[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 13 IRANexecution Man Hanged at Mahabad Prison “In an extraordinary event, Veis’s execution was carried out at the prison’s courtyard. Prisoners could see and hear everything,” the source told IHR. A prisoner was hanged at Mahabad Prison’s courtyard this morning. Other prisoners could watch the execution scene from their cells’ windows. Mahabad city is located in northwestern Iran. According to the IHR sources, on the early morning of Tuesday, July 9, a prisoner was hanged at Mahabad prison. The execution took place at the prison’s courtyard and other prisoners were able to watch the scene. IHR can confirm the identity of the executed prisoner as Veis Alipour, a resident of Shamat village. “In an extraordinary event, Veis’s execution was carried out at the prison’s courtyard. Prisoners could see and hear everything,” the source told IHR. His execution is not announced by Iranian media or authorities so far. According to the Iran Human Rights statistic department, at least 273 people were executed in Iran in 2018. At least 188 of them executed for murder charges. (source: Iran Human Rights) *** This gay teen lost his asylum appeal & will be sent back to Iran where ‘they will execute me’Immigration officials say there's no "proof" that he's gay beyond living together with his boyfriend and testimony on his behalf from LGBTQ organizations. A gay teen from Iran was told he has three weeks to leave Sweden after his asylum claim was rejected. Mehdi Shokr Khoda, 19, is Christian and said that he fears for his life if he is forced to go back to Iran. “I cannot live open as a gay in Iran,” Khoda told Gay Star News. “They won’t understand something about you. They will just kill you first. Last year, the Migration Board in Sweden rejected Khoda’s asylum claim, saying that he there wasn’t enough evidence that he is gay and Christian. In appealing the decision, Khoda’s boyfriend of 18 months Carlo Rapisarda, 22, appeared before the board. “We live together, we love each other, we’ve known each other a long time. Isn’t that evidence enough?” Rapisarda asked. Related: Austria tells a teenager that he’s not stereotypically gay enough to get asylum But apparently that wasn’t enough, since, he said, there’s no foolproof test for whether someone is gay. “There’s not a scientific way. You can’t hook him up to cables and check.” The Swedish Federation for LGBT Rights also wrote a letter on Khoda’s behalf. “There’s no doubt,” the letter said. “Mehdi is gay and in need of protection.” The Migration Board rejected Khoda’s appeal, saying that he was unable to explain his coming out process. Khoda signed a paper saying that he had three weeks to leave the country. Even though he will not be forcibly put on a plane, he will have to live as an undocumented person in Sweden if he stays. Now that his case has gotten international media attention, he is sure that Iranian authorities will figure out that he’s gay. Authorities in Iran “will absolutely figure it out,” Khoda said. “They’ll ask questions.” “If they find out I’m Christian or I’m gay or I tried to seek asylum, they will not understand that,” he said. “They will execute me.” While he and Rapisarda could get married, they can’t organize a marriage in such a short time in Sweden. There are an estimated 300,000 Christians in Iran and there have been Christians in Iran for almost 2,000 years. Recently, though, the government has cracked down on converts to Christianity, which can be punished with ten years in prison. Khoda was baptized in Sweden, and the Migration Board said that his “thoughts and reflections” on Christianity weren’t good enough to prove that he is really Christian. They are planning to appeal this decision, saying that international media attention will make it impossible for Khoda to return to Iran. They have started a GoFundMe to help with legal fees. (source: lgbtqnation.com) EGYPT: In the Name of the People: The Annual Report on the Death Penalty in EgyptA report on death sentences issued in 2018 and an analysis of the application of the death penalty in Egyptian courts. Today the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms issued a joint report titled “In the Name of the People,” the second annual report on the death penalty in Egypt, covering the period from January to December 2018. The report reviews and documents death sentences issued in Egypt throughout 2018 and attempts to analyze patterns of handing down death sentences verdicts by Egyptian courts, tracking quantitative and qualitative shifts in the application of the death penalty—the maximum penalty in criminal law and the only irreversible penalty. The report is divided into two parts: the first part reviews death sentence verdicts issued in 2018; the second part details rights violations of
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., FLA., MISS., LA., OHIO, NEB., ORE.
July 13 PENNSYLVANIA: DA to seek death penalty in boy’s murderMark Edward Mason, 8, was fatally stabbed in front of 3 other boys inside a house on High Street in New Castle, police say. Lawrence County’s district attorney said he intends to pursue the death penalty against Keith L. Burley Jr., who is accused in the stabbing death of an 8-year-old boy Monday in Union Township. Burley was arrested Tuesday morning in Youngstown following the fatal stabbing of Mark Edward Mason. The homicide took place in the presence of 3 other boys who were inside the house on High Street where the attack occurred. The other boys witnessed the stabbing but escaped. “I can’t get into specific details,” Josh Lamancusa said Wednesday. “But I can share that this little boy died a hero, saving his brother and the other children in the house.” Lawrence County Deputy Coroner Rich Johnson, who attended the autopsy at Heritage Valley Health System in Beaver County, determined that Mark Mason died of multiple stab wounds to the neck, and that the manner of death was homicide. Johnson would not say how many times the child was stabbed, only that the information would be released at later court proceedings once Burley is brought to Lawrence County to face the charges. An angry Lamancusa said that he has contacted the governor’s office, demanding to know why Burley was released from state prison a couple of months ago after serving only the minimum sentence for a previous homicide conviction, when he also has a trail of convictions of other violent crimes, some involving guns. Burley also has a conviction for having stabbed an inmate in the neck in the Lawrence County jail in 2002. Burley had been released on parole from the March 19,1999, robbery shooting death of 36-year-old Randall Stewart in the Halco Drive area. According to a 1999 police report provided by New Castle police Chief Bobby Salem, Burley initially faced 90 different charges in the Stewart shooting, including homicide and robbery, but he entered a guilty plea to one count each of third-degree murder and having a gun without a license. He was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in a state correctional institution as a result. “The (state) parole board released a guy who is a repeat violent and dangerous offender,” Lamancusa said. “That is ridiculous. I can’t imagine what the parole board was considering when they released him at the minimum. I find it hard to believe anyone could have looked at his past record and determined that he’s not a threat or danger to the community. State troopers lead Keith Burley to an unmarked state police cruiser Thursday after a hearing before District Judge Jennifer Nicholson in Lawrence County. Burley is accused in the stabbing murder of 8-year-old Mark Edward Mason. Lawrence County District Attorney Josh Lamancusa has announced his intention to seek the death penalty against Burley. “Now we have the confirmation of the depth of his depravity, sadly.” “I will be pursuing the death penalty,” Lamancusa said concerning the Monday stabbing. “It’s a horrific case. To do so, he will have to sign a notice of aggravated circumstances and file it in the courts. The notice will set forth the reasons, including the aggravated circumstances, to justify it. “I think Burley meets several of the requirements,” Lamancusa said. Burley remains in the Mahoning County jail, awaiting an extradition hearing that is scheduled for Thursday. According to a criminal complaint and reports from authorities, Burley had gotten into an argument that turned physical with his alleged girlfriend in the parking lot of the New Castle Fire Department on Monday night. He allegedly assaulted and injured the woman, and she was taken to the hospital for treatment. In the course of their argument, he is accused of getting into her vehicle where her 2 sons — Mark Mason and his 7-year-old brother — were waiting and driving off with them to the house at 60 High St., which was the home of another acquaintance. 2 other boys, ages 15 and 8, were upstairs playing video games when they heard someone entering downstairs, the complaint states, about half an hour after the dispute at the fire station. The boys went downstairs to see who was there and Burley was there with the 2 boys and was holding a gun, according to the account they gave the state police. He directed the 2 boys to go and find the magazine for the weapon. When they came out of a bedroom, the older one described how he saw Burley stabbing Mark Mason. They ran out of the house to get help and call 911, according to the paperwork. No one else was home at the time. (source: sharonherald.com) FLORIDA: State intends to seek death penalty against Michael Hunt The man accused of shooting three people and killing another could face the death penalty. The State of Florida announced it intends to seek the death penalty in
