[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
August 3 SRI LANKA: Sri Lankan Prime Minister proposes to end death penalty Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has introduced a bill to abolish the death penalty in the lead up to the execution of 4 drug convicts. The proposed bill would abolish the death sentence in the future and commute the sentences of those already on death row to life imprisonment. The bill was introduced to parliament on Thursday and will take a vote in 14 days if no one challenges it will pass. This, however, is unlikely as President Sirisena is a vocal opponent claiming that those who oppose executions oppose building a decent county. The Washington Post further reports that Sirisena has described narcotics as “the root cause of all other major crimes” and he views the decision to execute prisoners “for the betterment of future generations”. Sirisena has claimed that his position was influenced by what he views as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's successful “war on drugs”. Sri Lanka’s stance on the death penalty has been widely panned by the international community. The European Union has stated that if Sri Lanka moves towards implementing the death penalty it will be in contradiction with its commitments to the UN General Assembly to maintain a 43-year moratorium on the death penalty. The EU has warned this may send the wrong signals to the international community and investors. Sri Lanka is currently a beneficiary of the GSP+ agreement with the EU which enables a preferential trade scheme but is dependent upon Sri Lanka fulfilling its commitments to human rights. Wickremesinghe has stated that he opposes the death penalty and the under the coalition government Sri Lanka supported a UN resolution for a moratorium on the death penalty in 2016 and 2018. The Sri Lanka government has not had formally hanged a prisoner since 1976 even though courts routinely pass death sentences. (source: Tamil Guardian) SINGAPORE: Drug trafficking on the rise despite increased awareness of death penalty in Singapore Despite Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam’s claim that drug traffickers are aware of the mandatory death penalty sentence in Singapore, there has been a spike in the number of attempts related to drug trafficking into the Republic, he told Reuters on Wed (31 Jul). While Mr Shanmugam told the 2nd Asia-Pacific Forum Against Drugs in Oct last year that the death penalty for drug traffickers cannot serve as a panacea for all drug-related issues plaguing Singapore society, the Minister maintained that the government, albeit reluctantly, must retain the death penalty “for the greater good of society”, as it “saves more lives”, referring to those who will be spared from falling into drug addiction. Stating that drug traffickers are fully aware of the risks of being arrested, prosecuted, and - in most cases - sentenced to death, Mr Shanmugam said that the prospect of facing the gallows "has a very powerful influence on those who seek to traffic drugs into Singapore", as "the stakes are made very clear upfront". "You have to focus on reducing supply, and the death penalty comes within the context of trying to reduce the supply by making it clear to traffickers that if they get caught, they will face the death penalty," he said at the opening of the forum. Mr Shanmugam told Reuters on Wed that Singapore is adamant on keeping the death penalty because crime rates have 'gone up' in countries where marijuana has been legalised, adding that "medical costs and hospitalization costs" in such places "have gone up significantly, much more than the tax dollars that the state had hoped to receive". Additionally, he said that Singaporeans have continued to demonstrate "very strong support for the government’s current position" on the war against drug-related crimes in spite of neighbouring countries’ move to slightly relax their drug laws. 13 executions took place in Singapore last year, 11 of which were for drug-related offences. Mr Shanmugam said that the Singapore government’s decision to pause judicial executions for several years was behind the high number of such executions last year, adding that the break in executions was in line with the government’s review of the death penalty. The Law Minister has frequently reiterated the government’s stance on the use of recreational drugs, and has criticised the way certain States and human rights groups have framed the discourse on such drugs only from the perspective of public health and personal freedoms. "Human rights is ‘my individual freedom to consume drugs’ - that is how it was put forward. What about the impact on society? If you take that argument, then you would have the human right to do almost anything you like," Shanmugam was quoted by TODAY as saying in late May this year. He added that the financial backing of lobbyists has compelled legislators to amend
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----LA., OHIO, ARK., S.DAK., USA
August 3 LOUISIANAfemale to face death penalty DA in Louisiana to seek death penalty for mother of baby burned to death The Natchitoches District Attorney’s Office has confirmed the state’s intention to seek the death penalty in the case against a woman accused of burning her son to death. Hanna Nicole Barker, 25, was indicted on a charge of 1st-degree murder in November 2018. A second woman, 27-year-old Felicia Smith, is also facing a 1st-degree murder charge. The body of Barker’s 6-month-old son, Levi Cole Ellerbe, was found on July 18, 2018 off Breda Ave. after officers got a call about a fire. The infant was taken to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center with 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns over 90 % of his body. He and later airlifted to a hospital in Shreveport, where he died from his injuries. Barker, who officials have said was in a relationship with Smith, is accused of asking Smith to kill the baby. According to the indictment, Smith said she took the baby from Barker’s home, poured gasoline on him and sent him on fire before going to work. Barker initially claimed the baby had been kidnapped from her home in the Mayberry Trailer Park, prompting a search involving several law enforcement agencies. Both Barker and Smith have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Barker’s trial date was set for January 13, 2020. (source: KTAL news) OHIO: Man Indicted in 4 Family Slayings, Could Face Death PenaltyA man has been indicted on 4 counts of aggravated murder in the slayings of his wife, her parents and her aunt in an apartment home in southwest Ohio. A man has been indicted on 4 counts of aggravated murder in the slayings of his wife, her parents and her aunt in an apartment home in southwest Ohio, court records showed Friday. Grand jurors also specified in each count that Gurpreet Singh used a firearm and killed more than 1 person, meaning he would face the death penalty if convicted. Butler County Jail records show that Singh, 37, was booked into the jail early Friday morning after his return from Connecticut. The grand jury indictments were made public nearly 8 hours later. A message was left Friday for Singh's attorney, Charles H. Rittgers. Singh had been arrested July 2 in a Walmart parking lot in Branford, Connecticut. He had called 911 on April 28 to say he found the four "on the ground and bleeding" in a West Chester apartment where he also lived, some 20 miles (32.3 kilometers) north of Cincinnati. Each of the 4 killed had at least 2 gunshot wounds in the head. Police said there was food left on the stove, indicating the family was preparing dinner that evening when they were shot. Police said repeatedly during the investigation that they didn't believe the community, where such violence is rare, was under threat or that the case was a hate crime. That indicated that investigators believed the motive for the crimes was personal. West Chester Township Police Chief Joel Herzog called the slayings a "heinous crime" but didn't discuss details or possible motive when announcing the arrest. Those killed were identified as Shalinderjit Kaur, 39; Amarjit Kaur, 58; Parmjit Kaur, 62, and Hakiakat Singh Pannag, 59. Singh has said he and Shalinderjit Kaur had been married 17 years and had three children. Family members identified Parmjit and Hakiakat as his wife's parents, and Amarjit as Parmjit's sister. Singh, a truck driver, told The Cincinnati Enquirer he was often away from home. Their three children were staying with other relatives at the time of the slayings, and police have said they are safe. In a statement after Singh's arrest, relatives of those slain said they were thankful for the efforts of West Chester police, other law enforcement agencies and the Sikh community of the Cincinnati region, and that they were praying for Singh's conviction. (source: Associated Press) ARKANSAS: Arkansas Supreme Court refuses to step down from case challenging its own ruling against anti-death penalty judge Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday refused to recuse themselves from a case claiming they improperly barred a Little Rock judge from hearing death penalty cases because he exercised his religious liberty by attending an execution vigil in his other role as a Baptist pastor. The Supreme Court denied without comment Judge Wendell Griffen’s motion seeking their disqualification from his petition to restore his authority to hear and decide capital cases. Just 1 of the 7 members of the court, Associate Justice Josephine Hart, favored turning the case over to special justices. The Supreme Court hastily removed Griffen from all capital punishment cases after he attended an anti-death penalty protest outside the governor’s mansion on Good Friday in 2017. Before attending the vigil, Griffen, pastor of New Millennium Church in Little Rock, signed an order temporarily blocking
