[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
My regular postings to this listserve will resume on Sunday, Sept. 11 ** Sept. 8 JAPAN: Final appeal relating to Tokyo subway sarin attack dismissed by Japan's High Court It has been 21 years since 5 men released the deadly nerve agent in carriages of crowded commuter trains during Tokyo's morning rush-hour. Twelve people died, 50 people were left permanently injured, and thousands of others were temporarily blinded by the gas. The perpetrators were all members of a religious cult known as Aum Shinrikyo, which means "supreme truth". The cult had prepared for the attack at a remote sheep station it owned in Western Australia. The sarin gas attack in Tokyo is regarded as the first ever use of a weapon of mass destruction in an act of terrorism. The perpetrators of the crime thought they were carrying out a holy act in line with the beliefs of the doomsday cult. The prosecutors of the criminal trials believe that day was chosen to divert the attention of police who were planning a raid on the cult's headquarters. The head of the cult, Shoko Asahara, was found guilty of masterminding the attacks in 2004 and sentenced to death by hanging, but his execution was postponed while the appeals of his fellow criminals were heard. He is now 61 years old and spends his days in solitary confinement. Hiromi Shimada, the author of a book about Aum Shinrikyo, said the next question would be when the 13 men facing the death penalty would go to the gallows. "Since there are so many of them, I think it'll be difficult to execute all of them at once," he said. "The Minister of Justice has to make the decision but it can't be carried out just by the minister's decision. "I think the Government has to be involved also, so it's hard to the think the executions will happen all at once." Cult leader's execution may be delayed The gas attack crime in 1995 did not turn the cult's followers away from the faith. Asahara devised the religion in his one-bedroom flat in Tokyo and based his teachings on a mixture of Buddhism and Hinduism and declared himself to be the Christ. After his imprisonment, Aum Shinrikyo split into 2 distinct groups, and the Japanese Government now regards those groups to be branches of what it calls a dangerous religion. Some say the execution of the leader Asahara might now be delayed by the Government to prevent him being seen as a martyr by the remaining devotees. Hiromi Shimada said very little was known about Asahara's condition in jail. "We hardly hear what's going on inside the prison so I don't know in detail, but his daughter has published a memoir and wrote that perhaps her father has schizophrenia," he said. "I think his mental condition has become worse over time." Support for the death penalty in Japan has been falling over the years and there are usually only 2 or 3 executions carried out each year, and those are reserved for criminals who have committed multiple murders. Asahara and his fellow perpetrators join about 100 other criminals who currently wait on death row. (source: abc.net.au) SOUTH KOREA: Ruling party lawmaker seeks to apply death penalty for military corruption A lawmaker from the ruling Saenuri Party proposed a new bill on Thursday to classify military-related corruption as a form of aiding and abetting the enemy, paving the way for courts to hand out stricter punishment including the death penalty. Under South Korean law, any action benefiting the enemy can land a person in jail for at least f5 years, with more serious offences leading to capital punishment. "Irregularities in the military have an adverse impact on national defense that leads directly to the safety of the people," Rep. Sin Sang-jin said, adding the existing system cannot sufficiently root out military-related corruption due to ineffective punishment. The public has been speaking out on bolstering punishment for those involved in military-related corruption, especially amid increasing threats from Pyongyang. The 2 Koreas remain technically at war to this day, since the Korean War (1950-53) ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty. (source: Yonhap News) UNITED KINGDOM: Andy Tsege: High Court rejects 9-year-old's plea for UK to bring back British father kidnapped by EthiopiaExclusive: Father faces death sentence on terror charges 'that would not stand up in UK court' The High Court has rejected the case of a 9-year-old British girl demanding Theresa May's government do more to help her father, who has been kidnapped by the Ethiopian authorities and now faces an impending death sentence. British officials have failed to intervene in the case of Andargachew Tsege, known as Andy, a father of 3 from London who was granted political asylum in the UK in 1979 and has lived in Britain ever since. He was abducted in June 2014 while on route to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 8 IRAN: Christian executed in Iran spoke of meeting Jesus before his death The moving last words of a man executed in prison in Iran a few days ago were of his profound faith in Jesus Christ. The brother of Alireza Asadi, 1 of 12 people executed near Tehran at the end of August, has posted his last words on Facebook. Asadi said the "best experience" he had was of meeting Jesus. The post was circulated widely by Pastor Saeed Abedini, a naturalised US citizen who converted from Islam to Christianity in 2000 and became prominent in Iran's house church movement. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2013 in Iran and released in January this year. Alireza Asadi, speaking to his brother Mohsen, 1 day before his execution, said all was going well. He made clear his faith in life after death. He said: "And Mohsen, I truly believe that there is a new season starting for me. And this new season is much, much more pleasant that the worldly life. This is what I truly believe. "Even when I didn't repent I knew there is something. But now I believe surely about this new season and its existence. I can finally be in peace. I don't have any stress or bad feelings and everything goes well with me." He said he was still not completely sure he would be executed. He was with a group of about 10 people including 4 of his friends. "We were crying from laughing a lot." He said he had been talking to them of God and would continue to do so. "For many of you it was a question if I am a Christian or not. But now I say that I am a Christian. And now I have one or two days til I will die. And I hope it will never happen to you guys. During these moments you forgive all the bad that has happen to you. But the most I want tell you is the best experience that I had. And that was meeting Jesus. And I don't want to force you guys, But please start to get to know Him. If you just read two sentences from the Bible, you will never leave it again." His brother asked him how his faith had developed. Asadi said: "When I ended up here in prison I realized that God is the true God. I wanted God to show himself to me." He said Jesus was there when he needed Him. "I needed peace, He was there. I lost many friends, but I know that I could find my comfort in Him. And when I commanded the devil to leave, I saw that the evil didn't dare to come near me anymore. I felt and saw that the name of Christ is the name above all names. And that the enemy doesn't have any authority over me anymore." He said the majority of those facing the death penalty were using drugs. "But only because of Him (Jesus Christ) I stayed on the right track. Instead of drugs I am exercising every day." NCRI reported that the 12 individuals were executed in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran on 27 August. UN expert and special rapporteur on Iran human rights, Ahmed Shaheed, had called repeatedly for the executions to be halted. He had said: "It is regrettable that the government continues to proceed with executions for crimes that do not meet the threshold of the 'most serious crimes' as required by international law, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is State party. It is also troubling that courts continue to issue death sentences in trials that not only breach international fair trial standards but even domestic due process guarantees." He renewed a call for Iran to institute a moratorium on executions and to restrict use of the death penalty for the "most serious crimes", or murder. Nine of the 12 executed were named as Alireza Madadpour, Bahman Rezai, Arman Bahrami, Alireza Asadi, Mohsen Eslami, Hosein Bayrami, Mehdi Rostami, Amir and Alireza Sarkhah. (source: christiantoday.com) BANGLADESH: Full High Court verdict in Ahsanullah Master murder published The 182-page full verdict was published on Supreme Court's website on Wednesday. The summery verdict upholding death sentence of six, including BNP leader Nurul Islam Sarkar, was pronounced on June 15. The High Court also acquitted 11 accused, who had been convicted to death or life in prison by a Speedy Trial Tribunal. The State could manage a stay order on the verdict initially but the regular bench lifted it. The legal bar on the release of the acquitted persons was lifted by an Appellate Division decision of July 17. Now after the publication of the full verdict, any aggrieved party can petition for appeal against the verdict. The family and supporters of Ahsanullah in Gazipur expressed dissatisfaction over the acquittal of the 11 convicts. Ahsanullah, a freedom fighter, had served as the Gazipur Upazila council chairman before being elected to the parliament in 1996 and 2001. He was a member of the party's national council and the executive president of the Awami League's labour affiliate. His son Zahid Ahsan Russel, who is now the MP from
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MINN., CALIF.
Sept. 8 MINNESOTA: We Need the Death Penalty for Jacob Wetterling's Killer Few things bring a community together like tragedy. It's a sad aspect of the human condition. We tend to ignore each other until a moment when our essential sameness manifests. Minnesotans find themselves in such a moment, having recently learned chilling answers to long held questions in the Jacob Wetterling case. Wetterling was 12 years old when he was abducted at gunpoint on a dead-end rural road, snatched while 2 of his friends were forced to look away. For 27 years, his family and the broader community held out hope that he might somehow remain alive. Alas, a vile creature recently led authorities to Jacob's remains. In court on Tuesday, that killer detailed his actions, as reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune: It began with a question: "On Oct. 22, 1989, did you kidnap, sexually assault and murder Jacob Wetterling?" "Yes, I did," Danny Heinrich said. The hushed courtroom - packed with family members, reporters and law enforcement officers - began to buzz. Sitting in the front row, Patty and Jerry Wetterling listened, stoically at first, as Heinrich described that warm October night. How he spotted the 3 boys on the dead-end road. How he put on a mask and reached for his revolver. How he warned Trevor and Aaron not to look back. With a clear, low voice, Heinrich said he then handcuffed Jacob and put him in the passenger seat. At that point, the prosecutor asked, what did Jacob say to you? "'What did I do wrong?'" Heinrich answered. A few in the courtroom gasped. Several began sobbing. The only justice for Jacob would be Heinrich's death. That will not happen. Minnesota has no death penalty. On top of that, authorities presumably have these answers in the Wetterling case because Heinrich cut a deal. Faced with life in prison due to conviction on other charges, Heinrich reportedly seeks accommodations that will protect him from other prisoners. The irony is that those other prisoners understand something which the rest of us increasingly don't. Monsters must be put down. The death penalty has lost much of its support over the past few decades, even among conservatives. Here are a few objections to the death penalty floating around conservative circles, and why they are wrong: 1. Government Cannot Be Trusted Conservatives don't trust government to run health care or fix the economy. Why would we trust them with something as important as a human life? There have been improper convictions in the past, and an innocent person might be killed. Let's just shut the whole thing down then. Seriously. Why have government at all? If they can't get anything right, why trust them with any of it? This is silly. If people are being wrongly convicted, let's stop that! We don't fix that problem by nerfing sentences. How is it better for someone to be falsely convicted to a life sentence than to be falsely convicted to a death sentence? Either way, it's a false conviction. Are we to regard the world as a better place because an innocent person might spend his life in prison rather than be executed? Is that really the standard? How about we focus on minimizing mistakes? How about we focus on making sound convictions? That seems like a much better plan than settling for a world where innocent people spend their remaining years in hell, and guilty people don't get what they deserve. 2. Death Is Not an Adequate Punishment If you kill someone, that's it, it's over. They don't suffer. They don't have to pay with the lifetime of horror which prison presents. Let's make them suffer by keeping them alive. This is odd in light of the first argument. If a lifetime in prison proves so much worse than death, why should we be okay with errant life sentences while objecting to errant death sentences? If killing someone gets it over with, while letting them live makes them suffer, wouldn't we rather kill the wrong person than imprison them for life? You can't have it both ways. A life sentence in a case which warrants death comes at a financial and moral cost. Why should taxpayers foot the bill to keep a murdering rapist alive? More importantly, why should we suffer a murdering rapist's continued existence? Each breath he draws insults life itself. But more on that later. 3. It's Cheaper to Keep Them Alive "Cases without the death penalty cost $740,000, while cases where the death penalty is sought cost $1.26 million." That's from the Death Penalty Information Center. Therefore, some conservatives argue, it proves more fiscally responsible to pursue life sentences rather than death sentences. The cheapest option would be to let them back out onto the street and be done with it. Let's concede, first and foremost, that our goal is justice at whatever cost. The reason that it is more expensive to prosecute a death penalty case is because we have made it more
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., LA., OHIO, OKLA.
Sept. 8 TEXAS: Watch: A Dying BreedCan Texas Even Carry Out an Execution Anymore? Officials down at Texas' once-proud and prolific death chamber must be beginning to wonder if they'll ever execute another inmate. The state hasn't executed anyone since Pablo Vasquez on April 6 and has since seen the past 12 inmates avoid the imminent within a few days of their death dates. Those stays - and in Perry Williams' case, a straight withdrawal (see "Death Watch: A First Time for Everything," July 15) - have come through questions over innocence, certain legal statutes, and a creeping feeling that the death penalty might not be that good of an idea. Look no further than the June opinion from Elsa Alcala, a judge on the traditionally death-friendly Court of Criminal Appeals, in the case of Julius Murphy. The judge saw "serious deficiencies" that have "caused ... great concern about this form of punishment as it exists in Texas today." One begins to sense a changing tide. A stay was the case again late Friday, Sept. 2, when the CCA put the execution of Robert Mitchell Jennings on ice pending further order of the court. Jennings, 58, was convicted in 1989 for the 1988 murder of Houston Police Officer Elston Howard, who was issuing a citation to the owner of an adult novelty store when Jennings burst in to rob the place and shot Howard 4 times. The Houston native already had 2 convictions for aggravated robbery, and 1 for a home burglary, and had only been out for 2 months when he killed Howard. Even during that short time, his appeals attorneys acknowledge, Jennings had committed 5 different robberies. In his CCA appeal this summer, Jennings argued that the state destroyed mitigating evidence that could have spared his life - particularly a recording of a police interview conducted shortly after Jennings' arrest in which he expressed "remorse in the way I feel about the incident that happened." Jennings has said that he had been drinking, that Howard "ran towards him" before he shot, and that he wished he could "take it all back." The trial court issued a "nullification" instruction during punishment, rendering the recording irrelevant during trial. Jennings' attorney Randy Schaffer cites precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court establishing the "nullification" instruction as unconstitutional. The high court has held since 2001 that "nullification" instruction requires reversal of a death sentence if there was mitigating evidence that the jury was not afforded the opportunity to consider. (Jennings has also asserted that he received ineffective counsel during his trial and that the death penalty violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.) Jennings' name has also been included in the joint lawsuit filed Aug. 12 in Judge Lynn Hughes' court with Jeffery Wood, Ramiro Gonzales, Rolando Ruiz, and Terry Edwards - the 5 inmates on the execution calendar at the time of the suit's filing (see "Death Watch: The Quality of State Killings," Aug. 26). The 5 argue that they should be granted the right to have their doses of compounded pentobarbital (the cocktail used in state killings) tested for purity. The state said it would extend the courtesy to Perry Williams earlier this summer after Williams filed his own complaint, but in 6 months never got around to running the quick test (for some reason). Williams eventually got his date withdrawn. Hughes dismissed Wood et al. 3 weeks ago, holding that: "The Constitution protects the rights of the people [to have their death doses tested] - not rights held collectively by groups." An appeal is currently pending in the 5th Circuit. (soure: Ausstin Chronicle) *** Why justice is 'fading away' U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinks capital punishment is "fading away" in America. We are confident that the demise of the death penalty - and justice - would make this liberal member of the highest court in the land quite happy. However, let us be realistic. Capital punishment is not "fading away" due to some sudden and significant change in America's attitude. The primary reason the number of executions are declining nationwide is because of a shortage of the drugs used to carry out the death penalty. And why is there a shortage? Because of the devious, nefarious and quite likely criminal acts of those who cannot change laws in America legally through the democratic process, so they resort to violence and threats of violence against drug manufacturers to create a shortage of the drugs used to administer the ultimate form of justice - thereby delaying or halting capital punishment. So much for justice, right? Texas has 4 scheduled executions for the rest of 2016, including the execution of an individual who shot to death 2 of his neighbors in 2003, another individual who kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed an 18-year-old girl in 2001
