[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Nov. 18 MAURITANIA: Mauritania broadens death penalty for blasphemy Showing repentance will no longer prevent the death penalty from being applied for blasphemy and apostasy, Mauritania said on Friday, as the conservative Muslim nation hardens up its religious laws. The decision follows the release on November 9 of a blogger previously condemned to death for criticising religious justification for discrimination in Mauritanian society. A new bill will "harden up expected sentences for blasphemers," the government of the west African nation said in a statement released by the official AMI news agency. "Every Muslim, man or woman, who mocks or insults Mohammed (peace be upon him), his angels, books... is liable to face the death penalty, without being asked to repent. They will incur the death penalty even if they repent," Justice Minister Brahim Ould Daddah said, according to the statement. The decision to free blogger Cheikh Ould Mohamed Ould Mkheitir for time served after his sentence for blasphemy was downgraded from death to 2 years in jail caused clashes and outrage in Mauritania last week. A Muslim in his 30s, Mkheitir was sentenced in December 2014 over a blog which questioned decisions taken by the Prophet Mohammed and his companions during holy wars in the 7th century. He also attacked the mistreatment of Mauritania's black population, blasting "an iniquitous social order" with an underclass that was "marginalised and discriminated against from birth." Prosecutors have appealed the decision to release the blogger and are calling once more for the death penalty to be handed down. Mauritania has not carried out the death penalty since 1987. Justice Minister Ould Daddah said times had changed since the original law was written in 1983, and "consequentially the law has to move on," AMI reported. (source: news24.com) INDONESIA/AUSTRALIA: Paintings from executed Bali 9 man Myuran Sukumaran to hang in Bendigo Art Gallery Artworks Bali 9 drug smuggler Myuran Sukumaran painted in the days before he was executed will go on show in Bendigo in an exhibition dedicated to the death penalty and human rights. Mr Sukumaran faced an Indonesian firing squad alongside fellow Australian Andrew Chan in 2015 after they were both found guilty of orchestrating a plot to bring more than 8 kilograms of heroin into Australia. While awaiting his fate in Kerobokan prison and on island prison Nusa Kambangan, Mr Sukumaran turned to art, becoming a prolific portraitist. Some of these harrowing works, which reveal the man's torment in the days before his death, will feature in the Another Day in Paradise exhibition bound for Bendigo Art Gallery. Artist Ben Quilty is one of the curators and mentored the executed man during his time in prison. The exhibition will also feature works from Australian artists Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Megan Cope, Jagath Dheerasekara, Khaled Sabsabi, and Matthew Sleeth. "Another Day in Paradise highlights the importance of forgiveness and compassion for humanity, while proving the profound power of art to change lives," a gallery statement read. The exhibition will be on display from July 7 to September 16. (source: Bendigo Advertiser) BANGLADESHexecutions 2 hanged in Jessore for murdering freedom fighter in 1994 The authorities in Jessore Central Jail have executed death sentences of 2 for murdering freedom fighter Monwar Hossain 23 years ago. Senior Superintendent of the jail Kamal Hossain told reporters that the executioners hanged the convicts, Golam Rasul Jhorhu, 75, and Abdul Mokim, 60, at 11:45pm on Thursday. Both the convicts from Alamdanga Upazila's Durlovpur village in Chuadanga were members of extremist group Purbo Bangla Communist Party. Kamal said they handed the bodies of the convicts to their families after post-mortem examination. Jessore Deputy Commissioner Ashraf Uddin, Superintendent of Police Anisur Rahman and Civil Surgeon Dilip Kumar Roy were present during the execution. Before the execution of the death sentence the imam of the jail mosque administered Tawba of the 2 convicts. Referring to case dossier, Kamal said some members of the extremist group hacked freedom fighter and Kumari union council member Monwar to death at Durlovpur village on June 28, 1994. Monwar's brother Ahim Uddin started a case at Alamdanga Police Station, naming 21 people, on the following day. Chuadanga District and Sessions Judge's court sentenced 3 to death, 2 to lifetime imprisonment and acquitted the 16 others on Apr 17, 2008. 2 of those sentenced to life in prison are Amirul Islam and ‘Hiya’ from the same village. Monwar’s son Jahangir Alam, who is a member of Kumari union council now, told bdnews24.com that the jail officials informed them about the execution of the death sentences some days ago. He said members of extremist group 'Janajuddh' threatened his family several
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., OHIO, NEB., UTAH, NEV., USA
Nov. 18 FLORIDA: Man Faces Death Penalty For Killing Ex-Girlfriend, 3 Others A Florida man is facing a possible death sentence after being convicted of killing of his ex-girlfriend, her new boyfriend and her parents. The Tampa Bay Times reports that 32-year-old Adam Matos was found guilty Thursday of 4 counts of murder. The penalty phase starts Monday. Matos could get the death penalty if all 12 jurors vote for that. Otherwise he would be sentenced to life in prison. Authorities say Matos fatally shot Megan Brown and her father, Greg Brown, at their Hudson home in 2014. He also fatally beat Margaret Brown and Nick Leonard with a hammer, jurors heard. Matos testified Wednesday he'd been suffering from paranoia and committed the slayings in self-defense. The 4-year-old son of Megan Brown and Matos was at the home when the killings occurred. *** Prosecutor misses filing deadline to seek death penalty A Florida prosecutor who recently reversed a blanket policy against executions has missed the filing deadline to pursue the death penalty in a murder case. The Orlando Sentinel reports Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala issued a statement Friday acknowledging the lapsed deadline. Her office filed to seek the death penalty against 33-year-old Emerita Mapp on Oct. 31, but the 45-day deadline between indictment and that filing had passed. Mapp's attorneys filed a motion Wednesday to stop the state from seeking the death penalty. After Ayala previously announced she'd stop seeking the death penalty, Gov. Rick Scott reassigned her death penalty eligible cases to another prosecutor. The Florida Supreme Court upheld him. Authorities say Mapp fatally stabbed one man during a robbery and seriously wounded another at a hotel in April. (source for both: Associated Press) ** Once on death row as a teen killer of newlyweds, man getting new shot at freedomKiller of Miami couple in 1981 to get new sentence Nearly 37 years ago, Gail and John Hardeman of Miami were shot and killed by 17-year-old Cleo LeCroy at a southwestern Palm Beach County hunting area. Currently serving life in prison terms, LeCroy, now 54, is scheduled to be resentenced on Dec. 1. Cleo Douglas LeCroy — previously on Florida’s death row for nearly 20 years for killing young newlyweds from Miami in 1981 — has a shot at being set free from prison. A judge is set to give LeCroy, who is serving a life term, a new sentence Dec. 1, thanks to several high court rulings favoring people who were juveniles when they committed murder. For the family of victims Gail and John Hardeman, gunned down by a 17-year-old LeCroy at a southwestern Palm Beach County hunting area, the possibility of seeing him walk is painful. “I should never after all of these years be going through this,” said Ruth Haines, 81, mother of Gail. “To me, it should be life without parole.” In a handful of Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, new data from athenahealth shows Lyme Disease diagnoses were up more than 20 percent in 2017. The reason why? A bumper crop of acorns in the fall of 2016. LeCroy should “rot in jail,” said David Hardeman, 61, whose older brother was fatally shot in the face. He actually wishes it was still legal to execute juvenile killers. Since it’s not, LeCroy “should never be allowed to get out,” the Miami man said. Gail and John Hardeman were killed on Jan. 4, 1981 during a hunting trip in southwestern Palm Beach County. But LeCroy, now 54, is hoping to leave prison and move to Alabama where he would care for his elderly mom and draw support from a church program for released convicts. “He’s hopeful, but he’s been through a lot,” said defense attorney James Eisenberg, who was LeCroy’s first court-appointed lawyer and still argues for his freedom three decades later. “I see no reason to deny this guy’s release.” On and off death row In the years after his arrest and convictions at a 1986 trial, LeCroy lost numerous appeals in the murder case that captivated South Florida. LeCroy, who grew up in North Miami as the youngest of five children, has admitted he shot fellow hunters and campers John and Gail Hardeman within an Everglades wildlife preserve, about 16 miles south of Belle Glade and five miles from the nearest house. Gail, a secretary for a ceramic tile company, was 24 when she died on Jan. 4, 1981. John, who worked as an exterminator for a pest control business, was 27 and the father of two boys, 5 and 3, from a previous marriage. John Hardeman III, whose sons are now in their early 40s and raising five young kids, was killed by a shotgun blast to his face. His wife was shot at close range in the head, neck and chest with a .22-caliber gun. Their bodies weren’t discovered until a week later, after LeCroy and his family assisted authorities in a massive search by air and land for the couple who
