[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Nov. 18 KENYA: Kenya officially throws out 'Stone The Gays' billBill proposed lifetime imprisonment or death by stoning for both gay Kenyan and foreign people Kenya's parliament has officially thrown out a proposal that would have punished homosexuality with death by stoning. The reason is that lawmakers believe current laws, which imprisons gay people for up to 14 years, are satisfactory enough at this time. This is the 2nd time a proposal to have a law prescribing the death penalty has been denied by a committee. "The [Justice and Legal Affairs] committee does not agree with the petitioner's proposed legislation as it is unnecessary. Article 45 of the Constitution adequately safeguards and protects family values," a spokesperson for the committee said. "These provisions adequately protect the family values that apply in our democracy." But this is not the last we will see of the proposed legislation. The committee said they would reconsider the bill if the leader of the bill, Kiharu MP Irangu Kang'ata, could find more sponsors in parliament. Speaking to Gay Star News, Kenyan LGBTI rights activist Denis Nzioka said while this is a 'very good step' for Kenya, it should still be a wake-up call. He said: 'We have seen a lot of anti-gay sentiment being brought out by people, politicians, religious leaders. People want to go the Ugandan way, Nigerian way. 'I thought Kenya was a safe country, the best in the continent apart from South Africa for gay rights. 'But things have got out of our hands. It just shows how in an instant - things can change dramatically.' (source: Gay Star News) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., ALA., NEV.
Nov. 18 TEXASexecution Texas man executed for setting fire that killed 3 children A Texas inmate was executed Wednesday for setting a fire that killed his 18-month-old daughter and her 2 young half-sisters at an East Texas home 15 years ago. Raphael Holiday, 36, became the 13th convicted killer put to death this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state. It has accounted for 1/2 of all executions in the U.S. so far this year. Asked by a warden if he had a final statement, Holiday thanked his "supporters and loved ones." "I love y'all," he said. "I want you to know I'm always going to be with you." He thanked the warden. As the lethal dose of pentobarbital began, he took 2 deep breaths and appeared to yawn, his mouth remaining open as he wheezed several times. Then all movement stopped. 19 minutes later, at 8:30 p.m. CST, he was pronounced dead. Holiday never addressed or looked at witnesses, including the children's grandfather and mother, his former common-law wife. The mother initially stood at the back of the death chamber witness area, watching from behind a corrections officer. About 10 minutes later, with Holiday motionless on the death chamber gurney, she walked toward a window to see him. She and other relatives of the slain children declined to speak with reporters afterward. The punishment was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal seeking to halt Holiday's punishment so new attorneys could be appointed to pursue additional unspecified appeals in his case. Austin-based lawyer Gretchen Sween argued that Holiday's court-appointed attorneys abandoned him after the justices in June refused to review his case. Those lawyers advised Holiday his legal issues were exhausted and new appeals and a clemency petition would be fruitless. Earlier Wednesday, the judge in Holiday's trial court stopped the execution after Holiday's trial attorney filed an appeal saying the conviction and some trial testimony were both improper. The judge agreed the issues should be reviewed and withdrew his execution warrant. The Texas attorney general's office appealed, the judge's order was voided and the warrant reinstated, clearing the way for the lethal injection to move forward more. The execution took place about 2 1/2 hours later than scheduled because of the late state court appeal. Holiday told The Associated Press recently from a visiting cage outside death row that he didn't know how the log cabin he once shared with his wife and the children in the Madison County woods about 100 miles north of Houston caught fire in September 2000. "I loved my kids," Holiday said. "I never would do harm to any of them." Evidence and testimony showed Holiday was irate over a protective order his estranged wife obtained after his arrest for sexually assaulting one of the children. Holiday, from prison, contended he knew nothing about the assault. According to court records, he showed up at the home and forced the girls' grandmother at gunpoint to douse the interior with gasoline. After it ignited, he sped away in the grandmother's car, hit a police car that arrived outside the cabin and then led officers on a chase that ended 2 counties away when he wrecked. Defense attorneys at his trial suggested an electrical problem or a pilot light started the blaze in the early hours of Sept. 6, 2000, killing Holiday's daughter, Justice, and her half-sisters, Tierra Lynch, 7, and Jasmine DuPaul, 5. The girls' grandmother told a jury she watched Holiday bend down and then the flames erupted, court records show. Jurors convicted him of capital murder and decided he should be put to death. The lethal injection was the last one scheduled for Texas this year, but at least 5 inmates have execution dates set for early next year. Texas carried out 10 executions in 2014. Holiday becomes the531st condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas since the state resumed capital punishment on Dec. 7, 1982; he is the 13th condemned inmate to be put to death since Greg Abbott became governor in January of this year. Holiday becomes the 1420th inmate to be put to death overall in the USA since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present13 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-531 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 14-January 20 (2016)-Richard Masterson532 15-January 27---James Freeman-533 16-February 16--Gustavo Garcia534 17-March 9--Coy Wesbrook--535 18-March 22-Adam Ward-536 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) GEORGIAimpending execution Marcus Ray Johnson's request for clemency denied The S
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Nov. 18 NIGERIA: Ekiti Assembly to Pass Law Prescribing Death Penalty for Kidnappers Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly have moved to pass a bill to make kidnappers die by hanging in the state. Expressing serious views over the twin menace of kidnapping and terrorism in the country, the assembly also moves to stipulate penalty for those who pay ransom to these evil doers. To this end, 2 of the 3 laws that were deliberated upon at the assembly's plenary yesterday dwelt on curbing of crimes that has to do with kidnapping that has become a source of revenues for some criminals. They were Office of the Public Defender Bill (2015) and Ekiti State Kidnap and Terrorism (Prohibition) Bill (2015. Both successfully passed 2nd reading and were passed to the appropriate committees to scrutinise for final passage. The plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Hon. Kola Oluwawole, witnessed a robust debate by members on the matters. Presenting the bills from the order paper, Deputy Leader of Business, Hon. Adeniran Alagbada, lamented the trauma victims of kidnap and their family members are often subjected to. Also speaking on the Public Defender Bill, the Chairman, House Committee on information, Hon. Olugboyega Aribisogan, noted that the bill would afford the poor who lack financial capability to pursue their cases the opportunity to access justice. In the same vein, the Chairman, House Committee on Health, Dr. Babajide Omotoso; Hon. Akinleye Ekundayo, Hon. Titilayo Owolabi-Akerele, Hon. Wale Ayeni and Ayodele Fajemilehin, who also contributed to the motions on the floor, described the bills as those that would have direct positive bearing on the lives of the people of the state. Another law, Ekiti State College of Technical and Commercial Agriculture Repeal Bill (2015), had earlier passed through 1st reading. Ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi had earlier signed the bill into law to enhance the establishment of a School of Agriculture in his Isan Ekiti country home, which the assembly thought would have to be abrogated due to poor financial status of the state. (source: thisdaylive.com) INDIA: HC upholds death penalty for 2010 rape, murder of 6-yr-old The Bombay High Court has confirmed the death sentence given to a 24-year-old youth for raping, sodomising and then brutally murdering a 6-year-old girl in Bhayander in 2010. Observing that society today, especially after the Nirbhaya case, seeks tough punishment to those who sexually assault women, a division bench of acting chief justice Vijaya Kapse-Tahilramani and Justice Ajay Gadkari held that Prakash Nishad, originally a resident of Uttar Pradesh, should hang till death for his crime. "The sentiment of the society is glaringly explicit, that such heinous crime on helpless women are required to be dealt with an iron hand," said the judges, adding, "The pain and agony the accused must have caused to the deceased minor girl is beyond imagination and is the limit of viciousness. The motivation of the accused, the vulnerability of the victim girl, the barbaric and inhuman nature of the crime and the execution thereof persuade us to hold that this is a 'rarest of rare' case where the sentence of death is eminently desirable not only to deter others from committing such atrocious crimes and to prevent the accused from committing such acts for all times to come but also to give emphatic expression to society's abhorrence of such crime." The case dates back to June 11, 2010, when the girl, who lived with her family in Bhayander, went missing when she stepped out to play after dinner. The next day her naked body was found in the gutter. The medical report revealed she had been raped and strangled to death. The police investigation led to Nishad's house, where the team found blood-stained tiles in the room. Nishad was questioned and led the police to his blood-stained clothes as well as the victim's undergarments that he had hid in the house. Tests established that the blood group on the clothes matched that of the girl. A sessions court in November 2014 convicted Nishad for committing rape, unnatural sex and murder and sentenced him to death. Nishad, in his appeal before the HC, claimed he had been falsely implicated. The HC disbelieved his claims and discussed in detail if the death penalty should be confirmed in the case. The judges referred to the changes in the rape laws as well as the new Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and said that "keeping in mind the rising graph of sexual offences and especially of sexual offences against children and public outcry in relation to the same, the sentencing policy now needs to be shaped". (source: The Times of India) PAKISTAN: SC issues arrest warrants for PML-N MNA The Supreme Court issued on Wednesday arrest warrants for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Chaudhry Abid Raza for involvement in the murder
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Nov. 18 JAPAN: Survey offers insights into Japan's death-row inmates' thoughts, feelings and fears For death-row inmates in Japan, contact with the outside world through visits and the exchange of letters makes life worth living, if only for another day, as they reflect on their crimes or pursue the possibility of retrials. As one might expect, a questionnaire survey found the biggest pleasure for inmates awaiting execution is contact with family and friends. It also revealed that nearly 80 % of the respondents were either appealing for retrials or planning to do so. The nationwide survey conducted by an anti-death penalty group called Forum 90 and Mizuho Fukushima, a House of Councilors member of the Social Democratic Party, found that issues such as the treatment of certain medical conditions, and the obvious fear of facing a literal gallows, weighed heavily on their minds. Others expressed remorse for their crimes and apologies to the victims' families. The questionnaires were sent out in May to 129 death-row inmates, of whom 73 responded. Fukushima is a senior member of a group of multiparty lawmakers seeking the abolition of the death penalty. Among the respondents, 50 said they are seeking retrials, while eight more plan to do so. Asked about their greatest pleasures, 20 cited meeting with visitors, 19 said writing and receiving letters, and 17 said watching DVDs and videos, which they are permitted to do on a periodic basis. Although most have visitors or engage in correspondence, 13 admitted to having no visitors, while five were not involved in writing letters, and indicated their loneliness. 60 complained of health problems, with 1 inmate saying it is difficult to receive proper treatment for dentures, while another inmate complained of a lack of physical exercise. Many said they regularly receive medical treatment or medication for high blood pressure, backaches and prostate diseases. Regarding the food they most want to eat, with multiple answers allowed, 10 said noodles, 9 answered sweets, such as cakes, and 8 indicated sushi. The oldest respondent was 83 years old, while the youngest was 30. It was the 3rd survey of death-row inmates by Forum 90 and Fukushima, following those conducted in 2008 and 2011. The survey also provides a section for comments. A 68-year-old man involved in a mass murder case by a radical sect in the early 1970s noted, "Our life continues even if the death penalty on us has been finalized. "We are making efforts to improve our own personal qualities, while considering why we committed crimes and how we could prevent others from making the same mistakes." The man criticized the system of capital punishment for condemning death-row inmates for the crimes they committed in the past without acknowledging the work they have done to improve themselves since that time. "The Justice Ministry announces immediately after executions the details of crimes the hanged inmates committed so it can condemn them for who they were at the time of their crimes," he said. A 57-year-old man said, "I was scared for the past 10 years as I imagined myself on the gallows and hanged. But the fear stirred a feeling that I'm living, with blood running through my veins." Given the circumstances, he added, he gradually began to accept his fate. "I dreamed of the abolition of the death penalty, but at the same time I thought it would not be terminated while I'm alive," he said. "I leave the dream as it is ... I have no regrets about this world." A 45-year-old inmate convicted of involvement in the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system as a member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult contributed a poem titled "Sinner." Calling himself "an absolutely ungrateful child" in the poem, he lamented his powerlessness to support his aging parents. He said he felt crushed by the weight of the crimes he committed. "I cannot go back into the past ... I am a sinner who stands alone on a cliff," he wrote. Taku Fukada, a member of Forum 90, said the group hopes to continue conducting the survey "as a way to enable death-row inmates to convey what they are thinking to the outside world." The government hanged a death-row inmate in June, bringing the total number of executions under the second administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which began in December 2012, to 12. The U.N. Human Rights Committee urged Japan last year to "give due consideration to the abolition of the death penalty." In defense of the status quo, the government has mainly cited the outcome of a survey that indicated more than 80 % of people in Japan support the death penalty. But a recent study by researchers found that the death penalty is not as deeply entrenched in Japan as previously claimed, and that some people change their minds, particularly after being exposed to more information on the subject. According to human rights group Amn
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IND., NEV., CALIF., WASH., USA
Nov. 18 INDIANA: Suspected serial killer no longer wants to represent himself A man charged in the strangling deaths of 2 women has decided not to represent himself in his upcoming capital trial, according to court records. Darren Vann, 44, of Gary, was scheduled to appear Wednesday before Lake Criminal Court Judge Diane Boswell after he wrote to the court indicating he wanted to represent himself. One of Vann's defense attorneys, Gojko Kasich, filed a motion to cancel the hearing along with an affidavit that Vann no longer wants to represent himself, according to online court records. Boswell then canceled the hearing. Vann is scheduled to appear in court again Dec. 18, and his trial is slated to start Jan. 25. He faces murder charges in the homicides of Afrika Hardy, 19, and Anith Jones, 35, of Merrillville. The Lake County prosecutor's office is seeking the death penalty against him. Hardy was found dead Oct. 17, 2014, in a bathtub at a Motel 6 in Hammond. According to court records, Hardy met Vann through an online escort service. Vann allegedly admitted to killing Hardy along with 6 other women whose bodies were left in abandoned buildings in Gary, police said. Jones was found Oct. 18, 2014, in an abandoned building in the 400 block of East 43rd Street in Gary. Vann told detectives a mutual friend offered him money and drugs to make Jones disappear, according to the affidavit. Vann has not been charged in the homicides of the other women. The women are Teaira Batey, Tanya Gatlin, Sonya Billingsley, Tracy L. Martin and Kristine Williams. (source: nwitimes.com) NEVADAnew death sentence Man sentenced to death in 2013 Lyon County killing-arson spree A 27-year-old ex-convict was sentenced to death Tuesday for killing 5 people in northern Nevada during a Mother's Day weekend murder spree in 2013. Jeremiah Diaz Bean's fate had been decided in August by a state court in Yerington. It was made official by Lyon County District Court Judge John Paul Schlegelmilch, who also imposed maximum consecutive penalties totaling 78 to 195 years for Bean's other convictions including arson, robbery, burglary, auto theft and theft using a firearm. Bean was found guilty in July of fatally shooting Robert Pape and Dorothy Pape, both 84, in May 2013 in one Fernley home, and Angie Duff, 67, and Lester Leiber, 69, at a house around the corner. The jury found him guilty of fatally shooting newspaper deliveryman Eliazar Graham, 52, of Sparks, at an I-80 exit near the Mustang Ranch brothel east of Reno. Bean had been convicted of an unrelated burglary in January 2011 in Lyon County. His probation was revoked 6 months later. He was jailed for about a year and his parole expired in December 2012. Bean initially agreed to plead guilty in the 2013 slayings in a plea deal that would have spared him the death penalty. He changed his mind in November 2013 and stood trial this year. A prosecutor told the jury that Bean robbed and killed his victims to get cash to party on a Friday night, and he set the Pape home afire to try to destroy the evidence. Bean's defense attorney argued that Bean wasn't the only person to blame for the killings. Bean becomes the 81st inmate on death row at Ely State Prison. The last execution in Nevada was Daryl Linnie Mack in 2006. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: Suspect in siblings' deaths could face death penaltyDefendant "destroyed a family within minutes," prosecutor said. A man charged in the shooting deaths of 2 siblings in Southcrest earlier this month was treated "as a family member" by the people he is accused of killing, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Felipe DeJesus Vega Meza, 38, was arrested last week after he was wounded during a SWAT standoff in City Heights. He is accused of killing Arline Iribe, 20, and her brother Alexis Velarde, 22. The pair were killed outside a home at Newton Avenue and South 43rd Street on Nov. 8. Police said Velarde had tried to shield his sister from the gunfire. On Tuesday, Vega pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court to 2 counts of murder and gun-use allegations. Because he also faces a special-circumstance allegation of multiple murders, prosecutors have the option of seeking the death penalty. The District Attorney's Office had not yet announced whether it would seek Vega's execution or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Such decisions are usually made after a preliminary hearing has been held, and a judge has determined whether prosecutors have enough evidence for the case to go to trial. At Vega's arraignment, Judge David Szumowski ordered the defendant to remain held in county jail on a no-bail status and appointed the Public Defender's Office to represent him in court. Vega is a Mexican citizen. Deputy District Attorney Amy Maund told the judge that a sequence of events before the shooting made the defendant a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., PENN., DEL., GA., LA.
Nov. 18 TEXASimpending execution Texas Set To Execute Man Who Says His Lawyers Have "Abandoned" HimRaphael Holiday is set to be executed Wednesday for burning 3 children to death in 2000. Holiday has asked the Supreme Court to stop his execution, claiming his court-appointed lawyers have refused to help him. A Texas man is slated to be executed Wednesday for burning 3 children to death - including his 18-month-old daughter - despite his claims that his court-appointed attorneys have "abandoned" him. In March 2000, Raphael Holiday moved out of the house he shared with Tami Lynn Wilkerson and their 18-month-old daughter, Justice, along with Wilkerson's 2 other daughters - Jasmine DuPaul, 5, and Tierra Lynch, 7. Wilkerson had filed charges against Holiday and sought a protective order against him after she learned he had sexually assaulted Tierra, according to court documents. On Sept. 5, Holiday returned with a gun and threatened to "burn the house down with everyone it it." He then ordered everyone to sit on the couch and made Wilkerson's mother, Beverly Mitchell, pour gasoline all over the house, court records show. Mitchell said she saw Holiday "bend down," after which the fire started. All 3 children died in the fire, while Holiday stood outside and watched, court documents stated. Holiday has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his execution on the grounds that his 2 court-appointed attorney abandoned him when he wanted to pursue avenues of legal appeal that had not yet been exhausted. His appeal, filed by a pro-bono lawyer, claims that Holiday's 2 lawyers, appointed under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), announced that they were through with the case "and then actively blocked Mr. Holiday's efforts to substitute" them, despite having instructed him to look for other death penalty lawyers. Holiday says his execution should be stopped for new counsel to be appointed. He also claims that after the 2 lawyers, James "Wes" Volberding and Seth Kretzer, refused to file petitions seeking clemency - on the "cynical assumption that clemency has no chance" - they eventually "hrew together" a "sham clemency application" in 48 hours without Holiday's knowledge. "We decided that it was inappropriate to file [a petition for clemency] and give false hope to a poor man on death row expecting clemency that we knew was never going to come," Volberding told The Dallas News. Kretzer said in a court letter that they also recognized the "political realities" of Texas. Last week, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion to replace the 2 attorneys. Holiday's most recent appeal states that "irreparable harm" will occur if he is executed without him having a "meaningful opportunity to seek clemency and develop unexhausted constitutional claims." The state responded by saying Holiday's appointed counsel have "sworn their commitment" to represent him and that he had failed to propose alternative counsel to take their place. After the Supreme Court denied a petition to review the case in June, Volberding and Kretzer informed Holiday in a letter that they would not file additional appeals or seek clemency from the governor, Dallas News reported. They also opposed a motion filed by an appellate lawyer who helped Holiday by asking the court to assign him new attorneys and threatened her with sanctions. Holiday could become the 13th person to be executed by Texas this year. (source: buzzfeed.com) * Area man set to be executed for arson-related deaths A 36-year-old man convicted of killing 3 children by setting fire to their rural Madison County home 15 years ago is set to be executed today. Raphael Holiday's execution warrant becomes valid at 6 p.m. If there are no ongoing appeals at that time, officials will go ahead with the execution by lethal injection. The United States Supreme Court denied a petition in June by Holiday's lawyers to review the case, after which his lawyers decided they would not take any further appeals, saying it would only give the inmate "false hope." Gretchen Sween, a lawyer in Austin, agreed to try to find new attorneys for Holiday, saying he had the right to "conflict-free counsel willing to pursue all relief available to him." That request was denied by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, so Sween appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court didn't immediately make a ruling. Sween couldn't be reached for comment. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Holiday will begin his day in Livingston -- where death row inmates are housed -- with extended visits with family and friends. He will be transported to Huntsville at an undisclosed time, then checked in and given a new uniform. Prison officials will take the Grimes County native to a small holding cell just outside the execution chamber, where he'll be able to mak
