[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, LA., MICH., KAN., ARIZ., US MIL.
Sept. 3 OHIO: Now is the time for Ohio to end death penalty In recent weeks there have been several articles in The Lima News regarding the death penalty. Gov. John Kasich, notwithstanding the recommendation of the prosecutor, denied clemency to Billy Salgle (July 25). A few days later, Salgle hung himself in his cell. An attorney argued before the state Supreme Court that his client should not be executed because the cost of execution would be an unnecessary burden for tax payers (Aug. 22). A state congressman, who wants to extend the death penalty to cover some sex-related crimes has said: I've always had the opinion that for some of those people there's no cure. They just need to be put to death (Aug. 18). None of these instances, however, raises the more fundamental question: should we not abolish the death penalty entirely? Numerous studies have shown that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime, it is extremely costly, and irreversible mistakes have been and will continue to be made. Innocent people have been put to death, others have spent years on death row before being exonerated. Those reasons alone should be enough to call for an abolition of the death penalty. There is, however, a more basic reason - the dignity of all human life, and a sense of restorative justice. The latter concept is one promoted by Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights. It is a group composed of the family members both of victims of violent crimes and of those who have been executed. They are opposed to the death penalty, and feel the money saved in its abolishment could be used toward better rehabilitation programs and for compensation of victims as appropriate. State-sanctioned killing does not proclaim the dignity of life. It is retribution. The very meaning of the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, properly understood, militates against the death penalty. Ohio already has the option of life without the possibility of parole for certain violent crimes. That option, whether or not one is in full accord with it, has several advantages: it is far less expensive, and it is quicker, giving far sooner to the victims of violent crimes whatever closure is possible; it protects society from possible repetitions of the criminal activity; it gives an opportunity to correct mistakes when they occur; it gives the individual who committed the crime opportunity to reflect upon and perhaps repent of the crime. Contrary to what the congressman noted above says, we do not want to say that for some of those people there's no cure. A concept of restorative justice leaves open the possibility of hope. And it is hope that gives meaning and energy to life. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln: there is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us that it hardly behooves any of us to completely give up on any of us. Perhaps it is time for serious efforts to abolish the death penalty in Ohio, making it the 19th state to do so. I am a Plugger (Lima News comic section), but there may be someone out there savvy enough to use social networking to gather petitions that would allow all Ohioans to express themselves for or against the death penalty. That in turn would get the attention of legislators. Without that sort of effort, the death penalty is apt to be with us for a long time to come, bringing with it the attendant disadvantages already mentioned. (source: Opinion, Al O'Dell, The Lima News) LOUSIANA: Defense attorney seeks new trial for man sentenced to death for Baton Rouge cop's 2004 killing A man sentenced to death for killing a Baton Rouge police officer in 2004 is seeking a new trial. Shedran Williams' attorney, Gary Clements, argued in a court filing last week that his 42-year-old client is mentally disabled. Clements also claimed Williams' conviction was tainted by shoddy work by his trial attorneys and racial bias during the jury selection process. The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/17FbVcv ) that state District Judge Mike Erwin has given prosecutors until mid-January to respond to Clements' arguments. Williams was convicted of 1st-degree murder for fatally shooting Lt. Vickie Wax with her own firearm while she was working a security detail at a Wal-Mart in Baton Rouge. In his 122-page petition, Clements claims Williams had been mentally incompetent to stand trial. He also claimed his client's trial lawyers failed to effectively represent him at every stage of the proceedings. The result was a tepid challenge to the State's case for guilt, and an anemic, ill-conceived effort to save Mr. Williams from the death sentence in the penalty phase, Clements wrote. Clements also noted that the jury only had 2 black members. Williams is black. Wax was white. (source: Associated Press) MICHIGAN: Death row counselor, nun and best-selling author of 'Dean Man Walking' to speak in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 3 INDIA: Jagan paying for his loot, says Babu TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu has said that economic offenders are very dangerous and should get death penalty. The TDP leader resumed his 'Atma Gourava Yatra' on Monday at Veerapuram village after a night halt at Dachepalli within the Sattenapalli Assembly segment limits of the district. Addressing the TDP activists and supporters at Kondumodu and Nakarikallu, Naidu alleged that Jaganmoahn Reddy was languishing in jail for more than a year as he had looted the state. Naidu said an economic offenders should get death penalty for looting the state and people. Continuing his attack on the Congress party, Naidu said the Congress Party was conspiring to come into power in the General Elections in 2014 by coming into an understanding with TRS and YSRC. (source: New Indian Express) IRANexecution A prisoner has been hagned in public in Isfahan A prisoner has been hanged in public in Khomeini Shahr on charge of drug trafficking yesterday morning. According to a report by IRIB, the prosecutor of Khomeini Shahr said: This prisoner was 32 years old and had been arrested in 2011 on charge of having 740 gr. Krack. Gholami said: The verdict was confirmed by the Iran prosecutor and was enforced in Jouy Abad neighborhood of Khomeini Shahr in public. *** A Kurdish civilian is sentenced to death A Kurdish prisoner's from Salmas death sentence has been confirmed by the Supreme Court and he is now in the danger of execution. According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a Kurdish civilian from Behyek village of Salmas whose name is Hamid Atmani (Ariana), 30 years old, the son of Farzami, has been sentenced to death by the revolutionary court of Salmas on charge of drug trafficking. Hamid Atmani had been arrested on June 2012 by the security forces and was in Salmas prison. He has been transferred to Urmie prison when his death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court. He can ask for appeal in the next 20 days. (source for both: Human Rights Activists News Agency) NIGERIA: Mark Wants Death Penalty For Vandals, Says They Are Terrorists The Senate President David Mark has advocated the death penalty for vandals, saying that vandals are terrorists and should be punished as such to deter others from such economic sabotage. Mark, who was represented by the chairman, Senate Committee on Intelligence and Security, Sen. Magoro Muhammed, made this comment during the opening ceremony of a 2-day Stakeholders forum on the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure, organised by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). He insisted that vandalism was akin to modern-day terrorism. He said: Attack on these critical infrastructure should be seen as attack on Nigeria's national interest. Considering that we already have a bill with very stringent laws and purnishment recommended not long ago in the anti-terrorism bill, it is time we also transferred such recommendations on any one who tampers with our common wealth, no matter who he is. If this is done, such lessons would not be easily forgotten. This is because a number of refineries have been stopped from functioning as a result of internal sabotage. These are our common wealth and our national interests are tied to it. Anyone who destroys it has automatically destroyed the nation's economy and should be treated as a terrorist. Speaker of the House of Representative, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, during his good will remark disclosed that the country's security policy was long overdue for a review having lasted over 27 years (1986) after it was formulated. Lamenting that internal sabotage was gradually killing the country, Mark challenged security agencies saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and critical government infrastructure to rise up to the challenge of accounting on how far and how well they had gone before venturing into foreign missions. He pointed out that Nigeria's greatest challenge had been that of responding effectively to the yearnings for national security of both human and infrastructure. Tambuwal, who was represented by the chairman, House Committee on Interior, Alhaji Umar Bature, also affirmed that the protection of critical infrastructure was the constitutional responsibility of the NSCDC. Chairman of the event and minister of interior, Comrade Abba Moro, said in spite of activities of vandals in the country aimed at crippling the nation's economy, the Civil Defence Corps had achieved tangible results in terms of arrest and prosecution. He said: It is sad that since its formulation in1986, the law that established our security act is yet to be reviewed. It is our thinking that the National Security Adviser should come up with a review of our national security to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., ARK., MO., COLO., ARIZ.
Sept. 3 TEXAS: Man on death row 2 decades wins appeal A Harris County man on Texas death row for 20 years has won a federal court appeal that allows him to pursue claims he's mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in the case of 50-year-old John Reyes Matamoros. The Mexican Mafia gang member was convicted in 1992, 2 years after his 70-year-old neighbor, Eddie Goebel, died of 25 stab wounds during a break-in at his home in Houston. Matamoros was on parole at the time after serving prison time for another break-in where a pregnant woman was sexually abused. Matamoros' lawyers contended he deserved a court review because of trial testimony from a Fort Worth psychiatrist whose methodology and credibility have been questioned in other capital cases. (source: Associated Press) FLORIDA: Former West Palm Beach doctor could face death penalty in patients' deaths State prosecutors have filed court documents announcing their intent to seek the death penalty against a former West Palm Beach doctor facing 2 counts of 1st-degree murder for the overdose deaths of his patients. Authorities with the state attorney's office said Tuesday they have not made a final decision about whether to pursue the ultimate punishment for former West Palm doctor John Christensen, 61, but want to keep that option open. The case will go before the office's death penalty committee, which is expected to review it and decide whether to pursue the penalty within the next month, Chief Assistant State Attorney Brian Fernandes said. This is a case that's potentially eligible for the death penalty, he said. We want to make sure that we preserve our rights. If the state does pursue a death sentence against the doctor, it would be highly unusual. Just a handful of Florida physicians have faced homicide charges for the overdose deaths of their patients, and the majority have been manslaughter cases. West Palm Beach defense attorney Grey Tesh, who until last month represented Christensen, said he was surprised when the state sent its notice of intent to seek the death penalty. The doctor's new attorney, Richard Lubin, did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday. At least in Palm Beach County, I don't know of any doctor who has faced the death penalty on a case like this, Tesh said. In 2002, West Palm Beach doctor Denis Deonarine became the 1st in the state to be indicted for 1st-degree murder in the death of a patient who was prescribed painkiller OxyContin. He was ultimately acquitted of 1st-degree murder charges, and released from prison in December, according to the state Department of Corrections. After the trial ended, one juror told the Sun Sentinel the jury ultimately believed the patient was responsible for his own death. Christensen, who operated medical offices in West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie and Daytona Beach, was arrested in July, after a 2 1/2 year investigation that focused on the deaths of 35 of his patients. He's facing multiple charges, including the 2 counts of 1st-degree murder for prescribing oxycodone, methadone and anti-anxiety drugs to 2 patients who later overdosed. One woman who said her 21-year-old son died as result of the drugs Christensen prescribed said Tuesday she doesn't know how to feel about the possibility he could face the death penalty. We feel that there are consequences that need to be paid, and we'll leave it up to the authorities who are involved to make the right decision, said Jacque Lauzerique, 59, of Wellington, speaking for herself and her husband. Christensen is not being charged specifically for the death of her son, but she said she was still relieved to hear of his arrest. That is not what a doctor does, she said. Tesh said he expects it will be an uphill battle for the state to get a conviction against Christensen, making the death penalty irrelevant. He said it will be difficult to connect the deaths to him, noting that 1 of the patients had other substances in her system when she died. I would be surprised if he's convicted, Tesh said. The evidence is just not going to be there, not to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. (source: Sun-Sentinel) ** Witnesses testify in convicted killer's penalty phase of trial Convicted killer Donald Williams could learn this week if a jury will let him live the rest of his life in prison or die on death row. Williams was convicted of murder and kidnapping last Thursday in the death of 81-year-old Janet Patrick in 2010. The penalty phase in the 54-year-old's trial began Tuesday in Lake County, and the state called victim impact witnesses to the stand. The state is trying to get a death recommendation. Witness Darla Blackwell was called to the stand. She was a victim of a carjacking at the hands of Williams 13 years ago. The 34-year-old told jurors how she was abducted
