[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 15 SAUDI ARABIA: They were convicted of minor crimes as teens and now face beheading and 'crucifixion' in Saudi Arabia When Ali al-Nimr was 17, he says he was suddenly rammed by a Saudi Arabian government vehicle while riding his motorcycle through the eastern district of Qatif. What happened next would change his life forever. Al-Nimr was taken to a local police station, where he was beaten so badly he had to be transferred to a hospital, his lawyer said. Initially, al-Nimr was hit with relatively minor charges related to his participation in the widespread 2011 to 2012 Arab Spring demonstrations against Shia repression in the eastern part of the country, where most of the population resides. But when his uncle, the reformist Shia cleric and protest leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, was arrested, prosecutors ramped up their case. Instead of minor infractions related to the protests, al-Nimr now stood accused of joining a terrorist organization, throwing Molotov cocktails and arson. After being moved to an adult prison at the age of 18, he confessed to a string of crimes under extreme torture, according to his lawyer, Taha al-Hajji. At trial, al-Nimr rescinded his confession, but this was ignored by the presiding judge, according to al-Hajji. Then, in May 2014, al-Nimr was sentenced to death by "crucifixion," contrary to Article 37 of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that no individual should be sentenced to death for crimes committed under the age of 18. Saudi Arabia is one of the 196 countries that has ratified the CRC. Al-Nimr, now 24, is not alone. In fact, he is 1 of 3 Saudi Arabian men known to be on death row who were arrested and charged with crimes allegedly committed when they were minors. The cases of al-Nimr, Abdullah al-Zaher, 23, and Dawood al-Marhoon, 24, follow the brutally familiar pattern of arrest, torture and then, once they could be tried as adults, being sentenced to death for crimes against the state committed before they turned 18, according to Reprieve, the human rights advocates campaigning for their release. The U.N.'s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, an independent body that investigates "cases of deprivation of liberty," stated in 2017 that the Arab Spring protests were "recognized by the international community as peaceful" and that the trio "did not engage in any violent or hostile acts." The men were not arrested during the protests -- only after -- and no warrants were presented at the time of their arrests. The Saudi Ministry of Justice has not responded to ABC News' request for comment for this story. According to Reprieve case files, al-Zaher and al-Marhoon underwent an ordeal nearly identical to al-Nimr. Reprieve said that on March 3, 2012, 15-year-old al-Zaher was arrested, beaten, shot at and held in solitary confinement in Dammam after allegedly participating in protests. "In prison, Saudi police tortured Abdullah -- including beating him with wire iron rods -- and forced him to sign a paper that he had not read, without allowing him to speak to his family or a lawyer," Reprieve wrote. In May of that year, at 16, after refusing to "spy" on protesters, al-Marhoon was arrested in Dammam Central Hospital, where he was receiving treatment for injuries sustained in a traffic accident, Reprieve said. "The Saudi authorities tortured him for weeks and refused to allow him to communicate with anyone on the outside world," the organization said. "For two weeks, Dawood's family had no idea where Saudi authorities were holding him, and he was prevented from speaking to a lawyer." Both were transferred to adult prison at the age of 18 and allegedly tortured into confessing to the crime of "herabah," meaning banditry, according to the U.N. and Reprieve. The men were tried jointly and sentenced to death by crucifixion on Oct. 21, 2014, according to Reprieve case files. Inhumane treatment of 3 young men in government custody, as reported by an unnamed source, was relayed in a report by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2017, in which the men are referred to as "Minors A, B and C," but their birth dates match those of al-Nimr, al-Marhoon and al-Zaher. The Working Group concluded that their detentions were "arbitrary," and that "the adequate remedy would be to release all 3 minors immediately and to accord them an enforceable right to reparations, in accordance with international law." Their appeals were rejected in 2015. In its response to the Working Group, the Saudi government denied the allegations of torture, unfair trial and trumped-up charges and said "its criminal justice system provided all the guarantees of fair trial and fair procedures that were consistent with its international obligations in the field of human rights under the general principles of an independent judiciary." The government also said that the men were "fully
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----S.C., ALA., LA., USA
July 15 SOUTH CAROLINA: SC moves death row to new prison for 2nd time in 2 years For the 2nd time in 2 years, South Carolina has moved its death row inmates to a new prison. State Corrections Department Director Bryan Stirling said the 37 inmates awaiting execution were taken Thursday morning from Kirkland Correctional Intuition to Broad River Correctional Intuition about 1/2 mile (0.8 kilometers) away. Stirling says prison officials studied death rows in Virginia and North Carolina to address concerns about treatment from a 2017 federal lawsuit by 16 inmates. The new death row will allow inmates to eat meals with each other, worship together and have jobs. Previously, death row inmates were in solitary confinement even during the hour they got outside their cells. Death row was moved from Lieber Correctional Intuition near Charleston to Kirkland Correctional Intuition in 2017. (source: Associated Press) ALABAMA: Why does God need public records? In Alabama, that’s a real question.When Tabitha Isner requested the Department of Corrections execution protocols, a state lawyer interrogated her on her faith, her family, her work history and her social media habits. And, yes, why an all-knowing God would need access to public records. Why in the name of God would anyone need a public record? After all, doesn’t the Almighty already know what those documents show? Those aren’t rhetorical questions. For Tabitha Isner, they were real, asked of her by a lawyer for the Alabama prison system. And she had to answer under oath. Swear to God. Or, if you care about transparency and accountability in government, just swear. Like the Holy Bible, maybe we should start in the beginning. When Isner asked for Alabama’s death row execution protocols, she had to give a reason on the Department of Corrections’ public information request form. Isner has strong opinions about the death penalty (like a lot of people do). She’s an ordained minister, although she doesn’t lead a church (her husband does, though). Later she would run for Congress against Rep. Martha Roby (Isner lost). When she filled out the form she said what a lot of politicians and preachers say when confronted with a prickly question: She wanted to pray on it. Next to “Proposed Use of Records” she wrote: “As a member of the clergy, I feel a spiritual obligation to pray over executions. To do this most effectively, I need to have a detailed understanding of how executions are carried out.” Her complete answer would have been more complex, she says now, but the blank on the form was about 6 inches long. “When you fill out one of these forms, you don’t expect to be under investigation,” she told me. But that’s what happened. Public records access is supposed to be free in Alabama. But it cost one business $70,000. This whole story should never have happened. Her 2-year fight to get those records has taken her to court. As part of that, she had to sit for a 2-hour deposition, under oath, where a lawyer for the state asked her, among many other things, why God would need the information she sought. Really. That happened. Alabama’s Open Records Act says all citizens are entitled to inspect public records and take copies upon request. It used to be simple as that. However, in 1991 the Alabama Supreme Court rejected the simple meaning of the law for a more capricious interpretation. Custodians of public records, the court said, may ask requestors why they want records “so long as the question is not intended to dissuade people from seeking the records and is not used in the ordinary course as a means to prevent people from having access to such record.” But the Department of Corrections used that as license to interrogate and intimidate. When the DOC deposed her, Isner had to answer deeply personal questions about her faith, her social media habits, her adopted children, her political beliefs, her charitable donations, her work history and just about everything you might imagine apart from the only question that mattered — whether the DOC documents are public records. “It was very uncomfortable, and I think that was the point,” she said. It was during that deposition the state’s lawyer questioned why God would need a public records request since He already knows everything there is to know. Q: But certainly the God described in those scriptures is an omniscient God? Isner: God is often described in scripture as omniscient. Q: Which means knows all things, if I got my Latin right? Isner: Yes. Q: And so if God hears our prayers, all prayers, and God knows all things, God would -- God would know the details of these protocols that you want to find out about under that theory. You agree with that? Isner: Yes, I think God knows how people are killed. When Isner revealed she had donated to Planned Parenthood, the DOC’s lawyer asked whether she thought
