[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 20 SOMALIA: Somalia military court executes Al-Shabaab militant Somalia's military court on Thursday executed Al-Shabaab militant who was found guilty for carrying out a terror attack in Waberi district in November last year. The car bomb attack, which was carried out on November 26, 2016, left at least 30 civilians dead and 43 others injured. Deputy Prosecutor of the military court, Mumin Hussein Abdullahi, said the intention of the suspect was to carry out suicide attack but security forces arrested him before the explosion. "The court sentenced Abdukadir Abdi Hassan to death penalty," Abdullahi said, noting that the suspect was executed him by firing squad. (sources: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh) SINGAPOREexecution Singaporean drug trafficker executed at Changi Prison for heroin offence Singaporean drug trafficker Muhammad Ridzuan Md Ali, 31, was executed at Changi Prison on Friday (May 19), having exhausted all avenues of appeal following his conviction in 2013. Ridzuan had been found guilty in the High Court of trafficking in 72.50 grams of pure heroin and sentenced to death by the High Court on April 10, 2013. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine trafficked is more than 15 grams. The Central Narcotics Bureau said yesterday that 72.50 grams of diamorphine is equivalent to about 6,004 straws, which is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 864 abusers for a week. "This is estimated using a typical purity level of four per cent, based on drug seizures in recent years. The number of straws made may vary according to the purity level of the heroin," added CNB. His appeal against conviction and sentence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Feb 27, 2014 but in April that year, Ridzuan sought leave from the High Court to start judicial review proceedings against the Public Prosecutor's decision not to grant him a certificate of substantive assistance. The High Court dismissed the application on July 17, 2014 and in Oct 2015, the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal. On Jan 8, 2016, Ridzuan took his case to the Court of Appeal for the third time by way of a criminal motion for the Court of Appeal to review its decisions on his appeals, on grounds that the Misuse of Drugs Act provisions under which he was sentenced to death were unconstitutional. The apex court dismissed the criminal motion on Dec 2, 2016. He submitted a petition for clemency to the President which was unsuccessful. "Muhammad Ridzuan was accorded full due process under the law, and he was represented by legal counsel throughout the process," said the CNB. (source: New Straits Times) *** EU statement contradicts S'pore Govt's claim that death penalty is "deterrent" to crime There is no evidence that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, said the European Union Delegation to Singapore on Thursday. The statement, issued together with the EU Heads of Mission and the Head of Mission of Norway, was in response to the plea by anti-death penalty advocates on the then impending execution of Muhammad Ridzuan on Friday morning. It was a last-minute attempt by the activists, who had also written to the Singapore President, to save Ridzuan's life after he had been sentenced to death for trafficking in heroin into Singapore. The appeal was denied and Ridzuan was hanged on Friday morning. The Singapore Government's defence of the death penalty for drugs (and other crimes such as murder) has always been based on the claim that it deters criminals and crime, even though there has not been conclusive proof of such effect. This, however, has not dissuade Government ministers from making such claims each time the issue is debated. For example, in 2012, when Parliament was debating changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean told the House that: "Singaporeans understand that the death penalty has been an effective deterrent and an appropriate punishment for very serious offences, and largely support it." A recent research by the National University of Singapore (NUS), however, found that support for the death penalty was more "nuanced". For example, the research found: "Although 70 % of those surveyed said they were in general favour of the death penalty, very few expressed strong views either way, researchers said. Of those in favour, just 8 % said they were strongly in favour; of those that were against it, just 3 % said they strongly opposed." (CNA) The survey also found that there was "weak support for the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking and firearms offences in particular, where no death or injury had occurred." Yet, the Singapore Government continues to make 2 claims - 1st, that the death penalty is a "strong deterrent", and 2nd, that Singaporeans support it. EU statement The EU, on its part, "holds a principled po
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARK., MO., OKLA., CALIF., USA
May 20 ARKANSAS: Judge who blocked Arkansas lethal drug retracts probe plea A judge who blocked Arkansas' use of an execution drug, effectively blocking the state's lethal injections, has retracted his request for a professional conduct investigation of state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and members of her staff over their response to his order. The attorney general's office sought Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen's removal from the execution drug case after Griffen participated in an anti-death penalty demonstration the same day as his April 16 order. Griffen asked for the investigation April 26, saying Rutledge's office didn't alert him it was seeking his removal from the case. The Arkansas Supreme Court lifted Griffen's order and disqualified him from death penalty cases. Griffen retracted his investigation request Friday, saying he found an April 15 email on his office computer that alerted him to Rutledge's intentions. (source: Associated Press) MISSOURI: Admitted killer asks Missouri Supreme Court to toss death sentence Sentenced to death by a Boone County jury in 2008 for a double murder in Callaway County, Brian J. Dorsey now claims an error in jury instructions, based on recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent, resulted in an unconstitutional verdict that condemned him to die. Jurors in the penalty phase were not instructed to determine beyond a reasonable doubt that the aggravating circumstances of the crime outweighed the mitigating evidence, according to a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed Wednesday with the Missouri Supreme Court. The jury did not determine beyond a reasonable doubt each fact necessary in order to lawfully sentence someone to death, according to the petition. The petition asks for the court to vacate Dorsey's death sentence and send the case back to Boone County Circuit Court for another sentencing trial. Courts can issue what is called a writ of habeas corpus for a convicted person when it finds that their conviction or sentence violates the laws or constitution of the U.S. or state. It is necessary for a jury to make a determination whether aggravating circumstances, those that support a stiff penalty, outweigh mitigating circumstances, which would support leniency, when deciding whether to impose a death sentence, Rebecca Woodman, Dorsey's lawyer, wrote in the petition. Woodman cites several cases, decided in Missouri's highest court and the U.S. Supreme Court, as precedent for the unconstitutionality of his sentence. The Missouri Supreme Court has retroactively applied decisions it has made in cases similar to Dorsey's "where a jury failed to find the facts necessary to impose a given sentence." Dorsey, 45, used a shotgun to kill his cousin and her husband, Sarah and Ben Bonnie, as they slept in their New Bloomfield home on the night of Dec. 23, 2006. He then raped his cousin's body and poured bleach over her torso and genitals before stealing cash, her car and some property to sell off so he could pay his drug debts. Sarah Bonnie's parents found their bodies the next day and Dorsey turned himself in on Dec. 26, 2006. He took his case to the Missouri Supreme Court before in an attempt to get his guilty plea and death sentence overturned, but the court, in a unanimous decision by all 7 judges, denied his appeal. Dorsey in 2013 alleged that the state had withheld DNA evidence from his defense and his counsel was ineffective. Woodman did not respond to a message seeking comment. Loree Ann Paradise, spokeswoman for the Missouri Attorney General's Office, which represents the state in criminal appeals, declined to comment. Dorsey, the last person a Boone County jury sentenced to death, is among 24 men on death row in the Missouri Department of Corrections and is currently incarcerated at Potosi Correctional Center. Including Dorsey, 4 men are on death row via Boone County sentences, according to data a department of corrections spokesman provided. Among the cases Woodman cites that she claims apply to Dorsey's are U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Hurst v. Florida and Ring v. Arizona. Those cases, which were similar, found that the capital-sentencing protocols, 1st in Arizona in a 2002 decision and then in Florida in 2016, were unconstitutional because judges determined whether defendants deserved the death penalty. The decisions set precedent that only a jury can sentence someone to death. The Hurst decision was made in light of the court's decision in the Ring case. In the petition, Woodman argues that the court should re-examine the case because Dorsey's 1st appeal, one filed right after he was sentenced and that was denied, predated the Hurst decision. "In a holding that is contrary to Hurst, this court found that 'the jury's "weighing" of aggravating and mitigating evidence is not subject to proof beyond a reasonable doubt because it is not a factual fi
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., FLA., MISS., OHIO
May 20 TEXAS: Inmate facing death penalty appears in Bowie County court A Texas prison inmate accused of bludgeoning a correctional officer at the Barry Telford Unit to death in 2015 appeared in court Friday for a pretrial hearing. Billy Joel Tracy, 39, was flanked by a cadre of Texas Department of Criminal Justice officers as he entered 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart's courtroom Friday morning. Tracy is facing the death penalty in the beating death of Timothy Davison, a correctional officer with less than a year's experience who was attacked July 15, 2015. Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp and Tracy's defense attorneys, Matt Cobb of Mount Pleasant, Texas, and Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana, told Lockhart they have plans to meet June 2 and discuss matters concerning Tracy's upcoming trial. A motion to suppress video of Tracy's murder and of interviews with Tracy after the deadly attack filed by Cobb is expected to be argued at the next pretrial hearing June 16. Crisp handed the defense a large volume of papers which she said includes a transcript of Tracy's 1998 trial in Rockwall County for aggravated assault, burglary and assault on a peace officer which resulted in 2 life sentences with parole possible and a 20-year sentence. Crisp said she also has the actual exhibits from Tracy's 1st trial in her office at the Bowie County District Attorney's Office where the defense is welcome to review them. Tracy turned down an offer from Lockhart to speak at the hearing Friday. The case is scheduled for jury selection mid-September. However, Crisp said she, Cobb and Harrelson believe the jury pool should be summoned to the courthouse in early August for preliminary matters and instructions to return in September. If the jury finds Tracy guilty of Davison's murder, he faces death or life without the possibility of parole. (source: txktoday.com) NORTH CAROLINA: Monkey Junction murder suspect makes 1st court appearance A Lumberton man accused of the fatal shooting of a Wilmington woman in the Monkey Junction area last month made his 1st court appearance Friday. William James Bernicki, 48, is charged with 1st-degree murder in the slaying of 34-year-old Brittany Fullwood on April 25. Bernicki is accused of bursting into Fullwood's home on Woods Edge Road and shooting her several times before reportedly shooting himself in the face. The following day, investigators issued arrest warrants for Bernicki charging him with Fullwood's death. Bernicki was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center for treatment following the shooting and remained hospitalized until Friday afternoon. Deputies served Bernicki the warrants and took him to the New Hanover County Courthouse for his 1st appearance. A judge ordered that Bernicki be held under no bond. He was then taken to Central Prison in Raleigh and put in safe keeping for additional medical treatment, according to District Attorney Ben David. David said while it's too early to determine if his office will seek the death penalty against Bernicki, he has asked that the Capital Defender's Office be appointed to defend Bernicki. The Capital Defender's Office represents individuals that will face the death penalty. 911 calls released the day after the shooting revealed the frantic moments following the deadly encounter. A woman, who just got home from work, called dispatch shortly after the shooting, saying, "there's gunfire, gunfire! A man running down the road said his roommate had been shot. I've heard about 6 shots." When pressed by the dispatcher for more information about the shooting, the caller yelled to the man for details. "Saw him bust through the door...and the barrel of the gun come through the door," the caller said. Fullwood's 3-year-old son was in the backyard at the time of the shooting. He was found unharmed by deputies shortly after they arrived at the scene. Investigators said the shooting happened at Fullwood's mother's home and the boy is now in her care. (source: WECT news) FLORIDA: Death penalty prosecutions delayed despite new state law Even after Florida got a new death penalty law in March, several trials in South Florida remain in limbo over yet more legal wrangling. Defense lawyers, and some judges, say prosecutors still can't pursue the death penalty because the grand jury indictments don't include certain elements needed to support capital charges. These elements are called aggravating factors, such as the killing was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel," or possibly involved the slaying of a child. A state appeals court is considering arguments from lawyers for Fidel Lopez - the Sunrise man accused of disemboweling his girlfriend in 2015 - that challenge his indictment, and the pending decision will affect other cases. It is not known when the court will rule, leaving several death penalty cases stalled. The changes in
