[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 18


INDIA:

Former ACP gets death penalty for custody deaths


In a landmark judgment, a Delhi court on Friday sentenced a former police
officer to death and awarded rigorous imprisonment to 2 others for killing
a man in custody. This is the 1st instance in the country where capital
punishment has been awarded in a case of custodial death.

RK Tyagi, a former assistant commissioner of police, was held guilty of
illegally confining and killing Mahinder Kumar in 1987. Mahinder Kumar was
detained at the Vivek Vihar police station in the capital for causing
minor injuries to a couple during a fight. Kumar and his friend Raj Kumar
were detained without a warrant by Tyagi and his associates.

Tyagi, ACP KP Singh and Sub-Inspector Tej Singh, were accused of beating
up the 2 men in the lock-up. The victims were later taken to the Loknayak
Jayaprakash Narain hospital from where Raj Kumar fled.

Mahinder Kumar died of his wounds at the hospital.

Kamini Jaiswal, a lawyer who has taken up the clemency petition of
Mohammad Afzal, prime accused in the Parliament attack case, said death in
police custody cannot be condoned. "Although I am against the death
sentence, this could be treated as the rarest of rare offence," Jaiswal
said. "Police are supposed to protect. Here that basic premise was
overlooked."

Police failed to register a complaint and book the 3 officers after the
incident, despite repeated pleas from the victim's family. Finally, the
matter was taken to the lower court when the dead mans family approached
the crime branch.

Tyagi's accomplice, KP Singh, was sentenced to a year's rigorous
imprisonment and Tej Singh to 3 years imprisonment.

The court also convicted a doctor of the Swami Dayanand hospital for
preparing a wrong medico-legal case about the number of injuries sustained
by the victim. Tyagi's lawyers said they would appeal against the
conviction in the Delhi high court.

(source: Daily News & Analysis)






KENYA:

Death Sentence Was Too Harsh, Says Ngugi


Novelist Ngugi wa Thiong'o says the death sentence passed on the 3 guards
who attacked him and his wife was too harsh.

Prof Ngugi said the attackers who were sentenced to death by hanging last
week, did not deserve the penalty. The writer and his wife, Njeeri,
believe the attack was a simple case of robbery, which did not merit the
death sentence.

"We are not happy with the death sentence passed on our attackers. We feel
it is not good for us because we don't believe in death sentence," Prof
Ngugi said.

Speaking on Saturday night during an interview with BBC, the writer said
the release of his nephew, Mr John Kiragu Chege, who was among the four
people charged with robbery against him was improper.

He said their lives were still in danger until the court brings the main
culprits to book.

"We still have feelings that the main people who orchestrated our attack
are still at large and we don't feel our life is safe if these gangsters
are enjoying freedom out there," Prof Ngugi said.

Last Friday, trial magistrate Julie Oseko dismissed all the evidence
connecting Mr Kiragu to the robbery and acquitted him. Those convicted
include Peter Mulati, Richard Maeta, and Elias Sikuku.

Mulati who sexually assaulted Njeeri, was further jailed for 21 years.

(source: The Nation)






RWANDA:

Minister Appeals to Residents On Death Penalty


The Minister of Infrastructure, Stanislas Kamanzi has appealed to the
people of Gicumbi to support the government's proposal to scrap the death
penalty.Kamanzi, who was on Thursday December 15, addressing the district
local leaders at Groupe Scolaire Secondary School in Byumba Sector, said
despite its existence in the Rwandan Penal Code for long; the death
penalty did not help solve any problem or deter the killers during the
1994 genocide.

"Though the Death Penalty has existed in our country for so long, it has
not benefited us in any way. A punishment is meant to make someone change
his or her habits and be an example to others. Killing him or her, does
not in any way bring about any change to commit a crime," the Minister
said.

He further noted that the death penalty does not give people a chance to
exploit all avenues of the law. "When you kill some one and later discover
that there was a mistake in the court ruling or discover evidence that the
person was innocent, there is no way you can bring back his or her life,"
Kamanzi underscored.

He pointed out that the death penalty is only applicable in dictatorial
governments where leaders want to suppress their opponents.

Kamanzi also noted that Rwanda has built a reputable international image
based on democracy, accountability, justice, rule of law and respect for
human rights.

Speaking at the same meeting, the district mayor Bonane Nyangezi also said
the death penalty is obsolete. "Such laws were only applicable in
autocratic societies that believed in an 'eye for eye' policy and gone are
those days," Nyangezi.

The local leaders supported the idea but called for an alternative
punishment be introduced to make criminals realise the wrath of law and
justice in case of a crime.

The local leaders also overwhelmingly pointed out that the prisoners
should be made to work in order to maintain themselves while in prison
other than depending on the tax payer's money.

(source: The New Times)