[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
April 23 BANGLADESH: Nusrat murder: Relatives of accused seek capital punishment for murderMadrasa student and Alim examinee Nusrat lost her battle for life, 5 days after she was set afire on April 6, an incident that touched off outrage all over the country Relatives of the accused in the murder case of Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi, demanded exemplary punishment of the killers. Shahidul Islam, the father of Umme Sultana Poppy, who was directly involved in the killing, said his daughter fell in the trap of the institution's jailed principal SM Siraj-ud-Daula. He said on Monday his daughter should be punished for committing the crime. He added though Siraj is his brother-in-law, he hates him for the incident. Fatema Begum, the mother of Shahadat Hossain Shamim, one of the prime accused in the murder case of Nusrat Jahan Rafi, said : "I want capital punishment of my son." "I am feeling shame being a mother of a culprit son, " she added. Rahmat Ullah, father of Javed Hossain alias Sakhawat Hossain Javed, who was directly involved with the murder, said his son was very simple in character. He alleged that the madrasa principal used him as a tool to commit the crime. "I also demand punishment of my son as he has committed the crime," he added. Meanwhile, demonstrators under the banner of several organizations in Feni organized protest rally demanding a judicial inquiry into the role of police over the Nusrat murder. Madrasa student and Alim examinee Nusrat lost her battle for life, 5 days after she was set afire on April 6, an incident that touched off outrage all over the country. A group of 5 people poured kerosene on the 18-year-old girl and set her afire allegedly for refusing to withdraw a case against the principal of the madrasa over sexual assault on her late last month. (source: Dhaka Tribune) IRELAND: 65 years ago today, Ireland executed a person for the last time On April 20, 1954, Michael Manning, a 25-year-old man from Limerick, became the 29th and last person to be legally executed in Ireland. By 1964 the death penalty was abolished for all cases apart from the murder of police, diplomats, and prison officers. It was abolished by statute for the remaining offenses in 1990 and was expunged from the Constitution of Ireland by referendum in 2001. The Limerick man, the last man executed at the hands of the state, was found guilty of the rape and murder of Catherine Cooper (65) who worked at Barrington’s Hospital, in the city. The crime took place in February 1953. He was found by police because he left a distinctive hat at the scene of the crime. He had been married just the year before the crime and his only child was born just weeks before his execution. Manning blamed his actions on “too much drink.” The statement in police files describes Manning movements on the day of the crime, November 18, 1953. It lists the pubs that served him drink and recounts how he had been refused by the barmaid at the Munster Fair Tavern. His trial opened on February 15, 1954, and lasted only 3 days. The trial was widely attended and hundreds of people gathered outside the courthouse. The defense team had claimed insanity and claimed the charges should be dropped to manslaughter as Manning had not planned the attack ahead of time. However, the prosecution said that Manning had changed his routine to give himself more time to commit the crime. While there was a history of mental health issues in his family the judge sided with the prosecution and told the jury to discard the argument, as he claimed the fact that Manning has shoved clods of grass into the victim’s mouth to stop her screaming showed he was aware of the crime he was committing. After just 3 hours of deliberation, he was sentenced to death despite the fact that the victim’s family had petitioned to court to show him mercy. When he was found guilty he is said to have “paled visibly.” Manning was the 1st person to be condemned to death since 1948. The Limerick man wrote a letter to the Government begging for a reprieve. He wrote: “I ask the Minister for Justice to show his mercy upon me as it is so near to Easter and Good Friday and it is our Holy Mother’s year. I am not afraid to die as I am fully prepared to go before my God, but it is on behalf of my wife as she is so young and so near the birth of our baby. “Instead of one life being taken there could be three as it would be a big shock to my wife if the execution will be carried out on the date mentioned [April 20]. So I would be grateful to you if you showed your mercy toward my wife and me.” After Mass and Holy Communion on Sunday before his execution, Manning played handball with other inmates. They noted that he seemed completely normal. A fellow inmate of Manning's recalled later, “Friends of mine who worked with me, I was serving my time at the time, went up to visit
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
April 23 INDONESIA: 'Homesick' Indonesian maid faces death penalty for murdering employer A month after starting work for a family in Telok Kurau, an Indonesian maid became so homesick and filled with longing for her lover in Hong Kong, that she hatched a "ruthless plan" to kill her employer. Daryati, 26, wanted to get her passport that was kept in a safe and to steal money from a locked drawer so that she can return home, prosecutors told the High Court on Tuesday (April 23) on the 1st day of her murder trial. She is facing the death penalty for stabbing and slashing Madam Seow Kim Choo on June 7, 2016, leaving the 59-year-old woman with 98 knife wounds, most of which were on her head and neck. Daryati is the 1st foreign domestic worker to be tried for murder since Filipina Flor Contemplacion was hanged in 1995 for murdering a fellow maid and her 4-year-old charge. In opening its case against Daryati, the prosecution cited her own words that she had written in her diary. The translated entry read: "I must carry out this plan quickly. I have to be brave even though life is at stake. I am ready to face all risks/consequences, whatever the risk, I must be ready to accept it. I hope that this plan succeed and run smoothly. "My employer's family is my target DEATH!!!" Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Kok Weng said these chilling words were in effect an "ex-ante" (a Latin phrase meaning "before the event") confession of the "brutal and cold-blooded" killing which she would eventually perpetrate. He said the prosecution will rely on Daryati's police statements, in which she confessed to, among other things, slitting Madam Seow's neck and stabbing her multiple times. Madam Seow lived in the 3-storey house with her husband, 2 adult sons, daughter-in-law and 2 grandchildren. Daryati started working for the family on April 13, 2016. Her passport was kept in a safe in the master bedroom and only Madam Seow and her husband, Mr Ong Thiam Soon, then 57, had the keys. Madam Seow also held the keys to a drawer on the 1st floor, where cash was kept. The DPP said Daryati devised a plan to kill Madam Seow as early as May 12 so that she can retrieve her passport, steal money and return to Indonesia. Daryati roped in the 2nd maid in the household to help, but did not say that the plan involved murder. She told the other Indonesian, Ms Don Hayati, 27, to distract Mr Ong and then turn off the closed circuit TV and electricity supply, so that they can steal money and escape while he was trying to restart the power. She also told Ms Hayati to alert her when Madam Seow's brother came to the house, having observed that he would bring large amounts of cash whenever he visited. In her diary on June 2, Daryati drew a map of the house, plotting the path she would take to get her passport and her escape route. In the days before she stabbed Madam Seow, whom she later described to police as "a very nice person", Daryati hid weapons on the 2nd floor of the 3-storey house, the DPP told the court. She hid a Kukri knife at the walk-in wardrobe of the master bedroom, a hammer in a study table on the 2nd floor, and a short knife in a basket under the sink of the master bedroom toilet, said the DPP. The knives were intended to be used to attack Madam Seow and the hammer to hit daughter-in-law Rowena Yeo if she came down from the 3rd floor, said the DPP. On June 7, Daryati carried out the plan after she verified that Madam Seow's brother came by and was counting cash on the 1st floor. She made her move only after Madam Yeo, then 24, and her 2 children had gone up to the 3rd floor, and after Madam Seow's brother and 2 sons had left the house, said the DPP. Hiding a knife in her clothing, Daryati went up to the master bedroom with a pair of trousers she had ironed for Madam Seow. On her way up, she said "jaga bawah", or guard downstairs, to Ms Hayati, who has not been charged over her involvement. After handing Madam Seow the trousers, Daryati whipped out the knife and demanded the return of her passport. When Madam Seow shouted, Daryati dragged her employer to the toilet, closed the door and repeatedly slashed and stabbed her neck, head and face until the older woman collapsed on the floor. To ensure Madam Seow was dead, Daryati retrieved the short knife she had hidden under the sink, squatted down and repeatedly stabbed her employer in the neck until she was motionless, said the DPP. "The accused had clearly intended to cause the death of the deceased by her vicious attack," said the DPP. By this time, Mr Ong had entered the master bedroom and was calling out for his wife. As there was no response, he became worried and used a screwdriver to open the toilet door. When the door opened, Daryati attacked Mr Ong by stabbing his neck. He managed to disarm her but when he went to check on Madam Seow, Daryati retrieved the knife and
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, TENN., ARK., MO., CALIF., USA (
April 23 OHIO: Judge in Cleveland sets hearing that will determine whether convicted Mr. Cars killer gets the death penalty A judge set a date for the second phase of the trial of a man who faces the death penalty after jurors convicted him of killing a couple at a Cleveland car lot. The penalty phase of the trial of Joseph McAlpin is set to begin May 13. McAlpin was convicted last week of aggravated murder and other charges in the execution-style deaths of Michael Kuznik and Trina Tomola. Those reports require court staff and mental-health doctors to interview McAlpin to determine, among other things, if he has any mental-health conditions or a troubled past that could be used during the penalty phase to convince jurors to spare his life. McAlpin, who is representing himself during the trial, refused to sit down for those interviews before the trial began. Prosecutors relied on DNA evidence, cellphone records, search history and testimony from a man who admitted to helping McAlpin carryout what was supposed to be a simple burglary to steal cars and titles to tie McAlpin to the March 11, 2017 slayings. (source: cleveland.com) TENNESSEEimpending execution Death Row inmate's plea for mercy remains before Gov. Lee Governor Bill Lee faces a life-or-death decision in the next few weeks as the execution of a condemned Tennessee man who asked for his mercy looms. Don Johnson received the death penalty in 1984 after he was convicted of suffocating his wife in Memphis. His execution is currently scheduled for May 16. Its the first clemency plea before Gov. Lee since he took office in January. "We certainly know its a very serious subject that will require a lot of information, a lot of input, [and] a lot of counsel," Gov. Lee said last week. Johnson, along with the now-adult daughter of the woman he killed, asked Gov. Lee to stop the execution and allow him to serve a sentence of life in prison. The 21-page plea sent to Lee's desk says Johnson's only daughter has forgiven him for killing her mother. In 2006, Johnson spoke of what he called "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ" that he developed while on death row. "I have a peace now because that relationship transcends anything that allows me to deal with whatever I have to deal with here," he wrote to the governor. Lee, a professed Christian, also brings a distinct perspective from his predecessors after years serving on the board of a prison ministry called Men of Valor. However, he has not announced if he will meet with Don Johnson's daughter as she requested. "We are going to start talking about what that process looks like -- who we meet with, who we bring together -- to make this very important decision," Lee said last week. Previous governors have typically made clemency decisions just days for scheduled executions. (source: WKRN news) * Evidence sought to exonerate man convicted in 1986 slaying The headline was deceivingly simple: “Fisherman finds body.” The few paragraphs beneath that summed up the gruesome murder of 25-year-old Donna Perry could tell nothing of the decades of grief, hundreds of pages of court documents and seemingly endless questions that would follow. After 32 years behind bars, the man convicted of kidnapping Perry and bludgeoning her to death was released on parole on March 22. While members of Perry’s family regard Jimmy Edward Campbell’s re-entry into society with dread, lawyers at the Innocence Project, tasked with exonerating the wrongfully convicted with DNA testing, ardently pursue proof of his innocence. “It’s very complicated, because I support what the Innocence Project does, and I do know that there are people that are wrongfully convicted all the time,” Perry’s daughter Kay Arnold said. “In this particular circumstance, it’s so conflicting because we have confessions … I’ve spent my entire life saying, ‘This is the man that did it.’” Donna Perry spent most of her life in Brownsville, a small town with a population of just under 10,500 in the 1980s. She was last seen leaving her mother’s home in the Hillville community around 10:30 p.m. on July 10, 1986. Someone saw her walking near the intersection of Hillville Road and Tennessee Route 179 late that night. An unnamed fisherman found Perry’s body, severely beaten and stabbed at least 20 times, early the next morning on a gravel road in the Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge. An autopsy would later identify blunt trauma to her head and neck as the cause of death. She had multiple stab wounds and bruises and fractures in her hands. Her pants were pulled down — the autopsy notes the presence of semen. In the coming days, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation would set up a road block near where she was found and go door to door in the Hillville community looking for answers, to no avail. But 15 days later, 26-year-old Jimmy Edward
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., VA., GA., FLA., ALA., LA.
April 23 TEXASimpending execution Texas Board of Pardons and Parole denies John William King 120 day reprieve The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole voted 7-0 Monday afternoon not to recommend a 120 day reprieve to John William King, convicted and sentenced to death for the capital murder of James Byrd Jr. The Board also voted 7-0 not to recommend commutation. King is scheduled for execution this Wednesday in Huntsville for the June 1998 dragging death of Byrd on Huff Creek Road in Jasper County. Lawrence Russell Brewer has been executed for the crime and Shawn Allen Berry is serving a life sentence. (source: cbsaustin.com) * 2nd man to be executed this week for 1998 dragging death of James Byrd Jr. A technology company was almost ready to bring up to 300 new jobs to Jasper, Texas, but in the final stages of recent negotiations, a potential deal-breaker emerged: the community's history as the place where three white men dragged a black man behind a pickup, killing him. The 1998 death of James Byrd Jr. was one of the most gruesome hate crimes in U.S. history, and it gave the company president pause in the discussions about where to locate his firm's newest facility. Local clergy and community leaders made their case that the town of 7,600 people is not defined by a murder that happened almost 21 years ago. They were able to convince the executive "that we are a lot different than what the world sees us as," said Eddie Hopkins, head of the Jasper Economic Development Corporation. The town's past will be revisited this coming week, when the convicted ringleader in Byrd's slaying is scheduled to be executed. Local leaders insist Jasper is a welcoming place that punished Byrd's killers and will never forget what happened to him. But other townspeople, as well as members of Byrd's family, believe Jasper has never fully accepted the crime's place in its history. They say some tensions between the white and black communities remain unresolved. "I think, quite frankly, people in Jasper are tired of talking about it. They want to forget it," said Mylinda Washington, 66, one of Byrd's sisters. "It happened here, and we need to always have that in front of us." In the early morning hours of June 7, 1998, three white men beat Byrd after offering him a ride. They then chained the 49-year-old to the back of a truck and dragged his body for nearly 3 miles along a secluded road in the piney woods outside Jasper. Byrd was alive for at least 2 miles before his body was ripped to pieces. Prosecutors said he was targeted because he was black. John William King, 44, an avowed racist who orchestrated the attack, is slated to be put to death Wednesday. He will be the 2nd man executed in the case. Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed in 2011. The third participant, Shawn Allen Berry, was sentenced to life in prison. Before Byrd's death, the community about 140 miles northeast of Houston, near the Texas-Louisiana border, was known more for the timber industry and for tourism at nearby Sam Rayburn Lake. Back in 1998, the city was "incredibly progressive" as it was led by an African American mayor and had other African Americans in local leadership positions, said Cassy Burleson, a researcher at Baylor University who has been studying Jasper since the dragging. The current interim mayor, Gary Gatlin, recalled how community leaders of all races came together and helped the town heal. "It certainly doesn't go away, and we certainly remember what happened," Gatlin said. But racial tension resurfaced after Jasper's first black police chief was fired in 2012, and 2 of the 3 black city council members who hired the chief were ousted in a recall election. The recall effort was marred by racial slurs. City council member Rashad Lewis, who is black, was 12 when Byrd was killed. He said the dragging death unearthed racial hostility in his hometown. He remembers classmates wearing Confederate belt buckles and shirts right after Byrd was killed. When he moved back to Jasper several years ago, Lewis said he ran for office because of a lack of minority representation. He is the only African American on the 5-member council, which runs a community that is more than 1/2 African American. About 34 % of the African American population lives below the poverty line. Lewis, 33, is now running against Gatlin, hoping to become the 2nd African American mayor in Jasper history. The election is May 4. "As long as we keep a blindfold to the incident, we will never be able to move forward," he said. During his mayoral campaign, Lewis said, he's had at least one online racial slur directed at him. One of Jasper's religious leaders, the Rev. Ronald Foshage, acknowledges that there is some prejudice in the town. But he said "you are going to find that anywhere." "It's not the majority of our people, and it's not who we are," Foshage
