[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., OHIO, IND.
June 12 TEXAS: Texas death row inmate convicted of killing boy, 9, loses appeal The U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to review the appeal of a Houston man on death row for the 1992 slaying of a 9-year-old boy. The justices offered no comment Monday in rejecting the case of Perry Allen Austin, 58. Austin was serving a 30-year term for sexual assault on a child when he pleaded guilty in April 2002 to capital murder for injecting David Kazmouz with a pain killer and then slitting the boy's throat. The boy's skeletal remains were found in Houston in 1993. Austin confessed in 2001. Attorneys have argued in appeals he wasn't mentally competent to plead guilty. Prosecutors described Austin as a drug courier for a Houston street gang. He volunteered for execution, then changed his mind a week before his scheduled punishment in 2003. (source: Associated Press) PENNSYLVANIA: 'Death! I sentenced someone to DEATH!' - York County juror describes the emotional toll I did not take this lightly. None of us did. We carried this weight for 10 days - and continue to carry this weight. Recently, I was chosen to be on the jury of a high-profile homicide case in York. Initially, I was intrigued and a bit excited at the thought of such an interesting case. I was one in 16, of 100 people, selected to sit in on a trial at which the death penalty was a possibility. For someone who regularly watches criminal TV shows and documentaries, this was incredible! I had NO idea what I was in for. For 10 days, I listened to testimony and viewed evidence of the horrific killing of a young woman and man. I saw pictures of their bodies. I listened to the gruesome details of their deaths. For 10 days, I watched as the young woman's family sat in the courtroom, on edge and emotional as they listened to the details of their daughter's final moments of life. For 10 days, I watched the defendant's mom in the back of the courtroom as she listened to the accusations against her son - her pride and joy. And then again as she held her hands over her ears as the prosecution delivered their closing arguments. For 10 days, I watched a man, accused of heinous crimes, as he struggled to declare his innocence. But in the end, justice served or not, I now only hear silence. Memories burned in my mind. Pictures forever filed in my brain. A 10-day experience that has and will continue to forever change me. This was not an hour of "CSI," this was real life. 2 human beings were taken from this earth and from their families at the hands of another. I had no idea that I'd be affected in this way. No idea that days afterward, I'd still think of the families - defendant and victims - and carry such a heavy burden for all. That I would wonder what is truly going on in the mind of a man who is now sentenced to death. And that I was 1 of 12 who deliberated and thought and prayed about the task we were asked to carry through: To judge impartially, and to uphold the law. I did not take this lightly. None of us did. We carried this weight for 10 days - and continue to carry this weight, even though it's all over. We lived it and experienced it, as close to being there in the actual moment as we could be. We reviewed the evidence and we reviewed the information that we were given. We read the law, and we made a choice - death. Death! I sentenced someone to DEATH! I have heard it over and over in the last few days: I didn't do this to him, he did it to himself. I didn't ruin the lives of his family members, he did. I didn't take away the only daughter that Danielle's family had, he did. And I didn't take Foday away from his family and loved ones either. While they're absolutely right, it still doesn't ease the enormity of this situation and experience. And sadly, for me, it doesn't change the hurt in my heart. Nobody wins. I'll say it again: Nobody. Wins. Danielle and Foday aren't coming back. Their families cannot call them on the phone or send them a letter. The 4 witnesses cannot erase the images and trauma now engraved in their hearts and minds. And Mrs. Henry no longer has a son to help her with life at home. And last, but not least, is me - ME. In 10 days, I went from an hour of "CSI" to real life. I went from restful dreams to restless nights. I went from ignorance to overwhelming reality. This is real life. These are real people. And this is the real me. A faith-filled and caring person who was chosen to decide a man's fate. A fate that when decided was death. It has gripped me. And I continue to think of, and cry for, all those involved. This has affected me more than I could ever have imagined. What started out as intrigue has turned into pure heartbreak. Mention jury duty to anyone within earshot, and guaranteed someone will mention how boring and miserable it is. And yes, that's typically the case. What I expected to be a week of reading a book
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARK., S.DAK., COLO., UTAH, CALIF., USA
June 12 ARKANSAS: Arkansas judge seeks to dismiss complaint over demonstration An Arkansas judge charged with breaking judicial ethics rules for participating in an anti-death penalty demonstration the same day he blocked the state from using an execution drug says a disciplinary panel should dismiss its case against him. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen's attorneys renewed their May 2017 request for the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission to dismiss the complaint against the judge. He was photographed on a cot outside the governor's mansion last year wearing an anti-death penalty button and surrounded by people holding signs opposing executions. Earlier that day, Griffen blocked the state from using a lethal injection drug over claims the company had been misled by the state. A 3-member panel of the commission on Friday charged Griffen with violating ethics rules over the demonstration. (source: Associated Press) SOUTH DAKOTA: Was This Man Sentenced to Death Because He's Gay?His defenders say yes. South Dakota says no. The Supreme Court may soon weigh in. Before South Dakota jurors decided the fate of Charles Rhines in 1993, they sent a handwritten note to the judge. They had just found Rhines guilty of fatally stabbing 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer, an employee of Dig 'Em Donuts in Rapid City, during a robbery a year earlier. But now they had some questions. Case in Point In "Case in Point," Andrew Cohen examines a single case or character that sheds light on the criminal justice system. An audio version of Case in Point is broadcast with The Takeaway, a public radio show from WNYC, Public Radio International, The New York Times, and WGBH-Boston Public Radio. If they didn't vote for the death penalty, what would his life in prison look like? Would he be "allowed to mix with the general inmate population"? Would he be able "to create a group of followers or admirers"? Would he have a cellmate? The judge said he couldn't answer, and the jury sent Rhines to death row, where he remains today. A few years ago, those seemingly innocuous questions became crucial to the last-ditch efforts to save his life. Rhines's lawyers knew that the jurors had been told that Rhines is gay. They went looking for jurors, following a hunch that turned out to be correct. "There was lots of discussion of homosexuality," one juror recalled, according to affidavits later filed in court. "There were lots of folks who were like, 'Ew, I can't believe that.'" Another juror said they "knew that he was a homosexual and thought that he shouldn't be able to spend his life with men in prison." A 3rd recalled overhearing a fellow juror say that life in prison would mean "sending him where he wants to go." In essence, the defense argues, the jury sent Rhines to his death because some jurors thought life in a male prison might be enjoyable for a gay man. South Dakota jurors sent Charles Rhines, pictured, to death row for fatally stabbing Donnivan Schaeffer. Rapid City Journal The Supreme Court is now considering whether to hear Rhines's argument that his death sentence should be thrown out because it was tainted by homophobia. In the wake of the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision - in which the court ruled for a baker who declined to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple - the Rhines case could pave the way for new legal debates about how the justice system treats LGBTQ+ people accused of crimes. Simply put: Can a sentence be overturned if it was based on someone's sexual orientation? Until recently, the answer would have been an easy no. A central tenet of American law is that what happens in the jury room stays in the jury room. (This is often called the "no-impeachment rule.") But last year, the court made an exception to that rule in the case of Miguel Angel Pena-Rodriguez. He was convicted of sexually assaulting 2 teenage girls, but a juror had allegedly remarked that Mexican men "had a bravado that caused them to believe they could do whatever they wanted with women." Sending the case back to lower courts, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that judges should look at situations where a jury may have relied on "racial stereotypes or animus" to find someone guilty. The justices then ordered a lower court to revisit the case of Keith Tharpe. Years after sentencing Tharpe to death, a juror admitted, "I have wondered if black people even have souls." These cases concern race, but Shawn Nolan, who oversees Rhines's defense team at the Federal Community Defender Office in Philadelphia, called sexual orientation "a natural next step." Paul Swedlund, the assistant attorney general for South Dakota who is arguing against Rhines, said he could not comment on pending litigation. But his brief to the Supreme Court punches back hard, arguing that jurors had lots of reasons to sentence Rhines to death beyond his sexual
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
June 12 IRAN: Iranian Kurdish Dissident Facing Execution Suffers Legal Blow A lawyer for an Iranian Kurdish man sentenced to death for belonging to a Kurdish nationalist group says his client has suffered a major legal setback in a bid to escape execution. Speaking to VOA Persian by phone Monday from Tehran, lawyer Hossein Ahmadiniaz said Iran's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal to spare the life of his client, Ramin Hossein Panahi. "By law, the Supreme Court should have responded to my request for an appeal by stopping the [death penalty] from proceeding and reviewing the case in its entirety," Ahmadiniaz said. "Unfortunately, they did not do that for my client - they just skimmed through the case." Ahmadiniaz said he will file a 2nd appeal against Panahi's sentence, but did not explain how that will proceed. "I will do my utmost to use all legal procedures to get justice for my client," Ahmadiniaz said. Panahi, who is in his 20s, was arrested in June 2017 for allegedly belonging to Kurdish nationalist group Komala and drawing a weapon against Iranian security forces who were carrying out a raid in the region. An Iranian court sentenced him to death in January. Since then, Panahi has been imprisoned in the northwestern city of Sanandaj. A U.N. human rights expert issued a call last month for Iran to immediately halt and annul Panahi's death sentence. In a May 2 statement, Agnes Callamard, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said her office was concerned about allegations that Panahi had not received a fair trial and was mistreated and tortured in detention. In a report published Sunday, Iranian state-run news site ISNA acknowledged Callamard's concerns, saying no evidence linking Panahi to any "intentional killing" was presented at his trial. A Europe-based brother of Panahi told VOA Persian last month that authorities took Panahi from Sanandaj prison to an unknown location on May 1, prompting concerns of an imminent execution. But the brother said authorities returned Panahi to Sanandaj the next day and placed him in the prison's public ward rather than death row, where he had been kept previously. Panahi's return to the Sanandaj prison coincided with Callamard's appeal for an annulment of his death sentence and a social media campaign by his supporters also seeking clemency for him. Social media users concerned that Panahi still could be executed after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ends this week have intensified their campaign in recent days. Twitter users posted at least 53,000 tweets with the hashtag #SOSRamin from Saturday into Sunday. SOS is an international code used to warn of extreme distress. (source: voanews.com) BANGLADESH: 2 heroin peddlers get death penalty terday sentenced 2 drug paddlers to death. The court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mujibur Rahman Bhuiyan also fined Hossain Ahmed Manik and Parvez Alam Sumon Tk 1 lakh each, said Additional Public Prosecutor Mofur Ali. They are from Beanibazar upazila. Parvez is in Sylhet Central Jail and Manik on the run. According to the prosecution, a parcel was received at Sylhet Post Office from Pakistan on March 9, 2014. When postal supervisor inspected it, he found 8.025 grammes of heroin in it. The postal department filed a case with Daksin Surma Police Station. Police found the drug peddler through the phone number mentioned on the parcel. New law to ensure capital punishment for drug kingpins Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday told the parliament that the government has drafted a new law to ensure capital punishment for masterminds, godfathers and patrons of illegal drug trading. In reply to lawmakers' queries, the minister also informed the parliament that there is no visible progress in stopping yaba smuggling in Bangladesh from Myanmar due to lack of good intentions of Myanmar authorities. On bringing godfathers of drug trade to book, Kamal said in the existing Narcotics Control Act 1990, there is a provision for capital punishment for drug criminals. But according to the law, there is no option of taking actions if drug is not found in someone's possession. That's how masterminds escape the law easily. In a bid to take tougher actions against patrons and godfathers of drug trade, the government has drafted Narcotics Control Act 2018 keeping the provision for death penalty against them, Kamal said. Besides, the home minister also said officials of the respective directorate who investigate money laundering related crimes will be empowered to bring drug kingpins to book. About the ongoing drive against drugs, the minister said it is going on according to the list of drug traders to bring drug patrons and godfathers under the purview of the law. In response to another query, Kamal informed the House that Bangladesh and India so far
