[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----JAP., INDON., TAIW., ZIMBAB., BANG., PAKIS.
March 23 JAPANfilm review: The Third Murder: One of the most polarising films of the yearReview: Many are left cold by the strange marriage of brutality and wistfulness Film Title: The Third Murder Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Starring: Masaharu Fukuyama, Suzu Hirose, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Mikako Ichikawa, Izumi Matsuoka, Yuki Saito, Kotaro Yoshida, Isao Hashizume, Koji Yakusho Genre: Crime Running Time: 125 min An enigmatic tangle of anti-death penalty campaigning, murder-mystery, and legal procedure, the 12th feature from prolific Japanese director, Kore-eda Hirokazu, is a departure from the tenderly observed family dramas (Like Father, Like Son; Our Little Sister; After the Storm) that have made him a perennial favourite at the Cannes Film Festival. Shigemori (Fukuyama Masaharu), a rather jaded state defender, is assigned an apparently open-and-shut case. Misumi (Koji Yakusho) who has already spent 30 years in prison for a murder committed in the 1980s, has allegedly killed his factory-owner boss, burned the corpse and stolen the victim's wallet. Shigemori is tasked with pleading the court down from the death penalty to a life sentence, but the lawyer soon realises there is more to the case than meets the eye. There is no material evidence linking the accused with the crime, beyond Misumi's own confession. His vague account is inconsistent with the crime scene and, more confusingly, varies wildly from one telling to another. He even sells a story to a supermarket tabloid claiming that the victim's wife had offered to pay out from her husband's life insurance. The victim's mysterious teenage daughter (Suzu Hirose) adds to the confusion. What is going on here? Are these fanciful embellishments and contradictions symptoms of a broader psychosis? Or might he be covering for someone? The Third Murder has, unexpectedly, become one of the most polarising films of the year. Many critics have not warmed to the film's strange marriage of brutality and Kore-eda's wistful milieu. Look closer, and despite the curveball content, the film teases out relationships just as carefully and patiently as the director's earlier, gentler films. It's killing as Yasujiro Ozu or Mikio Naruse might have had it. Detailed conversations about the Japanese legal system and capital punishment - rather conveniently, Shigemori's father is the retired judge who heard Misumi's original case decades ago - are genuinely fascinating. The slow-burning and sometimes surreal interrogation room interviews and the director's canny use of doubles, reflections, red-herrings, and Rashomon-effect makes for a nervy, if softly-spoken courtroom drama. A jagged turn by veteran actor Koji Yakusho (Tampopo, Shall We Dance?) keeps the viewer and Masaharu Fukuyama (a most effective foil) guessing until the final credits. (source: Irish Times) INDONESIA: Man arrested with IDR1.05 billion worth of meth in Bali, death penalty on the table An alleged drug courier has been arrested in Bali with IDR1.05 billion (US$76k) worth of meth. Gilimanuk Regional Police say they arrested East Java man Arif, alias Jatmiko Harif on Wednesday with the drugs, securing 708 grams. Jimbaran Police Chief Comr. Priyanto Priyo Hutomo said the 29-year-old's arrest was triggered by a routine vehicle inspection for people entering Bali via the Port of Gilimanuk. Police found a "suspicious package" aboard a bus on its way from Central Java, so they tailed the bus, which led them to the supermarket, Hardys in Tabanan. That's when Arif showed up on motorbike to pick up the package. "When receiving the package, the perpetrator was arrested by Gilimanuk Police Criminal Investigation Unit officers," Hutomo said on Thursday, as quoted by Merdeka. A later search of Arif's rented room at a boardinghouse in South Denpasar yielded the rest of the IDR1.05 billion meth not found in the package. Arif is being charged with violating Article 114 paragraph 2 of Law no. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics, with the threat of capital punishment or life imprisonment, or at least a minimum sentence of 6 years if found guilty, in addition to Article 112 paragraph 2 which carries a max penalty of life and a minimum sentence of 5 years, according to Hutomo. (source: coconuts.co) TAIWAN: EU praises Taiwan's human rights agenda but urges abolition of death penaltyThe 1st Taiwan-EU meeting about human rights was held Thursday in Taipei Taiwan and the European Union (EU) held a meeting about human rights Thursday in Taipei, during which the EU officials reiterated the union's concern over the practice of the death penalty in Taiwan as "an inhumane form of punishment." The Human Rights Consultations were the first such meetings where European delegates joined Taiwanese officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Taiwan's civic groups to exchange ideas about human rights
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., FLA., ALA., OHIO
March 23 TEXASimpending execution Federal judge in Lubbock rejects Rodriguez death penalty appeal A federal judge in Lubbock on Thursday denied a motion to stop the March 27 execution of Rosendo Rodriguez, who was convicted of the 2005 killing of 29-year-old Summer Baldwin who was stuffed in a suitcase found in a city landfill. Rodriguez also confessed to killing a 16-year-old Lubbock girl who'd been missing for more than a year. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Sam Cummings said he found no extraordinary circumstances necessary to grant Rodriguez's request. The ruling came 3 days after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed Rodriguez's appeal, which contained similar claims. Attorneys contended a medical examiner improperly testified at Rodriguez's trial, that a recent settlement of a lawsuit involving the examiner wasn't disclosed to them, that prosecutors engaged in misconduct and that Rodriguez is innocent. Rodriguez's attorneys have filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. (source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) * San Antonio man 1 of 2 more Texas killers given execution dates 2 more Texas killers, including a San Antonio man behind the 2004 slaying of a convenience store owner, now have dates with death. Christopher Young, who was on probation when he committed the string of crimes in Bexar County that landed him on death row, is now set to die on July 17, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel. In addition to abducting, raping and robbing a woman, Young was convicted in the killing of 53-year-old store owner Hasmukh "Hash" Patel. Last year, Young's case sparked pushback from religious leaders who said he deserved a new trial in light of alleged religious discrimination during jury selection. The U.S. Supreme Court turned down his latest appeal in January and Texas prisons received notification of an impending death date earlier this month, Desel said. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, TDCJ also received notice that Clifton Williams, an East Texas man convicted of robbing a 93-year-old woman before strangling her and setting her body on fire, was given a June 21 execution date. News of the upcoming executions comes just a day after a Harris County judge signed off on an execution warrant for Danny Bible, a serial rapist and murderer whose string of rapes, robberies and slayings crossed multiple states. On appeal, his attorney argued the 66-year-old is no longer a future danger as he is in a wheelchair as the result of a 2003 car crash. 3 Texas killers have already been executed this year, and now 6 more executions are on the calendar. (source: Houston Chronicle) ** Houston Ice Pick Killer And Serial Rapist Gets June Execution DateDanny Bible, the infamous 'Ice Pick Killer,' will be put to death on June 27, 2018. Danny Bible, a serial murderer and rapist, has been in jail for over 40 years. Now, a judge has set a date for the convicted criminal's execution. On March 19, a Harris County judge signed a death warrant for Bible. The wheelchair-bound murderer will be put to death on June 27, according to Chron.com. Josh Reiss, the head of the Post-Conviction Writs Division at the Harris County District Attorney's Office, described the infamous murderer. "He was the 'Ice Pick Killer.' He was a serial killer. A serial rapist and we're going to pursue justice for these victims," said Reiss, according to ABC 13. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg offered her take on the situation. "Some criminals' actions are so heinous, they earn the label 'worst of the worst,'" Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Monday, according to Chron.com. "The jury who listened to the facts and saw the evidence of the crimes Danny Bible committed clearly reached that conclusion by sentencing him to death." Bible's attorney, Margaret Schmucker, was unsurprised by this most recent development. "It was not an unexpected event today," Schumucker said, according to Chron.com. "I do think it's unfortunate that the state of Texas is going to execute someone who is so little future danger that he can't even get out of a wheelchair." Bible's known crimes began in 1979, when the body of Inez Deaton was found near the Houston bayou. Deaton had been stabbed with an ice pick 11 times. Deaton's murder remained unsolved for 20 years. Between the murder and his eventual incarceration, Bible was involved with a handful of violent incidents, including several beatings of a girlfriend in Montana. He eventually returned to Texas, where he murdered his sister-in-law Tracy Powers, her infant son Justin, and a roommate of Powers' named Pam Hudgens. Bible was caught in 1984 and pled guilty to the killing of Hudgens, for which he was sentenced to 25
