[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 5 BANGLADESH: Dandupalya gang's death penalty commuted to life The High Court of Karnataka on Monday commuted death penalty to life imprisonment to 4 Dandupalya gang members. A division bench comprising Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice John Michael Cunha passed an order commuting the death sentence issued to gang members Venkatesh, Munikrishna, Nalla Thimma and Lakshmi. The gang members were accused of murdering Sudhamani, a resident of Moodalapalya in Vijayanagar and stealing valuables from her house in October 1999. While the case of theft was proved, the prosecution could not provide evidence that it was the same gang which had murdered Sudhamani. Due to lack of evidence in the murder case, the bench commuted the sentencing in the matter. The notorious Dandupalya gang is involved in a series of thefts and murders. (source: Deccan Herald) SINGAPORE: Activist investigated for illegal assembly after vigil for hanged Malaysian An activist is being investigated by Singapore police over her participation in a candlelight vigil outside Changi Prison for Malaysian S. Prabagaran, who was hanged almost 2 months ago. Anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han, who attended the vigil on July 13, said that 2 police officers showed up at her house on Sunday and handed her a letter saying that they are investigating an offence of "taking part in a public assembly without a permit". She said that the letter also summoned her and "some of the participants" to present themselves for questioning. Han said that the July 13 vigil for Prabagaran was to show support for the family, who were present at the vigil, after they realised that Prabagaran's execution would go ahead. "There weren't that many people and there was no disturbance," Han told The Star Online. "We lit candles and put up his photo, but when the police came and told us to take it down we complied," she said. According to Han, the police showed up at the vigil 15 minutes after the candles were lit. Police confiscated the candles and photos, and filmed the people present at the vigil. "We were then told that we would be allowed to stay as long as we didn't light any more candles, which we didn't," said Han. Han said that she is aware of the "very restrictive laws" on public assembly in Singapore. "I'm not completely surprised that a peaceful candlelight vigil is now being seen as an illegal assembly," she said. However, Han said that the timing of the investigation is "a little odd" considering that the vigil was held almost 2 months ago. Han said that she would meet Singapore police on Thursday at 2pm for questioning. Singapore NGO Function 8 condemned the "police harassment" of anti-death penalty activists who held the vigil. "Article 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore guarantees the right of citizens to freedom of speech, expression and assembly," said Function 8 in a statement on Monday. "The act of issuing and having the police personally delivering letters which require the said activists to appear at police stations to assist in investigations, almost two months after the event, goes against the spirit of our Constitution and is a waste of police resources," it said. Function 8 urged the Singapore home affairs minister to rescind the action of the police and cease the investigation. Prabagaran was sentenced to hang for trying to smuggle a form of pure heroin into Singapore in April 2012. The Malaysian, who was working in a petrol station, was arrested at the Woodlands checkpoint in April 2012 for possession of 22.24g of heroin, which was found in a black bundle in the centre arm-rest console of the car he was driving. Prabagaran maintained his innocence, claiming that he borrowed the car from a friend to enter Singapore that day and was not aware of the drugs in the car. (source: thestar.com.my) PAKISTAN: Ignoring Mental Illness is Among Pakistan's Misplaced Priorities On 21 October 2016, a 3-member bench of the highest court in Pakistan, headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, ruled that schizophrenia was not a mental illness and won't disqualify one from being sent to the gallows. This was ostensibly done to ensure that Imdad Ali, a schizophrenic man, would be hanged for the 2001 murder of a cleric. Imdad will be victim number 426 in Pakistan's merciless hanging spree, that began after the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty, following the Peshawar attacks in December 2014. In the wake of these attacks, 3 branches of governments, spearheaded by a 4th military branch, devised a 'National Action Plan', the salient points being the establishment of military courts and the reinstatement of capital punishment. Denying Rights to the Disabled and Mentally Ill The political efficacy of such measures and their role in deterring terrorism is a topic for another time, but one thing is certain
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., OHIO, ARK., COLO., CALIF.
Sept. 5 FLORIDAimpending execution Thoughts From Man Set To Be Executed Next In Florida Michael Lambrix is set to be executed on Oct. 5. He was next in line to be executed when a U.S. Supreme Court decision threw Florida's death penalty into limbo. He was 1 of 2 death row inmates who had active death warrants for a year and a half. Mark Asay, the other inmate, was executed on Aug. 24, breaking the hiatus. Lambrix was one of the subjects of a WLRN documentary, Cell 1, which looked into why the death penalty was put on hold for such a long time and what effect that has on people on death row, their families and victims' families. A few days before Asay's execution, Lambrix wrote a letter to WLRN. He raised concerns about the new lethal injection protocol that would be used to execute Asay, saying he feared it would cause some pain. But, Lambrix said, the tradition of using a lethal injection protocol that appears as if the inmate is falling asleep makes it easier for the Department of Corrections to continue executing inmates. Asay was executed using a drug - etomidate - that had never before been used in an execution in the U.S. He did not present any signs to suggest that the drug worked any differently than the old protocol. In his letter to WLRN, Lambrix predicted he would be next. Read more of his thoughts below: Lambrix was convicted of the 1983 murders of Aleisha Bryant and Clarence Moore Jr. in Glades County. In a warrant for Lambrix's execution, Gov. Rick Scott wrote that Lambrix "lured Moore outside and viciously attacked him with a tire iron, repeatedly hitting him in the head and fracturing his skull. Lambrix then called Bryant to come outside where he attacked her, kicking her in the head and strangling her." In a 2016 interview with WLRN, Lambrix denied he murdered either of them. He claimed he saw Moore strangling Bryant and in an attempt to save her, Lambrix hit Moore in the head with a tire iron. "I'm fighting to prove my innocence and be free," Lambrix said. This is the 3rd time in 30 years he has been moved to Death Watch to await his execution. (source: WLRN news) *** Damas trial begins Tuesday with new judge Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday in the 1st-degree murder trial of Mesac Damas. Damas, 41, is accused of killing his wife and 5 children in their North Naples home in September 2009. Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk once called it "the most horrific and violent event" in county history. Jury selection is expected to take the entire week because of the notoriety of the case and the additional requirements of selecting a jury in a possible death penalty case. Prosecutors and defense lawyers will need to whittle down a pool of about 400 prospective jurors to 12. More: Collier judge exits family-killing case; Mesac Damas trial still set for Tuesday The nearly 8-year-old case will not be delayed by a last-minute judge swap. Collier Circuit Judge Fred Hardt withdrew from the case Friday, finding that a defense motion calling on him to recuse himself was "legally sufficient." Circuit Judge Christine Greider will replace Hardt. She will be the 4th judge to oversee Damas' case. Damas said during June and July hearings that he wanted to plead guilty, avoid trial and be put to death. He asked Hardt for permission to dismiss his court-appointed attorneys and represent himself, a request the judge denied. But at 2 August hearings, when given the opportunity to change his plea, Damas refused to speak or acknowledge the judge, instead sitting silently with his head down. The trial - both guilt and sentencing phases - is expected to take a month after the jury is selected. (source: Naples Daily News) OHIO: Beacon Journal editorial board: Are they 'most deserving of execution'? Ohio plans to execute Gary Otte next week. He will be the 2nd man put to death since the state resumed lethal injections after a hiatus of more than 3 years. In 1992, Otte killed 2 people during armed robberies on consecutive days in Parma. The parole board denied his bid for clemency earlier this year, explaining: "The totality of his upbringing ... suggests ... Otte consciously rejected the law-abiding, pro-social paths available to him." And yet the story is more complicated, as a study released last week by the Fair Punishment Project at the Harvard Law School shows. Otte suffered from chronic depression, began abusing drugs and alcohol at age 10, first attempted suicide at 15. He committed the murders at 20, or nearly as a juvenile. Research shows the brain still developing at that point. Which is part of why the Supreme Court has barred executing juveniles. The idea isn't to diminish in any way the horrible crimes of Otte. The reasonable question raised by the study is whether he should be executed. The report reminds that the high court restricts the death penalty to
