[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 1 GLOBAL: Governments use death penalty to crackdown on religious minorities Various countries that include China and Iraq are disproportionately using the death penalty against people from religious minorities, not for any criminal misdeeds, but merely based on their faith and religious beliefs, according to Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, the Executive Director of Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (Together Against the Death Penalty), a French NGO that aims to abolish capital punishment around the world. The list of communities who have been victimised by the crackdown includes Tibetan Buddhists, the Uighurs (the Turkic-speaking minority in China’s western Xinjiang province and who are Sunni Muslims with close ethnic and cultural ties to Central Asia), and Chinese Christians. Each of the communities has seen a number of their followers sentenced to death solely for their religious identities. “It’s a disgrace that some regimes, including China, Iraq, and Iran, are using the death penalty against people from religious groups who are condemned merely for their religious beliefs…This cannot be allowed to continue,” said Chenuil-Hazan, who added, “These people have been condemned not because of any criminal wrongdoing or misdeeds, but because they believe in something that a particular regime does not agree with. They are being targeted for their beliefs and the international community needs to wake up to what is going on and take appropriate action.” According to Chenuil-Hazan, the security services’ crackdown on religious minorities has now extended to their legal representatives, who are also often imprisoned and tortured for having taken on cases dedicated to human rights. Recently in China, up to 500 lawyers representing human rights activists were detained for acting as legal counsel to individuals who have been targeted by their respective governments. “They are still in prison and we know little or nothing about their whereabouts or their welfare,” Chenuil-Hazan said, adding, “We have to be brave enough to raise these issues so that the wider community knows what is going on.” Chenuil-Hazan made his comments while speaking at the 7th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, which is co-hosted by the European Union and the Kingdom of Belgium. Held every three years, the 4-day event brings together prominent activists, both public and private, who are actively attempting to have capital punishment banned across the globe. Among those voicing their concern for the plight of the religious minorities was Audun Halvorsen, the State Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, who said that “even in 2019, people can be sentenced to death because of who they love, because of their faith, their sexual orientation. This is not acceptable.” The congress heard that support for the death penalty was lowest among Hispanic (24%) and Black Protestants (25%), 68% of each preferred handing out life sentences without the chance of parole. The two communities’ views on capital punishment were backed by their fellow Christians in the Catholic Church, as well as by Jews, other non-Christian religions, and those who identify as religiously unaffiliated. Pope Francis has spoken more forcibly about the issue, saying that life imprisonment is a form of torture and “a hidden (form of the) death penalty”. The Holy See’s abhorrence of the capital punishment is rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which proclaims that “in the light of the Gospel” the death penalty is “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”. Religious faith and capital punishment have always been intertwined. Christianity’s primordial event was the execution of its founder, and the same fate was suffered by many of its early teachers. At the same time, putting “wrong thinkers” to death has generally been presented – and remains to be – a sacred necessity that began with the Inquisition in 15th century Europe and continues to this day through the actions of terrorist groups and radical Islamist movements that include ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Afghan Taliban. (source: neweurope.eu) ** Belarus attending 7th World Congress against Death Penalty Belarus' Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleg Kravchenko is in Brussels, Belgium on a visit from 27 February to 1 March to take part in the 7th World Congress against the Death Penalty, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “On 28 February, the deputy minister attended a side event on the death penalty in Belarus. Chairman of the Standing Committee on Human Rights, National Relations and Media of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Andrei Naumovich shared the country's position on the work of the parliamentary working group studying death penalty as an instrument of punishment, and also scheduled events and int
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, KY., IOWA, IDAHO, ARIZ., NEV., CALIF., USA
March 1 OHIOnew death sentence: Arron Lawson receives death penalty in Ohio quadruple murder case A 3-judge panel has handed down a death sentence for a man who was found guilty in a quadruple murder case in Lawrence County, Ohio. The judges made the ruling Thursday in the case of Arron Lawson. Lawson has been found guilty in the shooting to deaths of Stacey Holston, her 8-year-old son, Devin Holston, Stacey’s mother, Tammie, and Donald Mcguire, all of Pedro, Ohio, at their home 2 years ago. Lawson addressed the court. “Thank you for giving me a fair and honest trial, and I thank the prosecution for doing the right job," Lawson said. "I don’t hold it against them. Truthfully, I voted for them." Prosecutor Brigham Anderson said the last time someone was sentenced to death in Lawrence County was in the 1960s. (source: WVAH news) KENTUCKY: E’town man indicted for 2 killings A week after police say Shadrach Peeler opened fire on four people at two Elizabethtown locations, he was indicted by a Hardin County grand jury on numerous charges — including 2 that could carry the death penalty. Peeler, 35, of Elizabethtown is being held in lieu of a $2 million cash bond in the Hardin County Detention Center. He is accused of shooting Cherie Turner, 34, to death last Thursday on West Warfield Street. Police said he then went to a convenience store on North Miles Street, killing store co-owner Subash “Su” Ghale, 40, and injuring two others inside and outside of the store. Elizabethtown police have said Turner and Peeler lived together on West Warfield Street. He was arrested shortly after police were called to the convenience store around 11:30 p.m. Whether the death penalty is sought in the case is a decision to be made by the Hardin County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. It is eligible under a Kentucky Revised Statute that reads, “The offender’s acts or acts of killing were intentional and resulted in multiple deaths.” Peeler also is accused of shooting and injuring Prayash Baniya, 31, of Elizabethtown, a store employee and close friend of Ghale, and Nadia Browne, 34, of Elizabethtown. Baniya remains hospitalized at University Hospital in Louisville in critical, but stable condition. He was shot multiple times including in the neck. Browne was shot in a leg and has been released from the hospital. Peeler, a convicted felon, also was indicted on one count of 1st-degree assault; 1 count of 2nd-degree assault; tampering with physical evidence; possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and resisting arrest. If the death penalty is not sought, Peeler faces 20 to 50 years or life in prison, if convicted, on the 2 murder charges. Timmy Puckett, a friend of Ghale, previously said he had spent time running convenience stores near Boston and Detroit and often worked up to 15 hours a day at the local store. Ghale and Baniya met near Detroit, Puckett said, and were from Nepal in southern Asia. The store is now open after days of having a memorial in front of the front doors with flowers, balloons and notes. (source: The News Enterprise) IOWA: Death Penalty Bill Emerges in Iowa Senate A bill that would re-establish the death penalty in Iowa has emerged in the Iowa SENATE, but it’s unlikely to become law. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake doesn’t sense a death penalty bill is a priority for her fellow Republicans in the House. Another wrinkle in this year’s debate is an announcement last August from the head of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis said the death penalty is “inadmissible” and it’s the goal of the church to abolish capital punishment worldwide. Tom Chapman of the Iowa Catholic Conference says priests are talking about the issue in their parishes. 20 Republicans in the Iowa SENATE are co-sponsoring a bill to impose the death penalty on those found guilty of kidnapping, raping and killing a child. It takes the support of 26 senators to pass a bill. Iowa abolished the death penalty 54 years ago. (source: WNZX news) IDAHO: Trial date set for McQueen in relation to Lovin's death Marlin McQueen pled not guilty to 1 felony count of 1st degree murder in district court before Judge Mitchell Brown today, Feb. 28. Accordingly, Judge Brown set a jury trial for July 15, 2019. McQueen faces the death penalty or up to life in prison if convicted. The state has 60 days to determine whether or not the death penalty will be sought. The most lenient sentence he can receive if convicted is a 10-year sentence and $15,000 fine. Further proceedings in the case have been scheduled for April 25 and pre-trial conferences for June 2. Judge Brown continued the $1 million bond set upon McQueen's Jan. 28 arrest in the stabbing death of Willie Lovin, Jr. on Jan. 26. McQueen had attended a party hosted by Lovin in Lovin's home on Jan. 25. Lovin was reported deceased in his own home at about 2 p.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., PENN., N.C., GA., FLA., ALA.
March 1 TEXASexecution Man executed in Texas for killing estranged wife’s family A Texas inmate was executed Thursday evening for the killings nearly 30 years ago of his estranged wife's parents and her brother, who was a police officer. Billie Wayne Coble received lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the August 1989 shooting deaths of Robert and Zelda Vicha and their son, Bobby Vicha, at separate homes in Axtell, northeast of Waco. Coble, 70, once described by a prosecutor as having "a heart full of scorpions," was the oldest inmate executed by Texas since the state resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982. He told the 5 witnesses he selected to be in attendance that he loved them, then again said: "That'll be $5." Coble nodded to the witnesses and added, "take care." He gasped several times and began snoring. As Coble was finishing his statement, his son, a friend and a daughter-in-law became emotional and violent. They were yelling obscenities, throwing fists and kicking at others in the death chamber witness area. Officers stepped in and the witnesses continued to resist. They were eventually moved to a courtyard and the 2 men were handcuffed. "Why are you doing this?" the woman asked. "They just killed his daddy." While the witnesses were being subdued outside, the single dose of pentobarbital was being administered to Coble. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later at 6:24 p.m. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel said the 2 men were arrested on a charge of resisting arrest and taken to the Walker County Jail. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier Thursday turned down Coble's request to delay his execution. His attorneys had told the high court that Coble's original trial lawyers were negligent for conceding his guilt by failing to present an insanity defense before a jury convicted him of capital murder. A state appeals court had previously rejected Coble's request to delay Thursday's execution and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles turned down his request for a commutation. Coble "does not deny that he bears responsibility for the victims' loss of life, but he nonetheless wanted his lawyers to present a defense on his behalf," his attorney, A. Richard Ellis, said in his appeal to the Supreme Court. In Coble's clemency petition to the Board of Pardons and Paroles, Ellis said his client suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his time as a Marine during the Vietnam War and was convicted, in part, due to misleading testimony from two prosecution expert witnesses on whether he would be a future danger. Coble was the third inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the second in Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state. "This is not a happy night," McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson said. "This is the end of a horror story for the Vicha family." J.R. Vicha, Bobby Vicha's son, said it would be a relief knowing the execution finally took place after years of delays. "Still, the way they do it is more humane than what he did to my family. It's not what he deserves but it will be good to know we got as much justice as allowed by the law," said J.R. Vicha, who was 11 when he was tied up and threatened by Coble during the killings. Prosecutors said Coble, distraught over his pending divorce, kidnapped his wife, Karen Vicha. He was arrested and later freed on bond. Nine days after the kidnapping, Coble went to Karen Vicha's home, where he handcuffed and tied up her three daughters and J.R. Vicha. He then went to the homes of Robert and Zelda Vicha, 64 and 60 respectively, and Bobby Vicha, 39, who lived nearby, and fatally shot them. After Karen Vicha returned home, Coble abducted her and drove off, assaulting her and threatening to rape and kill her. He was arrested after wrecking in neighboring Bosque County following a police chase. Coble was convicted of capital murder in 1990. In 2007, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new trial on punishment. On retrial in 2008, a second jury sentenced him to death. Crawford Long, the former first assistant district attorney in McLennan County who helped retry Coble in 2008, said his "heart full of scorpions" description of Coble was fitting. ? "He had no remorse at all," said Long, who retired in 2010. J.R. Vicha, 40, still lives in the Waco area. He eventually became a prosecutor for 8 years, a career choice inspired in part by his father, who was a police sergeant in Waco when he was killed. His grandfather was a retired plumber and his grandmother worked for a foot doctor. Vicha, now a private practice lawyer, is working to get a portion of a highway near his home renamed in honor of his father. "Every time I run into somebody that knew (his father and grandparents), it's a good feeling. And when I hear stories about them, it still makes it feel li
