[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 21 PHILIPPINES: Don't misuse Bible to push death penalty, Philippines bishops say Remember what Jesus' cross stands for, and don't misuse the Bible to justify the death penalty, the Philippines' Catholic bishops have said. "To the people who use the Bible to defend the death penalty, need we point out how many other crimes against humanity have been justified, using the same Bible?" the country's bishops asked. "We humbly enjoin them to interpret the Scriptures properly, to read them as a progressive revelation of God's will to humankind, with its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, God's definitive Word to the world." Their words came in a March 19 pastoral statement on the death penalty signed by Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of Lingayen Dagupan, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. The statement was read at all Masses in the country on Sunday. Jesus came not to abolish the law, but fulfill it, the bishops explained: "Jesus was never an advocate of any form of 'legal killing'. He defended the adulterous woman against those who demanded her blood and challenged those who were without sin among them to be the first to cast a stone on her." The letter opened with a quotation from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans: "God proved his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The death penalty was abolished in the Philippines in 2006. At present President Rodrigo Duterte, who is also leading a brutal crackdown on drugs, has advocated its restoration. In their letter, the Catholic bishops recounted the passage of a House of Representatives bill that would restore the death penalty. "It was Ash Wednesday when members of the lower House, on the 2nd reading of the death penalty bill, outvoted by voice-voting the nays with their ayes. Ironically, they were captured on television shouting in favor of death with their foreheads marked with crosses made of ashes," the bishops said. "Could they have forgotten what that cross meant?" They questioned whether the legislators had missed that the crosses on their foreheads "were supposed to serve as a loud statement of faith in the God who, for love of us, chose to give up his life for our salvation, rather than see us perish." According to the bishops, the saying of the Bible, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" was challenged by Jesus, who advocated non-retaliation of evil for evil and justice founded on mercy. "Even with the best of intentions, capital punishment has never been proven effective as a deterrent to crime," they continued. "Obviously it is easier to eliminate criminals than to get rid of the root causes of criminality in society. Capital punishment and a flawed legal system are always a lethal mix." The statement also spoke about the victims. "We are not deaf to the cries of the victims of heinous crimes. The victims and their victimizers are both our brothers and sisters. The victim and the opressor are both children of God," they said. They said the guilty should repent and make reparation for their sins. The bishops offered love, compassion and hope to crime victims. The death penalty will be applied more to the poor, who cannot afford adequate legal defenses, the bishops said. "As a law, death penalty directly contradicts the principle of inalienability of the basic human right to life, which is enshrined in most constitutions of countries that signed the universal declaration of human rights," they said. The Philippines bishops called for prayers for the country's legislators. "Let us offer all our Masses for them, asking our Crucified Lord who offered his whole life, body and blood, for the salvation of sinners, to touch their consciences and lead them to abolish capital punishment once and for all," they said. (source: patheos.com) TRINIDAD: Trinidad PM vows to bring back hangings after missing policewoman becomes latest murder victim Following the discovery of the decomposing body of a 22-year-old policewoman who went missing last week, law enforcement officials have vowed to bring the killer to swift justice and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has made it clear his government will be taking whatever steps are necessary to resume hangings. Joseph's body was found by a fisherman in the Gulf of Paria near Port of Spain on Wednesday, 6 days after she disappeared. It had been disposed of in a crocus bag, but it became snagged in the fisherman's net and he brought it to the surface. He will receive a $25,000 reward that had been offered by Crime Stoppers for information about Joseph's whereabouts. At least 3 people, including a woman who is said to have had an argument with Police Constable Joseph days before she disappeared, have been detained by police in connection with the murder. 1 of the men is the 36-year-old father of the female suspect's child. He was reportedly
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, ARK., CALIF., USA
March 21 OHIO: Vigil at St. Gerard calls on ending death penalty The Catholic Church has long been known for its stance in defending the rights of unborn children. However, a prayer vigil held Monday took a more controversial approach to the life/death issue. The St. Gerard Catholic Church held a prayer service to end the death penalty. The Rev. Michael S. Sergi said the problem lies within everyone's definition of judgment. "All life is sacred and precious to God, no matter who they are," Sergi said. "Justice is needed. However, death isn't justice, it is revenge." Sergi said he wished that the church would have been filled to hear the message. With about 40 people in attendance, he said it still did not negate the impact that could be made. "Jesus started with 12," Sergi said, "and look what he did." Sergi recalled a time dealing with the death penalty himself when at a church in another state several years ago. A police officer at his parish was killed in the line of duty, and Sergi was called to help with the family during the grieving process. The killer was later captured and put on death row. Some of the family reveled in the capture and were eager to see "justice done." Sergi was called by the wife several years later after the killer was put on death row. "She was in the hospital, but she was doing fine," Sergi said. "She had called me to say the date of execution had been finally set." The wife was receiving hate mail calling on her to do the right thing and try and have the execution stopped. She asked Sergi what she should do. "I told her I understood the hurt and the anger," Sergi said, "but that the state doesn't have the right to take a life. It is against the law of God." Sergi said the woman knew he would answer that way, but that she had to hear it. Together, they prayed for her dead husband. She had since remarried. They then also prayed for the man on death row. He said that was the type of prayer needed to combat the issue. "Tonight, we come with the powerful weapon of prayer," Sergi said. "We have to call upon the government, upon all of the governors, and change their hearts from revenge. We need to love our enemies. We need to stop the killing." (source: limaohio.com) ARKANSAS: Arkansas's Reckless Plan to Execute 8 Men in 10 Days Could End in State-Sanctioned Torture Before Death Between April 17 and 27, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson plans on doing what should be inconceivable: executing 8 prisoners in 10 days. After killing no prisoners in the last 12 years, the state is rushing to execute these 8 men before the controversial execution drug it needs to carry them out expires on April 30. The drug, Midazolam, has been directly linked to past botched executions, but that hasn't stopped Hutchinson from planning a killing spree in a few weeks. By racing to use a drug known to play a part in botched executions, the governor risks debasing the state of Arkansas, its citizens, and the very American traditions of justice by torturing prisoners to death. In a hospital setting, Midazolam is prescribed by doctors to calm patients' nerves or act as a sedative for minor procedures. It is not used to put patients under for surgery, let alone anesthetize prisoners before killing them. And when Midazolam is combined with the 2 other drugs used during the execution - vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride - it produces unspeakable pain before death. We know this because it's happened before. The most recent Midazolam botch occurred during Alabama's December execution of Ronald Bert Smith. His execution took 34 minutes, during which time Smith heaved and coughed for 13 minutes. His attorneys reported that he remained conscious, responding to corrections officials, well into the execution. In 2014, the state of Ohio relied on Midazolam with the same horrific results. That same year, a similar nightmare transpired over the course of 2 long hours after Arizona used 15 repeated doses to execute Joseph Wood before he finally stopped coughing and, gulping once, died. These botches together have led an Ohio judge to halt future executions using Midazolam, while Florida and Arizona have also abandoned it. Beyond the cruelty of using a defective drug to kill someone, Arkansas is upping the probability of something going terribly wrong by ratcheting up the pace of its executions. Double and triple executions are rare in the history of the U.S. death penalty and haven't occurred in close to 20 years. When they did happen, it was in a bygone era when states were annually executing 3 and 4 times as many people as they do today. Even then, no state attempted, as Arkansas plans for this April, 4 double executions in 10 days. The last state to attempt a double execution was Oklahoma, when, also using Midazolam, it botched the execution of Clayton Lockett. The prison warden himself called it a "bloody
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., FLA., ALA., TENN.
March 21 TEXASimpending execution Parents of slain Hurst Putt-Putt manager seek to halt killer's executio The parents of a man slain during a robbery in 2006 in Northeast Tarrant County have signed an affidavit calling on the state not to execute one of the killers next month. Glenn and Judy Cherry, whose son Jonas Cherry was killed at Putt-Putt Golf and Games in Hurst where he was an assistant manager, wrote a letter to state and local authorities requesting that Paul Storey's death sentence be commuted to life without parole. "Paul Storey's execution will not bring our son back, will not atone for the loss of our son and will not bring comfort or closure," the affidavit states. "We are satisfied that Paul Storey remaining in prison until his death will assure that he cannot murder another innocent person in the community, and with this outcome we are satisfied and convinced that lawful retribution is exercised concerning the death of our son." Cherry's parents, who are opposed to the death penalty, addressed the letter to Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson, Gov. Greg Abbott, state District Judge Robb Catalano and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Glenn and Judy Cherry said they know how hard it is to lose a child and have no wish to see Storey's family suffer in a similar way. "His family did not harm us and are innocent regarding our suffering," the letter states. Jonas Cherry begged for his life during the crime, which took place about 8:45 a.m. Oct. 16, 2006. Storey and Mike Porter stood over Jonas Cherry, who pleaded: "Please! I gave you what you want. Don't hurt me." They refused and shot him twice in the head and twice in his legs. Cherry, who was approaching his 1st wedding anniversary, was pronounced dead at the scene. Storey and Porter were convicted of capital murder, but only Storey got the death penalty. Porter got life without parole after making a deal with the Tarrant County district attorney's office. Storey is scheduled to be executed April 12. On Monday afternoon, Storey's lawyers continued their efforts to persuade the state to spare his life. During a hearing, attorneys Mike Ware and Keith Hampton said they plan to file their client's clemency petition with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles this week. Clemency, or mercy, is something attorneys representing death row clients routinely ask for but seldom receive. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 282 death row inmates nationwide have been granted clemency for humanitarian reasons since 1976, but only 2 of those inmates were in Texas. According to documents filed in federal court, Storey's lawyers were never told that he was just barely functional intellectually. That information has, in part, led at least 1 juror to change his mind. Sven Berger, a 36-year-old software engineer now living in Washington state, voted for the death penalty along with the other 11 jurors at the end of Storey's trial in 2008. The jury deliberated less than 2 hours before assessing the death penalty, Berger said. "There was a definite sense in the room that a decision had already been made," Berger said. "Had I known he was mentally impaired there would have been a much longer conversation about my decision." Berger, who has signed an affidavit detailing his change of mind, also said that prosecutors argued during the trial that Cherry's parents wanted the death penalty to be imposed. Ware recently told him that Cherry's parents wanted Storey to have a life sentence without parole. "More than anything else that affected me," Berger said. "If the family of the deceased did not want the perpetrator executed, that would have been important for me to know, and I believe it would have been important to the other jurors." Christopher Wilkins, who went on a 2-day killing spree in Fort Worth and was executed on Jan. 11, was the 1st person executed in the United States in 2017. Berger said he got the impression during testimony that Storey was not very bright but was not a future danger to society. But he did not feel equipped at that time to sway other jurors to his way of thinking. He said he never understood why Storey deserved a death sentence while his accomplice, Porter, received a life sentence. "It seemed clear to me that Porter was the leader," Berger said. "It irritated me that he took the plea deal. It was infuriating to see Porter get life and Storey get death." Storey's mother, Marilyn Shankle-Grant, said she spoke to Berger about his change of heart and forgave him. "This young man was placed in the position of deciding whether someone was going to live or die," Shankle-Grant said. "He didn't want to go against the crowd. There were a whole lot of people who were going one way and he didn't want to voice his opinion. "We all have things that we've done in the past that we wish we could have done
