[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
August 9 SUDAN: Sudan junta drops death penalty against rebel leaders Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) has cancelled the death penalty that was issued against Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) leader Malik Agar, his deputy Yasir Arman, and 15 others in 2014. The TMC said in a statement on Thursday that the decision to abolish the death penalty came as part of measures to achieve peace in Sudan, confirmed by the Constitutional Declaration agreed on by the junta and the Forces for Freedom and Change a week ago. In March 2014, after a 9-months trial, a special court in Singa, capital of Sennar, sentenced 17 members of the SPLM-N to death by hanging in absentia. 46 other detainees were sentenced to life imprisonment, while 31 were acquitted. Those sentenced were among about 100 detainees who faced trial for their alleged involvement in the outbreak of the war in Blue Nile state in September 2011. Following the ousting of President Omar Al Bashir in a military coup on April 11, the SPLM-N faction under the leadership of Malik Agar, decided to send a delegation to Khartoum. On May 26, Yasir Arman arrived in the Sudanese capital. The stated goal of his visit was "to go to Khartoum, reach a just peace, linking between peace, democracy, and citizenship without discrimination and social justice." In spite of the death penalty, Arman was not subjected to any harassment at his arrival at Khartoum airport. Yet, he soon received 6 letters; 5 by Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’, Deputy chairman of the TMC, and one by the chairman of the junta, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, demanding he leave Sudan. The rebel leader was detained on June 5. 5 days later, he was deported to the South Sudanese capital of Juba, together with SPLM-N secretary-general Ismail Khamis and spokesman Mubarak Ardol. (source: dabangdasudan.org) BOTSWANA: Botswana’s capital punishment debate rages on The alarming rise of murder cases in Botswana has led to calls for a moratorium on the death penalty because it appears to have failed to stem the tide. However, another school of thought insists that the death penalty is still necessary in order to deter would-be murderers. According to statistics released by the the Botswana Police Service last year, a total of 194 murder cases had been recorded between January and mid-September 2018. Out of these, 87 involved women killed by their lovers. On the contrary, only one male victim was killed by his female lover. The debate on the death penalty was ignited by human rights group Ditshwanelo and prominent lawyer Kgosi Ngakaagae who continue to argue that the death penalty should be abolished. "Ditshwanelo condemns and remains opposed to the use of the death penalty as a means of punishment," the group's executive director Alice Mogwe said. She called on the Botswana government to "take the lead in condemning the use of fatal force, which leads to the loss of life." "It should instead strive to protect life, including that of the offender," she said. According to Mogwe the Botswana authorities "should look for alternatives to addressing crimes which lead to capital offences by dealing decisively with their causes." "This approach will contribute to the reduction of such crimes. We regard this as crucial as a nation which prides itself on being peaceful and non-violent." Ngakaagae said there are currently 2 men on death row in Botswana. "Sometimes you don’t understand these old men and how they reason. Many have died because of the Court of Appeals errors of judgment,” he said, citing alleged trial errors noted in the cases of murder convicts Gwara Brown and Thabologo Mauwe more than 20 years ago. Brown and Mauwe's hanging was halted hours before they were to meet with the hangman after human rights attorney Kgafela Kgafela intervened and won them freedom in 1998. Veteran journalist Pamela Dube is of the view that the debate of whether death penalty is a deterrent to murder is not as fierce as before. "In the face of anger, opponents of capital punishment choose not to speak out," Dube said. She called on the Botswana parliament should repeal the death penalty. "And the chance to engage on the matter is now, in the period of electioneering,” said Dube. Botswana goes for general elections in October. Other Botswana took to social media to express their views on the debate. Keboh Motjhibameleh said: "But are you guys (Ditshwanelo) aware of heinous murders by accused persons on bail? Should we wait for them to exterminate us before we (that's if we will be there) eliminate them? I'll tell you the most effective alternative to capital punishment. Send them killers to live with aliens in another planet." Bokamoso Xavier said: "You (Ditshwanelo) won’t stop the nation. We are united on this: whoever kills must die by the sword; we hang in Botswana." The European
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEV., CALIF., ORE., USA
August 9 NEVADA: Man with dismissed murder conviction still on death row in Nevada Paul Browning is a freed man on Nevada’s death row. Many of the key witnesses in the November 1985 stabbing death of jeweler Hugo Elsen, including Elsen’s wife, Josy, have died. District Judge Douglas Herndon ruled in March that because the attorney who represented Browning at trial failed to ask essential questions of witnesses who are now dead, "a fair trial consistent with due process is no longer possible." That decision came 5 months after an opinion from the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found "a mixture of disturbing prosecutorial misconduct and woefully inadequate assistance of counsel" led to "extreme malfunctions" at Browning’s trial. Yet Browning sits on death row, as prosecutors fight to keep him there, appealing Herndon’s decision to the Nevada Supreme Court. On Thursday, Herndon lifted a hold on his own dismissal, while prosecutors await a decision from the higher court. In the meantime, Browning, who spent 33 years as a condemned man, should be allowed to leave the penitentiary, his lawyers said. Browning was held in Ely State Prison rather than being transported to Las Vegas for the hearing. But neither Herndon’s decision nor the 9th Circuit opinion contemplated an escape charge for which Browning was convicted during his murder trial. It’s up to the Nevada Department of Corrections to determine whether he has already served the maximum 10-year sentence that was set to begin in 2079. "How can Mr. Browning be sitting on death row, as he is now, when this court has said all charges against him are dismissed?" one of his lawyers, Tim Ford, argued Thursday. "He’s not even a pretrial detainee, and he’s on death row. That can’t be." Prison officials said that they had not received a court order to release Browning as of Thursday afternoon, and the process of freeing an inmate can take upward of a week. Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo argued that Browning could be convicted of murder, even after key witnesses have died. Some are still alive, the prosecutor said. Browning’s fingerprints were found on the underside of a glass counter in Elsen’s store, and a knife with Elsen’s blood was discovered under the stairs where Browning was arrested 20 minutes after the slaying, DiGiacomo added. "There’s forensic evidence," he said. "There’s live witnesses. There’s no question Paul Lewis Browning killed Hugo Elsen. I’d have even more evidence of his guilt if these people were still alive - To me the proof is pretty darn evident, and the presumption is pretty great." Herndon said the case consisted of "a unique complicated set of circumstances." Ford told the Review-Journal that in the years since his conviction, Browning and his lawyers have discovered evidence that points to his innocence. At trial, a prosecutor pointed to blood on Browning’s tan jacket, saying it matched Elsen’s blood type, even though Elsen himself described the jacket as blue before he died. DNA evidence later revealed that it was not Elsen’s blood. "Every time we turn over something, it’s turned out to be more and more things that call into question what was said," Ford told the newspaper. A month after the slaying, Elsen’s wife could not pick Browning out of a lineup, but at trial she pointed to him as the killer. Elsen’s business neighbor, Debra Coe, told police she had seen a man with a blue Hollywood cap, which was later found in a dumpster outside Browning’s motel, running from Elsen’s shop. She identified Browning as the man she 'thought' ran by her office, but said she could not be certain because Browning was not wearing a cap when she identified him. Pressed further on whether she could be 'more sur'” about his identification, she said, "No, I wouldn’t think so. No - They all look the same, and that’s just what I think when I see a black person, that they all look the same." At trial, she retracted the statement and identified Browning as the man she saw run past her office. A couple who had told authorities that Browning confessed the killing to them were habitual drug users, which jurors knew. More than a decade ago, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed a denial of Browning’s challenge to his death sentence, but a jury in 2008 reinstated capital punishment. Browning’s sister, Dell Harris, watched Thursday’s hearing from the courtroom gallery with other family members, all hoping that they would be reunited with a man they had not seen outside walls for more than 3 decades. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel," Harris said. "I mean it’s been forever, but we still have hope. It’s time. It’s time." (source: Las Vegas Review-Journal) CALIFORNIA: Accused serial killer has no memory of 1 attack and denies others, defense says After Michael Gargiulo was arrested in 2008, Los Angeles County sheriff’s
[Deathpenalty] USA EXECUTIONS
numerical corrections to list below USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Marion Wilson Jr. in Georgia on June 20, the USA has now executed 1,500 condemned individuals since the death penalty was re-legalized on July 2, 1976 in the US Supreme Court Gregg v Georgia decision. Gary Gilmore was the 1st person executed, in Utah, on January 17, 1977. Below is a list of further scheduled executions as the nation continues its shameful practice of state-sponsored killings. NOTE: The list is likely to change over the coming months as new execution dates are added and possible stays of execution occur. 1501--Aug. 15-Dexter Johnson---Texas 1502---Aug. 15Stephen West-Tennessee 1503---Aug. 21Larry Swearingen-Texas 1504---Aug. 22Gary Ray Bowles--Florida 1505---Sept. 4Billy Crutsinger-Texas 1506---Sept. 10---Mark Anthony Soliz---Texas 1507---Sept 25Robert SparksTexas 1508---Oct. 1-Russell Bucklew--Missouri 1509---Oct. 2-Stephen Barbee---Texas 1510---Oct. 10Randy HalprinTexas 1511---Oct. 16Randall Mays-Texas 1512---Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez--Texas 1513---Nov. 3-9---Charles Rhines---South Dakota 1514---Nov. 6-Justen Hall--Texas 1515---Nov. 20Rodney Reed--Texas 1516---Dec. 5-Lee Hall Jr.-Tennessee 1517---Dec. 9-Daniel Lewis Lee-Federal - Ark. 1518---Dec. 11James Hanna--Ohio 1519---Dec. 11Travis Runnels---Texas 1520---Dec. 11Lezmond Mitchell-Federal - Ariz. 1521---Dec. 13Wesley PurkeyFederal - Mo. 1522---Jan. 13---Alfred Bourgeois--Federal - Tex. 1523---Jan. 15---Dusten Honken-Federal - Iowa 1524---Jan. 16---Kareem JacksonOhio (source: Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., ALA., TENN.
August 9 TEXASnew execution date Local death row inmate set with execution date District Attorney Randall Sims came forward with an official execution date for the ongoing death penalty case for Travis Runnels. Runnels has been on death row for 13 years for the murder of a prison supervisor of a shoe-making shop in Amarillo’s Clements unit. Thursday, the 47th District Attorney announced the date of his execution is set for December 11, 2019. Travis Runnels Criminal History Timeline: Runnels criminal history started in 1993, where he was convicted of 2nd-degree felony of burglary. He would go on the accumulate 2 more felony charges. His 2nd felony charge of aggravated robbery included carrying a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 70 years in prison and would be eligible for parole in 2025. His final felony charge while in prison in Amarillo would later lead to his death penalty. In 2003, Runnels was working on the cleaning staff in the Clements unit boot shop, and had disputes because he wanted to work in the prison’s barbershop. On the day of the murder, Runnels asked another inmate for his boot knife where he would later walk behind the shop’s supervisor, Stanley Wiley, and slit his throat. He was charged with murder after pleading guilty. In 2005, the charge then turned into a Capital murder conviction, and 2 days later he was sentenced with the death penalty. After many appeals were denied, on August 8th 2019, the 47th District Attorney announced Runnels execution date is set for December 11, 2019. At the news conference, NewsChannel10 asked the District Attorney why the courts decided to pursue the death penalty when many prosecutors have been shying away due to expense. “I’m not going to let expense or politics ever interfere with the decision about what I’m going to do on that. I’ve got office policies, I’ve got 5 things in it, the very first one is always do the right thing,” explained 47th District Attorney Randall C. Sims. The District Attorney also explained how inmates came forward with no reward on behalf of Wiley. “There were 8 inmates that testified against Travis Runnels and the reason they did it, I’ll sum it up as 'he’s the nicest man out there, he treated us as equals and was very nice to everybody out there, including the inmates. The inmate that gave the boot knife to Mr. Runnels, while he was the stand, he cried just nearly the whole time,” said Sims. There are 219 inmates currently on Texas’ death row. Texas, which reinstated the death penalty in 1976, has the most active execution chamber in the nation. (source: KFDA news) * Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present43 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-561 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 44-Aug. 15Dexter Johnson--562 45-Aug. 21Larry Swearingen563 46-Sept. 4Billy Crutsinger564 47-Sept. 10---Mark Anthony Soliz--565 48-Sept. 25---Robert Sparks---566 49-Oct. 2-Stephen Barbee--567 50-Oct. 10Randy Halprin---568 51-Oct. 16Randall Mays569 52-Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez-570 53-Nov. 6-Justen Hall-571 54-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-572 55-Dec. 11---Travis Runnels---573 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Marion Wilson Jr. in Georgia on June 20, the USA has now executed 1,500 condemned individuals since the death penalty was re-legalized on July 2, 1976 in the US Supreme Court Gregg v Georgia decision. Gary Gilmore was the 1st person executed, in Utah, on January 17, 1977. Below is a list of further scheduled executions as the nation continues its shameful practice of state-sponsored killings. NOTE: The list is likely to change over the coming months as new execution dates are added and possible stays of execution occur. 1501--Aug. 15-Dexter Johnson---Texas 1502---Aug. 15Stephen West-Tennessee 1503---Aug. 21Larry Swearingen-Texas 1504---Aug. 22Gary Ray Bowles--Florida 1505---Sept. 4Billy Crutsinger-Texas 1506---Sept. 10---Mark Anthony Soliz---Texas 1507---Sept 25Robert SparksTexas 1508---Oct. 1-Russell Bucklew--Missouri 1509---Oct. 2-Stephen Barbee---Texas 1510---Oct. 10Randy HalprinTexas 1511---Oct. 16Randall Mays-Texas
