[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
The news will next be posted to this site on Dec. 30 *** Dec. 17 INDIA: Former TV host Suhaib Ilyasi convicted for wife's murder A New Delhi court convicted former TV serial producer Suhaib Ilyasi of murdering his wife in 2000 on Saturday. Additional Sessions Judge S.K. Malhotra held Ilyasi guilty of his wife's murder and would hear arguments on quantum of sentence on December 20. In 2014, the Delhi High Court had asked the trial court to add the graver charge of murder under section 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Ilyasi for his wife's death. He will face a minimum punishment of life imprisonment and the maximum of death penalty in the case. Ilyasi, also the editor-in-chief of Bureaucracy Today magazine, has been facing the trial as an accused for the last 17 years in dowry death case of his wife Anju Ilyasi. The high court's order had come on a plea filed by Rukma Singh, Anju's mother, challenging the February 19, 2011 order of a trial court which had rejected her plea for trying Ilyasi under the penal provision of murder. Rukma Singh said her son-in-law was facing the charge of killing his wife for dowry under section 304 of IPC, which attracts much lesser punishment. Anju Ilyasi died on January 11, 2000 at her Mayur Vihar house. Ilyasi was arrested on March 28, 2000 and charges were later framed against him in the case after his sisters-in-law and mother-in-law alleged that he used to torture his wife for dowry. The trial court had framed charges against him relating to dowry death and subjecting a woman to cruelty (section 304 (b) and section 498 (a). After the high court order, it charged Ilyasi with murder. Suhaib Ilyasi is best known for hosting the reality TV show India's Most Wanted. (source: timesnownews.com) ** Rapists of minors should be hanged within 6 months: DCW Chief Lamenting the "delay" in carrying out sentence of December 16 gang-rape and murder incident, Delhi Commission for Women Chief Swati Maliwal on Saturday claimed the long winding legal process allowed the criminals to feel they can get away with such heinous crimes. She urged the prime minister to bring in a legislation wherein at least those convicted of raping minors are given death penalty within 6 months. Nirbhaya, a para-medical student, was brutally gang-raped on the intervening night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. The incident took place while she was returning with a friend after watching a movie. She died 13 days after the incident at a hospital in Singapore. Of the 6 men arrested in the case, one of the accused Ram Singh hanged himself in prison in March 2013, while another man, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted in August. In 2016, he was released from the correction home after serving the maximum sentence of 3 years in a reform home. The other 4 - Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh - were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Delhi High Court in September 2013. The Supreme Court also upheld the high court's decision. "It's the 5th death anniversary of Nirbhaya incident and the fact is that nothing has changed in this country. Everyday girls and women are being brutally raped in this country," she said. Maliwal also highlighted the need for having fast-track courts in the city so that rapists are punished forthwith. Also, there is a need to upgrade the delivery mechanism of the forensic department as well as the accountability of the police, she said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The system has made the criminals confident enough to believe that they can get away with any crime perpetrated against a woman or a child. It is very unfortunate that even Nirbhaya herself has not got justice in this country. Nirbhaya's mother is still running from pillar to post in order to ensure that her beloved daughter can get justice," Maliwal said. The DCW chief said that at least in case of rape of minor girls, there should be a law in this country in which such rapists should be punished and given death penalty within 6 months. She also made an appeal to the prime minister to constitute a high-level committee on women's safety in Delhi, having the Union home minister, the lieutenant governor, the chief minister, the police commissioner and the DCW representatives as its members, to take effective decisions on issues of women's safety. Drawing the prime minister's attention to the Nirbhaya fund, which has remained unutilised till date, Maliwal urged him to devolve the fund immediately to the states failing which the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' programme will lose its relevance. (source: asianage.com) *** 2 BJP states contemplate death penalty for rape; face oppositionThe Bill - Dand Vidhi (Madhya Pradesh Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2017 - is awaiting the President's assent The Bharatiya Janata
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., OHIO, CALIF.
Dec. 17 TEXASfemale to face death penalty Hundreds of jurors skip out on capital murder case leading to new delay The jury selection process in the state's capital murder case against Sabrina Vielma came to a halt Thursday after 75 % of summoned jurors failed to appear. Vielma faces the death penalty for the Dec. 11, 2011, death of her 4-year-old son Davaughn Rodriguez. Visiting Judge Stephen Ables told the crowd of 124 potential jurors that 500 people were asked to appear. Before hearing potential jurors who asked to be excused for various reasons, Ables said the court hoped to leave for the day with 125 potential jurors eligible to return Friday. Instead, after listening to excuses and taking a brief recess, Ables announced at about 11:30 a.m. that everyone would be dismissed because too many of the summoned people failed to appear. The judge said a turnout of 215-220 people is needed to select a jury. (source: Uvalde Leader-News) ** 3 teens have charges upgraded to capital murder in connection to alleged drug deal killing 3 teens face capital murder charges after an October drug deal gone wrong in Bexar County. 3 teenagers suspected of killing a man during a drug deal gone bad could face the death penalty after their charges were upgraded to capital murder. Michael Aguilar, 19, Emmanuel Herrera, 18, and Charles Robnett, 18, had previously been arrested on murder charges in connection to the shooting death of Gary Barnhardt, 20. Robnett was still in custody but Aguilar and Herrera were re-arrested Friday afternoon. All 3 had upgraded charges. The killing occurred Oct. 16, when Barnhart and his friend met up with the 3 near Lake Bend East and Fountain Lake to sell them marijuana, Sheriff Javier Salazar said. "They arrived not with the intention of buying the drugs, but robbing the victims of the drugs," Salazar said. Things didn't go as planned, and Barnhardt and his friend were shot. Though his friend survived, Barnhardt died at the scene. Neither Aguilar nor Herrera had anything to say as deputies brought them into custody. "You have 5 young lives who are ruined forever over something as senseless as drugs," Salazar said. The 3 suspects' bail amounts were set at $500,000 each. (source: mysanantonio.com) VIRGINIA: Death Penalty for Mentally Ill Defendants?That's not justice, argue mental health professionals In recent years, policymakers have begun taking important steps in addressing how our criminal justice system approaches individuals with mental illness who commit crimes. As our understanding of the factors which lead people with mental illness to commit crime grows, "jail diversion" (http://bit.ly/2BeX3UB) and other programs designed to divert people with mental illness into treatment instead of incarceration are being implemented nationwide, as well as in communities across the commonwealth (http://bit.ly/2ATmq1a). However, much more remains to be done to reform Virginia's approach to the way it treats individuals with severe mental illness in its criminal justice system. An important proposal that would contribute to this reform has been considered by the General Assembly during its last two sessions: a bill to ban the use of the death penalty for people with severe mental illness. The bill would replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole for individuals who had active symptoms of a severe mental illness at the time of their offense. This is a much-needed reform, since, surprisingly, individuals with severe mental illness can still be sentenced to death and executed under Virginia law. Severe mental illness is a subset of mental illness that includes the most serious disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. To be considered a severe mental illness, the condition must last for extended periods of time and significantly interfere with a person's major life activities, such as working, interacting with others or caring for oneself. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 4.2 % of U.S. adults live with a severe mental illness (http://bit.ly/2vnQGcN); this equates to more than 300,000 adults with severe mental illness in the commonwealth. Despite our growing understanding of severe mental illness and its consequences, there are no protections from the death penalty for those individuals whose disorder was pre-sent at the time of the offense. As a result, they continue to be sentenced to death and executed. One such individual was Adam Ward, who was executed by the State of Texas in 2016 despite recognition by Texas state courts that he had lived with severe mental illness "his entire life" and "was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and placed on lithium as early as age 4" (http://bit.ly/2odSlDH). As mental health professionals, we strongly believe that individuals like Adam Ward should not be sentenced to
