[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
August 4 IRAN: Jailed Iranian-Swedish Dual National Pressured To Accept New Charges In a telephone conversation with his family, the Iranian-Swedish scientist and disaster medicine expert, Dr. Ahmad Reza Jalali (Djalali) has revealed that he has been under pressure to admit new charges and participate in another "forced confession" in front of cameras. Speaking to Radio Farda on Saturday, August 3, Jalali's wife, Vida Mehran Nia disclosed that her husband had been taken to solitary confinement outside Tehran's notorious prison, Evin. "My husband told me on the phone that he had been under heavy pressure to submit to a forced confession," Ms. Mehran Nia said, adding, "They (intelligence agents) have threatened him to either admit new accusations or be prepared for the execution of death penalty issued against him." In an unexpected move last Monday, Ahmad-Reza Jalali was mysteriously transferred to an unknown place of detention. While on an official academic visit hosted by Tehran University, Jalali 47 was accused of “collaboration with a hostile government” and arrested on April 2016. Since then, he has been kept behind bars at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. He was later shown on state TV in December 2017, confessing to providing information to Israel's Mossad spy agency about Iranian military and nuclear scientists, including two who were assassinated in 2010. In a voice recording that was published on YouTube on 22 October, Ahmad-Reza Jalali is heard saying that, while in solitary confinement, he was twice forced to make “confessions” in front of a video camera by reading out statements pre-written by his interrogators. Amnesty International and other rights groups have condemned Jalali's detention, saying it follows a pattern of Iran detaining dual nationals and expatriates indefinitely without due process. Immediately after the Islamic Republic's Supreme Court upheld Jalali's death sentence, Sweden granted him citizenship, soliciting a protest from Iran. Iran does not recognize dual nationality (source: radiofarda.com) CANADA: Canadian resident escapes Iran after 11 years of detentionSaeed Malekpour says he was beaten in prison and was sentenced to death in 2010 An Iranian-born Canadian resident has escaped to return to Canada after being detained in Iran for 11 years. Saeed Malekpour, a web programmer from Victoria who had permanent resident status in Canada, was arrested in Iran in 2008 and accused of setting up a website that was used to post pornography. Malekpour maintained his innocence and said he was tortured in prison to force a confession to crimes against Islam. He was sentenced to death in 2010. Payam Akhavan, an expert in international law at McGill University and a former United Nations prosecutor who has been involved in the case for years, said that the Iranian government released Malekpour on furlough a few days ago after coming under intense pressure. Malekpour then escaped Iran through a 3rd country that is not being revealed. He is now in Vancouver. 'It was dangerous' Akhavan said that no one in Iran, including his family members and lawyer, was aware of Malekpour's plan to leave the country. "It was far from certain that the plan to bring him to Canada would succeed. So we are all very relieved," Akhavan said in a phone interview. "It was dangerous. Really, until he set foot in Canada we were not sure that everything would go according to plan." "[He is] once again living as a free man." Husband of jailed British-Iranian woman stages hunger strike outside embassy in U.K. The news of his release first broke on Friday, when Malekpour's sister, Maryam, who has long advocated for his release, tweeted that he had landed in Canada. "The nightmare is finally over!" she wrote. "Together we prevailed." Akhavan, who witnessed the reunion between Maryam and her brother after more than a decade apart, said it was "a beautiful sight to behold, but also heartbreaking." "To think that this innocent man who was just 33 years old when he was arrested ... has lost a decade of his life." In a written statement, a spokesperson for Global Affairs wrote that "Canada welcomes the news that Saeed Malekpour has been reunited with his family in Canada. We have advocated for Mr. Malekpour's release and are pleased that he is now in Canada." Global Affairs declined to comment further on the case, citing privacy concerns. Akhavan said the Canadian government was "exceptionally helpful" in the case, and provided Malekpour with the proper paperwork to re-enter the country after over a decade away. U.S. joins Freeland in condemning 'arbitrary detention' of Canadians and calls for 'immediate release' According to a written statement from Amnesty International written prior to his release, Malekpour had travelled to Iran in 2008 to visit his ailing father. While detained, Malekpour
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., LA., IND., ARIZ., USA
August 4 TEXAS: El Paso Shooting: 21-Year-Old Suspect Patrick Crusius Likely to Face Capital Murder Charges The El Paso, Texas Walmart shooting suspect could face capital charges following an investigation, officials said during a press conference late Saturday. Police have not confirmed the suspect's name, but multiple reports have identified him as Patrick Crusius, a 21-year-old white male from Allen, Texas. The shooting left 20 people dead and at least 26 injured. "Right now we have a manifesto from this individual that indicates to some degree he has a nexus to potential hate crime," El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said during the press conference, reports KETK. The FBI is also investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime. If convicted on capital murder charges, the suspect could be sentenced to life in prison or face the death penalty in Texas. The manifesto police referred to was posted on social media before the shooting and was shared on Twitter afterwards. The one seen on social media references the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand on March 15, 2019. It also shows an interest in white nationalism. Allen said a document was left behind at the scene. During the press conference, officials confirmed that the suspect surrendered to police as they approached and no force was required when arresting him. The identities of the victims were not released, but officials said the victims ranged in age from 2 to 82. At least 2 children were reportedly among the injured victims. The shooting happened at a Walmart on a busy Saturday afternoon. Officials estimated that 1,000 to 3,000 people were inside the store, located next to the Cielo Vista Mall, at the time. Allen said the scene will "be in play for a long period," adding, "Unfortunately, the deceased will remain at the scene until the scene is processed properly for evidentiary purposes to be gathered for later prosecution," reports CNN. 13 victims were taken to University Medical Center of El Paso, where 1 of them died. 11 victims were also taken to Del Sol Medical Center. At least two of the patients there are in a "life-threatening predicament," Del Sol Medical Center Dr. Stephen Flaherty told CNN. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wrote on Twitter that 3 of the victims were Mexican citizens, reports CBS News. Mexican Consul General Mauricio Ibarra said 6 of the injured are Mexican citizens. Following the shooting, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said local law enforcement was working with federal authorities to investigate. "In El Paso, the Texas Dept. of Public Safety is assisting local law enforcement & federal authorities to bring this tragedy to the swiftest & safest possible conclusion," Abbot wrote. "We thank all First Responders for their courageous response & urge all area residents to remain safe." (source: popculture.com) NORTH CAROLINA: NC should end race-based juror selection From unconscious bias to outright racism, race has played a significant role in creating a justice system that too often results in unfair and unjust outcomes. The negative impact of race is nowhere more evident than in jury selection, with North Carolina providing a particularly illustrative - and troubling - case study. Across North Carolina, prosecutors remove twice as many potential black jurors as white jurors during jury selection. And black people are four times more likely to be imprisoned than white people. The same trends exist in death penalty juries, resulting in black defendants being twice as likely as their white counterparts to be sentenced to death for identical crimes. Whether these disparities are the product of implicit or explicit bias — it is a profound injustice and the cost is black lives. That’s why Fair and Just Prosecution and over a dozen other groups joined together to ask North Carolina’s Supreme Court to stand up against the entrenched practice of excluding people of color from juries. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1986 that it was illegal to exclude citizens from juries because of their race and set up a process for assessing these challenges, but the North Carolina appellate courts have yet to find race discrimination against a juror of color, and have routinely disregarded U.S. Supreme Court rules for addressing jury discrimination concerns. North Carolina is one of only a handful of states that has never enforced the ban on race-based jury selection. Now, the N.C. Supreme Court has the chance to turn the corner and send a strong message that the era of excluding jurors of color with impunity is over. The court recently agreed to hear two cases where black jurors were excluded at disproportionate rates. In one case, the prosecution used eight of their twelve strikes to remove black jurors. In the other, the prosecutor said he removed a black juror because he’d been the victim of breaking and entering,
