[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 20 PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Death row inmates denied full protection of the law The Court, presided over by Justice David Cannings, in a 53 page judgment and report of the Inquiry, concluded that all prisoners sentenced to death in PNG are being denied the full protection of the law, contrary to the Constitution of the country. And he has ordered a stay on any execution of prisoners who have been sentenced to death until their rights under the constitution are fully complied with. The Court which commenced the proceedings on its own initiative, styled as an inquiry into human rights of prisoners sentenced to death, was to, identify which prisoners have been sentenced to death, identify what human rights they have and whether those rights are being afforded to them and examine the role of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy. 5 respondents, who are senior office-holders in the criminal justice system, assisted the Court in its inquiry, they were the Principal Legal Adviser and Attorney-General, the Public Solicitor, the Public Prosecutor, the Commissioner of the Correctional Service and the Registrar of the National Court and Supreme Court. Justice Cannings in his judgment discussed 10 questions which included the Courts jurisdiction to conduct the inquiry, the procedures used, What offences attract the death penalty? What is the method of execution of a person sentenced to death? Who has been sentenced to death? What human rights do prisoners sentenced to death have? What is the role of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy? What is the present status of those on death row? Are the human rights of prisoners sentenced to death being afforded to them? and what declarations or orders should the court make? The most serious concern raised in the judgment by Justice Cannings is the absence of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy which the court found to have become defunct and accordingly made a declaration to that effect. "There has been a failure over an extended period on the part of the National Government, in particular the National Executive Council, to comply with the duty to facilitate appointments of members of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy and to provide it with staff and facilities. The Committee has become defunct. This leaves all prisoners on death row with no effective opportunity to invoke their right to the full protection of the law by applying for exercise of the power of mercy." "This has created a gap in the criminal justice system. It involves a breach of the Constitution and an infringement of human rights which must be remedied as a matter of priority." Other matters of concern raised are the apparent failure of the Correctional Service to ensure that prisoners sentenced to death are given special care and treatment in accordance with Section 105 of the Correctional Service Regulation and the lengthy delays in implementation of the death penalty. The court ordered that the National Executive Council shall, by January 1, 2018, facilitate appointments of members of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy and ensure that all arrangements are made, staff and facilities are provided and steps are taken to enable and facilitate, as far as may reasonably be, the proper and convenient performance of its functions and that there shall be no execution of any prisoner who has been sentenced to death, irrespective of whether his appeal and review rights have been exhausted. (source: Papua New Guinea Post-Courier) IRAN: UN Implores Iran Not to Execute Another Child The United Nations implored the Iranian Regime to halt today's execution of a juvenile offender who was sentenced to death at the age of 16. Several human rights experts released a joint statement, from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which read: "The Iranian authorities must immediately halt the execution of this juvenile offender and annul the death sentence against him in compliance with their international obligations ... International standards unequivocally forbid imposing the death sentence on anyone under 18 years of age." The experts include: Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and Renate Winter, current Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Amirhossein Pourjafar was sentenced to death in September 2016 for the rape and murder of a 7-year-old Afghan girl. It was claimed that he had the mental maturity to understand the nature of the crime and the consequences of its actions. This sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in January 2017. The human rights experts said: "We deplore the continued scheduling of the executions of juvenile offenders. Iran should immediately and unconditionally
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., IND., ARK., MO., WYO., CALIF., USA
Oct. 20 TEXAS: Last pretrial hearing Thursday in Telford death penalty case Outstanding motions and other issues were discussed at a hearing Thursday in the case of a Texas prison inmate accused of capital murder in the July 15, 2015, beating death of a Barry Telford Unit correctional officer. Billy Joel Tracy, 39, could receive a death sentence or life without the possibility of parole if convicted of killing 47-year-old Timothy Davison during a walk from a prison dayroom to his cell in segregation. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 23, at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston. At a hearing Thursday, Tracy's defense team, Mac Cobb of Mount Pleasant and Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana, said they still want the case moved out of Bowie County. Cobb said he is filing a supplemental change of venue motion and Harrelson said the defense wants its objections to 2 seated jurors put on the record. Lockhart said that the average age of the 7 men and 5 women chosen as jurors is 48. 2 women will serve as alternates. Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp asked that the defense provide her with information concerning the science and any testing their experts intend to rely on during the trial. Crisp said she believes those experts are expected to take the stand during the punishment phase of trial if Tracy is found guilty. Crisp said she would like to review brain scans and other reports before the witnesses are called so that if a hearing to determine whether they are admissible can be held before the jury is in the courthouse. According to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice report, Tracy was able to slip his left hand free while cuffed and attack Davison, knocking him down. Tracy allegedly grabbed Davison's metal tray slot bar, a tool used to open the slots in cell doors, and beat him to death. The Bowie County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty for Tracy, who has a long history of violence in prison since he was assessed a life term by a jury in Rockwall County for burglary and assault in 1998. Since then Tracy has been a constant disciplinary problem, has repeatedly tried to escape, and has been sentenced to additional 10-year and 45-year terms for assaults on correctional officers. Assistant District Attorneys Kelley Crisp and Lauren Richards are prosecuting the case. (source: txktoday.com) Texas high court rejects death penalty appeal in 1992 quadruple drug-related homicide The state's highest criminal court this week split over whether a ballistics expert's testimony was material to a 1992 Harris County death penalty verdict. In a ruling handed down Wednesday, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied 47-year-old Arthur Brown a new trial or new sentencing phase because a Houston police analyst overstated the proof that 2 guns connected to Brown were involved in the shooting of 6 people during a drug deal 25 years ago. The high court, with a single judge dissenting, said the analyst's possibly inaccurate testimony was not material to the jury's decision. Appeals Judge Elsa Alcala authored the dissent, writing that she agreed with former Harris County District Judge Mark Kent Ellis who ruled that the firearms evidence introduced at Brown's trial was false or misleading. "I agree with the (trial) court's determination that this evidence was not only false or misleading but also material," she said. Alcala wrote that she would support a new trial, a new punishment phase or even a new hearing to further flesh out the issue. The 1993 death penalty verdict came back to Harris County last year because of a recent law allowing inmates to take advantage of scientific breakthroughs that were not available during their original trials. During a hearing in front of Ellis last year, attorneys for Brown argued that 2 guns that had been linked to him were not used to kill 4 people and injure 2 others during a large-scale cocaine deal. Brown was convicted of running drugs from Houston to Alabama with 2 other men. The trio apparently decided to cut out the middlemen and went into a southwest Houston cocaine deal with the intent to kill. Court records show that Brown with Marion Dudley and Tony Dunson arranged to buy 3 kilograms of cocaine from Rachel Tovar and her estranged husband, Jose Tovar. When the 3 went to Tovar's home in the 4600 block of Brownstone for the deal, they tied up the couple and 4 other people - friends and neighbors who were in the house coincidentally. All 6 were shot in the head. 4 people were killed: Tovar's husband; 19-year-old Jessica Quinones, who was 7 months pregnant; Audrey Brown, 21; and 17-year-old Frank Farias. Rachel Tovar survived along with family friend Nicholas Cortez. Cortez said Dudley shot him and Jose Tovar with a .357-caliber Magnum handgun, according to court records. He was sentenced to death and has been executed. Dunson
