[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Dec. 2 THAILAND: Israeli Sentenced to Die for Killing Fellow Expat An Israeli man has been sentenced to die for the murder of a fellow Israeli last year, police said Saturday. Shimon Sakira Bitton, 50, was convicted and sentenced to die one year after he was arrested on suspicion of killing Eliyahu Cohen, a 63-year-old Israeli policeman, and hiding his body under poured concrete. The court convicted and sentenced him on the same day, according to the officer in charge of the investigation. "It's up to defendant whether to appeal the ruling," Col. Jirapob Puridej said Saturday. Defendants have 30 days to appeal their convictions. He continued, "I am happy to have successfully brought the criminal to justice. We did everything in accordance with the facts." The Israeli Embassy has not made a statement and could not be reached Saturday for comment. Police said Bitton murdered Cohen with the aid of his 17-year-old son in a fit of jealous rage. They began investigating Bitton after Cohen???s relatives told the Israeli Embassy he went missing. Investigators also linked him to a previous murder and concealed body from 1997. He served jail time before being booted out of the country, only to return years later under a new name. The suspense over Cohen's murder escalated when family of Bitton's Thai wife also reported her as missing. Although Thailand retains death penalty in serious crimes like first degree murders, an execution has not been carried out since 2009. A juvenile court verdict in the trial of Bitton's son is yet to be out. Col. Jirapob said Bitton's missing wife, Nantiya Saengurai, is still unaccounted for. She remains in the missing persons database and could not be ruled as deceased by the court for lack of evidence. "There is no evidence anyone has killed her," the colonel said. "For the court to declare someone dead, there must be some evidence, or a body. But in her case, there's no trace of her at all. Not even one witness." (source: khaosodenglish.com) RUSSIA: Death penalty moratorium will never be lifted - Russian ombudsman The Russian plenipotentiary for human rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that the moratorium on death penalty in the country will be extended indefinitely. She added that in her opinion life in prison was an adequate replacement as a punishment. "I cannot decide on this subject but my opinion is that the moratorium will be extended because the sixth protocol on abolition of death penalty, that has been ratified by our nation, cannot be left unfulfilled, otherwise it would cause consequences connected with our membership in the Council of Europe," Moskalkova said during her lecture in the Moscow Institute of International Relations that was a part of the nationwide "open lesson" event dedicated to the issue of human rights. "Public opinion polls show that a significant part of our population support the death penalty as a punishment for those who commit a murder or a terrorist attack with human casualties. But life in prison can be an adequate alternative as it provides an adequate punishment for the evil and crimes committed by such persons," the ombudsman added. The moratorium on capital punishment was introduced in 1996 in connection with Russia's entry into the Council of Europe. The last execution in the Russian Federation took place on September 2, 1996. Many Russian politicians and officials have raised the issue of canceling the moratorium, especially after terrorist attacks or other brutal crimes that attract public attention. One of the more recent examples of such behavior is the proposal of the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov who said in a televised interview in late November that he personally favored death penalty as punishment for convicted terrorist recruiters. However, the country's top authorities have so far refused to introduce any changes to the situation, claiming that the question was too complex. A public opinion poll conducted by the independent sociological agency Levada in February this year showed that 44 % of Russians wanted the death penalty returned and 41 % said they opposed this measure. 15 % of respondents said they did not have any opinion on the issue. In 2015, the share of those who supported it was 41 % with 44 % against. (source: rt.com) IRANexecutions 18 Executions Across Iran as MEPs Visit TehranParliamentary visits to Tehran encourage mullahs to continue executions Iranian regime executed 18 prisoners from the 22nd to the 29th of November. 10 of these hangings were carried out in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran, including the mass execution of 9 prisoners on Wednesday, November 29th. 6 prisoners were executed in Tabriz Central Prison on November 22nd and 26th. 2 prisoners were hanged in the prisons of Babol (northern Iran) and Qaen (eastern Iran) on November 28th. Continuous
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., NEB., NEV., CALIF.
Dec. 2 TEXAS: Death Penalty Sought for Tech Officer Murder, But Daniels Might Be Incompetent to Stand Trial A court record filed on Tuesday indicated that prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty against Hollis Alvin Daniels, 19, for the shooting death of a police officer on the campus of Texas Tech. Daniels was arrested on October 9, less than 2 hours after officer Floyd East, Jr. was shot and killed inside the Texas Tech police station. The newest document filed by Daniels' defense attorney, Dennis Reeves, said, "a) Mr. Daniels has been charged with the offense of Capital Murder. The State is seeking the death penalty. b) This Court has determined that ... Mr. Daniels is indigent. c) This Court has appointed the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases to represent Mr. Daniels." Reeves is with the public defender's office. A gag order has been issued in the case, meaning members of the news media cannot speak to police or other officials about the case. Some of the court records are publicly available in the Lubbock County online court system. Some are not. In the newest document filed by Reeves, it was revealed that Daniels might not be found competent to stand trial. "Prior to his indictment, previously appointed Counsel for Mr. Daniels filed a Motion Suggesting Incompetence and Request For Examination," the document said. "The appointed examiner has not yet issued a report finding that Mr. Daniels is presently incompetent, but that report is forthcoming. Informal conversations with the examiner indicate that he is likely to find Mr. Daniels incompetent." The original motion related to incompetence is not publicly available at this time. Reeves' motion indicates that Daniels might need court-ordered mental health treatment to restore him to competence. A finding of incompetence to stand trial is not the same as insanity. Daniels' father has been named as his legal guardian. Mostly, what Reeves' motion does is request that documents and evidence be made available to the defense without the defense having to reveal its legal strategy. One more document has been filed since Reeves' motion according to the court docket. But that document is not available to be viewed in the online court system. In a separate criminal case, Daniels was charge possession of a stolen firearm. Court records indicate that the stolen gun was indeed the one used to murder officer East. Daniels remained in the Lubbock County Detention Center Friday in lieu of a $5 million bond. (source: everythinglubbock.com) *** Accused murderer commits suicide in Harris County jail Maytham Alsaedy, 26, was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on the 2nd floor of the 1200 Baker Street jail facility just before 11 p.m. after a detention officer noticed that Alsaedy had covered his cell window with newspaper. An inmate at the Harris County jail charged with capital murder died Friday morning after hanging himself in his cell, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. A detention officer found Maytham Alsaedy, 26, hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on the 2nd floor of the 1200 Baker Street jail facility just before 11 p.m. Thursday, according to an HCSO news release. The detention officer had noticed that Alsaedy had covered his cell window with newspaper. Jail medical staff tried to revive Alsaedy, who was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph Medical Center, according to the release. The inmate was pronounced dead at 12:06 a.m. on Friday. Sheriff's office spokesman Jason Spencer declined to comment on when detention officers had last checked on Alsaedy. "That's all part of the investigation," he said. "We'll look at the jail logs and compare them to video to make sure the logs are an accurate reflection of what's seen on video." The Harris County Sheriff's Office's Homicide Unit and Office of Inspector General are both investigating the death, sheriff's officials said. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has been notified of the suicide but has not yet received reports, said Executive Director Brandon Wood. Authorities had charged Alsaedy with capital murder in the February 2015 slaying of Kella Bracken, 22, who was found stabbed to death in her car in the parking lot of a pizza restaurant in east Harris County. Officials had determined at the time she had been dead for 2 days. The Harris County District Attorney's Office had announced in July that prosecutors intended to seek the death penalty in the case, but spokesman Dane Schiller said Friday Alsaedy was scheduled to plead guilty to a life sentence next week. Alsaedy had been apprehended by police on February 27, 2015, 2 days after Bracken's death. That night, police had said he attacked a woman outside of a Walmart with a knife pointed into her back, demanding her purse and keys before shoving her into her car, police said at the time. He was
