[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Feb. 16 SOMALIA: Puntland court sentences to death 4 suspected members of al-Shabaab A military court in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland has sentenced 4 suspects having linked to the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab to death penalty on Monday. The 4 men, were found of having links with the extremist group who is affiliated to also al-Qaeda. Their trial took place in the port town of Bosaso and lasted only for few hours. 2 other members were sentenced to serve life imprisonment. Prosecutor Abdifatah Haji Adan said that the men were preparing to participate in a terrorist operation in the stable region of Puntland. In recent years, Puntland authorities have launched a massive crackdown on the network and its military has sentenced members and other individuals linked to the terror group tough punishments such as death penalty. In 2013, Puntland executed 13 suspected al-Shabab members including a woman, after the military court found them guilty of orchestrating an assassination of a famous scholar Dr Ahmed Haji Abdirahman. But al-Shabab denied that none of them was part of the group. (source: Horseed Media) EGYPT: Egypt's Morsi on trial accused of leaking secrets to Qatar -- Former president charged with endangering national security, facing death sentence if convicted An Egyptian court put the ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on trial on Sunday on charges of endangering national security by leaking state secrets and sensitive documents to Qatar. Morsi, who was toppled by the army in 2013 after mass protests against his rule, remained defiant, insisting he was Egypt's legitimate president despite facing several court cases. This court does not represent anything to me, said Morsi, who was on trial with 10 other people. The maximum penalty if he is convicted is death. Relations between Qatar and Egypt have been icy since July 2013 when Egypt's then-army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, overthrew Morsi and launched a security crackdown against Islamists. Qatar had supported Morsi, who is already in jail along with thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members, many of whom have been sentenced to death on separate charges. The public prosecutor had said Morsi's aides were involved in leaking to Qatari intelligence documents that exposed the location of weapons held by the Egyptian armed forces and detailed the country's foreign and domestic policies. Human rights groups accuse Sisi, who went on to become Egypt's elected president last year, of suppressing dissent, an allegation the government denies. Islamist militants based in the Sinai peninsula have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since Morsi was deposed. Sisi says the Brotherhood still poses a serious threat. (source: The Guardian) BANGLADESH: Kazi Aref Murder Verdict Family wants quick execution Family members and party colleagues of slain Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) president Kazi Aref Ahmed and 4 other party leaders have demanded execution of death penalty of 9 people in the murder case. Family members of Kazi Aref spoke to The Daily Star ahead of his 16th death anniversary today. On the occasion, Kazi Aref Parishad and Lokman Hossain Foundation organised discussions in Kushtia. An armed gang killed Kazi Aref, Kushtia district JSD president Lokman Hossain, general secretary Yakub Ali, local JSD leaders Shamsher Ali and Israil Hossain at a rally in Kalidaspur village of Daulatpur upazila in Kushtia on February 16, 1999. On August 30, 2004, the then additional district and sessions judge Fazlur Rahman sentenced 10 people to death and 12 others to life-term imprisonment for the murders. On August 5 in 2008, a High Court bench acquitted 1 of the convicted who was sentenced to death and upheld punishment of others. Afterwards, 2 convicted -- Rashedul Islam alias Jhantu and Anwar Hossain alias Anwar -- challenged the HC verdict that sentenced them to death. Finally, the Supreme Court on November 19 last year upheld the HC verdict. Advocate Al Mujahid Hossain, son of Lokman Hossain, yesterday said their families are eagerly waiting for execution of death penalty of the convicted. (source: The Daily Star) SINGAPORE: Cook charged with UiTM undergrad murder A cook was charged at the magistrate's court here this morning with the murder of a Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) undergraduate earlier this month. No plea was recorded from Syarafi Abu, 25. He is alleged to have murdered Nur Syuhada Johari, 20, at Km 228.2 of the North South Expressway near here at 11.55am on Feb 2. He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction. Magistrate Eyu Ghim Siang fixed Apr 21 for mention pending chemist and post-mortem report. Syarafi was unrepresented while Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Amril Zuhari prosecuted. (source: New Straits Times)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Feb. 16 INDONESIA: Bali 9's Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to be moved to Nusakambangan island this week, authorities say 2 Australian Bali 9 members on death row in Indonesia will be transferred this week to the most notorious prison on Nusakambangan island, known as Indonesia's Alcatraz. The head of the Bali prosecutors' office confirmed on Monday afternoon that Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will be taken to the maximum security Batu prison on the penal island. The name of the jail, which was built in 1925, means stone prison. 10 officers from the paramilitary force Brimob will escort the 2 men to Nusakambangan. Momock Bambang Samiarso said the transfer would not take place on Monday - and was unlikely to happen on Tuesday - but would definitely happen this week. It will be a chartered commercial flight on a plane that will seat 20 to 30 people, he said. We are still working out the details. Mr Samiarso said he would notify the families as soon as possible. Prime Minister Tony Abbott revealed on Monday he made a further plea for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran's lives to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. And a judge involved in handing down the death sentence to the 2 drug smugglers has denied allegations there was political intervention or bribery in the case. Attorney-General spokesman Tony Spontana said earlier that condemned drug felons from Bali's infamous Kerobokan jail, where Chan and Sukumaran are on death row, will be the 1st transferred. They would be later joined by felons from prisons in Madiun and Yogyakarta. Only after everybody is gathered at Nusakambangan will the D-day be decided, Mr Spontana said. 11 prisoners on death row for drug and murder charges are expected to be killed in the 2nd round of executions in Indonesia this year. Of these, 7 drug felons are foreigners from Australia, the Philippines, France, Brazil, Nigeria and Ghana. Mr Abbott said he felt sick in the pit of my stomach when he thought about what was happening to Chan and Sukumaran. Like every parent, I want to try to ensue that nothing terrible happens. Mr Abbott would not provide further information on his overtures to Mr Joko because he did not want it to come down to a test of strength. If we do turn this into a test of strength, I think we are much more likely to back the Indonesians into a corner than to get the result we want, he said. Chan and Sukumaran's legal team have written to the Indonesian judicial committee requesting an investigation into allegations of political interference and bribery when the death sentence was imposed. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said these were very serious allegations and she understood the lawyers would continue to raise these matters. However a judge involved in the case, Wayan Yasa Abadi, denied there had been political interference or bribes. I can assure you there was none, he said. We protected ourselves from everybody. It was purely our decision. He said he would respond if summonsed by the judicial committee. Meanwhile, a new Lowy Institute poll has found that 62 % of Australians oppose the execution of Chan and Sukumaran. This is in contrast to an earlier Roy Morgan poll - seized upon by the Indonesian government to justify the executions - which found that 52 % supported the death penalty for Australian drug traffickers. The earlier poll was criticised for being crude and misleading due to the rubbery nature of the questions asked. According to the Lowy poll, 69 % of the population do not believe the death penalty should be applied for drug trafficking. Executive director of the Lowy Institute Michael Fullilove said Australian public and political opposition was crystallising as the date of the execution drew closer. Bali 9: the history August, 2005: Indonesian police - acting on information passed onto them by the Australian Federal Police - arrest 9 Australians at Denpasar airport for attempting to smuggle heroin. September, 2006: Prime Minister John Howard refuses to intervene on behalf of the Bali Nine. There are still matters potentially to be heard before Indonesian courts, he said at the time, claiming he did not want to jeopardise the defendants' case. July, 2007: Mr Howard raises the issue with Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: I thought it was appropriate to mention the fact that it's an issue that attracts a lot of interest in Australia. December: Prime minister Kevin Rudd tells Mr Yudhoyono that if any of the Bali 9 still faced the death penalty when all legal avenues had been pursued, he would plead for clemency. August, 2010: Letter from the AFP is submitted to the Indonesian court, stating Scott Rush only played a minor role in the drug-smuggling ring. AFP commissioner Mick Keelty also testifies in court. Mr Rush's death sentence is reduced to life in prison. May, 2013: Foreign affairs minister Bob Carr defends
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----KAN., CALIF., ORE.
Feb. 16 KANSAS: Kansas Death Penalty Opponents Renewing Push For Repeal Opponents of the death penalty in Kansas are hoping to replace the option with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Kansas reinstated the death penalty in 1994, but has not yet executed anyone in last 20 years. Anti-death penalty advocates are renewing their push to change the law. During a Statehouse visit, opponents of the death penalty handed out letters showing that hundreds of faith leaders in the state are opposed to capital punishment. Donna Schneweis, with the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty, hopes the sheer number of faith leaders on the letter can sway lawmakers. The reality is, there are many Kansans, including many Kansas faith leaders, who are profoundly disturbed that the state still continues this practice, says Schneweis. But recent attempts to end the death penalty in Kansas haven???t convinced enough lawmakers. Some Republicans have been frustrated that court rulings and proceedings have delayed death penalty sentences. Lawmakers last year considered legislation that would speed up the appeals process, but that bill stalled. (source: KCUR news) CALIFORNIA: Death penalty should be used On the front page of Thursday's Record, there was an article titled Judge wants issue to move forward. The article addresses the death penalty and whether delays should continue to be allowed. This is an issue that has previously been addressed on numerous occasions but, never seems to get resolved. The taxpayer continues to support (sometimes in luxurious ways) our incarcerated criminals. Those convicted of heinous crimes are housed at our many prisons, given privileges many non-criminal folk, are not able to recognize. We as a society continue to allow those who have received the death penalty, their supposed right to life. It appears that we enjoy continually paying to house these inmates because very few executions take place, when compared to the number of inmates who have been sentenced to die and sit comfortably on our tax dollar. Our society is sick. It is sick because it will allow a non-criminal to take their own life in some states but those condemned to death are really not condemned after all. California can't find a drug to kill someone on death row, but Oregon can find a drug that can kill a non criminal. Ironic? No, just sick. Utah recently re-enacted the firing squad as a method of execution. Utah is smart. They will pay a couple of cents for a piece of lead or other not-so-toxic metal, to execute their criminals. Meanwhile, California will continue to nurture and care for our death row populace. Joe Larranaga Jr. Stockton (source: Letter to the Editor, Stockton Record) OREGON: Kitzhaber is asked to empty death rowThe outgoing governor had put a moratorium on executions, but it will expire in 24 days Various groups opposed to Oregon's death penalty law are making a concerted effort to persuade outgoing Gov. John Kitzhaber to commute the death sentences of Oregon's 36 death row inmates before he leaves office Wednesday. 8 inmates sentenced in Lane County are on death row, and 2 others have local connections. He has been personally asked to clear the row, and additional efforts are being made to convince him to do so, Portland defense attorney Jeff Ellis, a board member of Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, wrote in an email that went out Saturday to death penalty defense lawyers across the state. If you represent an individual on death row and are considering taking some action on behalf of your client, please contact me so we can discuss, Ellis wrote in the email, a copy of which was obtained by The Register-Guard. Efforts are being made to contact incoming Governor Brown to discuss the state of the moratorium, in the event that Kitzhaber does not issue commutations, Ellis wrote, referring to the moratorium Kitzhaber put on the state's death penalty in 2011. Ellis also referred to an online poll in The (Portland) Oregonian newspaper, asking if Kitzhaber should commute the sentences to life imprisonment. He said it was running about 70 % in favor of commutation. Kitzhaber, the only governor in state history to be elected 4 times, said Friday that he will resign in the face of an influence-peddling scandal involving his fiancee , Cylvia Hayes. Secretary of State Kate Brown will be sworn in Wednesday as Oregon's 37th governor. Ellis, described on the OADP website as one of the top death penalty defense lawyers in the country, on Saturday referred questions to others involved in the effort. But none of them wanted to speak on the record, including Dave Fidanque, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union; OADP Chairman Ron Steiner; or S. Bobbin Singh, executive director of the Oregon Justice Resource Center, which promotes
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., FLA., MISS.
Feb. 16 TEXASimpending execution Family, advocates fight to prevent Reed executionThe family of Rodney Reed, family of his victim and a renowned anti-death penalty advocate are uniting, hoping for a stay of execution. With days left before convicted killer Rodney Reed is executed, his family and members of the victim's family united Sunday to fight for a stay of execution. I'm the brother of Rodney Reed, an innocent man on death row, said Roderick Reed, Rodney's brother. Rodney Reed is scheduled to be executed March 5. The Bastrop man was convicted for killing Stacey Stites in 1996. 17 years later, Roderick Reed fights for his brother's life. There's evidence out there that's never tested, Roderick Reed said. There was witnesses that we're never called. He had lazy lawyers. Look, all I'm asking and the message I want to ask is: just give him a fair trial. Days before Reed is scheduled to be executed, his family is gathering powerful supporters. In the beginning, I thought we were alone, Roderick Reed said. Sister Helen Prejean, an anti-death penalty advocate and author of 'Dead Man Walking,' The Innocence Project - a group that works to absolve wrongfully convicted people, and even certain members of Stites' family are joining the Reed family's fight. I don't think he did it, said Heather Stobbs, Stites' cousin. I don't think he's guilty. With growing support, the Reed family filed a writ of Habeas Corpus. They've filed requests to do DNA testing on evidence and asked for a stay of execution. Reed's lawyers expect answers from the Criminal Court of Appeals within the next couple of weeks. There will likely be a final opinion, said Quinncy McNeal, Attorney for Rodney Reed. It will move from the Criminal Court of Appeals. If Mr. Reed doesn't get relief there, it will move up to the federal level. A long time and a lot of effort for one family's only wish. I'm asking for justice that's it, Roderick Reed said. (source: KVUE news) ** Innocent Man Fights for Reform After 12 Years in Solitary Anthony Graves was 26 in 1992 when he was arrested for murdering 6 people in Somerville, Texas, outside Houston. At his trial, the prosecution presented no physical evidence to tie him to the scenes of the crimes, but he was nevertheless convicted and sentenced to death. It wasn't until the key witness in the trial recanted his testimony, weeks before Graves was to be executed, that new light was cast on his case. A judge later ruled that the prosecutor had withheld evidence and threatened witnesses, and ordered that Graves be released. Graves had already spent 18 years in prison, including a dozen in solitary confinment, by the time he regained his freedom in 2010. Now 49, Graves said the psychological damage of long-term isolation can linger. Solitary confinement is a system designed to break a man's will to live, he said. You're sitting there, in a little cage, day in and day out, year in and year out, waiting for the state to execute you or release you. After leaving prison he would suddenly burst into tears for no particular reason and had difficulty sleeping, though his condition has since improved. Still, there are things Graves saw and heard all those years that he can't forget. I witnessed men just literally, literally losing their minds, he said. More than 6,500 inmates in Texas live in solitary confinement, according to a report published last week by the ACLU of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project. The figure does not include inmates who are living in solitary on death row. On average, prisoners remain in solitary confinement in Texas for almost 4 years, with more than 100 prisoners remaining in solitary for more than 20 years, the report states. The conditions in which these inmates live impose such severe deprivations that they leave prisoners mentally damaged, and they are more likely to commit crimes again once they are released, according to the ACLU report. We met with people who were profoundly mentally ill. So mentally ill we didn't feel comfortable sharing their stories in this report, said attorney Burke Butler, a researcher who helped produce the report. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice holds 4.4 % of its prison population in solitary confinement, the report states - about 4 times the national average. This is in part because of the sheer size of Texas' prison population, Butler said, but also because the state automatically places in isolation prisoners believed to have gang ties. Nearly 1/2 the people in solitary are said to be gang-affiliated. But they are often misclassified for reasons as simple as having old gang tattoos, Butler said. An array of subjective decisions by prison personnel can also land inmates in solitary, such as the 19-year-old Butler spoke to who said his confinement was punishment for throwing milk at a guard. Texas prisoners in
