[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENNESSEE
October 11 TENNESSEE10 day reprieve granted for Edmund Zagorski Governor grants 10-day reprieve from execution for death row inmate Edmund Zagorski Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday granted death row inmate Edmund Zagorski a 10-day reprieve from execution. “I am granting to Edmund Zagorski a reprieve of 10 days from execution of the sentence of death imposed upon by him by a jury in 1984 which was scheduled to be carried out later today," Haslam stated. "I take seriously the responsibility imposed upon the Tennessee Department of Correction and me by law, and given the federal court’s decision to honor Zagorski’s last-minute decision to choose electrocution as the method of execution, this brief reprieve will give all involved the time necessary to carry out the sentence in an orderly and careful manner." (source: WATE news) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENNESSEE
October 11 TENNESSEE: Judge grants Edmund Zagorski's request not to be executed by lethal injection A judge has granted Tennessee death row inmate Edmund Zagorski's request not to be executed by lethal injection. On Thursday, Judge Aleta Trauger of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee granted Zagorski’s motion and enjoined Tennessee state officials from executing Mr. Zagorski using the state’s three-drug lethal injection protocol. Ads by ZINC He is slated to be executed at 7 p.m. Thursday while legal battle rage on for consideration of arguments that he had poor legal representation during his trial and sentencing. “Tennessee’s death penalty statute makes it clear that Mr. Zagorski has the right to choose execution by electrocution. While being burned alive and mutilated via electricity is not a good death, Mr. Zagorski knows that death by electric chair will be much quicker than lethal injection using midazolam, a paralytic, and potassium chloride. It is my hope that Tennessee state authorities work to find a method for carrying out executions that satisfies the Eighth Amendment’s requirement that the government refrain from torture.” - Zagorski's attorney, Kelley Henry Meanwhile, Tennessee Department of Corrections officials are on stand by for the execution. Another stay was granted, but an appeal is also being filed in the case. (source: WZTV News) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----WASHINGTON
October 11 WASHINGTON: Washington Supreme Court tosses out state’s death penalty The ruling makes Washington the latest state to do away with capital punishment. The court was unanimous in its order that the eight people presently on death row have their sentences converted to life in prison. Washington state’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the death penalty, as applied, violates its Constitution. The ruling Thursday makes Washington the latest state to do away with capital punishment. The court was unanimous in its order that the eight people currently on death row have their sentences converted to life in prison. Five justices said the “death penalty is invalid because it is imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner.” “Given the manner in which it is imposed, the death penalty also fails to serve any legitimate penological goals,” the justices wrote. Four other justices, in a concurrence, wrote that while they agreed with the majority’s conclusions and invalidation of the death penalty, “additional state constitutional principles compel this result.” Gov. Jay Inslee, a one-time supporter of capital punishment, had imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in 2014, saying that no executions would take place while he’s in office. In a written statement, Inslee called the ruling “a hugely important moment in our pursuit for equal and fair application of justice.” “The court makes it perfectly clear that capital punishment in our state has been imposed in an ‘arbitrary and racially biased manner,’ is ‘unequally applied’ and serves no criminal justice goal,” Inslee wrote. The ruling was in the case of Allen Eugene Gregory, who was convicted of raping, robbing and killing Geneine Harshfield, a 43-year-old woman, in 1996. His lawyers said the death penalty is arbitrarily applied and that it is not applied proportionally, as the state Constitution requires. In its ruling Thursday, the high court did not reconsider any of Gregory’s arguments pertaining to guilty, noting that his conviction for aggravated first degree murder “has already been appealed and affirmed by this court.” (source: Associated Press) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 11 IRAQ: Death penalty for Etihad bomb suspect A former Islamic State commander who allegedly conspired with his Sydney-based brothers to blow up an Etihad flight has been sentenced to death. The ABC reported that Tarek Khayat was sentenced by Alrasafah Central Criminal Court in Baghdad over his role with the terrorist group in Iraq. The Australian broadcaster said the 48-year-old Lebanese citizen was arrested in the Syrian city of Raqqa and has 10 days to appeal against his sentence of death by hanging. He was not charged over the Etihad plot but Australian Federal Police alleged last year he directed his brothers in Sydney to plant the bomb on an Etihad Airbus A380 flying between Sydney and Abu Dhabi in July, 2017. 2 of his brothers, Kahled and Mahmoud, are in custody in Australia awaiting trial on 2 charges each of planning or preparing to commit a terrorist act. They have pleaded not guilty and are due to face court next year. Australian police alleged the brothers tried to get an improvised explosive device on the plane on July 15 by planting it in the luggage of an unwitting 4th brother, Amer. The bomb was allegedly concealed in a kitchen meat mincer but the bag containing it was not checked in because Etihad staff told Amer his bags were overweight. He then flew out on the plane unaware of the plan, according to the AFP. Police alleged the brothers then hatched a second plot to build "a chemical dispersion device" using toxic hydrogen sulfide gas. The ABC said Amer was arrested by Lebanese authorities 11 days after arriving and has been in custody while authorities attempt to determine his involvement in the alleged plot. News Corp reported that Tarek Khayat claimed after his sentence was brought down that he was not involved in the Etihad plan. (source: airlineratings.com) LEBABON: International pressure targets death penalty in Lebanon French Ambassador Bruno Foucher Wednesday called for Lebanon to formally abolish capital punishment, at a conference commemorating World Day Against the Death Penalty. (source: The Daily Star) IRAN: Kurdish political prisoner loses final death sentence appeal Iran's supreme court has upheld a death sentence given to a Kurdish political prisoner for providing a dissident party with food and shelter. Hedayat Abdollahpour, who maintains his innocence, has lost the final stage of his appeal against the sentence. The verdict has been announced to his lawyer and family. Hossein Ahmadi Niaz, the political prisoner's lawyer has confirmed the news. Hedayat Abdollahpour was first arrested on June 15, 2016, along with 6 other people. They were charged with providing the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) with food and shelter. However, their relatives refuted the accusations and claimed that the Revolutionary Guards makes up these accusations to intimidate local Kurds. In 2016, Hedayat Abdollahpour was sentenced to death for the 1st time, and the other co-respondents were sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Urmia. Abdollahpour was physically and mentally tortured while in custody, according to his father, Abubakr Abdollahpour. "He's been under torture the whole time, but he is innocent. Our son never collaborated with the democrat party," he said. On January 18, 2018, Hedayat Abdollapour was for the 2nd time sentenced to death by Urmia Revolutionary Court on charge of "cooperation with a Kurdish opposition party." *** More Than 207 Executed Since the Beginning of the Year in Iran According to statistics department of Iran Human Rights (IHR), Iranian authorities have executed 207 prisoners including 5 juvenile offenders between January 1 and October 10, 2018. This report is being published on the occasion of the 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty, which aims at raising awareness on the inhumane living conditions of people sentenced to death. This year we celebrate World Day Against the Death Penalty while several human rights activists are in prison for their peaceful activities against the death penalty in Iran. Atena Daemi, Narges Mohammadi and Nasrin Sotoudeh are among them and are held in women ward at the Evin prison in Tehran. On this day, Iran Human Rights (IHR) urges the civil society institutions as well as Iranian citizens to join the abolitionists' movement. IHR also calls on the international community to demand an unconditional end to juvenile and public executions and immediate release of imprisoned anti-death penalty activists. "These demands must be on top of the agenda in the bilateral and multilateral dialogue between the members of the international community and the Iranian authorities," said IHR's director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. He continued: "The death penalty is an inhumane punishment that dictators use to spread fear among the people in order to continue their
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 11 SOUTH KOREA: '7 in 10 Koreans oppose death penalty' The majority of South Koreans agree that the death penalty should be abolished and replaced with alternative forms of punishment, the state-run human rights body announced Wednesday. According to data from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, 7 out of 10 Koreans are against retaining capital punishment on the condition that serious punitive measures are put in place to deter crime. The commission released the data at a conference held to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty. The survey showed that few Koreans were willing to do away with capital punishment immediately. Only 4.4 % of respondents favored its immediate abolition, whereas 15.9 % agreed that it should be abolished at some point in the future. However, the number rose steeply, to 66.9 %, when the question was rephrased to ask respondents if the death penalty should be replaced with other punitive measures. Alternatives that respondents favored adopting in place of capital punishment included "absolute life imprisonment," which topped the list with 78.9 % in favor. This was followed by "absolute life imprisonment with punitive damages,' favored by 43.9 % of survey respondents. Currently, the most common penalty for murder is a life sentence. The abolition of the death penalty has been the subject of much debate in Korea, where the last execution took place in December 1997. According to the Ministry of Justice, there are currently 61 prisoners on death row. (source: The Korea Herald) ASIA: Asian countries urged to end death penalty, respect right to life The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and 28 civil society organizations in Asia condemn the recent imposition of the death penalty by the Singaporean authorities on Abdul Wahid Bin Ismail, Mohsen Bin Na'im, and Zainudin bin Mohamed. All 3 were convicted of drug-related offences and were executed on 5 October 2018. As a network of human rights organizations, FORUM-ASIA sees the death penalty as a grave violation of the right to life - the most fundamental and essential human right for other rights to be realized. It serves no purpose to the State and its people in their pursuit of justice. We therefore call on the Government of Singapore, and other Governments in Asia that retain the death penalty to immediately impose a moratorium to the death penalty, as the 1st step towards its abolition. The use of the death penalty has seen a global decline in recent years, signifying a movement towards more effective ways of deterring crimes.[1] Despite this global trend, several Governments in Asia continue to use the death penalty. Just this year, India expanded the scope of crimes covered by the death penalty. The numbers of those sentenced to capital punishment in Bangladesh yearly remains unabated. The region has also seen an increased tendency to use the death penalty for drug-related offences. Indonesia has been executing primarily those convicted of drug trafficking in recent years. It is estimated that China executes hundreds to thousands yearly for drug trafficking or murder, although exact figures are hard to find. The Sri Lankan Cabinet recently approved the President's proposal to take steps towards implementing the capital punishment to those sentenced to death for drug offences and who continue to operate 'drug rackets' while in prison. In the Philippines, several State officials continue to push for the revival of the death penalty, despite having previously committed itself to its abolition. Governments continue to retain the death penalty despite troubling concerns. There is no convincing evidence to support that the death penalty deters crime. In Mongolia, the death penalty was abolished after it was recognized that the threat of execution did not have a deterrent effect.[2] Arguments for its use are based more on public opinion rather than on solid scientific evidence. The effect of the death penalty disproportionately affects those who are often the poor and the most marginalized, as they have limited access to resource and power. Judicial systems worldwide are all susceptible to abuse. In Vietnam, the cases of Ho Duy Hai and Le Van Manh, who were sentenced to death despite gaps in evidence and allegations of police impunity, cast strong doubts on the credibility of the judicial system. Capital punishment is irreversible; it violates the right to life and the right to live free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment - fundamental rights of all human beings. It goes against our goals of promoting rehabilitation for the convicted, and the values and standards of universal human rights we all stand for. On the World Day against the Death Penalty, we express our grave concern on the continuing use of the death penalty in Asia. We call on all Governments to work for the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 11 GLOBAL: Moving away from the mandatory death penalty Today marks the 16th World Day against the Death Penalty, once again providing an opportunity to reflect on the use of the death penalty around the world. The path towards abolition is frequently paved by progressive restriction in the imposition and application of capital punishment. Accordingly, this year we consider the decline of the mandatory death penalty, a practice which an ever-increasing number of countries have recognised as cruel, unfair and ultimately incompatible with fundamental human rights protections. Approximately 29 countries around the world continue to impose mandatory death sentences for crimes including murder, drug trafficking and blasphemy, amongst other offences. In many countries, the practice of imposing the death penalty automatically originates in laws inherited under British colonial rule. Since then, an increasing number of countries have rejected the archaic practice as incompatible with evolving standards of decency. In the past 12 months the global consensus against the mandatory death penalty has continued to grow. 2 more courts, in Kenya and Barbados, have ruled the automatic imposition of a death sentence incompatible with their national constitutions, bringing the total number of countries where The Death Penalty Project has successfully brought or supported constitutional challenges to the mandatory death penalty to 13 nations. As a direct consequence, thousands have been removed from death rows around the world. We look forward to continuing to support efforts to end the mandatory death penalty and are hopeful that movement away from this practice will continue. For instance, there are promising signs in Malaysia, where the new government is exercising leadership and has pledged to abolish mandatory death sentencing. Nevertheless, even with discretionary sentencing it is impossible to guard against arbitrariness in the application of death penalty. The experience of India, taking just one example, shows how judicial discretion can give way to a lethal lottery, where the decision to impose the death penalty depends significantly on who is hearing the case. Stringent sentencing guidelines and adherence to safeguards may provide some protection for those facing capital charges but ultimately, whether the sentence is mandatory or discretionary, it is impossible to ensure that the death penalty is applied consistently and without arbitrariness, discrimination or error. Despite this, it is clear that moving away from the mandatory death penalty is a step in the right direction on the road towards complete abolition of capital punishment. (source: deathpenaltyproject.org, Oct. 10) *** 'Put an end to the death penalty now', urges Guterres, marking World Day Progress made toward eliminating the death penalty has been "marred by setbacks,' said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement on Wednesday, marking the 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty. He noted that hundreds of offenders - often impoverished, women or hailing from minority groups - have been executed without legal representation or transparent criminal proceedings, which might have spared them from the death penalty. "In some countries, people are sentenced to death in secret trials, without due process, increasing the potential for error or abuse" - UN chief Guterres Some 170 States have abolished or put a stay on executions, since the UN General Assembly's 1st call for a moratorium on its use, in 2007. Mr. Guterres noted the lack of transparency in some countries where the death penalty is still used, underscoring its incompatibility with human rights standards. Mr. Guterres said he was "deeply disturbed" in particular, by the number of juvenile offenders being executed. Only last week, Zeinab Sekaanvand Lokran of Iran, was executed for killing her husband, when she was 17, despite a trial marred by irregularities. "In some countries, people are sentenced to death in secret trials, without due process, increasing the potential for error or abuse" said the UN chief. These comments echo those of UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour. In an interview with UN News last November, he said there was "far too much secrecy, and it's quite indicative of the fact that although many countries are giving up the practice, those that retain it, nevertheless feel that they have something to hide." He noted the majority of executions today are carried out in China, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Guterres concluded with a call for all nations to abolish the practice of executions. "I call on those remaining, to join the majority and put an end to the death penalty now," he added. (source: un.org) FRANCE: 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty (10 October 2018) On this 16th
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., TENN., USA
Oct. 11 TEXAS: Billie Wayne Coble appeal denied, execution date to be set The McLennan County District Attorney's Office has confirmed that convicted triple murderer Billie Wayne Coble has been denied his petition of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, clearing the way for the setting of his execution date. The Texas Attorney General's Office handled the presentation of the state's presentation in the case, with Assistant Attorney General Gwen Vindell assigned to it. Coble was convicted in 1990 of killing 3 members of his estranged wife's family in Axtell. It was on August 29, 1989 that his wife's parents, Robert and Zelda Vicha and her brother, Waco police officer Bobby Vicha were killed at a home in Axtell. 2 children were left restrained in the home as he abducted his wife Karen and driving off. During the ensuing manhunt, the vehicle Coble was driving was spotted in Bosque County. During the pursuit, Coble crashed his pickup into a tree. He was given a death sentence in his original conviction, but in 2007, an appeals court ordered a new trial for his sentencing. However, that 2nd jury also came back with a death penalty decision. Coble then began his appeal process again, ending up with his final appeal at the US Supreme Court denied. (source: centexproud.com) SOUTH CAROLINA: Death penalty trial for man charged with killing his 5 children delayedTimothy Jones was arrested in Mississippi at a drunk driving checkpoint in 2014 A judge has delayed until next year the death penalty trial of a South Carolina man charged with killing his 5 children. Circuit Judge Eugene Griffith Jr.'s order says both sides agreed to delay Timothy Jones' trial, scheduled to start Monday. It didn't give a reason. Tuesday's order says a new date will be picked once court dates for 2019 are set. Authorities said the 36-year-old father killed his children at his Lexington home in 2014, put their bodies in plastic trash bags and drove for 9 days around the Southeast before leaving them on a hillside in Camden, Alabama. Jones was stopped at a drunk driving checkpoint in Mississippi, where authorities said they found blood and handwritten notes about killing and mutilating bodies. Jones' lawyers plan an insanity defense. (source: Associated Press) TENNESSEEstay of impending execution Tennessee inmate Edmund Zagorski granted stay of execution A federal appeals court has granted Tennessee inmate Edmund Zagorski a stay of execution. The death row inmate's execution was initially scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. Federal courts have the authority to delay an execution when a habeas corpus proceeding is pending appeal. "At a minimum, due process requires that Zagorski be afforded an opportunity to present his appeal to us," court documents read. The current appeal stems from Zagorski's claims of inadequate counsel and ineffective assistance at trial. Sources close to the case say the death row inmate opted for the electric chair instead of lethal injection for the execution. The state rejected Zagorski's request to die in the electric chair, according to his attorney. The last time Tennessee put someone to death by electric chair was 2007. Zagorski's request came after the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld that the state's current lethal injection protocol is constitutional. The 3-drug lethal injection protocol was adopted in January 2018 by the Tennessee Department of Correction as an alternative execution method to the single-drug protocol using pentobarbital. 33 death row inmates filed a constitutional challenge to the new protocol in February as TDOC eliminated the pentobarbital alternative. The 3-drug protocol now stands as the only available lethal injection execution method in Tennessee. Critics say the 3-drug cocktail does not work properly, causing "torturous effects." Zagorski was convicted of shooting and slitting the throats of John Dotson and Jimmy Porter, of Robertson County, during a marijuana deal in 1983. Governor Bill Haslam denied clemency for Zagorski on October 5. (source: WZTV news) *** Federal Appeals Court grants Stay of Execution for Edmund Zagorski A Federal Appeals court has granted Edmund Zagorski a stay of execution, according to court records. The Sixth Circuit United States Court of Appeals in Cincinnati granted the stay Wednesday, saying the stay was not granted based on the method of execution. According to court documents, Zagorski filed a federal appeal on Oct. 5. The stay was granted because Zagorski filed the appeal in a timely manner with the court and executing him before the appeal is heard would be a violation of his constitutional rights. There has also been some controversy around the method of execution. Zagorski requested Monday night to die by electric chair. The Tennessee Department of Corrections denied his request, saying it was
