[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 23 IRANexecutions 8 People Hanged in Various Iranian Prisons A total of 8 prisoners were reported hanged in various Iranian prisoners. Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the state-run media, have not announced these 8 executions. According to close sources, on Tuesday September 19, a prisoner was reportedly hanged at Khorramabad Central Prison on murder charges. The prisoner has been identified as Mohammad Haji Sabzali. Mohammad was reportedly arrested and sentenced to death 6 years ago. On the morning of Wednesday September 20, another prisoner was hanged at this prison on murder charges. The name of the prisoner is not known at this time. According to the human rights news agency, HRANA, on the morning of Monday September 18, a prisoner was hanged at Broujerd Central Prison on murder charges. The prisoner has been identified as Hossein Dalvand. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network and sources close to Iran Human Rights, on the morning of Monday September 19, three prisoners were hanged at Tabriz Central Prison. These 3 prisoners were reportedly transferred to solitary confinement on Sunday in preparation for their executions. The prisoners have been identified as Sina Assadzah and Ahad Pourtaghi, sentenced to death on murder charges, and Yousef Ebrahmi. "Yousef Ebrahimi was in prison for 20 years on murder and sodomy charges. He was able to gain forigiveness from the complainants on his case file regarding the murder charge, but he was executed on sodomy charges. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, on the morning of Wednesday September 20, two prisoners were hanged at Qazvin Central Prison on drug related charges. The 2 prisoners have been identified as Teyb Hajizadeh and Mojtaba Rahmati. Teyb and Mojtaba were transferred to solitary confinement on Tuesday night in preparation for their executions. Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the state-run media, have not announced any of these executions. The recent wave of executions in Iran may be related to the upcoming Muslim holy month of Muharram. During Muharram, the rate of executions in Iran significantly decreases. Close sources have also reported on a prisoner by the name of Massoud Joodaki, who was taken to solitary confinement on Saturday September 16 in preparation for his execution. Massou Joodaki, who is on death row on drug related charges, was reportedly returned to his cell after his execution was stayed. *** 5 Executions in Kerman Province Including 1 in Public adollah Movahed, the head of the Judiciary in Kerman, has reported on 5 executions in Iran, including 1 in public. According to the state-run news agency, Mehr, Yadollah Movahed announced the execution of 5 prisoners in the province of Kerman who are "agents of insecurity and evil". "In the past several days, the execution sentences for 5 prisoners, who are agents of insecurity and evil, were carried out in the eastern and southern parts of the Kerman province for various charges, including Moharebeh, armed robbery, kidnapping, and murder. They were executed after they were convicted and the course of legal proceedings," says Yadollah Movahed. Mr. Movahed did not indicate the exact dates of the executions, the exact charges of the prisoners, or the names of the prisoners. No other Iranian state-run news agencies have reported on these 5 executions. The lack of transparency regarding executions in Iran and the closed space for human rights activists have raised concerns that the real number of executions in Iran are much higher than those recorded by human rights activists. *** 4 Prisoners Executed at Rajai Shahr Prison 4 prisoners were reportedly hanged at Rajai Shahr Prison on murder charges. According to close sources, the prisoners were executed on Wednesday September 20. Iran Human Rights has been able to identify 1 of the prisoners so far: Saman Mohammadian, imprisoned for approximately 7 years before he was executed. These four prisoners were among a group of 13 who were transferred to solitary confinement on Saturday September 16 in preparation for their executions. The other prisoners were returned to their cells after receiving an extension or forgiveness from the complainants on their case files. One of the prisoners who was returned to his cell is Mojtaba Ghiasvand. "Mojtaba Ghiasvand was sentenced to death on murder charges, but he had repeatedly insisted on his innocence, " an informed source tells Iran Human Rights. Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and state-run media, have not announced these 4 executions. Man Executed on Murder Charges A prisoner was reportedly hanged at Karaj Central Prison on murder charges. According to the state-run news agency, the execution of a prisoner who was only identified as
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., KY., NEB., CALIF., USA
Sept. 23 TENNESSEE: Holly Bobo trial verdict: Guilty verdict for Zachary Adams in 2011 slaying The man accused of kidnapping, raping and killing a Tennessee nursing student has been found guilty of murder and aggravated rape in the 2011 slaying of Holly Bobo. Zachary Adams, 33, has been standing trial in Savannah, Tenn. in the slaying of 20-year-old Holly Bobo, who vanished from her Parsons home on April 13, 2011. 2 ginseng hunters found her remains 3 1/2 years later in woods in Decatur County, about 100 miles southwest of Nashville. A sequestered jury of 6 men and 6 women who heard the case in a Savannah courthouse began deliberating Thursday afternoon, the trial's 10th day. Judge C. Creed McGinley moved the trial to Hardin County in search of an unbiased jury. The same jury will decide if Adams will get the death penalty. Bobo's brother Clint testified that on the day of his sister's disappearance, he saw an unidentified man wearing camouflage leading her into woods behind the family's home. Prosecutors said Adams was involved in the "dark world" of methamphetamine and morphine when he and 2 other men abducted Bobo, held her against her will, raped her, killed her and hid her remains. In his closing argument Thursday, prosecutor Paul Hagerman said the testimony of star witness Jason Autry pointed to Adams' guilt. Autry testified he helped Adams move what he thought was Bobo's body wrapped in a blanket, and when she moved -- indicating she was still alive -- acted as a lookout as Adams shot her by the Tennessee River. "She was never gonna come out of that blanket alive, not a chance," Hagerman said. "[Autry] knew just how guilty he was, just how guilty they all were - and for years, he kept his secret." Hagerman said Autry came clean to investigators in late 2016. Autry and Adams' brother, John Dylan Adams, also are charged with kidnapping, raping and killing Bobo. A 4th man, Shayne Austin, was also charged in the case. Austin was found dead in a Florida hotel room in what police said was an apparent suicide in February 2015. In his closing argument, Hagerman said it was Austin who walked with Bobo into the woods. Then Austin and the Adams brothers raped Bobo in Austin's grandmother's barn, Hagerman said. The names of all 4 men had surfaced early in the investigation, Hagerman said, but a former Tennessee Bureau of Investigation lead detective became convinced a sex offender was responsible for the killing and "didn't listen" to the clues that pointed to Adams as the killer. Hagerman pointed to incriminating statements Adams made to friends and jail inmates about Bobo. Friend Anthony Phoenix used an expletive to describe how Adams told him that he "couldn't have picked" a prettier woman. Christopher Swift said Adams asked him if God would forgive him for the "Holly killing," while they were both jailed together. Jason Autry identifies Zachery Adams during his testimony on day 5 of the Holly Bobo murder trial, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Savannah, Tenn. Autry and Adams' brother, John Dylan Adams, also face charges of kidnapping, rape and murder in the case. He also referenced a gun in Bobo's killing months before her remains were found and her cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the head, Hagerman said. But a defense attorney countered in a more than 2-hour closing argument that the state's case is "absolutely full of holes" and is based on "non-evidence" against her client. Jennifer Thompson said Autry made up a story 3 years after his 2014 arrest and "sold" it to the government in hopes of avoiding the death penalty. Hagerman argued that Autry's story had been "corroborated, corroborated, and corroborated again" by testimony. But Thompson said Autry already knew of evidence accumulated in the case and could have used that to pepper his story with elements of truth. She said Autry was too street smart to allow himself to be manipulated into helping Adams dispose of Bobo's body even though he says he wasn't involved in the rape, abduction or murder. She said a rational person "wouldn't automatically put themselves in the middle of a murder with a dead body if they don't have to." Thompson said there's no question that people involved in the case are "talkers" and noted that Adams was a meth user. "Zach Adams has said some stupid things over the years," Thompson said. "That does not mean he killed Holly Bobo." Bobo's family was in court throughout the emotional trial. Bobo's mother Karen at one point collapsed, sobbing, as she testified. Bobo's father was seen putting his arm around his wife during Hagerman's closing statement Thursday. (source: CBS News) KENTUCKY: Sizemore seeks to move murder trial Attorneys representing Raleigh Sizemore Jr., charged with the murder of Richmond police officer Daniel Ellis, have asked to have his trial moved out of Madison County.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., ALA., MISS., OHIO, IND.
Sept. 23 TEXAS: Pair charged with murder outside parole office 2 Houston men on Thursday were indicted for allegedly killing a man as he sat in his car in the parking lot of a local parole office, Ronald Donell Brown, aka "Dorsey Robinson," 44, and Clyde "Pete" Williams, 50, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire, intentional killing related to drug trafficking and 2 counts of using a firearm in the commission of a murder. Davis "Cuz" Roberts, 42, also named in the indictment, is charged with 1 count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute, and faces up to life in prison if convicted. Brown and Williams could potentially face the death penalty, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office. For his role in the drug conspiracy, Roberts faces up to life in prison, if convicted. According to a 7-count federal grand jury indictment, Brown allegedly hired Williams, and provided him with a firearm, to kill Marcus Celestine as he sat in his car outside a Houston parole office on July 1, 2014. (source: Houston Chronicle) GEORGIAimpending execution Many of slain woman's family members support clemency for her killer, lawyers say Many family members of a woman fatally shot in 1990 support clemency for her condemned killer, lawyers for Keith "Bo" Tharpe argue in a petition seeking clemency on the eve of Tharpe's scheduled execution. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole is set to consider Tharpe's case Monday, the 27th anniversary of Jacqueline Freeman's killing in Jones County. Freeman was Tharpe's sister-in-law. Lawyers for Tharpe are asking that his execution - set for Tuesday - be stayed and that his sentence be commuted to life without the possibility of parole. The copy of Tharpe's clemency application released to the media Friday after being declassified doesn't list which of Freeman's family members support clemency. The portion of the document addressing their support was redacted "to protect the victims' and victims' family members' identities and privacy," according to the application. Tharpe's application describes his early introduction to alcohol, drug addiction and remorse. According to the application: When jurors convicted Tharpe and sentenced him to death - just 3 months after Freeman's Sept. 25, 1990 killing - they didn't hear about his childhood, drug addiction or "limited intellectual abilities" that would have provided context for understanding how someone others described as being "kind, loving and generous" could kill his sister-in-law. Tharpe's mother admitted in an affidavit that she drank moonshine and beer daily while pregnant with her son. Both of Tharpe's parents drank "excessively" and ran an illegal moonshine business - a shot house - out of their home. At age 5, Tharpe began serving the homemade alcohol to customers and taking sips himself. By the time he was 10, Tharpe was drinking enough liquor to make him drunk enough to lose consciousness. His early exposure to alcohol impaired his development. Despite his childhood, Tharpe has been described as being a "friendly, outgoing, happy and athletic child" who had many friends and was a standout high school athlete. He married his high school sweetheart and the couple shared 4 children. Tharpe had another daughter from a previous relationship. Later, Tharpe became addicted to crack cocaine which led to his alienating his family and losing himself in the drug culture. In August 1990, Tharpe's wife took their children and left him. Tharpe was desperate to win his family back, but his wife's relatives were protective of her and wanted him to stay away. On the night before Freeman's murder, Tharpe drank and smoked crack until the early morning hours. Then, he drove toward the Freeman family's home where several family members had homes and his wife was staying. He encountered his wife and Freeman on the road leading to the family's property, stopped them and told his wife to get into his truck. Tharpe and Freeman argued. Then Tharpe shot Freeman with a shotgun, reloaded and shot her again. "To this day, Mr. Tharpe cannot fathom what came over him and caused him to act as he did and kill Mrs. Freeman," his lawyers wrote in the application. "It is an act for which he takes full responsibility and will regret every day for the rest of his life." Tharpe regularly talks about his remorse and has endeavored to live a Christian life, devoted to helping others learn from his mistakes, his lawyers argue. Tharpe's lawyers are continuing to appeal his conviction and death sentence alleging that 1 member of the juror voted for the death penalty due to racial prejudice. (source: Macon Telegraph) ** Georgia Set To Execute Second Inmate Of 2017Keith Leroy Tharpe, 59, was convicted in the 1990 shotgun killing of his
