[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 2 PHILIPPINES: Eileen Sarmenta's mom now for life imprisonment over death penalty The mother of Eileen Sarmenta on Monday said she now prefers life imprisonment over death penalty for heinous criminals. Maria Clara Sarmenta, in a previous news report, said she supports the revival of the capital punishment following the possible release of Antonio Sanchez, who was convicted in 1995 of raping and killing her daughter. "At the spur of the moment I said I agreed to restoring the death penalty. But then when I thought it over, being a Christian I would rather have the life sentence because in death penalty, it's only one injection, tapos na (then it's done)," Sarmenta said during a joint hearing of the Senate justice and Blue Ribbon committees. "In the life sentence, the prisoner would be given the chance to be reformed and also the mere fact that he suffers, he should be suffering for the crime he did." Sanchez was sentenced to 7 reclusion perpetua terms (40 years each) for the 1993 rape-slay of Eileen and the torture-killing of her companion Allan Gomez. His supposed release due to a new law increasing the good conduct time allowance for inmates and a Supreme Court decision applying this law retroactively was met with public outrage. (source: ABS-CBN News) *** Group backs Manny Pacquiao’s death penalty proposal An anti-crime and corruption group supported yesterday Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s proposal to restore the death penalty. “The death penalty should be implemented by firing squad as proposed by Pacquaio,” said lawyer Jose Malvar Villegas Jr., founder and chairman of the Katipunan Kontra Krimen at Korapsyon (KKK), during a forum in Pasig City. Malvar said large-scale online investment scams and economic sabotage should be considered heinous crimes. Thousands of Filipino investors are being victimized online because of the absence of a “tough law that will protect them,” KKK director general Melchor Chavez said. The group has asked Senators Bong Go, Ronald dela Rosa and Pacquiao as well as House Pro Tempore Luis Raymond Villafuerte to approve the death penalty bill and include other crimes such as plunder, election fraud, vote-buying, land-grabbing and planting of evidence. Meanwhile, the KKK will hold a crime prevention summit in Batangas next month to coincide with the celebration of the 154th birth anniversary of Gen. Miguel Malvar. Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas will be the guest of honor and speaker. Bernardo Villegas, co-founder of the CRC-University of Asia and the Pacific, and Go were invited as resource speakers. (source: Philippine Star) SAUDI ARABIA: He Helped Usher in the Saudi Awakening — Now He's Facing Death On a hot September night in 1994, hundreds of people gathered in a city in northern Saudi Arabia to listen to a 37-year-old cleric. Wearing a traditional ankle-length white tunic, he called for reform in the Gulf kingdom, criticizing the ruling family for betraying the laws of Islam and refusing to share power. When he was done, the crowd followed him into the streets of Buraydah, the heartland of Wahhabism. The House of Saud was on notice that Salman al-Awda had become a fervent voice of dissent, unafraid to issue a direct challenge. At the time, authorities preferred to pacify, co-opt or buy off opponents rather than persecute them — unless they were jihadis. But such a brazen act of defiance resulted in al-Awda’s immediate arrest, along with those of more than a thousand of his supporters. “The Saudi state didn’t practice the kind of heavy-handed, blind repression that other countries in the region practiced. It wasn’t used to putting 1,000 people in jail,” says Stéphane Lacroix, a scholar of politics and religion in the Gulf and the author of Awakening Islam. The crackdown in Buraydah was unprecedented, and an early foreshadowing of how the young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (aka MBS) rules the kingdom today. Al-Awda was released after five years, but 23 years later, MBS had the sheikh arrested after he tweeted in September 2017 to millions of his followers that he hoped Saudi Arabia and Qatar could reconcile their differences. Al-Awda, now 62, is facing the death penalty while being held in solitary confinement, his health deteriorating. Human rights groups see al-Awda’s recent arrest as part of a larger campaign by the crown prince to silence dissent and any perceived rival. But the outspoken cleric may have also been targeted for a very specific reason: He serves as the face of a rebellious generation known as the Sahwa, or Awakening. Sahwa was inspired by the tenets of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose members took refuge in Saudi Arabia in the 1950s and ’60s after fleeing persecution in Egypt and Syria. Hundreds of these exiles were hired by government ministries and given prominent posts in universities. Over time, they cultivated a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----CONN., FLA., MISS., OHIO, TENN., CALIF., ORE., USA
Sept. 2 CONNECTICUT: Former Death Row Inmate Wins Judgment That He Faces "Cruel And Unusual Punishment" A judge has ruled in favor of a Connecticut inmate who sued the state in federal court over the conditions he’s faced during incarceration. Richard Reynolds was sentenced to death in 1995 after he was convicted in the murder of a Waterbury police officer. But after the state abolished the death penalty, he was re-sentenced to life in prison. He’s currently classified as a “special circumstances inmate” living in a 12 foot by 7 foot cell. The judge deemed his situation in prison as “cruel and unusual” and he called solitary confinement an “extreme” form of punishment. David McGuire agrees. He’s executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He hopes this will prove to be an important test case. “I believe that a lot of the arguments set forth by Richard Reynolds that were ultimately agreed upon by the judge will be used in other cases challenging similarly harsh conditions in Connecticut," McGuire told Connecticut Public Radio. "I also hope that this decision makes very clear to the legislature and elected officials that solitary confinement is counter-productive – it actually makes the prisoners, the guards, and ultimately society less safe -- and really takes a hard look why we use solitary confinement in Connecticut today,” he went on. The state has been ordered to improve the quality of Reynolds’ incarceration within 30 days. A spokesman for Attorney General William Tong says he’s weighing options now. The Department of Correction issued a statement saying it’s also "in the process of reviewing the decision and consulting with our legal team in order to determine a future course of action.” (source: wnpr.org) FLORIDA: Death penalty cases in limbo pending Florida Supreme Court decision 2 Charlotte County men scheduled to be re-sentenced under Florida’s new death penalty law may no longer have that chance. It all depends on the outcome of litigation before the Florida Supreme Court. The court is reconsidering whether the requirement of a unanimous jury to recommend a death sentence should be applied retroactively. “I guess the thinking was or is that it’s a different makeup now,” said Defense Attorney James Ermacora. “Since Gov. DeSantis has appointed three new justices that are more conservative, the belief is that maybe they’ll get a different result.” Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a 59-page brief in June on the appeal case of Duane Eugene Owen, arguing that the sentencing changes should be “prospective only,” or applying only to death penalty cases moving forward. Should the Florida Supreme Court agree the new law should not be applied to old cases, re-sentencings will be canceled for dozens of death row inmates. In Charlotte County, a status conference for Stephen V. Smith on Aug. 30 and his re-sentencing scheduled for October were both cancelled. His co-defendant, Dwight Eaglin, had not been scheduled for re-sentencing, but the state has requested an indefinite continuance on his case. Smith, 58, and Eaglin, 44, both received death sentences for the 2003 murders of fellow inmate Charles Fuston and correctional officer Darla Lathrem. Both men were serving life sentences at Charlotte Correctional Institution when they committed the murders during a botched escape attempt. In the penalty phase, a death sentence was recommended for Smith by a jury split 9-3. For Eaglin, the split was 8-4. In a motion to continue Smith’s re-sentencing, Assistant State Attorney Daniel Feinberg wrote, “Should the Florida Supreme Court decide the pending litigation in the favor of the State... the defendant would not be entitled to a re-sentencing, and the pending hearing set to begin October 13, 2019 would be unnecessary.” Kevin Shirley, who is defending Smith along with Ermacora, said both the defense and the state are ready to go when the decision is made. “Right now, we’re just treading water, waiting to find out whether we can do our job,” he said. Shirley and Ermacora both said the unanimous jury requirement should be applied to old cases. “Anybody on death row, sentenced to death without it being a unanimous jury recommendation, should get a new hearing,” Ermacora said. “It shouldn’t matter when you got that death penalty... My true feeling is there shouldn’t be a death penalty period. If there’s going to be one, certainly it should be a unanimous recommendation.” The attorneys hope in a new re-sentencing, they would achieve a similar or better outcome than the 9-3 split in Smith’s prior sentencing, though only 1 juror voting against the death penalty would be needed. “As long as you’ve got one, you win, unlike the old days,” Ermacora said. “It’s got to be unanimous. ... The judge can’t overrule it anymore, so as long as you get 1.” It’s unclear
