Oct. 10
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
Banish the death penalty, say Catholics----..."the prophetic voice of the
Church must be heard"
On the occasion of World Day Against The Death Penalty, observed today, the
Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) has reminded Trinidad and Tobago
of the call in September by the Roman Catholic Bishops of the Antilles
Episcopal Conference (AEC), for the death penalty to be banished from the
region.
In a statement last week, CCSJ chair Leela Ramdeen noted the statement by the
Archbishops on September 21, which she said should be read in conjunction with
2 of the Bishops' Pastoral Letters, namely: (a) Jubilee Year 2000, Antilles
Episcopal Conference Pastoral Letter on Capital Punishment; and (b) We are
called to proclaim, celebrate and serve The Gift of Life, Pastoral Letter of
the Antilles Episcopal Conference, Rome, March 29 2008.
Ramdeen noted that reaffirmation of the Bishops that "the prophetic voice of
the Church must be heard especially in times of moral and social crisis".
It also stated : "Thus, while we are appalled by the rise of violent crime in
our region and express solidarity with the victims of crime and all those
affected by crime, we urge politicians and citizens in our region to abolish
capital punishment, that is, the death penalty and embrace a restorative
justice approach to crime and violence."
According to the Bishops, Ramdeen said key watchwords of a Restorative Justice
approach lie at the heart of Christian living, for example, repentance,
conversion, reparation, restoration, restitution, reconciliation,
rehabilitation, forgiveness, empowerment, and re-integration with a sense of
responsibility - as opposed to revenge, retribution, and vengeance.
The Bishops had also stated that all recent International studies and research
show that capital punishment does not act as a deterrent, nor does it foster
respect for life in our communities.
"Hence, regardless of the potential unpopularity of our Gospel message that
informs our position, we reaffirm the position: Capital punishment symbolizes a
form of despair for the effective reform of persons," the Bishops stated.
"Let us pray and work for the renewal of hearts and minds and find more
sustainable and effective solutions aimed at reducing crime and violence in our
region and in the world."
Ramdeen noted the statement by the Bishops that:
"We urge our Governments to strengthen the capacity of public institutions,
including criminal justice systems, to address crime and violence; to address
the risk factors that contribute to crime, for example: poverty, urban decay,
social inequality and exclusion, family disintegration, poor parenting, lack of
quality education and employment, poor housing, the proliferation of guns,
drugs and gangs in the region, and to employ related preventive measures. We
stand ready and urge our faithful and all people of good will to work together
to this end."
She said Pope Francis has repeatedly called for the abolition of the death
penalty, which, he says, "is an offence to the inviolability of life and to the
dignity of the human person."
"He is urging nations to realise that God's infinite mercy extends to everyone
- including those who have committed heinous crimes," Ramdeen stated.
"He has stated that, 'For the rule of law, the death penalty represents a
failure, as it obliges the state to kill in the name of justice'."
Ramdeen said there is discussion in some quarters about the method of killing,
as if it were possible to find ways of "getting it right".
"But there is no humane way of killing another person. The commandment 'thou
shall not kill' has absolute value and pertains to the innocent as well as the
guilty."
(source: Trinidad Express)
IRELAND:
Women and the death penalty in Ireland----The stories of the only 2 women
hanged for murder in 20th-century Ireland and those who were sentenced to death
only to be given a last-minute reprieve
100 years ago Countess Markievicz was sentenced to death for her part in the
Easter Rising, but was recommended for mercy "solely and only on account of her
sex". She was one of a large number of women who had the ultimate punishment
imposed on them in 20th-century Ireland but as was the case for the vast
majority of women she would see her death sentence commuted to imprisonment at
the last minute.
2 women would pay the ultimate price for murder after 1900, however. Mary Daly
lived in Crettyard, Co Laois in the early part of the century and was married
to John. The couple had 2 children but their marriage was said to be far from
harmonious. The Dalys were at loggerheads constantly and Mary was even said to
have attacked her husband with a hatchet on one occasion. At some point in
their marriage she began having an affair with her neighbour, Joseph Taylor,
although he was about 15 years younger than she was. She complained about her
husband to Taylor and eventually the 2 lovers decided that killing John would
be to their advantage.
Mary seemed to have been the instigator, giving money to the young man in
return for completing the grim task. Taylor, after drinking alcohol all day,
arrived at Daly's house on the night of June 16th, 1902. He beckoned John Daly
over, before beating him to the ground. He then kicked the older man repeatedly
before finally getting a pitchfork and using it to brutally finish him off.
Mary Daly's two children witnessed the attack and gave evidence against their
mother and Taylor. The court eventually decided that Mary Daly, along with her
lover, deserved to be executed for their crime and both were hanged within days
of each other. Mary Daly would be the 1st woman executed in Ireland for more
than 30 years. Offaly woman Margaret Sheil had been put to death in 1870 along
with her brother Lawrence after the pair killed their neighbour, Patrick Dunne.
It would be 22 years after Mary Daly's death that another woman would suffer
the same fate. The similarities in the 2 cases are striking. Annie Barrett
married Ned Walsh in 1916 and moved to his family home in Fedamore, Co
Limerick. Ned was 30 years Annie's senior and the couple lived in abject
poverty in a small cottage outside the village. It was an unhappy marriage and
Annie Walsh began an affair with her husband's nephew, Michael Talbot. The
lovers eventually decided to murder Ned Walsh. They hoped that Annie would
receive compensation for his death and they could use it to elope together. Ned
Walsh was killed in his own home with a hatchet on the night of October 25th,
1924.
Annie did not stick to their story about an intruder, however. After rigorous
questioning she told garda??? that Michael Talbot had murdered her husband.
Talbot, realising that he had been double-crossed, pointed the finger at Annie
Walsh for the murder. Both defendants pleaded not guilty in court, with each
placing the blame squarely on the other. It would not prove to be a clever
strategy. Both prisoners were found guilty and hanged in August 1925. Annie
Walsh had hoped until the end that her sentence would be commuted. Looking at
the history of condemned women in Ireland, it was a reasonable aspiration. For
reasons known only to the Irish Government of the time, however, Annie Walsh
would not receive a commutation and would be the only woman hanged by an
independent Ireland.
Despite these 2 exceptions, women would generally have a far better chance of
seeing their death sentence reprieved than men. Of the criminals hanged for
murder in Ireland in the 20th century, only 2 of over 40 would be female. One
woman who committed an unspeakable crime but received a reprieve in the early
days of the State was Hannah Flynn. Flynn was from Killorglin and had been
dismissed from her job as a domestic servant by the O'Sullivans in 1922. Flynn,
described as sullen and rather dull, harboured a burning resentment towards her
former employers, however. She threatened them with violence several times and
attacked Daniel O'Sullivan. On Easter Sunday 1923, Daniel went to Mass, leaving
his wife Margaret at home to prepare for dinner. When he returned home he found
her beaten to death after a horrific and prolonged attack with a hatchet. Money
and valuables had also been stolen from the house. Flynn had been seen in the
area and footprints outside the house matched her shoes. She was also found to
have Margaret's shawl in her possession. The jury needed little time to find
her guilty and sentenced her to death, a sentence that was commuted days
afterwards. She would serve 18 years in prison before being released into a
convent.
Other women who would see the judge place the black cap on his head and
pronounce the dreaded death sentence on them were Jane O'Brien, Mary Somerville
and Mary Agnes Daly. All three would be reprieved shortly before their
sentences was due to be carried out. 60-year-old O'Brien had shot her nephew
dead in Killinick, Co Wexford in 1932 after he threatened to evict her from the
farmhouse they shared in the village. Somerville was found guilty of taking her
unmarried daughter's new-born baby girl and throwing her into a pond outside
her Co Monaghan home in 1938. 10 years later Mary Agnes Daly (27) would spot
83-year-old Mary Gibbons kneeling in prayer in a church in Glasnevin. Daly, who
was in arrears with her rent money, beat the elderly woman over the head with a
hammer in an attempt to steal her bag. She would die some days later. Daly
denied the crime but was caught red-handed and sentenced to death. After a
reprieve she would spend six years in jail instead.
Another condemned woman was Frances Cox from Co Laois. Cox was a Protestant and
due to marry a local Catholic, a match of which her brother Richard did not
approve. Fearing her lover was getting cold feet, Frances decided to kill her
brother to speed up the wedding process. She put strychnine in several drinks
she prepared for Richard, eventually causing him an agonising death. Suspicion
was quick to fall on her and she was found guilty of murder after a 6-day trial
in December 1949. Cox would also have a narrow escape, being reprieved 2 weeks
before her date with the hangman Pierrepoint. The death penalty for common
murder would remain on the Irish statute books until 1964. Among the last
prisoners to be under sentence of death was American citizen Mamie Cadden,
known in Dublin as the Hume Street abortionist. She performed illegal
terminations in her home in Dublin but when a client, Helen O'Reilly, died on
the operating table in her kitchen in 1956, Cadden coldly left her body lying
on the street. The details of the case stunned Ireland, a conservative nation
in the 1950s where abortion was strictly prohibited. Cadden was sentenced to
hang, before having her sentence commuted to penal servitude for life. After
just a year in prison she was declared insane and transferred to Dundrum Mental
Hospital where she died 2 years later.
In 1964 the law was altered so that the death sentence could only be pronounced
in the case of capital, or political, murder. Marie Murray would be the last
woman in the condemned cell. She and her husband Noel were found guilty of
murder in 1975 after Garda Michael Reynolds was shot dead. The Garda was
running after the pair who had just robbed a bank in Killester. Although
overtures were allegedly made to England for the employment of a hangman, the
pair eventually received a reprieve and were sentenced to penal servitude for
life.
In 1990, the government passed the Criminal Justice Act, which prohibited
capital punishment for all crimes, including treason and capital murder. These
offences would now receive a mandatory 40-year jail term without parole
instead. In 2001, Ireland went a step further when 62 % of the Irish electorate
voted to place a constitutional ban on the death penalty, even in wartime. 47
years after the last execution by the State, and 76 years after the execution
of Annie Walsh, the hangman's noose was put away forever.
(source: Colm Wallace is the author of Sentenced to Death: Saved from the
Gallows (Somerville Press), about 30 Irish men and women who had the death
penalty imposed on them between 1923 and 1985.----The Irish Times)
EUROPE:
Council of Europe, EU Reaffirm Absolute Opposition to Death Penalty
The Council of Europe and the European Union reaffirmed on Monday their strong
rejection and denouncement of the death penalty in all circumstances and for
all cases. A statement by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland comes as October
10 marks the European and World Day against the death penalty.
"Today, on the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, the Council of
Europe and the European Union reaffirm their strong and unequivocal opposition
to capital punishment in all circumstances and for all cases. The death penalty
is incompatible with human dignity. It is inhuman and degrading treatment, does
not have any proven significant deterrent effect," a statement on the Council
of the European Union's website said.
The Council of Europe and the European Union noted that the abolition of the
death penalty was a big achievement in Europe and that it was a prerequisite
for any country seeking membership of the Council to ban the death penalty.
Mogherini and Jagland urged political leadership of all countries in the
European Union and the Council of Europe to comply with their obligations.
"Today more than 2/3 of all countries have abolished the death penalty in
either law or practice. However, the Council of Europe and the European Union
regret that the number of executions have risen in some of those countries that
retain the death penalty and that some countries which had a de facto
moratorium carried out executions," the statement said.
According to watchdog Amnesty International, by the end of 2015, 102 countries
had completely abolished the death penalty. Belarus is currently the only
European country where capital penalty is still applied, while the United
States is the only Western country to still use the death penalty.
(source: sputniknews.com)
BELARUS:
Belarusian authorities not to abolish death penalty regardless of social
pressure and recommendations from Western capitals
Belarus is the last country in Europe exercising the death penalty. As usual,
the Belarusian authorities are willing to negotiate the abolition of the death
penalty, but unlikely to take any action. It should be noted, however, that the
president talked about the probability of a referendum, which, could include
questions about abolishing the death penalty in the country. Meanwhile, in the
past, the Belarusian authorities repeatedly stated the intention to review
approaches to the death penalty. The Belarusian authorities are likely to
engage in discussions with MEPs about the abolition of the death penalty, but
unlikely to take the decision.
(source: belarusinfocus.info)
GLOBAL:
On World Day against Death Penalty, Ban says practice 'has no place in the 21st
century'
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called the death penalty a
cruel and inhumane practice - one that 65 countries globally retain for
terrorism-related offenses ??? which is the focus of this year's World Day
against the Death Penalty.
"It has no place in the 21st century," Mr. Ban stressed in his message for the
Day, commemorated annually on 10 October. "To be legitimate and effective,
counter-terror measures, like all security operations, must be anchored in
respect for human rights and the rule of law," he added
Yet death sentences for terrorism are often handed down after unfair and speedy
trials by military or special courts.
In his message, the UN chief noted that confessions were often obtained under
duress or in other ways in which the right to appeal is not respected. Some
States even sought to criminalize the legitimate exercise of fundamental
freedoms by including vague definitions in counter-terrorism legislation.
"Let us be clear: participation in peaceful protests and criticism of a
government - whether in private, on the Internet, or in the media - are neither
crimes nor terrorist acts," underscored Mr. Ban. "The threat or use of the
death penalty in such cases is an egregious violation of human rights," he
added.
Some may argue that capital punishment would diminish terrorism, he went on to
say, but, emphasized: "This is not true. Experience has shown that putting
terrorists to death serves as propaganda for their movements by creating
perceived martyrs and making their macabre recruiting campaigns more
effective."
He urged everyone to continue working to abolish the death penalty in all
circumstances and places.
"Let our actions always be guided by the moral compass of human rights - the
most effective route to a safer, more just and secure world," concluded Mr.
Ban.
No deterrent for terrorism
In Geneva, a group of UN human rights experts meanwhile has reminded
Governments around the world that capital punishment is an ineffective
deterrent for terrorism - and most times an unlawful one.
In a press statement, the UN Special Rapporteurs on summary executions, Agnes
Callamard, on torture, Juan E. Mendez, and on human rights while countering
terrorism, Ben Emmerson, stressed that the threat of terrorism does not justify
departing from international standards for the protection of human rights.
Faced with terrorist attacks or terrorist threats in their countries, some
governments have recently turned to the death sentence in an attempt to curb
terrorist action, by either expanding the scope of offenses punishable by death
or resuming executions for terrorist-related offences after years of
moratoriums in executions.
"These measures are problematic in many ways," warned the UN rights experts.
"Reintroducing the death penalty in countries that were de jure or de facto
abolitionist runs contrary to the international trend towards the progressive
abolition of the death penalty."
The General Assembly has repeatedly called on Member States to progressively
restrict the use of the death penalty and reduce the number of crimes
susceptible of such punishment.
In almost all regions in the world, Governments invoke the death penalty in
anti-terrorism campaigns - with 15 nations having carried out executions over
the last 10 years. In 2015capital punishment was imposed for these offences in
at least seven countries, with most executions taking place in the Middle East
and North Africa.
According to the UN experts, some countries made legal changes to introduce or
expand the scope of the death penalty to terrorism-related offences.
They continued: "Many of those offenses do not amount to 'most serious crimes'
- meaning those involving intentional killing - for which the death penalty may
be imposed under international law."
The experts pointed out that arbitrary sentencing exists in a small minority of
countries around the world, which most frequently resort to capital punishment.
They added that many States that use it for terrorism-related offences lack a
system of fair trial.
"Executions carried out without adherence to the strictest guarantees of fair
trial and due processes are unlawful and tantamount to an arbitrary execution,"
emphasized the experts. "We have called on those governments once and again to
halt such executions and to retrial the defendants in compliance with
international standards," they said.
The experts see the World Day against the Death Penalty as an opportunity to
reflect on the worrying development.
Noting the world trend towards abolition, with new countries each year
eradicating capital punishment, they said it was disturbing that a small
minority of States disregarded international standards "in their quest to
thwart a real or perceived threat posed by terrorism."
Finally they encouraged everyone to reflect on the role that the international
community can play in confronting the practice.
"We call on agencies and States offering financial or technical cooperation to
counter terrorism to ensure that the programmes to which they contribute do not
ultimately result in violations of the right to life," concluded the UN
experts.
Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and are
independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual
capacity.
(source: un.org)
************
We stopped burning witches - isn't it time we stopped putting people to
death?----There are still 2,905 people on death row in the US and 8,200 in
Pakistan.
Given my 3-decade obsession with fighting the death penalty in the US and
around the world, people often quiz me on whether I think I will see the last
execution chamber abolished in my lifetime. To which my reply tends to be that
it depends on my consumption of gin and tonic - it could go either way, and I
must hope that a bit of gentle pickling will increase my longevity.
In the execution premier league, there are 25 countries that carried out
executions last year. Compare this to the 171 countries that did not play the
game, and the death of the death penalty would seem to be on the near horizon.
In this regard, 2 matters are clear: 1st, that the history books will not be
kind to capital punishment. We don't celebrate burning witches at the stake as
the harbinger of the Enlightenment, and we won't look back on the gas chamber,
the electric chair and the lethal injection gurney as the apogee of 21st
century civilisation.
2nd, however, no matter what the timeline, there are thousands of people on
death row around the world today for whom the discussion is academic. They
won't live to see abolition because they will already have been methodically
trussed up for execution.
As of today, there are 2,905 people on death row USA and some 8,200 awaiting
the hangman's noose in Pakistan. The numbers in Iran and China are equally
vast, but shaded in secrecy - with both countries being much more efficient
killers.
If the death penalty is in its death throes then, like a wild animal, the
executioner is thrashing wildly about himself. In 2015, more than 1,694 people
were executed, up by half from the year before. Some said Saudi's new king
would start discarding the raiments of conservatism: instead, executions
accelerated, and the new king tried to include a number of juveniles like Ali
al-Nimr under the slice of the scimitar, and the nails of crucifixion. In Ali's
case, his crime was being a Shia youth who allegedly joined a protest for equal
rights with the Sunni majority. On a day when 44 other people died, Ali
survived only through massive international pressure - partially, initially,
engendered through this publication.
Pakistan lifted a 6-year moratorium and executed 400 people in short order.
Such was the dedication of the new government that Abdul Basit was wheeled
towards the gibbet on 3 occasions, each delayed because the government had not
devised a plan for how they might hang a paraplegic who could not climb the
stairs to the noose.
Most would accept that mistakes in the death penalty run through every level -
by definition, since we are mortal rather than omniscient. However, few
appreciate just how flawed the system is. In some ways, everyone is in the
wrong job when it comes to judging those proposed for execution. The innocent
defendant is his own worst enemy - wanting to rush to trial, without spending
the time (or, if he has it, the money) to prepare. To be sure, capital
punishment is when those without the capital get the punishment - and the
defence lawyer is likely to be inept, funded at a derisory level by the state,
while the best and the brightest lawyers rush off to defend banks and
corporations.
It is in the role of the police officer and the prosecutor where we would hope
for maximum caution and open-mindedness, if we are to avoid a miscarriage of
justice. Yet the opposite is true: those who are willing to judge their fellow
man tend to be the most dogmatic among us, which is hardly surprising as who
among us is willing to go to work every day wondering how many innocent people
we might condemn today?
And those high-minded jurists who seeks always to right an error are uncommon
beasts as well, since judges tire of the endless last-minute appeals in capital
cases, and seek to shut them down with arcane procedural rules.
In the end, though, it all comes down to the individual human beings. In 1987,
I raised what I thought was a compelling reason why Edward Earl Johnson should
not be executed. At the time, the learned judges of the federal Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals told me I was wrong. 5 years later, the issue reached the
Supreme Court, and the government argued strenuously the precedent from
Edward's case meant the prisoner should lose. "The short answer to the state's
argument," Justice Kennedy wrote tersely, "is that the Fifth Circuit made a
serious mistake in ... Johnson."
The problem, of course, was that the same evening that the Fifth Circuit made
that "serious mistake", Mississippi had been permitted to execute Edward - as
midnight approached on May 21, 1987, I walked into the gas chamber with him. We
are all fallible, and my own failure was writ large in the BBC/HBO documentary
about the case, Fourteen Days in May. Edward was innocent, and Justice
Kennedy's post-mortem recognition of his right to life failed to result in his
reincarnation.
He was 2 years younger than me, and today should be enjoying his 55th year
among friends and family in Walnut Grove, Mississippi. Instead, on May 21,
2017, I shall glumly mark the 30th anniversary of his death.
There are many other Edward Johnson's waiting in their prison cells. How many
of them must die before we call time on the foul practice of sacrificing a
fellow being on the false altar of deterrence?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clive Stafford Smith is the Director of the legal action charity Reprieve, at
www.reprieve.org.uk
(source: ibtimes.co.uk)
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