[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., LA., ILL., NEB., CALIF., USA
July 20 TEXAS: Judge denies request to speak to doctor in Petetan death penalty case A judge denied a request by death row inmate Carnell Petetan Jr. to speak to a state expert Tuesday after McLennan County prosecutors charged his attorneys were on a "fishing expedition" and assured them they had provided all evidence favorable to the defense. Jeremy Schepers and Ashley Steele of the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs filed a motion seeking an order from 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother that they be allowed to interview Dr. Randy Price and that state prosecutors turn over their notes or other communications with the Dallas neuropsychologist. Price consulted with McLennan County prosecutors in the Petetan capital murder case but did not testify at his trial. Price attended the trial and heard defense expert witnesses testify that Petetan has an intellectual disability that should preclude him from the death penalty. Strother sentenced Petetan to death in April 2014 after jurors recommended the penalty in the 2012 shooting death of his estranged wife, Kimberly Farr Petetan. The attorneys from the capital writ office have not filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in Petetan's case but are in the preparation stages while his initial appeal is pending before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The deadline to file the writ application with the state's highest criminal court is Oct. 19. Officials brought Petetan from death row in Livingston, 45 miles east of Huntsville, for the 20-minute hearing. Prosecutors Michael Jarrett and Sterling Harmon objected to the defense's request. They assured the judge that the state had provided to the defense all so-called "Brady" material and all subject matter covered by the Michael Morton Act, evidence favorable to the defense. "Dr. Price consulted on the case," Jarrett said. "He never gave us any exculpatory materials. He just agreed with the state's contention that all of Petetan's life, his actions, thoughts and things he did do not support an intellectual disability finding and, in fact, rebut it." Jarrett reminded Strother that Petetan testified at his trial for hours and said the jury could see he is not intellectually disabled. "This is not a case of test scores," Jarrett said. "It is a case of adaptive behavior." The jury in Petetan's case found that Petetan constitutes a continuing threat to society and rejected his claim that he was exempt from execution because of mental impairment. Kimberly Petetan started writing Carnell Petetan in prison in 2009 after a chance meeting with his brother. A recovering drug addict who was studying to be a drug abuse counselor, Kimberly Petetan shared her story with Carnell Petetan's brother, and he thought Carnell Petetan, then serving a 20-year prison term for 3 violent assaults, could benefit from her kindness. Kimberly Petetan and Carnell Petetan were married and after his release from prison lived together in Port Arthur for a short time. Kimberly Petetan moved back to Waco after reporting that her husband had threatened her and her daughter. Carnell Petetan was convicted of breaking into his estranged wife's Lake Shore Drive apartment in September 2012 - about 7 months after his release from prison - and shooting her in front of her daughter and 2 men who rode from Port Arthur with him earlier that day. Both of those men and the girl told jurors that Petetan shot his wife. Petetan claimed 1 of the men with him fired the fatal shots. Petetan served almost 20 years in prison for shooting 2 men and attacking another man with a chair in separate incidents when he was 16. He has been locked up since he was 13, being placed on juvenile probation for attacking a teacher before continuing to do poorly and being sent to a state juvenile facility in Brownwood. Trial testimony showed that in Petetan's early prison years, he sexually assaulted 3 fellow inmates, assaulted guards and was a member of the 357 Graveyard Crips prison gang. (source: Waco Tribune) FLORIDA: Judge denies Tommy Ziegler's request A judge on Monday denied a new request by Tommy Zeigler to analyze bloodstains on his crime scene clothing, the longtime death row inmate's latest attempt to exonerate himself in the 1975 Christmas Eve killings of his wife, in-laws and customer at his Winter Garden furniture store. In the 30-page ruling, Orange-Osceola Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead held that Zeigler's petition for DNA testing was too similar to others that he's made previously and that the potential discoveries would not be great enough to rule him out as the perpetrator. "Having carefully listened to the testimony presented at the evidentiary hearing and argument from the parties, the Court finds the authenticity of the DNA is questionable because it may be contaminated based on a lack of protective equipment when it was handled and/or
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 20 GLOBAL: Death penalty executions at a 25 year high, Amnesty reports The number of people executed around the world has reached a sobering new record. New figures released by Amnesty International show a 50 % rise in executions in 2015. More than 1634 people were condemned to death in 25 countries worldwide, that's 573 more than in 2014. The human rights watchdog said it marked an alarming development, and the real figures could be even higher, as the numbers for China are unknown. "The dramatic rise in executions that we recorded in 2015 was down to huge increases, primarily huge increases, in just 3 countries - Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Together these 3 countries accounted for almost 90 % of all the executions that we recorded in 2015, again, excluding China," explained Audrey Gaughran, Director for Global Issues and Research, from Amnesty International. The report notes that China regards death penalty figures as a state secret. When asked about the report a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry claimed that Amnesty released 'unfair' statements about the country. Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan were responsible for 89% of the executions in 2015. The Saudi kingdom was responsible for more than 158 executions and Iran for 977, which represents an increase of 76% and 31% respectively from 2014. In Pakistan, there were 326 recorded deaths, the most executions in the country's history. According to Amnesty's report, Iran and Pakistan executed minors at the time of their deaths. In the Middle East and Africa, the majority of the people are condemned because of terrorist actions. The organisation has been campaigning to end the death penalty since 1977 when only 16 countries had abolished it. They noted that 102 countries abolished the act entirely by the end of 2015, making a total of 140 abolitionist countries around the world. (source: euronews.com) * A map of countries that still have the death penalty---see: http://www.west-info.eu/a-map-of-countries-that-still-have-the-death-penalty/ (source: west-info.eu) PAKISTAN: PHC stays executions of 3 militants Peshawar High Court (PHC) stayed the execution of three militants on Tuesday by suspending the verdict of a military court for their involvement in alleged attacks on security forces and other terror related activities. A divisional bench of the PHC comprising of Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Waqar Seth also issued notice to the federal government to file a reply till next hearing. The bench stayed the execution on judicial review appeals filed by 3 convicts Tabib, Muhammad Ayaz and Azizur Rahman through their counsels Ghulam Mohiuddin Malik and Arif Jan. The counsels informed the court that the petitioners were awarded death penalty by military courts and their sentences were approved by the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on July 14, 2015. They argued the petitioners had not been given the chance to defend themselves, terming the trial a violation of the right to a fair trial. Malik said that Tabib went missing from Abbottabad on October 30, 2014 and his whereabouts were unknown since then. Similarly, they said that Muhammad Ayaz, a resident of Barikot Swat, was arrested from a security checkpoint in 2009 and was transferred to several different places from time to time. Applicants' counsels argued that even family members were not allowed to meet him. The counsels contended that Azizur Rahman who was a resident of Matta area of Swat was arrested by security forces in 2010 and was kept at different internment centres since then. They said that their family members of the convicts came to know through media that they had been awarded the death sentence and that the army chief had approved their execution. The counsel contended that none of them had been given a fair trial nor it was known under what crimes they had committed to merit the death sentence. The bench stayed their executions and sought replies from the federal government. Besides, those whose death sentences were approved by the army chief include Muhammad Qayyum Bacha who was given the death penalty for carrying out an attack on on law enforcement agencies. Muhammad Asif, who was a member of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi got the death sentence on charges of target killing. Other militants who were convicted are Barkat Ali, Hussan Dar, Ishaq, and Behram Sher who were active members of the banned TTP and were sentenced to death for carrying out attacks on security forces. (source: The Daily Times) BANGLADESH: 2 get death for killing doctor Special Tribunal Judge Nitai Chandra Saha yesterday handed down death penalty to 2 men for killing Dr Shafiqul Islam, owner of Jess Clinic in Jessore town, on July 29, 2009, said Prosecutor SM Badruzzaman Palash, who conducted the case on behalf of the government. 2 others were acquitted. The convicted are Ashiqur
