[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Feb. 11 NIGERIA: UK Urges Nigeria To Stop Death Penalty The British high commissioner, Paul Arkwright has urged that Nigeria should prohibit death penalty. This is in support of the recent call by the EU Heads of Mission in Nigeria to uphold the moratorium on the capital punishment. In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP Weekend by the British High Commission, the Ambassador noted that, "on 1st February, 2017, Lagos state signed a law authorising death penalty for anyone convicted of kidnapping where the victim dies. It's also regrettable that as recently as 23 December, 2016, Nigeria witnessed the execution of 3 prisoners authorised by the Edo state government. "These actions have undermined the progress Nigeria made in upholding the moratorium on the death penalty. I fully associate myself with the recent call by EU Heads of Mission in Nigeria to uphold the moratorium on the death penalty that has been in place since 2006. "We remain open to working with the Nigerian government and civil society to push forward the debate towards abolition of the death penalty," the statement concluded. According to a report by the EU Heads of Mission on death penalty in Edo state, the Mission had shown deep regret at the execution of 3 Nigerian prisoners on 23 December 2016, an execution authorised by the Edo state government. The EU further stressed upon the universality of human rights including the right to life, while opposing the death penalty in all circumstances. (source: nigeriatoday.ng) VIETNAM: Vietnam to build 5 more lethal injection venues 5 more venues to facilitate lethal injections will be built in Vietnam in the coming time according to the Ministry of Public Security. A report from the ministry showed that since the 1st execution carried out using lethal injection in August 2013, 429 prisoners on death row had been executed by this method by July 2016 at 5 facilities in Hanoi, HCM City, Nghe An, Son La, and Dak Lak. The National Assembly amended the Penal Code in 1999 and 2009 in which the number of death-eligible crimes were reduced from 44 to 22. However, the number of death sentences, especially in crimes relating to drugs, murder, and rape, has not declined for many reasons, the report said. There were 1,134 criminals given death sentences in 5 years between July 1st, 2011 and June 30th, 2016. According to the ministry, there have been many difficulties in carrying out executions using lethal injection instead of firing squads during the trial period, especially in obtaining lethal drugs and relieving the pressure of holding hundreds of death row inmates in prison. "But this is certainly a more humane method of execution which causes less pain to the convicted and their family, and relieves pressure on executors, the ministry claimed. The injection will contain 3 substances -- sodium thiopental, an anesthetic; pancuronium bromide, a muscle relaxant; and potassium chloride to stop the heart. (source: vietnamnet.vn) PHILIPPINES: The clock is ticking on anti-death penalty lawmakersHouse rules state every lawmaker has the right to speak for an hour in a plenary debate, but after a recent majority ruling, anti-death penalty congressmen now have fewer minutes on the floor Time is literally running out for congressmen attempting to block the return of the death penalty in the country. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is already targeting the middle of March for the passage of House Bill (HB) Number 4727, and he is bent on seeing this through with a threat against House leaders who will vote against the measure. But even on the plenary floor, every lawmaker who will interpellate the bill's sponsors will find limited minutes to argue against the death penalty. This comes after a questionable interpretation of the House rule allotting a 1-hour speaking time per congressman that was agreed upon by a majority of lawmakers during the February 8 death penalty debate. A back and forth exchange was occurring between anti-death penalty lawmaker and Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman and HB 4727 sponsor and House justice panel chairperson Reynaldo Umali at the time. Deputy Speaker Mylene Garcia-Albano then interrupted the 2 and requested that Lagman end his interpellation as he had already gone beyond his time limit. She cited Section 91, Rule XII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, which states: "A Member shall not be allowed to speak for more than one (1) hour in debate on any question. No Member shall speak more than once on the same question without leave of the House, unless the Member is the proponent of the motion or has introduced the question or the matter pending, in which case the Member shall be permitted to speak in reply, but not until every Member who chooses to speak on the pending question or matter shall have spoken." But Lagman objected to Albano's request,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, ARK., MO., NEB., MONT., ARIZ.
Feb. 11 OHIO: State postpones executions again, adds 5 more Gov. John Kasich has postponed 8 scheduled executions as the state continues to work through legal challenges and attempt to locate supplies of the drugs it uses to put inmates to death. The move Feb. 10 comes a couple of weeks after a federal magistrate judge blocked 3 executions that were scheduled through April, ruling that the new lethal injection process adopted by the state was unconstitutional. Ronald Phillips, who was convicted in the brutal rape and murder of an Akron girl in 1993, was scheduled to be executed next week. He's now scheduled for execution on May 10. Gary Otte, who faced a March 15 execution date in the killing of 2 people in Cuyahoga County in 1992, has been moved to June 13. And Raymond Tibbetts, facing an April 12 execution for the murder of his wife an an elderly man in Hamilton County in1997, was pushed back to July 26. The postponements continue a years-long legal challenge over Ohio's lethal injection protocols, following the execution of Dennis McGuire in January 2014. McGuire, who received a capital sentence for the rape and murder of a pregnant Preble County woman, gasped for breath during what witnesses described as a prolonged procedure under the state's 2-drug execution method. In early 2015, state prison officials abandoned that combination, switching to 2 different drugs, though that protocol has not been used. The state and others have struggled to find supplies of execution drugs, after manufacturers blocked their use for lethal injections. State law changes enabled the purchase of drugs from compounding pharmacies, under legislation that allowed the names of those businesses to be kept secret, but prison officials have not identified or obtained supplies in that way. In October, state prison officials announced a new 3-drug lethal injection protocol, using midazolam, rocuronium bromide and potassium chloride. But a federal magistrate judge last month ruled the new process was unconstitutional, noting in documents, "The court concludes that use of midazolam as the 1st drug in Ohio's present 3-drug protocol will create a 'substantial risk of serious harm' or an 'objectively intolerable risk of harm'" The governor's office announced Friday that a pending review by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals was not expected to be completed in time already-scheduled executions. According to the governor's office, "Accordingly, these delays are necessary to allow the judicial process to come to a full resolution, and ensure that the state can move forward with the executions." Asked earlier this month whether the state would ever in a position to execute inmates, Kasich responded, "I don't know. I just don't have the answer to that We have a guy that raped and murdered a 3-year-old girl. He's next in line. I can't tell the judges what to do. Some of them are probably philosophically opposed to the death penalty. No matter what we do, they're going to remain opposed to it. I don't have any better answer to that." He added, "I would like to proceed. There's no joy or anything in this. It's just it's a matter of justice, particularly for the families that have been aggrieved. We'll do the best we can." Kasich has postponed executions on several occasions since McGuire's death. Other dates that were pushed back Feb. 10 included: Alva Campbell, Jr., convicted in the 1997 murder of a Franklin County man, to Sept. 13 from May 10. William Montgomery, convicted in the 1986 murder of 2 women in Lucas County, to Oct. 18 from June 13. Robert Van Hook, convicted in the 1985 murder of a Hamilton County man, to Nov. 15 from July 26. Jeffrey A. Wogenstahl, convicted in the 1991 murder of a Hamilton County girl, to April 17, 2019, from Sept. 13. Melvin Bonnell, convicted in the 1987 murder of a Cuyahoga County man, to April 11, 2018, from Oct. 18. More than 30 executions are scheduled through early 2021. (source: Twinsburg Bulletin) Ohio governor delays 8 executions as court fight continues Gov. John Kasich on Friday delayed 8 executions as a court fight continues over the constitutionality of the state's lethal injection process. Kasich's announcement postponed the execution of a condemned child killer scheduled for next week until May and moved 7 other procedures months into the future. The Republican governor said the timing of arguments before a Cincinnati federal appeals court necessitated the delay. The court is hearing Ohio's appeal of a federal judge's order finding the state's latest execution process unconstitutional. Kasich said he's confident Ohio will win the appeal but that the court calendar didn't provide enough time to prepare for executions scheduled this month, next month and April. "These delays are necessary to allow the judicial process to come to a full resolution, and ensure that
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., N.C., GA., MISS.
Feb. 11 TEXAS: Meet the Texas warden who supervised the most executions People against the death penalty protest outside the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas. It's execution day, and there have been no last minute reprieves. "I don't think we've ever executed an innocent person," said retired warden Charles Thomas O'Reilly. The condemned killer now walks to the death chamber, knowing nothing can save him now. "Myself and the chaplain, we're in the death house with the inmate," O'Reilly explained. It's a process O'Reilly knows intimately. Between 2004 and 2010, O'Reilly supervised 140 executions. The retired warden says each one was different. "We had one guy that got in there, and he cracked jokes the whole time he was in there," O'Reilly said. Among those executions, 1 was a woman, Frances Newton, in 2005. "She didn't give us any trouble. We treated her with as much dignity as we would anybody else that would be in there," O'Reilly said. He also watched over the execution of one of the most notorious criminals in Texas history: Angel Resendiz, the so-called "railroad killer" who traveled the country by rail, killing as many as 14 people, including Dr. Claudia Benton of West University Place. "These are evil people," O'Reilly said. "While I believe there's a lot of good in the world, there's also evil in the world." O'Reilly says he sleeps well at night -- no nightmares, no regrets. "If you're a warden at the Walls, you're gonna preside over executions," O'Reilly said. "If that's a problem for you, don't take the job." On the day of execution, the prisoner would be brought to Huntsville from death row in Livingston. O'Reilly would meet with the prisoner that afternoon, explain the process to him or her, and as the final hour approached, he would say, "It's time." A team of guards would strap the inmate into the gurney and then, IVs would be inserted into his arms. O???Reilly's would be the last voice the condemned would ever hear. After that, by remote control, O'Reilly would turn on a light in another room where someone whose identity would be kept secret started the flow of drugs. "He makes his final statement and then he goes to sleep," O'Reilly explained. The retiree looks back at his career and says supervising more executions than any warden in Texas history is not what he wants to be remembered by. O'Reilly says he'd rather be remembered as a good and fair warden who was just doing his job. (source: KHOU news) Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Order New Hearing In Brazos County Death Penalty Case A death row inmate from Brazos County is getting another court hearing. That's after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled the trial judge who removed himself after sentencing John Thuesen for capital murder nearly 7 years ago was not allowed to return to preside over Thuesen's post-trial appeals. Justices on the state's highest criminal court found that the judge who assigned a replacement did not issue a formal ruling allowing the original judge to return. The replacement judge was ordered to return and take no longer than 180 days to hear Thuesen's appeal and make a ruling. This week's decision by the criminal appeals court, the 1st of its type in Texas, does not change the local jury's decision that Thuesen killed his ex-girlfriend and her brother in College Station almost 8 years ago...or the death penalty sentence issued by the trial judge. (source: WTAW news) VIRGINIA: Judge orders mental evaluation for Henrico man accused of killing his parents on Easter A judge on Friday ordered a mental evaluation to ensure that a Henrico County man charged with killing his parents last Easter is fit to stand trial. Henrico Circuit Court Judge James Stephen Yoffy granted a defense motion for an evaluation of William Brissette. The judge ordered it to be finished by April 3 so attorneys could examine it. Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon L. Taylor supported the motion for the mental examination. The report, which will be done by a psychologist at the University of Virginia, will gauge whether Brissette is competent enough to understand the trial process and can help the attorneys defending him. "There is concern here that the defense has raised that Mr. Brissette's mental illness has made him incapable of assisting in his defense," Douglas A. Ramseur, Brissette's attorney, said after Friday's court hearing. Ramseur declined to specify what mental illness Brissette is suffering from. Brissette, 23, is facing charges of capital murder in the case. He is accused of fatally shooting his parents, Henry J. Brissette III and Martha B. Brissette, on Easter Sunday last March. The punishment for that is life in prison or death. Taylor has said that she intends to seek the death penalty, saying last September that her decision is based on the "vileness" of the crime and
