death penalty news
July 19, 2004
SOUTH KOREA:
Yoo's history hints at drive to kill, escape punishment
The personal history of Yoo Yeong-cheol, the suspected serial killer who
has confessed to murdering 26 people, hints at a person who is obsessed
with murder.
A self-proclaimed "smart person" who says his IQ is 140, Mr. Yoo apparently
has devoted much of his brainpower to the dark art of murder and deception.
He has a history of faking ailments to keep police off guard and during the
questioning that led to his confession displayed some knowledge of the
charges he faces and his possible punishments.
After his arrest Thursday on charges of beating a masseuse, he confessed to
having killed at least 26 people, and also commented on the status of other
serial killers in recent Korean crime history.
In particular, he commented on the Woo Beom-gon case in 1982, noting that
Mr. Woo had killed many more people ? 56 ? than he had.
He also told his interrogators that 58 murderers are in Korean prisons now,
having escaped the death penalty. He also showed an interest in the current
movement by Uri Party legislators to abolish the death penalty in Korea.
In 2002, when he was arrested on a rape charge, he faked an epilepsy fit.
After he was hospitalized, he tried to escape. During this arrest, he
walked with a limp, presumably to lull the police into lowering their guard.
In the suspect's home, police found some items that they said could give
some insight into his character and thought processes. They found a few
DVDs of Korean movies, including Public Enemy, in which a policeman pursues
a killer who murdered his aged parents.
They also found a collection of stories and articles about firearms.
(source: JoongAng Daily National)
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JAMAICA:
Allen & Overy team triumphs in Jamaican death row case
A man facing Jamaica?s mandatory death penalty has seen his sentence
overturned as a result of pro bono work by Allen & Overy (A&O).
Lambert Watson was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend and baby
daughter in 1999 and had already served five years on death row. But in a
landmark ruling that could change the face of Jamaican law, the Privy
Council in London ruled the sentence ?an inhuman punishment?, which had
subjected Watson to ?inhuman or degrading treatment?.
The board of nine members, the largest-ever on a Privy Council appeal, also
declared the mandatory death sentence for murder in Jamaica
unconstitutional and, as a result, an automatic death sentence must now be
considered unlawful. The validity of Watson?s own sentence will be
reassessed in a Jamaican court.
A team of A&O lawyers had been working free of charge on the case over
several years as part of the firm?s drive towards pro bono work. The
outcome is testament to their efforts in the Caribbean.
?We?re convinced prisoners ought to be entitled to a fair sentence and not
a mandatory death penalty,? said Arnondo Chakrabarti, one of the A&O
litigation associates who worked on Wilson?s case.
?We?re pretty fortunate in the job we do because we can actually take the
time out to do things like this. The service and skills we provide really
can be a great help for people who might not otherwise have access to legal
support?, added Chakrabarti, who also recently worked on a pro bono basis
for political pressure group Free Tibet.
The A&O team worked alongside the Independent Jamaica Council for Human
Rights, a charitable body dedicated to averting miscarriages of justice in
the Caribbean. ?We simply could not have got this far without them,? said
Owain Morgan, an A&O associate who was part of the litigation team.
Prisoners held on death row in both Jamaica and Trinidad frequently endure
appalling conditions and the Privy Council represents the last throw of the
dice for many of them.
The A&O litigation team instructed Nicholas Blake QC and Julian Knowles of
Matrix Chambers, Colin Nicholls QC of 3 Raymond Buildings and Lloyd Barnett
and Nancy Anderson of the Jamaican Bar, all of whom also worked on the case
without charge.
Last year, A&O lawyers devoted nearly 50,000 hours to pro bono work
worldwide, which is the equivalent of ?11.6m in chargeable hours.
As part of the pro bono drive, the firm now offers its trainees the
opportunity to take a three-month placement at international charity
Liberty, with whom it has a long association after working on several
high-profile libel cases.
(source: TheLawyer.com)
