[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
April 9 PAKISTAN: Waiting for the hangmanAnd at least 8,000 prisoners in Pakistan are simply waiting to die, whiling away an average of 11.41 years until they are either acquitted or executed 434 people have been hanged since the moratorium on death penalty was lifted in Pakistan. But the number of lives destroyed far exceeds this figure. When the state makes the decision to execute someone, it wrecks the lives of everyone who loves them. The criminal justice system in Pakistan requires waiting. Waiting for things to move forward, waiting for verdicts, waiting for justice, which often isn't, as promised, served. And at least 8000 prisoners in Pakistan are simply waiting to die, whiling away an average of 11.41 years until they are either acquitted or executed. Either way, whoever ends up on Pakistan's death row might as well get comfortable. They could be there a while. Justice Project Pakistan has had clients that have spent well over 1/2 their lives as prisoners. Some were arrested before their 18th birthdays, making them in the eyes of the law, juveniles. Aftab Bahadur entered his prison cell as a 15-year-old, wide-eyed teenager but left as 38-year-old in a body bag. Ansar Iqbal had spent 29 of his 43 years on this earth in prison before he was executed in June 2015. The time that Zulfikar Ali Khan spent on death row was enough to allow him to complete 33 diplomas and educate 50 other prisoners. In the 18 years, he was confined to a prison, the Government of Pakistan scheduled and postponed his execution 22 times. All 3 of them did not deserve to be there. This week, 'Intezaar' was staged by Ajoka Theatre Pakistan, Highlight Arts and Complicite, which offered its audience an insight into the lives that people like Aftab, Ansar and Zulfikar led locked in a prison. Their miserable existence contrasted heavily with their resilience and courage to inject some purpose into their otherwise meaningless lives. There is a prisoner who can paint, another who can compose and sing, yet another who spends all his times studying and teaching others. But other inmates are there in violation of Pakistani and international laws: the juvenile offenders, the physically handicapped and mentally ill. While there was some degree of artistic license at play here, none of these stories was fiction. When the play depicted the executioner attempting to hang a man paralysed from the waist down, they were talking about our client, Abdul Basit. The difficulty and inherent wrongness of hanging a man unable to stand was one experienced in actual life 2 years ago. When the play showed us the story of a mute woman, prone to hysteria, it was not an embellishment but again, retelling of facts. Kanizan Bibi was held for 11 days in police custody before being brought to the magistrate to confess. She was tortured so brutally and so relentlessly; she was hospitalised while in detention. Like her theatrical counterpart, Kanizan has not spoken a word in years, as a direct result of the trauma the torture put her through. 2017 marks her 27th year on death row. The visual depiction of the very real consequences of our justice system forced the audience to confront what it really means to support the death penalty in Pakistan. And many turned away in shame, cringing that such violence is being committed in their name. Conditions on Pakistan's death row expose prisoners to a high risk of the 'death row syndrome,' a psychological disorder that inmates on death row are susceptible to when they are isolated. Suicidal tendencies, psychotic delusions and heightened anxiety (as a result of knowing of their imminent death) can cause prisoners to go insane. The wait to march to the gallows only exacerbates this. Especially vulnerable are juveniles and individuals with mental illness or intellectual disabilities. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights considers the prolonged detention of the prisoner; the physical conditions of imprisonment; and the psychological impact of the incarceration on the prisoner as inhuman treatment. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has acknowledged that "the psychological tension created by prolonged detention on death row may affect persons in different degrees." Critical to this last factor are "personal circumstances of the prisoner, especially his age and mental state at the time of the offence." These experiences of prisoners on death row are a testament to the need for a comprehensive and urgent response from the international community. As Pakistan heads for its first of many UN reviews this year, this must be kept in mind. We have woken up to so many stories in the last year alone, of people being acquitted after they have been hanged, or dying in prisons waiting for their appeals. And for all of them, the wait has been long, illegal and utterly destructive. (source: Opinion, Rimmel Mohydin;
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, ARK., MO., MINN.
April 9 OHIO: Death penalty debate continues Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said it may be premature for people opposed to the death penalty to call it dead in Ohio. "In Trumbull County, the system works and due process takes place daily with judges and jurors doing their jobs every day," Watkins said. "Every poll in Ohio and the U.S. since I have been prosecutor in 1984 ... shows a majority of citizens supporting the death penalty in Ohio and most of the United States. Some states have repealed the death penalty, but under the United States Constitution, it is not cruel and unusual punishment to have and use the death penalty for murders." Kevin Werner, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions, disagrees, saying, in part, an execution in Ohio hasn't been carried out in more than 3 years after the process was suspended because of legal challenges over how the state puts people to death. "Ohioans accept that capital punishment is coming to an end. Our state and county coffers will welcome the cost savings and more sound public policy," Werner said. Ohio suffered a blow Thursday when a federal appeals court rejected the state's new 3-drug lethal injection process. In a 2-1 decision, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati found the proposed use of a contested sedative - midazolam - unconstitutional. The court also ruled Ohio's planned use of 2 other drugs the state abandoned years ago prevents their reintroduction in a new execution system. Executions have been on hold since January 2014, when inmate Dennis McGuire took 26 minutes to die under a never-before-tried 2-drug method that began with midazolam. Ohio announced its 3-drug method in October. An appeal is likely. Options included asking the full appeals court to consider the case or appealing straight to the U.S. Supreme Court, said Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General???s Office. Said Werner, "The death penalty system in Ohio is collapsing in nearly every measurable way. The trends we see are striking. Ohioans are choosing life sentences as the appropriate punishment for these worst-of-the-worst crimes." Indictments containing the possibility of death as punishment were down in Ohio 30 % in 2016 compared to the year before, according to a news release from the anti-execution group. Information from the attorney general's office shows 4 new death sentences were added in Ohio, but three were removed for resentencing or retrial. Also, figures from the office show 6 counties with a high number of inmates on death row - Trumbull, Mahoning, Hamilton, Lucas, Stark and Summit - did not file a new death penalty case in 2016. But in March, capital murder charges were filed against Nasser Hamad of Howland, who is accused of killing 2 and wounding 3 others March 25 at his home. In Mahoning County, capital defendant Robert Seman's trial, which has been moved because of difficulties in seating an impartial jury, will start this month in Portage County. Seman is accused of killing 3 while setting fire to a Youngstown home. He was indicted in 2015. There are 139 people on Ohio's death row, including 1 woman, Donna Roberts of Trumbull County. 25 executions are scheduled in Ohio in the next 4 years, including Mahoning County's John Drummond, who is scheduled to die Sept. 17, 2020. The next execution in Ohio is scheduled for May 10. Opponents say there are trends that show judges and juries are choosing options other than death. Between 2012 and 2015, Ohio prosecutors sought the death penalty in 122 cases, according to the Ohio Supreme Court's Capital Indictment Table. While death penalty cases from this time period produced 9 new death sentences, most concluded with alternative sentences. Watkins, however, has another take on the numbers. "Because we have individualized sentencing, no 2 defendants are ever treated the same. This is as it should be. Therefore, results will vary as would be expected," Watkins said. Trumbull County statistics bear that out. There was an 11-year gap between Roberts' sentence in 2003 and David Martin's death penalty conviction. Assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor LuWayne Annos said juries have recommended the death sentence in 5 cases - Sean Carter, Stanley Adams, Nate Jackson, Roberts and Martin - since the legislature gave an option of life without parole in capital cases. Since July 1, 1996, 6 capital murder defendants were sentenced to life without parole after juries in Trumbull County were given the ability to make that recommendation. But, "the real question is how many more years will we tolerate the enormous costs, the bias, and the risk of executing innocent people?" Werner said. Watkins said he would rather look at an issue of fairness. "Some would say that it would be unfair to execute 1 robber who was caught leaving the scene of a murder when the accomplice got away and never wa
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., N.C., FLA., ALA., LA.
April 9 TEXAS: Putt-Putt killer gets stay of execution, but 'case is far from over' The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution Friday for a man convicted in the 2006 murder of an assistant manager of a Putt-Putt golf park in Hurst. Paul Storey, 32, who was convicted in 2008 for the murder of Jonas Cherry, was scheduled to die on Wednesday. Storey did not immediately learn of his stay because he was in transport Friday afternoon from Fort Worth to Huntsville. He had been in the Tarrant County Jail for a recent hearing in connection with his case. "The 1st thing I did is rush back to the jail but he had already been sent back to prison to be executed," said attorney Mike Ware. While his conviction remains in place, the court's decision will put into motion a lengthy legal process that will eventually decide whether Storey should live or die for his crime. Storey's lawyers, his family and the parents of Cherry have all fought to save Storey's life. Cory Session, a justice reform advocate who fought for the posthumous exoneration of his convicted brother, Tim Cole, also pushed for Storey's execution to be stayed. "This case is far from over," Ware said. "At the time being I'm very relieved for Paul and Marilyn and for that matter, I'm relieved for the Cherrys." Said Marilyn Shankle-Grant, Storey's mom: "I am just elated. I am so happy. I know now it is an indefinite stay until we get some answers from the lower court." Cherry begged for his life during the crime at Putt-Putt Golf and Games at a highly visible location across Texas 121/Loop 820 from North East Mall in Hurst. It was about 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 16, 2006 and Storey and Mark Porter stood over 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 and fled with between $200 and $700. 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. Session said Friday that the appeals court has called for another hearing at the trial court presided over by State District Judge Robb Catalano. That hearing will seek to determine whether defense attorneys were notified by prosecutors during Storey's trial that Cherry's parents, Glenn and Judy Cherry, were against the death penalty during the 2008 trial. "Judith and Glenn Cherry did not want death for Mr. Storey," an affidavit from the parents stated. "Unknown to the jury and contrary to the state's argument, they stood with the family members who pleaded for the jury to spare Mr. Storey's life." Prosecutors, however, have said that while the Cherrys were generally opposed to the death penalty, they were in agreement at the time of the 2008 trial that Storey should be executed because he had refused to accept a plea bargain for life without parole. Christy Jack, 1 of the prosecutors who is now in private practice, recently told the Star-Telegram that Storey's defense team was informed before the trial about how Cherry's parents felt. "Death penalty litigation is the most important thing that attorneys do," Jack said. "So I want everything that I do in these cases to be above reproach." Robert Foran, the lead prosecutor at the time of the 2008 trial, also confirmed Jack's account. "The defense decided not to call the parents to the stand," Foran said. "That was a tactical decision on their part, but we told them and they damn well know it." (source: star-telegram.com) VIRGINIA: Virginia's dark legacy of secrecy about executions The newly enhanced secrecy behind Virginia's capital punishment protocols underscores a legacy of death born in institutionalized racism that upcoming executions - including that of Ivan Teleguz, scheduled April 25 - do not just prolong, but exacerbate. In March 1879, after years of tolerating party atmospheres accompanying the public executions of blacks, Virginia first moved to shroud its execution process in secrecy after almost 1,000 revelers gathered after the hanging of 2 young black men at New Kent Courthouse for a grand "Gallows Ball" that lasted until daybreak. Afterward, a mortified General Assembly moved quickly to make hangings private, intending to stop the festival backdrops and remove black influence and traditions from the proceedings. Most newspapers that year, including the April 2 Petersburg Progress-Index, praised the new statute, reporting that "this (law) shall put an end to all such gallows picnics and jollifications as was witnessed at New Kent Court-house." There is little evidence to conclude that crowds gathered to condemn the crimes of the prisoner. On the contrary, the widespread prejudices in the judicial process, from arr
