[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Dec. 15 IRANexecution Prisoner Hanged On Murder Charges in Southern Iran A prisoner was hanged at Shiraz Central Prison on the charge of murdering a forest guard. According to a report by Iran Environment and Wildlife Watch, on the morning of Thursday December 14, a prisoner was executed at Shiraz Central Prison. The prisoner was convicted of murdering a forest guard, named Manuchehr Shojayian, on Friday June 24, 2016. However, no information regarding the identity of the prisoner and the details of his case has been published. According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 142 of the 530 execution sentences in 2016 were implemented due to murder charges. There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in issuing death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and intent. (source: Iran Human Rights) IRAQ: UN 'shocked and appalled' at mass-execution in Iraq The UN on Friday harshly criticised the mass-hanging of 38 men at a prison in southern Iraq this week, urging Baghdad to immediately halt all executions. Iraq on Thursday hanged 38 jihadists belonging to the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda for terrorism offences at a prison in the southern city of Nasiriyah, according to provincial authorities. It was the largest number of executions in Iraq on a single day since September 25, when 42 people were put to death in the same prison. "We are deeply shocked and appalled at the mass execution on Thursday," United Nations human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva. The hangings, she warned, "once again raises huge concerns about the use of the death penalty in the country". The UN had determined that all of the 38 executed prisoners were men and had been convicted for terrorism-related crimes, but could say nothing more about their identities, she said. A prison source however told AFP that they were all Iraqis, but that one also held Swedish nationality. The executions came after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday declared victory against the Islamic State group after a three-year campaign by government forces backed by a US-led coalition to retake territory seized by the jihadists. The UN and rights watchdog Amnesty International have repeatedly voiced concerns about the use of the death penalty in Iraq, which ranks among the world's top executioners, after China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. "Given the flaws of the Iraqi justice system, it appears extremely doubtful that strict due process and fair trial guarantees were followed in these 38 cases," Throssell warned. "This raises the prospect of irreversible miscarriages of justice and violations of the right to life," she said. The UN has learned of 106 executions in Iraq so far this year, including the mass-hangings in September. "We once again urge the Iraqi authorities to halt all executions, establish an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty and carry out an urgent and comprehensive review of the criminal justice system," Throssell said. (source: digitaljournal.com) KENYA: Landmark death penalty judgement must lead to full abolition of cruel punishment Commenting after the Kenyan Supreme Court declared mandatory death sentencing unconstitutional, Oluwatosin Popoola, Amnesty International's Adviser on the Death Penalty, said: "This landmark judgment is a significant step towards complete abolition of the ultimate cruel and inhumane form of punishment. "It's now time for the Kenyan authorities to take the required legal steps to abolish the death penalty fully and join the 105 countries that have completely consigned the punishment to history." Background The judgement was handed down following an application by 2 men who have been on death row for the last 14 years. It in effect means judges now have discretion and will no longer automatically sentence to death people convicted of murder or armed robbery - the only 2 crimes that still attract the death penalty in Kenya. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases and under any circumstances, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. (source: Amnesty International) INDIA: Death penalty will bolster the dignity of women, says court Claiming that the decision to award death penalty to Ameerul Islam would bolster the dignity of women in society, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court observed that the brutal crime in the Jisha case was a clear demonstration of exceptional depravity and extreme brutality towards a helpless woman. "Her resistance at the cost of her life could be termed as a reflection of gender justice that shocked the collective conscience of the society. Hence, sympathy in any form would be misplaced and it would shake the confidence
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., CALIF., USA
Dec. 15
TEXAS:
Harris County Sues Major Drugmakers Over Opioid Epidemic
Harris County has become the latest government body to sue major drug
manufacturers for their hand in the opioid epidemic, alleging the companies
conspired to push highly addictive medication that harmed its residents.
The lawsuit, which was filed today in Harris County's 133rd State district
court, alleges drug companies including Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals,
and Abbott Laboratories along with 5 "pill mill" doctors all conspired to get
Houstonians hooked on prescription drugs with devastating consequences.
"The defendants knew that the use of opioids had the potential to cause
addiction and other health maladies," according to the petition. "Driven by
profit, defendants engaged in a campaign of lies, half-truths, and deceptions
to create a market that encouraged the over-prescribing and long-term use of
opioids even though there was no scientific basis to support such use. The
campaign worked, and resulted in an exponential increase in opioid abuse,
addiction, and death."
Houston attorney Vince Ryan filed the suit against the defendants along with
the help of prominent Houston plaintiff attorneys Mike Gallagher and Tommy
Fibich. Ryan has a history of using contingent fee contracts to take on big
industry defendants - a move that was blessed most recently in 2013 by
Houston's First Court of Appeals when used by private lawyers to sue
International Paper to force them to clean up environmental waste along the San
Jacinto River. Several states around the country have also filed lawsuits
against drug manufacturers to help offset $78.5 billion economic burden of
prescription drug misuse and the State of Texas has joined a working group to
investigate the opioid pharmaceutical industry's conduct. Earlier this year,
Upshur County partnered with plaintiff lawyers in Dallas' Simon Greenstone
Panatier Bartlett to file public nuisance, fraud and racketeering allegations
against drugmakers in a lawsuit currently pending before U.S. District Judge
Rodney Gilstrap of Marshall.
(source: Texas Lawyer)
***
Money talks in the death penalty debate
Brent Ray Brewer has been sitting on death row since 1991.
John Balentine - since 1999. Brittany Holberg - since 1998. Travis Runnels -
since 2005.
It says something about capital punishment when an individual has been on death
row since before the Internet became commonplace. (In Brewer's case.)
These 4 Amarillo-area individuals (from Potter and Randall counties) are
perfect examples of the financial cost of capital punishment.
No matter on which side of the death penalty debate you fall, there is no
denying the significant financial cost of capital punishment - a cost which is
brought up routinely by death penalty opponents.
However, what are the reasons for these costs? One of the primary reasons is a
fact that death penalty opponents seldom mention - legal costs.
According to deathpenaltyinfo.org, "Each death penalty case in Texas costs
taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about 3 times the cost of imprisoning
someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years.
('Executions Cost Texas Millions," Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992).'"
A significant chunk of that $2.3 million - a number which is undoubtedly higher
now - is to pay for the legal expenses of those convicted of the most heinous
crimes. (Speaking of heinous crimes, longtime Amarillo residents may be
familiar with Holberg, who was convicted of killing an 80-year-old man in 1996
by stabbing him more than 60 times.)
Take our neighbor - Oklahoma. Again, according to deathpenaltyinfo.org,
"Prosecutors (in Oklahoma) spent triple in pre-trial and trial costs on death
penalty proceedings, while defense teams spent nearly 10 times more. Oklahoma
capital appeal proceedings cost between 5 and 6 times more than non-capital
appeals of 1st-degree murder convictions."
More often than not, the legal costs related to capital punishment are dropped
on taxpayers - for individuals who sit on death row for decades.
The never-ending debate on the death penalty should include an honest and
realistic portrayal - which means all the reasons capital punishment is so
expensive should be examined.
The death penalty is not a major financial burden for taxpayers because death
row inmates are living high on the hog behind bars and eating caviar. A primary
reason is the legal expenses (paying the lawyers and attorneys) which drag on
for decades.
(source: Editorial, Amarillo Globe-News)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Lawyer 'Disappointed' by Death Penalty DecisionLawyer for man charged with
cousin in deaths of 4 young men shot and buried on Pennsylvania farm says he's
'disappointed' by prosecutors certifying his case for capital punishment when
it's cousin who's 'admitted killer'.
The Latest on 2 cousins charged with killing 4 young men
