[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Feb. 7 AUSTRALIA: Government urged to end silence on death penalty report The time has come for the federal government to follow through on recommendations made in 2016 by a major parliamentary report on the death penalty, the Law Council of Australia has said. The Law Council of Australia (LCA) has used the 50th anniversary of the last execution to take place in Australia to press the government to respond to recommendations on the death penalty published in a major parliamentary report in May last year. At the time of its publication, the report A world without the death penalty received support from both sides of government. LCA president Fiona McLeod SC said Australia must continue to show leadership as an "outstanding advocate against the death penalty". She noted that six Australian nationals have been executed overseas since Australia's own abolition of the practice. Victorian Ronald Ryan was the last person to be hanged in Australia, on 3 February 1967. "The Law Council will continue to strongly and consistently argue that no person, anywhere in the world, should ever be subjected to the death penalty," Ms McLeod said. "This is irrespective of their nationality, personal characteristics, the nature of the crime of which they have been convicted, or the time and place of its alleged commission. "The death penalty is a breach of the most fundamental human right: the right to life," she said. Urging the government to finally respond to the report, the LCA underscored two key recommendations as key priorities: a new strategy for the global abolition of the death penalty and strengthened guidelines for the Australian Federal Police (AFP). According to Ms McLeod, the Australian government has an important role to play in speaking out against capital punishment in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Implementing a new strategy for the global abolition of the death penalty will "add structure and ballast to Australia's abolitionist position", she said. The report recommends that Australia contributes to the development, funding and implementation of this new strategy for the abolition of the death penalty. With 56 nations around the world retaining capital punishment as a legal penalty, the proposed strategy would focus on the USA and countries in the Indo-Pacific. "We urge [the government] to continue to take the lead and adopt the recommendations of the report, to ensure Australia has a consistent position in its international engagement," Ms McLeod said. Ms McLeod made her appeal at a symposium hosted by the LCA at Monash University last week. The event discussed Australia???s contribution to the abolition of the death penalty and featured special guest speakers including Special Envoy for Human Rights Philip Ruddock, shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus QC and Liberal MP Tim Wilson. (source: lawyersweekly.com.au) THAILAND: Antonio Bagnato gets death penalty for murder of alleged Hells Angels drug kingpin Wayne Schneider in Thailand A Thai court has sentenced an Australian man to death for the kidnapping and murder of a Hells Angels member alleged to have been a major drug trafficker. Antonio Bagnato, 28, was found guilty of murder, deprivation of liberty and disposing of a body. In December 2015, former Hells Angels member Wayne Schneider was abducted from outside his home by 5 men and later found buried with a broken neck and facial injuries consistent with a severe beating. The judge said the killing was premeditated, with GPS from the getaway car, DNA from the crime scene and witness testimonies all connecting Bagnato to the crimes. "The first defendant [Bagnato] is found guilty of all charges and according to the criminal code, the penalty is execution for the murder and deprivation of liberty, plus a year in prison for hiding the body," Judge Sirichai Polkarn at the Pattaya Provincial Court said. The court room was packed with representatives of all parties. "We've got hearts and they're hurting right now," a relative of Bagnato said, calling the verdict "ridiculous". The judge said DNA evidence also placed 22-year old American man Tyler Gerard at the scene of the abduction. Gerard received a 3-year sentence for deprivation of liberty that was reduced to two years for his cooperation with the investigation. The sentence includes time already served in pre-trial detention, meaning he could be free before the end of the year. Gerard's parents said they were relieved at the verdict. "[Tyler's] words were, 'Calm down mum, pray for the other people in this room'," Tracy Gerard told the ABC. Assault rifles, knuckledusters found in Bagnato properties Schneider was abducted from outside his luxury villa in Pattaya, Thailand in December 2015 by 5 men. Melbourne underworld figure and former president of the Comancheros motorcycle gang Amad "Jay" Malkhoun was inside the house and told
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEB., MONT., WASH., USA
Feb. 7 NEBRASKA: Kuehn proposes shield law to begin death penalty fix The rural veterinarian from Heartwell had just jumped into his new role as a state senator in early 2015 when the Nebraska Legislature voted to replace the death penalty with life in prison, then voted to override Gov. Pete Ricketts' veto of the bill. Sen. John Kuehn voted against the bill (LB268) and then against overriding Ricketts' veto, after taking time, he said, to educate himself and listen to constituents. "My district was very clear where they stood on the issue," he said. Kuehn's legislative District 38 covers 6 counties and a corner of another in south-central Nebraska. 18 months after his votes in the Legislature, residents in the 6 full counties of his district -- Clay, Franklin, Kearney, Nuckolls, Phelps and Webster -- voted 11,656 to 4,684 to keep the death penalty in Nebraska, and residents of Buffalo County, where Kuehn has some constituents, voted 13,080 to 7,167 to keep the law on the books. But even before that statewide vote, Kuehn said, he had begun thinking about how to repair what death penalty opponents said was a broken system. Last summer he began doing research, he said, to answer the question: Is it broken beyond repair or are there specific steps that can be taken to make it workable? To that end, he has introduced a bill (LB661) that would keep confidential the state's sources of lethal injection drugs. Nine other senators have signed on to the bill as co-sponsors. "I don't know that ... it has the ability to fix it," Kuehn said. "I think it's a first step." He knows there will be other roadblocks to carrying out the death penalty, he said. When the Department of Correctional Services rewrote the execution protocol after the November election, it originally allowed for the supplier of the lethal injection drugs to remain confidential. But after a hearing on the proposed protocol, in which many of those testifying demanded more transparency, it struck a paragraph that would have authorized the director to not disclose the identity of the supplier. Kuehn's bill, however, would allow the person or company to remain a secret. Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld, who is opposed to the death penalty, is opposed to any secrecy tied to the protocol. "When the state decides to kill one of its own citizens, the process of the state sanctioned murder should be transparent and open to the public," he said. "Citizens should not be killed in a shroud of secrecy." Kuehn knows people may think he worked in conjunction with the department in writing the bill, but he did not, he said. And the bill is not wrapped up in the politics of this session, he said, even though the bill was sent to the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee rather than the Judiciary Committee for hearing and discussion. The 1st draft of the bill was delivered on Oct. 31, before new senators were elected, he said, and before new committees and their leaders chosen. Keeping the source of lethal injection drugs confidential is important for more than just the state's benefit, Kuehn said. (source: Lincoln Journal Star) MONTANA: Bill to abolish death penalty hears emotional testimony The House Judiciary Committee heard an hour of powerful testimony from people in favor of abolishing the death penalty, who shared a comprehensive list of reasons for their support. Those who testified included a man wrongly sentenced to death, the mother of a murder victim and attorneys who were haunted by years of adherence to the death penalty system. Conservative legislators and religious leaders asked the committee to consider the ethics of a system where a death results in more death. Several people said eliminating the death penalty is a cost-saving measure. Bills to abolish the death penalty have never made it off the House floor. Last session, a bill to replace the death penalty with life in prison without parole came close, but died in the house with a 50 to 50 vote, largely along party lines with Republicans against it. However, some conservatives are realizing the death penalty doesn't align with their core values. Adam Hertz, R-Missoula, introduced House Bill 366 this session, which would substitute the death penalty for life without parole. Hertz said he introduced the bill in part to be a good steward of tax dollars, and said an inmate on death row costs 10 times more than an inmate sentenced to life without parole. The bill does not yet have a fiscal note to determine the cost savings for abolishing the death penalty. Several committee members questioned whether it would be significant, as there are only 2 Montanans on death row. While concerned about fiscal responsibility, Hertz said the bill would also fulfill his belief that life begins at conception and ends with natural death, and would provide inmates with a chance for redemption. "I believe
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, FLA., OHIO, KY.
Feb. 7 TEXAS: Death penalty trial starts Monday The death penalty trial of Michael Dwayne Bowman, 33, is set to begin in a Troup County Superior courtroom Monday morning. Bowman is accused of shooting and killing Griffin Police Officer Kevin Jordan, 43, while he was working an off-duty job at a Waffle House 1702 North Expressway on June 1, 2014, police said. Attorney's asked for a change of venue for the trial, citing concerns with the media attention surrounding the case. The Troup County Government Center was chosen as the site for Bowman's trial. The Spalding County District Attorney's Office and Bownman's defense lawyer spent weeks picking a jury comprised of Troup County citizens. Officer Jordan was trying to break up a fight between several people who were asked to leave the restaurant, including Bowman's girlfriend Chantell Mixon. The off-duty officer was allegedly trying to restrain Mixon when Bowman allegedly shot Jordan several times in the back, police officials stated. Jordan died from his injuries. He left behind 7 children. Bowman was indicted on 3 counts of murder, aggravated assault of a police officer, obstruction of a police officer, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the Spalding County District Attorney's office. Mixon was also charged with murder in the case. It was unclear as of press time Sunday when or if she will stand trial. (source: LaGrange Daily News) FLORIDA: Murder charge dismissed against inmate accused of killing North Naples man Prosecutors have dismissed a murder charge against a North Florida inmate accused of the brutal 2012 prison rape and killing of a Collier County man in their shared cell. Instead, the state intends to re-indict Shawn "Jiggaman" Rogers, 36, and seek capital punishment after Florida legislators take another stab at rewriting the state's death penalty law this spring. Rogers is accused of raping, stabbing and beating to death Ricky Martin, 24, of North Naples, in their Santa Rosa Correctional Institution cell in March 2012. Bill Bishop, an assistant state attorney in Okaloosa County, said prosecutors were worried Rogers' attorneys would file a demand for a speedy trial at a time when there is confusion about whether or not the state's death penalty is available as a punishment. The State Attorney's Office in the First Judicial Circuit dismissed the charges Jan. 9. Prosecutors intend to re-indict Rogers after the state's death penalty is clarified by lawmakers and the Florida Supreme Court. Rogers already is serving a life sentence with no chance at parole for armed burglary and aggravated battery in Volusia County. "Death is the appropriate sanction for Mr. Rogers," Bishop said. "He could have basically just received another life sentence and would not have been punished and held accountable for the death of Mr. Martin." The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida's death penalty law in January 2016, ruling it unconstitutional because it placed the decision of death in the hands of a judge. During last year's legislative session, lawmakers rewrote the law to require 10 of 12 jurors to agree on the death penalty. But in October, the state Supreme Court declared the new law unconstitutional because it doesn't require a unanimous decision. Death penalty cases across the state are in flux due to the ruling. "We have every belief the Florida Legislature is going to make those modifications to the death penalty law,??? Bishop said of requiring a unanimous jury decision. Martin's father-in-law, Russell Sharbaugh, who also is the personal representative of Martin's estate, said he understands the decision to dismiss the charges. Sharbaugh, who lives in the Naples area, supports the death penalty for Rogers. "I don't think he should walk away with no punishment," Sharbaugh said. Investigators said Rogers, who has gang ties and an extensive history of violence behind bars, bound Martin???s hand and feet with strips of bed sheet and then beat him within 36 hours of Martin arriving at the Santa Rosa prison. Martin was found lying in a pool of blood with his pants and underwear down to his knees. Several inmates in nearby cells said the attack was racially motivated, according to an Inspector General's Office report about the killing. Rogers admitted to the killing in letters to relatives, Florida Department of Corrections records show. Martin died April 8, 2012, about a week after being removed from life support at a Pensacola hospital. A 2014 Miami Herald article about the killing raised questions about why Martin, a 150-pound nonviolent offender, was placed in a cell with the 6-foot-4, 226-pound Rogers, who has a long history of attacking and beating other inmates. Rogers has admitted to being one of the state's most violent prisoners, according to the paper. 4 months before Martin was
