[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
November 24 EGYPT: Egypt Sentences 17 Islamic Militants to Death for Coptic Christian Church Killings 17 Islamic militants were sentenced to death on Thursday for their role in multiple church bombings in Egypt that killed scores of Coptic Christians. It was reported that another 19 defendants were issued life sentences by a military court, while 9 others were given 15 years in prison for terror-related charges. Several were found guilty of being involved in a suicide bombing at St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo in December 2016, where 25 people died. Others were found guilty of being involved in the twin suicide bombings in churches in Alexandria and Tanta on Palm Sunday in April 2017, where 45 were killed. Coptic Christians, who make up only 10 % of the population, have of continuous Islamist attacks in Egypt, some which have been claimed by the Islamic State terror group. Human rights group Amnesty International posited that the verdict on Thursday was rushed, and argued that the defendants need a fair hearing before a civilian court. "There can be no justification for the utterly reprehensible attacks which targeted worshipers in Coptic Christian churches across Egypt in 2017. There is no doubt that the perpetrators of these horrific attacks should be held accountable for their crimes. But handing out a mass death sentence after an unfair military trial is not justice and will not deter further sectarian attacks," said Najia Bounaim, who heads the North African section of the human rights group. "Egypt has a shocking track record of unlawfully trying civilians in its notorious military courts and sentencing scores to death after grossly unfair mass trials, often based on 'confessions' extracted through torture. Those accused of involvement in these heinous crimes must be retried in a civilian court in proceedings that comply with international human rights law and fair trial standards," Bounaim added. Coptic Christians have in the past cried out for justice and demanded that the Egyptian government does more to protect them from attacks. Church leaders have opposed previous death sentences, however. When former president Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to death in May 2015 for his role in the killings of Christians at the hands of Muslim radicals, the Coptic Catholic Bishop of Assiut spoke out against it. Anba Kyrillos William said at the time the Church does not compromise on defending life, and cannot back the death penalty. "The Church respects the independence of the judiciary, but believes that life is an inviolable right, and remains opposed to the death penalty. The fact is that this type of sentence is still contemplated in the Egyptian legal order," William at the time. Anba Angaelos, the General Bishop in the United Kingdom of the Coptic Orthodox Church, said in a statement earlier this year when marking the anniversary of the attacks that for the families of the victims, the anger and pain remains deep. "As the situation facing Christians and minority groups in the Middle East increasingly spirals to new and dangerous levels of exclusion and dehumanization, the need is intensified for both the unified Body of Christ within the Christian family, and the global community as a whole, to stand in solidarity with those suffering, condemn acts of brutality, and provide whatever assistance may be needed, while at the same time, explore every possible means of healing, rebuilding and restoring of communities and lives," Angaelos on his website. "We continue to hold those suffering great struggles, indignity and the loss of precious human life in our prayers, that grace, healing and strength be bestowed upon them all at this time. We also pray for those committing these atrocities, that they will one day realize the sanctity and dignity granted equally by God to every human life," he added. (source: essexcaller.com) SOMALIAexecution Ex-Jubbaland cop executed for Murder A former member of the Jubbaland armed forces was today executed in Kismayo for the killing of a prominent elder. Abdirizak Omar Abdullahi's date with the hangman came after he was found guilty of killing prominent peacemaker Abdirizicak Omar Abdullahi in Kismayo on 27th October 2018. Golo was one of the prominent elders and peacemakers in Jubbaland State and his killing drew widespread anger. It is not the 1st time a Jubbaland military court is sentencing to death members of the armed forces for killings. (source: kismaayo.com) JAPAN: Reduce the burden on lay judges The proceedings of lay judge trials - in which randomly selected citizens join professional judges to deliberate on criminal cases - are taking increasingly longer to conclude. The average period from the opening of a lay judge trial to the ruling, 3.7 days when the system was first introduced in 2009, has stretched out to 10.5 days as of September
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., OHIO, CALIF.
November 24 TEXASimpending execution 'Texas 7' escapee fights death sentence as Dec. 4 execution nears Joseph Garcia met George Rivas back in the summer of 1999, 8 months before they started plotting their escape. They were doing time together on the Connally Unit, counting out their days in the heat of a Texas prison. Garcia was locked up on a murder charge, a crime he's long maintained was self-defense. Rivas, on the other hand, was a convicted kidnapper, violent and full of charisma. They both had decades of time in front of them. But Rivas had better plans. Around lunchtime on Dec. 13, 2000, they broke out of the maximum security prison south of San Antonio, bringing along 5 confederates as they made good on an intricate plot culled straight from the pages of a novel. They took hostages, burst into the prison armory, stole weapons and stormed out in a prison truck, making for the biggest escape in Texas prison history. After pulling off 2 robberies in the Houston area, they headed to the Dallas suburbs, hoping to get as far as they could from the bloodhounds and helicopters hunting them down. There, on Christmas Eve, the men held up a sporting goods store and made off with bags of cash and dozens of guns. On the way out, they ran into a cop. In a chaotic scene, five of the men started firing, some at each other and some at the lawman. When it was over, Officer Aubrey Hawkins lay dead in the Oshman's parking lot, shot 11 times and dragged 10 feet by an SUV as the panicked prisoners fled. After a 6-figure reward and a spot on "America's Most Wanted," the wanted men were finally captured in Colorado more than a month later, living in a trailer park and posing as Christian pilgrims. 1 killed himself rather than be captured, and the other 6 were sent to death row. "It wasn't supposed to happen," Garcia told the Houston Chronicle in a recent death row interview. "I wish I could take everything back." 3 have been executed and now a 4th - Garcia - is scheduled to die Dec. 4. It's a case that's galvanized outcry from activists, since it's not clear that he ever shot anyone. Though he's consistently admitted to his role in the break-out and robberies, he's long maintained that he never fired his gun and never intended to kill the officer. Even so, he was sentenced to death under the controversial law of parties, a Texas statute that holds everyone involved in a crime responsible for its outcome. It's the thing that put him on death row, but now it's also a key part of the desperate inmate's last-ditch efforts at appeal and pleas for clemency. Whatever the law, it all feels too long for the slain officer's friends and family. "We're coming up on 18 years since the incident," said Sgt. Karl Bailey, a Seagoville policeman and longtime family friend. "It's a long time not to get closure - and it wears on you." The law of parties has long been baked into the Texas criminal code. It's a statute that's broader - and used more frequently in death penalty cases - than in many other states, according to Robert Dunham of the Death Penalty Information Center. The requirements are simple: The state must show only that an accomplice to one felony may have "anticipated" another felony could occur. So, if a 3-man robbery crew hits a convenience store and 2 person kills the clerk, all 3 of them are guilty of capital murder - even if the other two never fired a shot. And, if there's a getaway driver waiting outside, he can be responsible as well, even if he never got out of the car. In some cases, the actual shooter might manage to net a life sentence and be eligible for parole, while non-shooter accomplices face the death chamber. In some states it's known as vicarious liability. Nationally, it's not clear how many people are on death rows across the country under such laws, but the Death Penalty Information Center counts only 10 clear cases of non-shooter accomplices who've been executed, including 5 from Texas. "There's this borderline area between common and uncommon and I don't think it's either of the 2," Dunham said. "But it's applied much more frequently in Texas than in similar circumstances in other states." ** Rivas and Garcia became friends because of a prison gang war. It was a feud between the Mexican Mafia and La Raza Unida that sparked a unit-wide lockdown, Garcia told the Chronicle, and the men met up in the dayroom where they bonded over a "poor man's spread" of prisoner-made food. The lockdown ended and they went their separate ways, but a few months later, Garcia spotted Rivas standing by his cubicle talking to another man, Larry Harper. Garcia was already frustrated, only 4 years in and not sure he could really do all the time stretched out in front of him. He still felt like he wasn't supposed to be there. And now, he wanted to steal back the life he thought the state had stolen from him.
