[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Feb. 18 PHILIPPINES: Catholics protest against extrajudicial killings, death penalty The biggest religious sector in the Philippines held their 1st major protest against extrajudicial killings and the possible reinstatement of the death penalty. Thousands of Catholics gathered in Quirino Grandstand Saturday morning for what they called the "Walk For Life." The protest action started past 4:00 a.m., which Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said is the most common time when extrajudicial killings happen. "Hindi mapupuksa ng karahasan ng kapwa karahasan," said Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. [Translation: Violence is not the answer to violence.] Catholic officials, however, said the protest is not against President Rodrigo Duterte's policies but an expression of their opposition against the societal problems threatening the sanctity of life. "Ang Walk For Life ay hindi para ipagtanggol ang drug addict o ang mga mamamatay tao. Ang kriminal ay dapat arestuhin, kasuhan, hatulan at ikulong," said Archbishop Socrates Villegas, adding drug addicts should be rehabilitated. [Translation: Walk For Life is not to condone drug addicts or murderers. Criminals should be arrested, indicted and jailed.] Aside from the rise of extrajudicial killings, death penalty and the proliferation of drugs, the Church is also against abortion, divorce, same-sex marriage and proposed distribution of condoms in schools. The Church officials said they are going to be more active, and denied that the protest is a violation of the separation of church and state. The president has strongly opposed the Catholic Church. He recently called the institution "full of shit" in a speech during the commemoration of the death of 44 slain Special Action Force policemen in January 24, accusing them of corruption, womanizing and child abuse. (source: cnnphilippines.com) Improve judicial system, not death penalty: Pangilinan A senator is pushing for the modernization of the country's justice system, instead of reviving the death penalty. In a public hearing held at the University of San Carlos (USC) Law School yesterday, Senator Francisco "Kiko" Pangilinan said that the National Government must introduce a major revamp of the country's justice system as a way to deter crimes. Pangilinan, a lawyer, decried moves of the House of Representatives to pass a measure that aims to revive the death penalty. Pangilinan said that other countries have higher conviction rates, but, the Philippines only has at least 30 %. The senator also said that the National Government is not providing enough budget to the judicial branch. He said that only .8 % from the entire national budget goes to the judiciary. There are also problems on lack of courts, judges and prosecutors that need to be addressed. "I've heard from the IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines) here in Cebu that there is 1 court handling 3,000 cases," he said. Pangilinan also urged President Rodrigo Duterte to convene the Judicial, Executive and Legislative Advisory Council to promote reforms in the judicial system. Lawyer Renan Oliva, Mandaue City treasurer and an IBP member, agreed with Pangilinan on the need to improve the country's justice system rather than revive the death penalty. *** Cebu City execs want plunder in death penalty law Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella are both for the inclusion of plunder among the crimes punishable by death. Osmena said that stealing government funds costs lives and that the penalty should be imposed upon immediately to the perpetrator. He said that if he were to suggest, tax evasion should also be included in the list of crimes punishable by death. Osmena said that he is in favor of the imposition of the death penalty as a whole, and added that it should be done "fairly fast." Labella, for his part, said he is not in favor of the death penalty. But should it be imposed, plunder should be the 1st and most important felony deserving of such punishment, he said. The Congress' majority bloc last week decided to take out plunder from the list of crimes punishable by death under House Bill 4727. (source for both: sunstar.com.ph) ** Lagman: House majority railroading death penalty bill An opposition lawmaker assailed the "unwarranted railroading" of the passage of the death penalty bill and the "gagging" of its opponents after Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas threatened to close the debates if they kept on questioning the quorum. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a leader of an independent bloc in the chamber, said the House leadership was using the rules for their own benefit but was too touchy when opponents tried to do the same. He insisted that questions on the quorum were a valid parliamentary tactic based on the rules, which state that: "The House shall not transact b
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., OHIO, MO., S.DAK., NEV.
Feb. 18 TEXAS: Faith leaders support death-row inmate's religious discrimination claim More than 500 faith leaders across the country have endorsed a statement calling for a new trial for a Texas death row inmate claiming religious discrimination in the selection of his jury. National faith leaders including Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne of Red Letter Christians, author Brian McLaren and Baptist ethicist David Gushee issued a statement Feb. 16 supporting Christopher Anthony Young, a 33-year-old man from San Antonio, Texas, sentenced to death for killing a mini-mart and dry cleaners owner during an armed robbery in 2004. Among other things, Young argues that one prospective juror interviewed at his 2006 trial was dismissed because prosecutors believed her association with an outreach ministries program at her Baptist church might bias her against imposing the death penalty. "It is absolutely unacceptable to strike a juror based on her affiliation with her church," said Pastor Joel Hunter at Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood, Fla., and a lead signatory. "As evangelical Christians, we firmly believe that people of all faiths and backgrounds should be able to participate as jurors." Prosecutors dismissed prospective juror Myrtlene Williams, 1 of 6 African Americans in the 60-member jury pool, because they believed her membership in Outreach Ministries at San Antonio's Calvary Baptist Church could cause her to be more sympathetic to the defendant, particularly in the punishment phase of trial. During questioning Williams said that while some members of the group visited jails and prisons in an effort to rehabilitate persons who are incarcerated, she did not personally work with prisoners. Another reason given for her dismissal was she had a daughter with a past conviction of a larceny-type offense in another state. The statement by faith leaders said her removal was wrong. "Membership in a particular church or association with a particular ministry is not a fair basis for preventing someone from carrying out her civic duty as a juror," they said. "Indeed, eliminating a particular juror based solely on her religious affiliation offends the Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution." Young, who is African American, also has argued that the state used Williams' religious affiliation and daughter's criminal history as a pretext to dismiss 5 of the 6 impaneled jurists who were black. The Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals denied Young's right to appeal his conviction in August. The U.S. Supreme Court will confer March 3 about whether to accept the case. The faith leaders said they do not all agree on the morality of capital punishment and are not stating an opinion about whether or not Young deserves to die. "We do believe, however, that the process by which he was sentenced to death was tainted by the decision of the government to strike a juror, not because of her personal beliefs, but solely because she was affiliated with a ministry that works to improve the lives of the poor, the elderly, and the incarcerated," they said. "Indeed, the government struck this juror even though she did not personally work with prisoners; she was removed, in short, because of her mere association with a church that pursued its mission of aiding the weak." Gushee, director of the Center for Theology and Public Life and Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University in Atlanta, currently serves as interim pastor at First Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga., a flagship congregation in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. 2 years ago Gushee and other individual CBF members campaigned unsuccessfully for clemency for Kelly Gissendaner, the 1st woman executed in Georgia in 70 years and a graduate of a prison theology program sponsored by a consortium including Mercer University???s McAfee School of Theology, 1 of the CBF's partner schools. Other Baptists signing on in support of a new trial for Young include Fisher Humphreys, a retired professor at Samford University???s Beeson Divinity School and member at Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham, Ala.; Mikael Broadway, associate professor of theology and ethics at Shaw University Divinity School and associate minister at Mount Level Missionary Baptist Church in Durham, N.C.; Roger Olson, Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas; and Frederick Haynes III, senior pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church Dallas. (source: Baptist News) FLORIDAfemale death sentence overturned After 2 death row stints, mother of murdered 'Baby Lollipops' no longer faces execution Ana Maria Cardona, the Miami mother twice sentenced to execution for the torture and murder of her toddler son known as "Baby Lollipops," is no longer facing death row. Prosecutors on Fri
