[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 18 LIBERIA: President must veto death penalty bill Following the confirmation by the Liberian Senate of a bill re-proposing the death penalty for certain crimes, Amnesty International called on President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to veto the bill. "The surest way to address crime is to strengthen the criminal justice system and the capacity of law enforcement agencies not to carry out state killings, which have never been shown to be a deterrent," said Amnesty International. The bill, passed by the House of Representatives on 7 May and the Senate on 16 July, makes armed robbery, terrorism and hijacking capital offenses. The move came despite the fact that in September 2005, Liberia acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which obliges Liberia to take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty. "The Liberian government must fulfil its obligation under international law to abolish the death penalty," said Amnesty International. Rather than introducing legislation such as this bill, the Liberian government should introduce a constitutional provision abolishing the death penalty for all crimes." "This legislation is in bad faith, and entirely inconsistent with the object and purpose of the protocol to which the Liberian government acceded, which aims to abolish the death penalty." Amnesty International urged the Liberian government to carry out a survey of current legislation with a view to abolishing the death penalty for all crimes, including in military penal codes. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a violation of the right to life and as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. According to Article 31 (1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a treaty is to be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose. The presumption of good faith justifies the conclusion that states parties intend treaties to be effective. Since the accession to the Second Optional Protocol of the ICCPR by Liberia was a voluntary undertaking, the governments behaviour must produce the effects it has openly sought, and the government is effectively bound, in accordance with its declarations. As of today, 137 states in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. In recognition of this trend the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in December 2007, resolution 62/149 calling on all retentionist countries to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, and on states that have abolished the death penalty not to reintroduce it. (source: Amnesty International)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., OHIO, CALIF., FLA.
July 18 TEXAS: Judge delays ruling on DNA tests in 1983 slayings near Sherman After a contentious 90-minute hearing, a state district judge on Thursday delayed ruling on whether possible evidence in a 1983 quadruple slaying should be submitted for further DNA analysis. Lawyers for death row inmate Lester Leroy Bower Jr. argued that DNA tests could bolster Bower's claim that he did not kill Bob Tate, Philip Good, Jerry Mack Brown and Ronald Mayes, whose bodies were found in an airplane hangar just east of Sherman. Bower, an Arlington chemical salesman and family man, was arrested 3 months after the bodies were found. Investigators found pieces of an ultralight aircraft missing from the hangar in Bowers home. He was convicted of capital murder in 1984. On Thursday, a Grayson County prosecutor told Judge Jim Fallon that DNA tests would be academic because of the significant circumstantial evidence introduced against Bower in his trial. Bowers execution had been set for July 22, but Fallon postponed it so he could consider the defense motion for testing. In recent court filings, Bower's lawyers say 2 new witnesses have come forward to implicate 4 other men in the slayings. Bower's lawyers say that much of the witnesses' testimony has been corroborated by their own investigation. If the DNA is determined to belong to another suspect, "don't you think that would be important at trial?" Fallon asked prosecutor Karla Hackett. The tests "might have made a difference if [Bower] didn't have the stolen aircraft in his home and hadn't lied to the FBI over and over," Hackett replied. At the end of the 90-minute hearing in a crowded courtroom, Fallon allowed prosecutors and defense attorneys two more weeks to file motions on the issue. Bower's wife, 2 adult daughters and several supporters sat on one side of the courtroom, across the aisle from relatives and friends of the victims. "I'm sympathetic to the victims families for the need for closure," Fallon said. "It's been dragging on one way or another for 24 years. It's ridiculous." (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram) PENNSYLVANIA: Police testify Chambersburg man admitted killing Street A Chambersburg man charged with criminal homicide in the February shooting death of another man admitted to the killing after he was apprehended, according to preliminary hearing testimony Thursday. 2 witnesses also testified they heard a sound like shots being fired, with one stating he saw Juwan Johnson standing outside the vehicle and the body of 24-year-old Gregory Street inside. Johnson, 24, also known as Juan R. Johnson, of no fixed address, is also charged with robbery and theft in the incident in the 300 block of East Washington Street on the afternoon of Feb. 1. Magisterial District Judge Gary Carter ordered Johnson bound over on all charges and set his mandatory arraignment for Aug. 27. "I heard a 'pop, pop, pop.' At the time, I didn't realize what it was," testified Shelby Flythe, Street's girlfriend. Flythe testified she parked outside her house and went in to use the bathroom when she heard the noises. Donnelle Hill, who lives across the street from Flythe, testified he walked past Flythe's 2004 Ford Excursion and saw Street in the front passenger seat and a man sitting behind him. Hill testified he was inside when "I heard 3 loud pops," looked outside, saw a man he recognized as Johnson standing next to the vehicle and Street slumped over the front seat. "It looked like there was a hole in his head and smoke coming from it," Hill testified. He also testified he saw blood. Johnson looked at him and said "What?" Hill testified. Earlier, Flythe testified she was coming downstairs, heard a door slam and smelled marijuana smoke. Her 4 children and another relative told her Johnson had been in the house, she testified. Flythe testified she and Street had picked up Johnson at a bar because he supposedly knew how to track down a relative of her former eye doctor to get a prescription. The 3 drove to a bar, a mobile home park, a house and a store where Street met with people, she testified. At the store, where Street bought cigars, he spoke with a woman who wanted marijuana, Flythe testified. Street asked Johnson if he had any "trees" and then Johnson spoke with the woman, Flythe testified. Defense attorney Greg Ablen asked Flythe if Street sold drugs and what was the purpose of all the brief stops. "I don't know," she answered to both questions. "They went to all these places and didn't tell you anything?" Ablen asked. When she parked outside her house, Flythe testified Street had followed her inside, leaving Johnson in the vehicle. After she heard the popping noises, she testified it was about 2 minutes before she went outside, saw Johnson speeding away and called 911. Street's body was found the next morning in Harrisburg, Chambersburg Police Department Detective Jon Greenawalt testified. Johnson remained at large until March 6 when he wa
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide
July 18 ST. KITTS & NEVIS: Condemned - 7 on death row at HMP Superintendent of Her Majestys Prison (HMP) in Basseterre, Franklyn Dorset, reported yesterday that the facility now accommodates seven men who have been sentenced to death by hanging. On Tuesday, Justice Albert Redhead ordered that Louis "Tooloo" Gardener, Sheldon "Hatcher" Isaac, Romeo "Buncum" Cannonier and Ruedeney "Denney" Williams "be hanged by the neck until dead", for the murder of Gavin "Magilla" Gilbert of Saddler's Village. Dorset revealed that the other three condemned prisoners are Travis Duport, Al Laplace and Everson Mitchum. (source: Sun St. Kitts) EUROPEAN UNION/IRAN: EU condemns Iran on death penalty before atom talks The European Union criticised Iran on Friday for a spate of executions and plans to extend the scope of the death penalty, a day before it leads international talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. The 27-nation bloc, which frequently issues such condemnations on the eve of meetings with Iranian officials, voiced concern over reports that 10 Iranians were publicly executed last week alone. It also signalled concerns about a parliamentary bill which it said would extend the range of offences carrying the death penalty to include the creation of websites deemed to disturb the "psychological security of society". "The bill makes a disproportionate link between the acts committed and the penalty imposed and sets out to brutally restrict the exercise of freedom of expression," the EU said in a statement. "The Iranian authorities have doubled the number of executions from 2006 to 2007, without achieving anything but a worsening crime rate," it said, urging an immediate halt on executions and a moratorium on the death penalty. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is due to meet chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Geneva on Saturday for talks aimed at clarifying Iran's reply to an international offer of trade, technical and other incentives if it suspends uranium enrichment. Solana will be accompanied by officials from six major powers -- United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany. In a significant policy shift, Washington will be sending a senior envoy for the 1st time. Iran rejects suspicions it wants the atom bomb. While Iranian officials have ruled out any suspension of enrichment before the meeting, European diplomats believe they have seen signs from Tehran that it is keen to resolve the stand-off. (source: Reuters) *** Application of the death penalty in IranDeclaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union The European Union is deeply concerned by the news of the public execution of ten Iranians during the week beginning 7 July 2008 alone. It is also worried about the parliamentary bill to extend the range of offences carrying the death penalty, in particular to include the establishment of websites disturbing the "psychological security of society", as it is worded. The bill makes a disproportionate link between the acts committed and the penalty imposed and sets out to brutally restrict the exercise of freedom of expression. Being firmly committed to universal abolition of the death penalty, the EU strongly condemns its application in Iran and the parliamentary bill. The European Union reaffirms its opposition to capital punishment under any circumstances. The death penalty offends human dignity. There is also no irrefutable evidence that it has any deterrent effect, while any miscarriage of justice in its use is irreversible and irreparable. The Iranian authorities have doubled the number of executions from 2006 to 2007, without achieving anything but a worsening crime rate. The European Union urges Iran to respect international human rights standards, put an immediate stop to all executions and introduce a moratorium with the aim of abolishing the death penalty, in accordance with the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 2007. It calls on the Iranian parliament to withdraw its bill and support a thorough overhaul of judicial practice, making for more lenient sentences. The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, align themselves with this declaration. * Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process. (source: France Diplomatie, press release) AUSTRALIA: PM Kevin Rudd Government dilemma over executions THE word from Jakarta is that the 3 ringleaders of the murderous 2002 bombings that devastated Bali's tourism industry and killed more than 200 people - including Indonesians and Aust
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----USA
July 18 USA: USADouble standards and second-class justiceFederal judge clears way for first military commission trial 18 July 2008 AI Index: AMR 51/082/2008 As assurance against ancient evils, our country, in order to preserve 'the blessings of liberty', wrote into its basic law the requirement, among others, that the forfeiture of the lives, liberties or property of people accused of crime can only follow if procedural safeguards of due process have been obeyed. US Supreme Court, 1940 The USA considers itself to be a country committed to due process for those suspected of criminal conduct. It even preaches what it says it practices. In its annual assessment of human rights around the world, for example, the USA condemns unfair trials occurring at the hands of other governments. Cuba, for one, routinely comes in for criticism. In the latest US report, the Cuban authorities were brought to task for trials which the USA said "failed to observe due process rights". Restrictions on the right to a defence, a lack of transparency in proceedings involving state security, and the use of confessions "obtained under duress and without legal advice", were among the issues that drew the critical words of the US State Department. "It is a good divine", wrote William Shakespeare, "that follows his own instructions". The USA is not following what it instructs others, however. In its offshore prison camp in Guantnamo Bay, it is about to open a new chapter in its unlawful treatment of detainees in the "war on terror". On 17 July 2008, US District Court Judge James Robertson cleared the way for the first US trial by military commission for more than half a century, when he refused to stop the trial of Salim Ahmed Hamdan. This Yemeni national - now in his seventh year in Guantnamo - had sought to challenge the constitutionality of the commission system following last month's Boumediene v. Bush ruling by the US Supreme Court that the Guantnamo detainees have the constitutional right to habeas corpus in the US federal courts. However, Judge Robertson ruled that Hamdan's "claims of unlawfulness are all claims that should first be decided by the military commission and then raised on appeal". Salim Hamdan's military commission trial is scheduled to begin next week, under procedures that if concocted the other side of the 17-mile fence that separates the US naval base from the rest of Cuba, would surely lead to vigorous protests on the part of the USA. At a pre-trial hearing in front of a US military judge in late April 2008, Salim Hamdan put it thus, according to Amnesty International's observer at the proceedings: "There is no such thing as justice here. The law is clear. International law is clear. But this is not justice: I see a piece of paper - I say it's white, you say it's black. I say black, you say it's white. I am not speaking to you, Judge. I am speaking to the American Government. These words are not directed at you America tells the world about freedom and justice. Hundreds of detainees do not see justice. Give me a just court Give me my human rights." The US government says it aims to "hold governments accountable to their obligations under universal human rights norms and international human rights instruments." Judge Robertson yesterday missed an opportunity to hold the US government accountable for a trial system that does not meet international fair trial standards and should be called to a halt. This is the US government's second attempt since 2001 to try foreign nationals it has branded as "unlawful enemy combatants" in front of military commissions. The first system - for four years promoted by the administration as guaranteeing full and fair trials - ended in June 2006 when the US Supreme Court ruled that the "structure and procedures" of the commissions violated US and international law. The response of the political branches was not to turn to the existing US courts, but to continue the experiment and legislate to replace the condemned commissions with a revised system that offered little improvement on its predecessor. These are second-class trials to which the US government would not subject its own nationals. The very law under which they are convened is incompatible with the international prohibition on discrimination. "I want to emphasize that the Military Commissions Act does not apply to American citizens", said the US Attorney General the day after the MCA passed into law in October 2006; "Thus, if I or any other American citizen were detained, we would have access to the full panoply of rights that we enjoyed before the law". Displaying the disregard for the presumption of innocence that has become a hallmark of the US administration's public commentary on the "war on terror" detainees, the country's then chief law enforcement officer added that under the MCA,"every terrorist will receive a full and fair trial". According to such commentary, the "unlawful enemy combatant"
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----IDAHO, MD., VA., MISS.
July 18 IDAHO: Duncan team wants him to be found incompetentRuling will decide if child killer can represent himself The defense team for convicted child killer Joseph Edward Duncan III wants him found incompetent, the attorneys revealed during a court hearing Thursday. Duncan, who faces the death penalty on three of 10 federal charges stemming from the 2005 abduction of two northern Idaho siblings and the murder of one of them, asked U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge earlier this year to allow him to represent himself during the trial's penalty hearing. Lodge ordered Duncan to be evaluated for his competency, and indicated he would grant Duncan's request if he's found to be competent. Since then, many of the court proceedings and documents filed in the case have been sealed, and everyone involved in the case has been placed under a gag order by the judge. But in an open status conference Thursday, Lodge said he'd received Duncan's psychological evaluations and would make them available to attorneys on both sides in the next few days. Duncan, a convicted child molester from Tacoma, pleaded guilty in December to federal charges related to the kidnapping of Shasta Groene, then 8, and her brother Dylan, 9. The children were taken from their Coeur d'Alene home in May 2005 after Duncan fatally bludgeoned the children's mother, Brenda Groene, their 13-year-old brother Slade, and the mother's fianc, Mark McKenzie. Both children were sexually abused before Duncan shot and killed Dylan at a campsite in western Montana. Shasta was rescued on July 2, 2005, when a waitress spotted Duncan and the girl in a Coeur d'Alene restaurant. It will be up to Duncan's penalty phase jurors to decide whether he gets the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Duncan earlier pleaded guilty in state court to murdering McKenzie and Slade and Brenda Groene before driving away with the 2 children. Sentencing on those state counts is not at issue here. Federal prosecutors contend Duncan is competent and should be allowed to represent himself during the sentencing hearing. Duncan's attorneys say he's not competent and hope to continue representing him in the case. So far, Duncan has been evaluated by at least two psychologists -- Dr. Robert Engle in Boise and a woman referred to in court only as Dr. Row. As part of the evaluations, Duncan underwent brain scans and a neuropsychological evaluation, Deputy U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson said Thursday. Defense lawyer Thomas Monaghan said he didn't want some of the statements Duncan made to guards or medical professionals to be used against him in this case or any future proceedings -- including an upcoming death penalty trial in Riverside, Calif., where Duncan is accused in the 1997 slaying of 10-year-old Anthony Martinez. Olson said Lodge did not have the authority to order a California court to disregard any information. Lodge said he would consider the requests and make his rulings in writing. He also said he hadn't yet decided if he would hold a competency hearing. If Duncan is found incompetent, the court will have to determine if he is so impaired that he cannot assist his attorneys in the sentencing case -- effectively delaying the sentencing until he is found to be competent again -- or if he is simply too impaired to represent himself but still functions well enough to be sentenced. (source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer) MARYLAND: Spying worried groupsProtesters often wondered about surveillance of gatherings Max Obuszewski is a graying veteran of war protests. In his life, he estimated yesterday, he's been arrested about 70 times for struggling to make a point about critical issues, including the Vietnam War, homelessness in Baltimore and the war in Iraq. He also is one who knows history - and he believes in the potential for an unchecked government to spy on people, particularly during times of war. He and others in a local, loose-knit network of peace activists and advocates had often wondered if their open gatherings had been infiltrated by law enforcement. Documents that he and others obtained through the Maryland Public Information Act erased any doubt, the activists declared yesterday. Over a 14-month period, the Maryland State Police had been "covertly monitoring" a group of peaceful anti-death penalty advocates, according to the documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the state to gain access to files that documented the tracking of death penalty opponents and others. Obuszewski is a fixture in a group of middle-aged men and women who have spent all or part of their lives passionately protesting issues and defending their right to organize peacefully without the fear of being spied upon by the government. They look more likely to frequent Baltimore's farmers' markets than behave as fanatical plotters of terrorist acts. They don't refer to their efforts as "civil disobedience." Rather, Obuszewski and o
