that he failed
that most basic of entry tests - a place among our species.
Go ahead and organise your candlelight vigil for Scully. You know you have to.
Send the invitation if you must but I won't be able to make it.
Good luck drawing a crowd.
(source: Garry Linnell is co-presenter of The Breakfast Show on 2UE Talking
Lifestyle----Sydney Morning Herald)
SUDAN:
Sudan bishop calls on UN to help Christian pastors facing death sentence
A Sudanese bishop has called on the United Nations (UN) and the U.S. government
to help 2 Christian pastors facing the death penalty in Sudan.
In December, Rev. Abdulraheem Kodi and Rev. Kuwa Shamal Abu Zumam from the
Church of Christ in Sudan were arrested and jailed for several offenses
including espionage and waging war against the state. The 2 ministers are now
facing trial and could be sentenced to death if found guilty of the charges,
Fox News details.
"We call for their protection and immediate release and urge that the U.N.,
U.S. government - including Congress - and other world communities demand the
freedom of these 2 men of God and other prisoners," the Rev. Andudu Adam
Elnail, bishop of Kadugli Diocese, told Fox in an interview.
Elnail, who is now based in South Carolina after he fled from Sudan5 years ago
due to threats from government forces, lamented the absence of religious
freedom in Sudan. He said the 2 pastors were "unfairly targeted" when they were
accused of sharing evidence of the government's attacks against churches in
Khartoum and the Nuba Mountains.
Rev. Elnail said the government has a policy of keeping this information
confidential to avoid being pressured by the international community. Now, the
Sudanese bishop is appealing to the international community to pressure the
government to grant people their freedom of religion.
In addition, Elnail said the hearings of the pastors keep getting postponed
although a lot of people are attending these hearings. He also said some
attorneys for the accused pastors were unable to attend the hearings. The
pastors' defenders say the accusations of exposing state secrets have only been
fabricated.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide chief executive Mervyn Thomas released a
statement accusing the Sudanese authorities of manipulating the country's
criminal justice system to target ethnic and religious minorities. He also
urged the government to scrap the charges against the pastors without
condition.
Meanwhile, a representative from the U.S. State Department said officials at
the embassy in Khartoum are monitoring the case since the arrest of the
pastors. The spokesperson also conveyed the department's commitment to work
with countries in addressing issues involving religious freedom.
(source: Christian Daily)
CHINA:
Chinese Premier Defends Death Penalty ---- Canada-China extradition deal will
not compromise values, says Trudeau
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang defended China's use of the death penalty when asked
about an extradition treaty with Canada during a joint press conference with
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sept 22.
"If we abolish the death penalty, more innocent people will probably lose their
lives. Many developed countries also maintain the death penalty," said Li.
Li said Chinese law provides for the humane treatment of prisoners and that
judicial and law enforcement personnel follow those rules strictly. Human
rights groups disagree, as do many Members of Parliament.
Conservative foreign affairs critic Peter Kent said any extradition treaty must
include an absolute guarantee no individual sent back to China would face the
death penalty given "the unfortunate history that China has of extrajudicial
arrests and imprisonment, torture in prison, and execution on some of the
flimsiest of charges."
One of Trudeau's top advisors overseeing the possible extradition treaty,
however, told the previous government that China's so-called "economic
fugitives" don't belong on Canadian soil, according to files obtained by The
Canadian Press.
Then-deputy minister Daniel Jean offered that advice in a 2015 briefing note to
the former Conservative government prior to his appointment in May as Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser.
"Canada does not want to be seen as a safe haven for fugitives and it is in
Canada's interest to have such persons removed," said the note, obtained by The
Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
In his new role with the Liberal government, Jean was in Beijing last week for
the start of a new "high level dialogue" between Canada and China on national
security and the rule of law - talks that include breaking ground on an
extradition treaty.
Word of those talks sparked opposition charges Tuesday that the Liberals were
abandoning their human rights principles. 2 major human rights organizations,
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, questioned Canada's pursuit of an
extradition deal, saying it doesn't square with China's rights record,
including its widespread use of the death penalty.
China has mounted a vigorous international campaign to hunt down alleged
economic criminals on foreign soil it says have absconded with millions of
dollars of assets.
In the briefing note, Jean further describes Canada's response to China's 2014
campaign, dubbed "Operation Fox Hunt," an outgrowth of President Xi Jinping's
anti-corruption campaign in which he "vowed to swat down both 'tigers' and
'flies,' regardless of their level, in efforts to clean up the Communist Party
in China."
The targets were "corrupt public officials and private citizens alleged to have
committed economic crimes such as financial fraud against persons, businesses
and banks." The Chinese government estimated in 2014 that 208 people had fled
with an estimated $1.93 million.
Even if China wants to bring back legitimate economic criminals, there are
widespread human rights concerns about the Chinese legal system, said Amnesty
International secretary general Alex Neve.
"It's impossible to imagine how you would have an extradition treaty that would
line up with Canada's obligations to not send people to face the death
penalty," Neve said in an interview.
"It's very clear that China regularly seeks the return to China of individuals
who are wanted for political reasons or religious reasons."
Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch, said it is "peculiar"
for Canada and to be pursing an extradition treaty with China, because it is 1
of 3 countries - including the United States and Australia - that have rebuffed
Beijing's requests in the past.
"I think China's particular interest in pushing this with Canada at the moment
is to then be able to say to the U.S. and Australia, 'They did it, why won't
you?'"
With or without a treaty, "the standard rules of the road are that you cannot
forcibly return anyone to a country where they face a well-founded fear of
persecution, or ill-treatment," she added.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Canada will address China's use of the
death penalty during future negotiations.
On Tuesday, Trudeau told a news conference in New York that Canada would not be
compromising its own values for the sake of diplomatic expediency.
"Extradition is certainly one of the things the Chinese have indicated they
wanted to talk about. But as everyone knows, Canada has very high standards in
terms of extradition treaties, in accordance with our values," he said.
(source: The Epoch Times)
***********************
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang defends use of death penalty as extradition talks
continue
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang defended his country's continued reliance on the
death penalty while visiting Ottawa on Thursday, even as he and Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau continue to work toward a formal extradition treaty.
Li was asked about capital punishment in China by reporters on Parliament Hill,
and responded that China is one of many nations that still use the death
penalty to punish serious crimes.
He cited the country's enormous population as one of the reasons it has not
been abolished, arguing that more innocent people could be hurt if the
punishment were not so severe.
"In the society there are often crimes, and violent crimes," Li added, standing
next to Trudeau.
"We maintain that the penalty is consistent with our national conditions and
for years the ruling on the death penalty has been very strict."
Li said that movies and television shows may depict torture in the Chinese
judicial system, and he cannot guarantee that this never occurs. But his
country is moving toward a law-based society.
"Chinese law clearly provides that there must be strict compliance with
judicial procedures and there shall be no torture," the premier said.
"Humanitarian treatment must be applied."
The death penalty question may present a serious problem for the Trudeau
government as the 2 countries move toward an extradition treaty. Even the
mention of such a treaty has already prompted criticism from human rights
groups because of concerns about China's lack of due process.
The government recently announced the possible deal after Trudeau's national
security adviser, Daniel Jean, went to Beijing on Sept. 12 and agreed to start
talks about an extradition treaty as part of a broader security dialogue.
On Thursday, Trudeau pointed out that Canada and China have been talking about
extradition "for years."
"Up until now, it's been on an ad-hoc basis," he explained, adding that under
no circumstances will Chinese citizens be sent home to be executed.
"Because we do not have capital punishment in Canada ... we will not extradite
into situations of capital punishment," Trudeau said.
"We recognize that Canada and China have different systems of law and order ...
it will be very important that any future agreement be based on reflecting the
realities, the principles, the values that our citizens hold dear in each of
our countries."
Li agreed that no deal will be signed until both sides can agree.
"We have been discussing it for many years, it must be based on the national
conditions of both countries. The will of both sides."
(source: Global News)
INDIA:
35-yr-old man gets death sentence for killing minor
LANDMARK JUDGMENT BY SPECIAL COURT IN RAJGURUNAGAR
Calling it rarest of rare cases, this is the court's first ruling under the new
law, POCSO Act, 2012
Claiming it to be the rarest of rare crimes, a special court in Rajgurunagar on
Thursday awarded death sentence to a 35-year-old man for brutally sodomising
and strangulating an 8- year-old boy near a construction site at Chakan in
2013.
Special judge S R Jagtap while awarding the sentence to convict Khalaksinh
Janaksingh Panchal - a resident of Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh - observed that
such gruesome and brutal crimes against children were on the rise and any
leniency to the offender would send a wrong message to the cultured society.
"There is no scope to leniency since he lured the child and then abused him.
Further, to hide the crime, he killed him. The presence of such people in the
society can cause a huge threat and thus the convict has no right to remain
alive," the judge said.
The judge also sentenced life imprisonment to the convict for sodomising and
another 7 years' rigorous imprisonment for several other sections under the
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other relevant
sections under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
This is the 1st case under the provisions of POCSO Act, 2012, in the district,
in which the special court has awarded death penalty ever since the new law was
enforced in 2012.
A contract labourer by profession, Panchal, on May 15, 2013, lured the boy and
sodomised him and later strangulated him to death. The heinous crime occurred
at a construction site in Kadachiwadi, Chakan. The deceased's father also
worked at the same site.
The investigation revealed that Panchal also sexually harassed and killed an
8-year-old girl in Narhe in Haveli taluka 2 years before this incident and that
the case is still pending.
The police investigation further revealed that Panchal had been working at the
site for one-and-half years and was staying at the same premises alone. In the
evening, after completing his work, he used to call kids who stayed with their
parents at labour camps and lure them with chocolates.
On the day of the incident, Panchal had called the kids, including the
deceased, and gave them chocolates and stayed with them for some time. Later,
all the other kids, except the deceased, returned home. When the victim did not
return home till 10 pm, the parents got worried and started searching him and
even consulted Panchal with whom the kid was last spotted. He, however, said
that the deceased took chocolates and left for home. The child was found dead
at the under-construction building site with blood around the mouth and without
his clothes.
Later, Panchal's room was found locked from outside so the Chakan police
attempted to trace him at Pune railway station. Panchal soon got arrested and
confessed to the crime. He stated that he sodomised the kid before killing him.
Talking to Pune Mirror, assistant public prosecutor (APP) Kobal said, "We
examined 10 witnesses, including a friend of the boy, shopkeepers, a labour
contractor and the doctor who treated him. Looking at the brutality of the
crime, the court has awarded death sentence to the convict which is first-ever
in the district since the POCSO Act has been enforced." The accused was
arrested under sections 302 (murder), 377 (unnatural sex) and relevant sections
of the POCSO Act.
BOY'S FAMILY FAILS TO SHOW UP AT COURT:
The deceased child's parents hail from Nevasa in Ahmednagar district and have
been working in Chakan for 15 years. However, after the incident, only the
father of the boy stayed in Chakan, but never attended the trial except the day
to record his statement. He was absent on the day of judgment, too. The mother
of the child and 2 sisters left to their native place and never returned.
(source: Pune Mirror)
*********************
Bilkis case: No permission for re-examination of witnesses
The Bombay High Court today rejected an application filed by the lawyer of the
convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gangrape case seeking re-examination of some
of the witnesses.
A division bench of justices V K Tahilramani and Mridula Bhatkar said it can't
entertain such an application at a stage when trial is over and appeals are
being heard.
Defence lawyer Harshad Ponda had sought the permission to re-examine
prosecution witnesses K N Sinha, who led the CBI team which probed the case;
Bilkis' nephew Saddam, who was 8-years-old at the time of the incident; and
Budhsingh Patel, a 'writer constable' at Limkheda police station who wrote down
the first FIR lodged by Bilkis.
Ponda also wanted to call a new witness, Mangal Singh, another 'writer
constable' at Limkheda police station.
He wanted to re-examine the witnesses because the defence lawyers had made some
mistakes during the trial and overlooked certain significant facts when
cross-examining, he said.
CBI lawyer Hiten Venegaonkar opposed the application, saying it had come at a
"belated stage".
Law does not allow calling of new witness or re-examination of a witness at a
stage when the defence has concluded its arguments in the appeal, Venegaonkar
said.
The Bombay High Court is hearing appeals filed by 11 convicts in the case, as
well as the appeal filed by CBI seeking death penalty for 3 of them.
The accused were sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court here in 2008
for the gangrape of Bilkis and murder of her family members during a
post-Godhra riot.
On March 3, 2002, a mob attacked Bilkis' house at Randhikpur near Ahmedabad and
killed seven members of the family. Bilkis, who was 5 months pregnant, was
gangraped.
The trial was transferred out of Gujarat for the fear that witnesses might be
intimidated or influenced.
(source: newindianexpress.com)
INDONESIA:
A Moratorium on the Death Penalty
President Joko Widodo should have the courage to impose a moratorium on the
death penalty. With our legal system in chaos, there is a high probability that
the wrong people can be victimized.
The case of Zulfiqar Ali is an example of the dangers of the death penalty. The
Pakistani citizen was almost executed by firing squad on July 29 along with
narcotics boss Freddy Budiman and his associates. But Zulfiqar was neither a
courier nor a drug dealer. In 2004, he was arrested merely because he was a
friend of Gurdip Singh and bought a Jakarta-Surabaya plane ticket. The official
statement from Patrialis Akbar, the justice and human rights minister during
the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, that Zulfiqar was
innocent, counted for nothing.
Our sense of justice finds outrageous the fact that law enforcement authorities
from both the Yudhoyono and Jokowi administrations could behave so rashly in
the Zulfiqar case. The textile trader from Tanah Abang, Jakarta, was arrested
three months after Gurdip was detained in August 2004 in possession of 300
grams of heroin on a flight to Surabaya. Following torture at the hands of the
police, Gurdip said he had obtained the heroin from Zulfiqar. It was Gurdip's
confession that led to Zulfiqar being jailed. There was not a shred of evidence
to back the charge.
At the beginning of the trial, because he had no legal adviser, Zulfiqar was
unable to uncover the machinations of the case he had been dragged into.
Eventually, the Supreme Court sentenced him to death. Even when a review of the
case was requested, the judges closed their eyes to the facts. Gurdip's
testimony before a notary, in which he stated the heroin had not come from
Zulfiqar, was simply ignored.
The judges also paid no attention to the results of an investigation by a team
set up by Minister Patrialis Akbar in September 2010, despite the unambiguous
nature of the minister's conclusion that Zulfiqar had never in his whole life
been involved with drugs. The case was contrived and rife with human rights
violation.
This arbitrary verdict that nearly led to the death of Zulfiqar then came into
the public spotlight. Indonesia's 3rd president, B.J. Habibie, wrote to
President Jokowi, and the Pakistani government has just asked Indonesia to
quash the verdict.
Jokowi should take the courageous step of pushing for the end of the death
penalty. If executions are supposed to have a deterrent effect, the facts show
that the number of criminals continues to rise. Many drug distributors have
faced the firing squad but their numbers continue to grow. People are not
afraid of the death penalty.
The serious problem is that the death penalty has often been imposed on the
wrong people. Meanwhile, our legal system is in a state of chaos, with some
court and law enforcement officials readily taking bribes. Besides Zulfiqar,
there are a number of other similar cases. These were uncovered by the Freddy
Budiman fact-finding team, which discovered that the government had wrongly
passed the death penalty on the Teja case.
Teja, who knew nothing about drugs, was caught after Freddy asked him to meet a
man called Rudi. When the case involving the possession of 1.4 million ecstasy
pills came to light, Teja was caught up in it. Initially, he was only a
witness, but then became a suspect, and was eventually sentenced to death.
President Jokowi must realize that there is much uncertainty related to the
death penalty. Hence, it should not be applied. Humans have no right to play
god, especially if the death penalty in drugs cases is only used as a political
campaign tool for the purpose of seeking popularity.
(source: tempo.co)
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