[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., FLA., OHIO, TENN., USA
October 15 TEXASnew death sentence Ronald Haskell Jr. sentenced to death in fatal shooting of 6 members of ex-wife's family Ronald Lee Haskell Jr. has been sentenced to death in the fatal shooting of 6 members of his ex-wife's family in 2014 — which included the execution-style killing of the 4 of the family's children, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors say Haskell, of Utah, traveled from California to Texas on a mission to kill anybody who helped his ex-wife, Melannie Lyon. The couple had recently divorced after more than a decades-long abusive relationship. Haskell spent months planning the murders and 2 days in the Spring, Texas, area stalking the Lyon and Stay family, according to prosecutors. On July 9, 2014, he disguised himself as a FedEx delivery driver and made his way into the Stay residence in Spring, Texas. There, prosecutors say he held 5 of the Stay children hostage at gunpoint until the parents, Katie and Stephen Stay, arrived, forced them all to the ground, and shot them 1-by-1. Katie, who was Lyon's sister, Stephen, and 4 of their 5 children; 4-year-old Zach, 7-year-old Rebecca, 9-year-old Emily, and 13-year-old Bryan, were killed. The 5th child, then-14-year-old Cassidy Stay, survived the shooting despite being shot in the head by playing dead. Now 20, she testified in the case against Haskell. "I hope that when you die, you will get the punishment you deserve from God," she told Haskell at sentencing. After the fatal shooting at the Stay residence, Haskell had reloaded his gun at started for Lyon's parents and brother's residences — but was stopped and arrested before arriving. Law enforcement commended Cassidy in preventing further killings, despite her injuries. "After the murderer left, Cassidy’s quick actions prevented Haskell from carrying out the remainder of his plan to kill 22 members of his ex-wife’s family," read a statement from the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Haskell's defense attorney's argued he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. At sentencing they shifted to life behind bars without a death sentence arguing Haskell suffered from several mental illnesses. Prosecutors rebutted, stating Haskell was a vengeful, manipulative liar who, upon expert witness testimony, faked his mental illnesses. A jury rejected Haskell’s insanity defense Sept. 26 and found him guilty of capital murder. He was sentenced on Friday, October 11, 2019. “The death penalty is only for the worst of the worst,” stated Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. “Haskell meticulously planned and carried out the slaughter of the Stay family and the death sentence handed down by a jury of his peers is appropriate.” (source: mytexasdaily.com) *** Sheriff: Abilene man used pocket knife to kill common-law wife, infant daughter The Abilene man charged with capital murder in the deaths of his common-law wife and infant daughter used a pocket knife to stab them to death, according to the Callahan County Sheriff's Office. Cody Edmund Dixon, 34, was transferred from the Callahan County Jail in Baird to the Taylor County Jail in Abilene on Monday afternoon for security reasons. He will be kept in a jail cell by himself and is on suicide watch. Dixon is accused of killing Alia Rae Hutchison, 22, and their 9-month-old daughter, Aria Ellen Dixon, on Saturday. The Sheriff's Office says Dixon stabbed them with a pocket knife after the couple had a fight. Deputies believe Dixon and Hutchison -- who were living with his sister in Abilene -- were possibly moving back to Wisconsin. Hutchison's body was found on CR 324 between Baird and Putnam. The baby's body had been thrown over a fence. Deputies said Dixon confessed to the murders and said God told him do it. His bond was set at $1.8 million. Investigators say the couple had moved to Abilene a few months ago from Wisconsin, but things weren't going well. "He moved to his mother's house and then to his sister's house and it wasn't going well," said Chief Deputy Rick Jowers of the Callahan County Sheriff's Office. Investigator say Dixon used a pocket knife to kill his wife and baby. Dixon, according to investigators, admitted to the murders. He faces 2 counts of capital murder and he could face the death penalty. (source: KTXS news) NORTH CAROLINA: 2 people may face death penalty for allegedly running over woman at Greensboro Exxon Why? That's what a family is asking after their daughter was run over twice outside an Exxon gas station over the weekend — a bizarre incident that involved five other people who were hit for reasons that are still not clear. Meranda Chantel Watlington, 28, and Fana Anquette Felton, 27, could face the death penalty after allegedly striking the 6 people — critically injuring 3 — and killing 30-year-old Zanelle Tucker. On Monday night, family and friends of Tucker gathered at
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
October 15 IRANexecution Man Hanged in Southern Iran for Rape Charges IA man was hanged for rape charges at Bandar Abbas prison Saturday. According to Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), a man hanged on Saturday, October 12, at the Iranian southern city of Bandar Abbas. He was arrested and sentenced to death for rape charges 5 years ago. Out of the 110 people who were executed in the 1st half of 2019, 13 were sentenced to death for rape charges. (source: iranhr.net) ** ‘Hanging judge’ hears case of outed Iranian Kurdish singer Notorious hanging judge Mohammad Moqisseh presided over the recent trial of an outed singer, according to reports from Iran. Mohsen Lorestani faced charges of ‘corruption on Earth’ stemming from a conversation on social media. The singer’s lawyer only received notification of the trial after it occurred. As yet, the verdict is unknown. The singer is a famous crooner in a mainly Kurdish western province of Iran. Despite authorities only now announcing his detention, his lawyer says it occurred in March at the singer’s mother’s home in Tehran. Kazem Hosseini said authorities also arrested three others in connection with Mohsen Lorestani’s case. The singer is charged with ‘corruption of Earth’. The charges result from a chat on social media some characterise as ‘flirting’ with another man. “Corruption on Earth’ sometimes carries the death penalty. Last year, Iran executed at least 38 people on charges of ‘waging war against God’ and ‘corruption on Earth’. Mohammad Moqisseh acts as head of a branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Court which the regime uses to persecute ideological opponents. He recently sentenced three women to a combined 55 year’s jail for not wearing headscarves. Iranian lawyers describe him as ignorant of even the simplest judicial concepts. He often disposes of trials in minutes, refuses defendants access to lawyers and frequently imposes the death penalty. Moqisseh first came to attention in the 1980s when he worked in Tehran prisons. Witnesses claim he played an active role in torturing and executing political prisoners. He later took a key role in the Death Committees which massacred thousands of the regime’s opponents in 1988. “You are Sunni dogs!” He often acts as both prosecutor and judge, ignores due process and screams abuse at prisoners. When sentencing four men to death in 2014 after refusing to allow them to defend themselves he snarled, “Be quiet. You are Sunni dogs who must be hanged!” The Instagram Dancers Moqisseh will also preside over the trials of Iran’s ‘Instagram dancers’. The regime strictly forbids dancing in public and regards posting videos of dancing as an ‘enemy plot’ against the state. The clergy dominated judiciary recently ordered the arrest of three young women over social media posts and obviously intend to make an example of them by assigning their case to the notorious hanging judge. Opaque ‘justice’ system Not announcing the verdict of a trial is commonplace in Iran’s opaque ‘justice’ system. Often, relatives only become aware of a death sentence when a noose suspended from a crane in a town square is placed around their loved one’s neck. It should also come as no surprise if authorities suddenly discover Mohsen Lorestani ‘raped’ another man. For 2 decades now, when faced with outrage over the hanging of homosexuals, the Iranian regime has suddenly presented hitherto unmentioned ‘evidence’ of rape or sexual assault. This is now almost routine, especially whenever the regime feels the need to justify the execution of juveniles. (source: qnews.com.au) PAKISTAN: Court Hands Down Death Penalty To Accused For Killing 3 Persons In Lahore A sessions court on Monday handed down death penalty on 3 counts to a man on proving guilty of killing his wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 300,000 on accused Ghulam Abbas. Additional District and Sessions Judge Sajeeda Akhtar announced the verdict after hearing detailed arguments of the parties and examining available evidence. The prosecution alleged that accused Ghulam Abbas killed his wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law over a domestic dispute and solid evidence was available against him. However, the defence counsel argued that the accused was nominated due to personal enmity whereas the murder weapon was also not recovered from him. He pleaded with the court to acquit the accused as solid evidence was not available against him. Ghulam Abbas killed his wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law over a domestic dispute in Munawan area in 2016. The police had arrested the accused after registration of a case. (source: urdupoint.com) BANGLADESH: 5 Gaibandha war criminals, including 3 of a family, get death The International Crimes Tribunal today handed down death penalty to 5 people of Gaibandha for committing
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
October 14 ST. KITTS: Leanna’s Convicted Killers Could Face Death Penalty The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) wants the death penalty for 2 convicted Killers of 17-year-old Leanna ‘Tiney’ Napoleon in the May/June 2017 homicide; 1 of whom is the teen’s brother. According to the Police Public Relations Department, the application for such is expected to be submitted to the court this week. On Friday 11th October, the deceased’s brother 21-year-old Brandon Lee Wells of Buckley’s Estate and his friend 20-year-old Travien Liddie of St. Johnston Village were both convicted after a 12- member jury gave its decisions. The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts for the offences of Murder and Attempting to Pervert the Natural Course of Justice for Wells, a unanimous guilty verdict for Liddie for the offence of Attempting to Pervert the Natural Course of Justice and an 11-1 guilty verdict for the offence of Murder. Both young men had previously been charged for the incident which occurred between May 08 and June 14, 2017. The DPP indicated to the court that he intends to make an application for the death penalty for both accused persons. The judge ordered a Social Inquiry Report and Psychiatric Report be completed in preparation for sentencing. Both Wells and Liddie have been remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison. On June 24, 2019, 27-year-old Ivan Phillip of LaGuerite pleaded guilty to the offence of being an Accessory After the Fact to Murder. On Tuesday 24th September, he was sentenced to five (5) years and nine (9) months in prison commencing from that day. Notably, in June 2017 Phillip age was given as 18-year- old and was said to be a resident of Shadwell. Wanted by police back then, he reported Basseterre Police on Wednesday 21st June. On Wednesday 14th June, the missing school girl (Napoleon) was found dead and buried in a shallow grave overnight in a far out mountainous region of the Olivee’s area located beyond the Buckley’s community. Napoleon, who had been missing for over a month, was last seen on Monday 8th May in the vicinity of Buckley’s Site and Fort Street. Napoleon was a 5th form student of the Basseterre High School (BHS). (source: The Labour Spokesman) INDIA: Death Penalty In POCSO Act Imperils Child Victims Of Sexual Offences Amendment bills should fix loopholes in the original law but the amendments contained in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2019 do not improve upon the original bill of 2012, child rights activists say. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill of 2019 actually weakens the POCSO Act, Shailabh Kumar, lawyer and co-director of Haq: Centre for Child Rights, said. Including death penalty as punishment could reduce the number of cases reported and might lead to murder of the victim. Further, there has been no amendment to provide for compensation of victims, and no strong solution for reducing pendency of cases. Most members of parliament across political parties welcomed the amendments, and the bill--though debated in the house for nearly four hours--was passed without being referred to any parliamentary standing committee. In this monsoon session of the Lok Sabha, 34 other bills were passed, each receiving little attention from lawmakers. This is the fourth story in our series analysing the most significant of these 35 bills. The POCSO Act was amended with 5 new clauses, including extending punishment from 10 to 20 years for penetrative sexual assault with children below the age of 16 and death sentence for aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a person in a position of authority--which includes police officers, members of the armed forces and public servants. It also includes cases where the offender is a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the child. The death penalty can also be given in case of aggravated sexual assault which results in the death of a child or for assault during a natural calamity or in any situation of violence, the amendment says, replacing the words ‘communal or sectarian violence’ in the original bill. Other provisions change the length of prison sentences for certain kinds of crimes, and would not have an impact on the rate of crime against children, activists said. Death penalty not a deterrent “Introducing death penalty was nothing but a populist move,” said Kumar. Activists are concerned, as we said, that the introduction of death penalty will reduce the number of reported cases of sexual offence against children. As many as “94% of the accused are known to the victims in cases of child sexual abuse”, said Mohd Ikram, manager, child safeguarding policy at Breakthrough, a women’s rights organisation in Delhi. “When most accused are personally known to the victims and their families, the possibility of death may deter the victims to file a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ILL., CALIF., ORE.
October 14 ILLINOIS: State lawmaker files bill to reinstate death penalty in Illinois A state lawmaker filed a bill Thursday calling for the reinstatement of the death sentence in Illinois. Republican Rep. David McSweeney's bill, HB 3915, would "serve as a deterrent to violent crime with the specific goal of reducing mass shootings, serial killings, and gun violence," according to the measure. McSweeney first introduced the bill in August after the El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio shootings, according to the Capitol News Illinois. Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011 and in 2018, former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed reinstating it for mass killers and people who gun down police officers. (source: KMOV news) CALIFORNIA: California must take the final step by abolishing the death penalty I do not believe in coincidence. Too many of the events along my journey from death row to exoneration were filled with deeper meaning. In 1985, I was a 24-year-old honorably discharged Marine who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to die in Maryland for a crime I did not commit. Then in 1989, I got “The Blooding” by Joseph Wambaugh from the prison library. It was a book about a new forensic breakthrough called DNA fingerprinting. I later became the 1st person exonerated from a death sentence through the use of DNA evidence. In a bizarre twist of fate, I discovered that the true perpetrator of the crime had lived in a cell right below mine for years. Oct. 10 was World Day Against the Death Penalty. It was also California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s birthday. I believe it is very auspicious that these two events share a day. It seems fitting for a man who has used his authority as governor to take the bold stand that “the intentional killing of another person is wrong,” and declare that as governor, he “will not oversee the execution of any individual.” I am now the executive director of Witness to Innocence, an organization led by exonerated survivors of death row with similar stories to my own. There are at least 166 of us, men and women who have been exonerated from death row in the U.S. since 1973. We thank Gov. Newsom for remembering our stories when he said “we’ve created a system that allows for innocent people to be put to death.” We don’t think that. We know that.” We, the survivors of death row, also know that the problems with the death penalty go far beyond the real risk that we will execute an innocent person. As Gov. Newsom said: “It’s a racist system. You cannot deny that. It’s a system that is perpetuating inequality. It’s a system that I cannot in good conscience support.” California’s death row, the largest in the nation by far, is emblematic of those problems. The majority of people sentenced to death in California are people of color. Many suffer from severe mental illness, intellectual disabilities, brain injury, or long histories of abuse and trauma, and nearly a quarter were age 21 or younger at the time of their alleged crimes. Whether a person will be sentenced to death depends more on which county he or she is from and who their attorney was than on the facts of the case. California spends $150 million a year on this problematic system, which is a vivid illustration of the deep flaws that remain in our criminal justice system. Gov. Newsom’s moratorium on executions is a great first step, and the journey toward justice must continue. I hope next year on his birthday and World Day Against the Death Penalty we have more to thank the governor for, and I look forward to the day when we count California among the jurisdictions in the U.S and the vast majority of countries that have come to recognize that death can never advance justice. (source: Commentary; Kirk Bloodsworth is the executive director of Witness to Innocence, a national organization of death row exonerees in Philadelphia with a mission to abolish the death penalty. He wrote this commentary for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it mattersNapa Valley Register) OREGON: A 2nd childhood for a cold-blooded killer?: Steve Duin Since murdering Rod and Lois Houser in 1987, Randy Guzek apparently has had one hell of a time finding a decent lawyer. It took him 32 years to find attorneys willing to argue he should have been tried as a child, not an adult. Guzek’s new legal champions are Jeffrey Ellis and Karen Steele. Hoping to free him from Oregon’s death row, they first filed a court document listing the “deficiencies” of his previous legal counsel. It runs 1,856 pages . Guzek’s former defense attorneys, we’re told, screwed up time and again. They failed to counter allegations that Guzek sexually abused his younger sister, Tammy. They botched their cross-examination of Lynn Fredrickson,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 13 EGYPT: Egypt sentences 6 to death over attack on Haram hotel The Giza Criminal Court on Saturday sentenced 6 out of 26 defendants to the death penalty over a 2016 terrorist attack on a hotel in Giza. The court also sentenced 8 defendants to 25 years in prison, while 12 others received 10 years in prison each. The defendants, 3 of which were tried in absentia, are charged with attacking the Three Pyramids Hotel in Haram street in Giza in 2016, which was receiving a bus transporting around 40 Arab Israeli tourists. The attack left no casualties. The Interior Ministry said that the gunmen fired birdshot and fireworks at security personnel guarding the scene, and at a tourist bus present in front of the hotel at the time of the attack. The Islamic State-affiliated “Sinai Province” claimed responsibility for the attack, while also claiming the attack resulted in deaths and injuries among the security personnel. The Public Prosecutor’s Office accused the defendants of leading a group established against the law, arming themselves with firearms, vandalism, attacking the Three Pyramids Hotel, and using force against the police. The presiding judge Mohamed Nagy Shehata said that the defendants were sentenced after reviewing the opinion of the Grand Mufti, the articles of the law, and hearing the prosecution and defense. He added that the defendants terrorized the people, sought to spread terror and targeted visitors to the country, harming Egypt’s safe image and thereby damaging tourism and the economy. “The court ruled penalties commensurate with the age of some of the defendants, and the role of each of them in the attack, to punish each accused by the crime,” Shehata said. (source: Egypt Independent) SRI LANKA: Sajith not against death penalty for drug lords Presidential candidate of New Democratic Front led by the United National Party Minister Sajith Premadasa says he is not against the death penalty for drug kingpins, who continue to conduct their businesses even from prison cells. Speaking during an event in Colombo, the Presidential candidate said the proliferation of drug usage is one of the main challenges the society face and prison sentences do not make the drug traffickers to stop their trade. "What I have observed is when the major culprits are brought to book and given prison sentences, what happens is that the businesses conducted outdoors keep on flourishing indoors inside the 4 walls of the prisons. So What I am trying to elaborate is the drug trade and the drug business does not stop, it keeps getting multiplied." He stressed that women and children in the society have to be given protection and if the present system of justice is incapable of preventing the drug lords from conducting their businesses, there has to be a change in the administration of justice. "In other words, I would not hesitate to activate the death penalty against major drug business persons," Minister Premadasa stressed adding that it should be the last course of action.. "Having said that, I for one do not believe in taking life. I think the lives are sacred and we have to protect lives, so when I say that as a last resort, if all other avenues and measures are exhausted in trying to address this problem and do not achieve its particular task, I wouldn't have any hesitation in giving death penalty." However, the Minister said it has to be ensured that the judicial processes that are in place for administration of justice have to be transparent, fair, and free from any interference. Premadasa pointed out that because of personal enmities or other manipulations an innocent person can be sent to the gallows if the judicial system is not fair or transparent. "Procedure through which you administer justice has to be transparent, fair and free from interferences. Under those conditions, I have to say I agree with the death penalty as the last course of action." "We have to eradicate the drug menace, in order to protect the children, especially, the school-going children and the mothers in our society. We shall take the maximum possible steps in order to eradicate this humongous problem that our society faces," the presidential candidate pledged. (source: colombopage.com) RUSSIA: Return of Death Penalty in Russia Not on Agenda - Kremlin Spokesman on Saratov Incident The possibility of capital punishment to be restored in Russia is not currently being discussed in any way, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik on Saturday amid Russia-wide tumultuous public debate on appropriate punishment for child homicide. "This issue is not being discussed in any way at the moment," Peskov said. The issue of reinstating the death sentence in Russia has surfaced after the murder of a nine-year-old girl in the southern Russian city of Saratov. She left home for school on Wednesday morning but never got
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., OHIO
Oct. 13 TEXAS: Gov. Abbott, delay this execution Gov. Greg Abbott, A man’s life now lies in your hands. Spare him. On Nov. 20, Rodney Reed is to be executed by the state of Texas for a crime we can no longer be confident he committed. Twenty one years ago, he was convicted in the 1996 rape and murder of 19-year old Giddings resident Stacey Stites. Ever since, evidence has mounted that Reed neither raped nor killed her. Now, his defense claims it has new witnesses pointing to the man who did. Reed, 51, is scheduled to die. Of this, there is no doubt. Nor of this: Stites was strangled and killed on April 23, 1996, her body found on a country road in neighboring Bastrop County. Reed became a suspect a year later when another woman accused him of sexual assault; the prosecution showed semen found on both women belonged to Reed. Reed maintained that was because he and Stites, engaged to Giddings police officer Jimmy Fennell, Jr., had been having an affair, but the jury convicted him anyway. Over time, facts have emerged that were never part of Reed’s trial and as a result, the prosecution’s case has fallen apart. The medical examiner who claimed that Reed raped Stites has recanted. DNA evidence that pointed to Stites’ fiance was never shared with Reed’s defense. Other physical evidence, including the murder weapon — her belt — was never subjected to genetic testing. Now, Reed’s defense at the Innocence Project claims it has new evidence, including two signed affadavits from individuals who knew Fennell. One says he threatened to kill Stites if he ever caught her with another man, and another says he heard Fennell tell her corpse at the viewing that she had deserved to die. On Oct. 4, lawyers for the Innocence Project filed a motion in state court to have the execution date withdrawn, citing the new evidence that they say was not available at trial. All along, the state courts have denied Reed’s one repeated request: that evidence collected where Stites’ body was found be genetically tested. Just 2 years ago, Fennell’s old boss, Giddings’ former chief of police, told CNN that Fennell had confessed to being out later than he’d said at trial and that he’d been drinking the night before his fiance’s body was discovered, too. The Criminal Court of Appeals has twice rejected Reed’s appeal, saying the untested evidence probably would not have acquitted Reed nor would the testimony of Fennell’s old boss have been enough to convict Fennell, who has never been charged in connection to Stites’ death. Fennell just finished 10 years in prison for raping a woman in his custody. Of course, Fennell’s guilt is not the urgent question right now. It’s Reed’s life that hangs in the balance. His guilt is not remotely beyond a reasonable doubt. A man should not die as long as a believable question of innocence hangs over him. Which brings us to you, governor. The case of Rodney Reed is not a case against the death penalty, which still has the support of many in this law-and-order state. It is a case against a potentially wrongful execution. Your predecessor, Rick Perry, stood by during the frequent executions of his tenure. On Perry’s watch, 279 inmates were put to death — nearly 1/2 of the state’s total since Texas resumed executions in 1982. While on your watch, Governor Abbott, 46 people have been executed, you have also already done something Perry rarely did: You’ve exercised discretion to stop an execution. Minutes before Thomas Whitaker was set to die, at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2018, you granted him clemency. He will spend life in prison for the murder of his mother and brother in Fort Bend County over an inheritance. There was no question of Whitaker’s guilt, just whether it was fair to put him to death when the triggerman got a lighter sentence. How much more compelling, then, is Reed’s case: Whitaker, who is white, was unquestionably guilty; Reed, who is black, may well be innocent. Study after study, including work by University of Michigan researchers, has found that black and Latino convicts are far more likely to wind up on death row, wrongfully, than white convicts. Now the case rests before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and it may soon send you a recommendation in Reed’s case. But you can signal your own preference now. You aren’t bound by arcane rules of the appellate courts. Both you and the board have the documented flaws in the case. You have the Bastrop County prosecutor steadfastly refusing DNA testing on an old murder. You have the fact that Reed has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court. And even if the board doesn’t recommend you commute his sentence, you have the authority to spare his life for 30 days as he pursues his remedy at the Supreme Court. You should use that authority and give the courts time to fully evaluate the new evidence. As you mull your options, remember our history: Texas has a tarnished
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 12 IRAN: On World Day Against the Death Penalty, Iran Is Moving in the Wrong Direction Thursday marked the 17th annual World Day Against the Death Penalty, and thus it provided another opportunity for human rights advocates to highlight Iran’s status as the world’s second most prolific user of capital punishment. Yet the Iranian regime hold the record of execution per capita. Furthermore, the figures that have been recorded so far in 2019, especially since the appointment of a new judiciary head in March, suggest that the numbers of executions are rebounding. This came as little surprise to those who are familiar with Iran’s new top law enforcement official, whose appointment by the clerical Supreme Leader. Ebrahim Raisi is notorious for human rights violations, including but not limited to his prominent role in the interrogation and summary execution of political prisoners and members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK) in 1988. An estimated 30,000 individuals were killed as part of that massacre, with victims including young teenagers. In this way, it set the stage for a number of issues related to the death penalty which persist to the present day. Iran is one of the last countries in the world to continue carrying out capital sentences for persons who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offenses. And the judiciary has been widely and repeatedly condemned for its failure to consider any mitigating factors when sentencing prisoners to the death penalty. Mental illness, self-defense, and a history of abuse all stand alongside youth as examples of such factors. But juvenile execution is unique in being categorically outlawed by 2 international documents that Iran has signed. The Iranian regime routinely rejects such provisions, in spite of the signature, by characterizing them as cultural impositions which should not be allowed to override the clerical regime’s adherence to a hardline interpretation of sharia law. On this basis, Tehran continues to regard boys as legally mature at the age of 13, and girls at only nine. Under constant international pressure, the government did alter the law to allow judges to consider lesser sentences for youthful offenders, but in practice, this principle is rarely used. Consequently, at least 2 juvenile offenders have been executed so far this year. Human rights activists rely on independent reporters and prisoners themselves to uncover executions that might otherwise have gone unreported. Iran Human Rights Monitor has reported figures spanning the time between its annual reports on capital punishment in Iran, which are released to coincide with World Day Against the Death Penalty. Between October 2018 and September 2019, at least 273 executions were reportedly carried out across the country. Of these, eight were juvenile offenders. Ebrahim Raisi’s appointment as head of the judiciary took place just at the halfway point of the period covered by the Iran Human Rights Monitor report. And that report underscores the fact that the vast majority of the executions took place in the latter half, with Ebrahim Raisi overseeing 173 of them. The spike in executions was accompanied by a spike in overall repression, and IHRM finds that at least six of the state’s victims were political prisoners. However, a number of other previously-reported executions may also fall under this category, as Tehran frequently depends on vague charges like “spreading corruption on earth” or “enmity against God” to justify capital sentences. The public display or broadcast of female dancing is illegal in the Islamic Republic, and this is another area of social behavior that has seemingly been targeted by Raisi’s judiciary at the same time that his courts are driving up the rate of executions. On Tuesday alone, at least 3 young women were detained for posting videos of themselves dancing, and at least one reported that her family had been threatened not to speak publicly about the case. This, too, is a common phenomenon in Iran’s criminal justice system. Struggling to keep a veil of secrecy over the country’s human rights record, officials tend to insist that criminal cases will be resolved quickly and more favorably if they remain undisclosed. But in reality, secretive cases do not seem to proceed any more quickly; and in fact, silence can sometimes have fatal consequences insofar as it gives law enforcement officials an opportunity to keep detainees in isolation where they can be more easily tortured to elicit false confessions. Although a number of high profile individuals have died under these conditions in recent years, their deaths are not tallied among those who have been hanged in Iranian jails. As such, anti-death penalty activism directly addresses only a portion of the fatal problems with Iran’s judiciary and prisons. (source:
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., FLA., OHIO, TENN., USA
October 12 TEXAS: Dr. Phil On The Upcoming Execution Of Rodney Reed: ‘I Want A Stay Of Execution, So This Man Can Present The Truth’ Dr. Phil is tackling one of his most important topics yet this week as he fights on behalf of a man named Rodney Reed who has been on death row for 22 years while proclaiming his own unwavering innocence. Reed has served time for the murder of a 19-year-old bride-to-be named Stacey Stites since 1996 and is scheduled to be executed on November 20th, 2019. New evidence in the case, which wasn’t available at the time of Reed’s sentencing, seems to corroborate with his innocence plea and Dr. Phil is determined to get that evidence seen before it’s too late. CBS Local’s Matt Weiss spoke Dr. Phil about the case and what his viewers can do to help. MW: Dr. Phil, good morning! Dr. P: Good Morning Matt. MW: So, quite a serious topic we have to discuss today. We’re going to be talking about Rodney Reed, a man who has been on death row for over 20 years and you actually went to visit him prison and spoke with him. What was it like going there and talking to someone in his situation? Dr. P: Well Matt, I was asked to get involved in this by Bryce Benjet, who is a lawyer with the Innocence Project and we’re talking about Rodney Reed, he’s been on death row for 22 ½ years. He was convicted of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Stacy Stites in south Texas. Mr. Reed has been sitting there for 22 ½ years waiting to die, he’s been scheduled for execution before, he’s exhausted appeals and now he is set for an execution unless we do something, we, all of us that watch Dr. Phil, unless we do something about this I have no doubt in my mind he will be executed. I interviewed him on death row, he has not given any other interviews until now. I interviewed him with an eye towards whether he was telling the truth or not. I asked him some questions that he just didn’t know the socially desirable answer to, to see whether he was telling the truth or not and I came away with a very troubled heart. This man is telling the truth when he says he didn’t commit this crime. I then did a really deep dive into the pile, there are four medical scientific experts, that were not available at the time of trial or even during the appeals, DNA experts, forensic experts, that say it is not even possible, in fact it is scientifically impossible that he committed this crime. They have wrong the man, they are getting ready to execute an innocent man. Matt, I’ve talked to people that have different views about the death penalty, some in favor of it, some not, but I never met anyone that favors killing a man that you’re not 100% sure is guilty of the crime which he has been convicted. We all know that there have been people on death row that have been executed and later exonerated and that’s exactly what’s getting ready to happen here if we don’t do something about it. MW: You also spoke to his attorney. What information were they able to add to the story and to his assertion that he’s innocent? Dr. P: Well I talked to attorneys on both sides, in fact I have an attorney on the show today that is 100% convinced that Rodney Reed is guilty. Now he has a reason for that, he has an agenda. Look, the law is that the burden of proof is on the prosecution that you’re innocent until proven guilty. I understand that’s what the law is, that’s not how it really works. How it really works is the jury says, “OK if we’re not down here for the reasons that the prosecutors say we are, then you need to give me an alternative explanation. If Rodney Reed didn’t do this crime, then you need to tell me who did. You need to tell me why we’re down here. Why it’s wrong.” That’s what I intend to do on Friday. I’m going to give them an alternative explanation, if Rodney Reed didn’t do this crime, I’m going to give them a really good candidate for who did. MW: It sounds like from talking to you, you truly believe that he is innocent. In order to at east get a stay of execution, what do you feel needs to happen to hold off the execution scheduled for next month? Dr. P: Well I don’t want a stay of execution, I want a new trial. I want this man to have a fair and full trial, which has never yet happened. And in fact Matt, that’s what he wants. He’s not asking to be turned loose, all he wants is a fair trial, he’s been there for 22 ½ years. I said to him, “Do you want them to open this door and let you out?” He said, ‘No, I don’t. What I want is a fair trial. I want my name cleared. I don’t want them to just turn me loose and say never mind and everybody speculate whether I did it or not. I want a fair trial. I want all of this evidence to come forward. I want people to say not only to say he’s not guilty, I want people to say he’s innocent.” That’s what he wants. Do I want a stay of execution, yes. I want a stay of execution, so a trial can be scheduled and so
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 11 BELARUS: Yet again: EU calls on Belarus to abolish death penalty On October 10, the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, have made a joint statement. According to the top EU officials, 142 countries, representing 74% of the UN member states, have already stopped using the death penalty, either by removing it from their penal code or not carrying out executions for a long time. The abolitionist trend is continuing, with the number of death sentences and executions also falling. In 2018, executions were carried out in 20 countries, representing a historic low of 10% of the countries of the world, they state. The Council of Europe member states which have not yet acceded to Protocols No 6 and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights are called upon to do so without delay, the EU representatives stress. “The Council of Europe and the EU once again urge Belarus to abolish the death penalty and join the community of nations that have chosen to replace vengeance with human dignity. They also invite those observers to the Council of Europe who have not yet abolished death penalty to engage in dialogue on the obstacles blocking their path towards abolition,” the statement reads. Christina Johannesson, Sweden’s Ambassador in Minsk, has supported the campaign: Belarus remains the only country in Europe that still applies capital punishment. The West has repeatedly called on the Belarusian authorities to join a global moratorium as a 1st step towards the abolition of death penalty. The exact number of executions in Belarus is unknown, but local human rights defenders and journalists have worked tirelessly to uncover some information about death sentences and executions. According to the Ministry of Justice of Belarus, 245 people were sentenced to death from 1994 to 2014. Human rights NGOs believe that around 400 people have been executed since the country gained its independence in 1991; president Alyaksandr Lukashenka granted a pardon to only 1 convict. (source: belsat.eu) FRANCE: United Nations - World Day against the Death Penalty (10 October 2019) On the 17th World Day against the Death Penalty, France reaffirms its opposition to the death penalty everywhere and in all circumstances and encourages all states that still apply the death penalty to establish a moratorium on it with a view to its definitive abolition. France welcomes the adoption in January of the annual UN General Assembly resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty, supported by a record 121 states. The French presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in conjunction with the city of Strasbourg, is hosting a conference today to mobilize support for the abolition of the death penalty, the almost complete elimination of which on the European continent remains one of the Council of Europe’s greatest successes. (source: diplomatie.gouv.fr) SPAIN: Government Reiterates Opposition To Death Penalty October 10 is World Day and, since 2007, European Day Against the Death Penalty. The Government of Spain reiterated Thursday its opposition to the death penalty on this 17th World Day. There has been a global trend towards abolition for some decades now. At present, more than two thirds of countries do not enforce the death penalty, according to the Spanish government. In a statement, the Spanish government said the fight against the death penalty will remain a priority of Spanish foreign policy, in conjunction with other European Union countries and the 22 countries that make up the Support Group of the International Commission against the Death Penalty. The Government of Spain said it will continue to urge governments of retentionist States to limit cases in which it is applied and urge a moratorium with a view to its definitive abolition. And it will urge those countries that have presented draft laws to reinstate it to withdraw such draft laws and maintain abolition, thus respecting the absolute human right to life. Spain took part in the 7th World Congress against the Death Penalty, held in Brussels in February this year. In December 2018, 121 member States of the United Nations voted in favor of the resolution of the General Assembly in favour of a moratorium. The government said it will continue to promote abolition at multilateral forums, particularly in its current role as a member of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. Spain will continue to support the International Commission against the Death Penalty, based in Madrid and founded in 2010 upon an initiative of the Government of Spain, as well as multilateral and civil society initiatives that are aimed towards universal abolition. (source:
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 11 GHANA: Re-consider constitutional review on abolishing death penalty-High Commissioner Mr Andrew Barnes, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana has called on government to reconsider the recommendations made by the Constitutional Review Committee in 2010 to abolish the death penalty. He said death penalty was irrevocable and if the convict was later found innocent, it would be a miscarriage of justice that cannot be rectified. Mr Barnes was speaking at a stakeholder engagement on the abolition of death penalty in Ghana to mark the World Day Against Death Penalty. It was jointly organised by the Australian High Commission, French Embassy and the Amnesty International Ghana. This year’s theme was “Children: unseen victims of the death penalty”. Stakeholders including; representatives from security agencies, lawyers, government officials, Attorney General, Dr Isaac Annan, Director of Human Rights-CHRAJ, and Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, Chief Director for Parliamentary Affairs. He said since no legal system is free of error and as it had not been served as a deterrent, Australia abolished it in 1985 with the last execution being 1967, adding that in 2010, the Federal Government passed a legislation prohibiting the re-establishment of capital punishment by the Australian State or territory. Since that time, he said it advocated its abolition across the world and as a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2018-20 term, Australians continued to support the course based on the fact that it removed possibilities of rehabilitation for the convict, brutalised society, degraded the citizenry and against human dignity. The High Commissioner said though violent criminals needed to be punished, his country did not support capital punishment as it was not effective deterrent than long term or life imprisonment. Above all, Australia considered it as unfair as it could be used against the vulnerable, the poor, as a political tool, minority groups and people with mental disabilities. It has therefore called on government, among other countries to remove it from the constitution whether it carried out executions or not, stop its imposition on juveniles, pregnant women, mentally derailed and sign the second optional protocol to ICCPR, aimed at the abolition of death penalty. Mr Samuel Agbotsey, Campaigns Coordinator, Amnesty International, Ghana said death sentence offered illusion of closure and vindication, but no act could bring back a loved one. He said it rather had negative impacts on society, especially children of those executed or on death penalty such as stigma, which may be compounded by multiple forms of discrimination. Such children are traumatised and lose self-esteem, experience stress, anxiety, lose concentration in school or drop-out and left out per the motto of the SDGs Mr Agbotsey said their rights to freedom from violence, special protection and assistance when state action caused a child to be deprived of his or her family environment and rights to adequate standard of living was not fulfilled. He cited that as at December 31, 2018, the Amnesty International Global Report statistics had 172 people sentenced to death penalty. Madam Anne Sophie Ave the French Ambassador to Ghana sharing how France abolished it 38 years ago, said Ghana would also get with daring spirit, perseverance and courage. Mr Martin Kpebu, a lawyer suggested that death penalty should be replaced by life imprisonment. He said for now, Section 46 of Act 26 (Act of Parliament) should be amended not Article 13 because that is part of the fundamental human rights and it is entrenched which would require a referendum. Participants called for extensive awareness, education, advocacy, social mobilisation, among others to drum home the topic before it would be abolished so that it would be owned by the citizenry. They said in as much as children of convicts were considered, those of the murdered should not be left out. (source: ghananewsagency.org) KENYA: Kenyan ex-death row prisoner campaigns against death penalty A former death row prisoner has spoken out against capital punishment on the 17th World Day against the death penalty, saying it deprives convicts of contrition. Pete Ouko was sentenced to death in Kenya for alleged murder in 2001. Now free, he is fighting to end the death penalty everywhere. Pete Ouko remembers the day he was sent behind bars. "21 years ago, my wife was found killed outside a police station," he told RFI on Thursday as the world gathered to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty. "I got a call about it, I went to the police station to be told what had happened. Some people decided to say I should be locked in, some people who were related to me. And that's the genesis of my being in prison," he said. Ouko was charged with murder and sentenced to death, but has always mantained his
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OKLA., N.NEX., CALIF.
Oct. 11 OKLAHOMA: "It amounts to Torture:-- OK death row inmates to move out of solitary confinement, death penalty debate continues 47 inmates sit on Oklahoma's death row, and now some of them will get to move out of solitary confinement. In a letter from the Department of Corrections to the ACLU, state leaders agreed to move death row inmates out of solitary confinement within 30 days. "That's because it amounts to torture," ACLU attorney Megan Lambert said. Lawyers at the ACLU are also working to reinstate religious services on death row. "It did a lot for the morale and the environment down there. They said they prayed for the facility and noticed a drastic change once those services ended," Lambert said. Meanwhile, a new effort to end the death penalty will spread through the halls of the state capitol this spring. Representative Jason Dunnington announced Thursday that he'll introduce a bipartisan bill to end the practice in Oklahoma. But work continues on a new protocol at the attorney general's office. Attorney General Mike Hunter told News 4 in March that he was close to getting a nitrogen gas mask - the new method announced in March 2018. "Manufacturers are concerned that there's going to be negative reaction," Hunter said. In September 2015, Oklahoma's long history of executions unraveled when the execution of two inmate made headlines worldwide because officials had the wrong drugs. While executions remain on hold to this day, the legal battle will continue when lawmakers return to 23rd and Lincoln. "Our constitutional rights were not written for just the best of us," Lambert said. Not all death row inmates will qualify to be removed from solitary confinement. In their letter to the ACLU, officials at the Department of Corrections said they'd look at other changes to privileges if this plan goes smoothly. News 4 asked the AG's office Thursday about the progress of the new execution protocol. A spokesperson said there's no update. (source: KFOR news) NEW MEXICO: NM man originally sentenced to death will now serve life in prison A death row inmate had his sentenced reduced Thursday. Timothy Allen will serve life in prison. The decision was made following a New Mexico Supreme Court ruling that said the death sentence was too severe. Allen was originally sentenced to death before 2009 when New Mexico repealed the death penalty. Allen was convicted of killing, kidnapping and attempting to rape 17-year-old Sandra Phillips in 1994. Allen wasn't seen in court Thursday. Instead, he was on the phone from behind bars during the hearing. With the life sentence, Allen's lawyer said his client will likely die in prison. However, appeals are still in the works. “It seems like it would be difficult for him to be released during his expected lifetime," Ray Twohig said. The Phillips family said the continuous hearings are weighing on them. "My mom has to keep going through this all the time," said Sandra's brother Dustin O'Brien. "This county has to keep going through this all the time. It’s (explative).” (source: KOB-TV news) CALIFORNIA: California must take the final step by abolishing the death penalty I do not believe in coincidence. Too many of the events along my journey from death row to exoneration were filled with deeper meaning. In 1985, I was a 24-year-old honorably discharged Marine who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to die in Maryland for a crime I did not commit. Then in 1989, I got “The Blooding” by Jospeh Wambaugh from the prison library. It was a book about a new forensic breakthrough called DNA fingerprinting. I later became the 1st person exonerated from a death sentence through the use of DNA evidence. In a bizarre twist of fate, I discovered that the true perpetrator of the crime had lived in a cell right below mine for years. Today is World Day Against the Death Penalty. It is also California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s birthday. I believe it is very auspicious that these two events share a day. It seems fitting for a man who has used his authority as governor to take the bold stand that “the intentional killing of another person is wrong,” and declare that as governor, he “will not oversee the execution of any individual.” I am now the executive director of Witness to Innocence, an organization led by exonerated survivors of death row with similar stories to my own. There are at least 166 of us, men and women who have been exonerated from death row in the U.S. since 1973. We are celebrating the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty by wishing Gov. Newsom a very happy birthday. We thank him for remembering our stories when he said “we’ve created a system that allows for innocent people to be put to death.” We don’t think that. We know that.” We, the survivors of death row, also know that the problems with
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., OHIO, TENN.
Oct. 11 TEXAS: The fight to save Rodney Reed from execution in Texas In 1998, Rodney Reed, who is African-American, was sentenced to death by an all-white jury in Bastrop, Texas, for the rape and murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. He's scheduled to be executed on Nov. 20. Reed, now 53, maintains his innocence. The only evidence used to convict him was DNA that Reed says was present because he and Stites were having a secret affair — a claim Stites's cousin corroborates. Reed's defense attorneys believe that further DNA tests of the crime scene could prove his innocence, but their requests have been denied, leading them to file a lawsuit in federal court. They also recently petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution, citing "new and comprehensive evidence for innocence." Among the new pieces of evidence Reed's lawyers cite are statements from two witnesses who claim they have information that links Stites's then-fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, to the crime. Fennell, a former police officer in Giddings, Texas, was recently released from prison after serving 10 years for the kidnapping and assault of a woman. There were critical inconsistencies in Fennell's accounts of where he was and what he was doing the night of the murder. One of the new witnesses who's come forward is a life insurance salesperson who said that while Fennell was applying for a policy he threatened to kill Stites if she ever cheated on him. The other witness, a sheriff's deputy in Texas's Lee County, said he overheard Fennell say to Stites' body at her funeral, "You got what you deserved." In addition, forensic experts who implicated Reed at trial have recanted, while forensic pathologists have said the prosecution's theory of Reed's guilt is medically and scientifically impossible. That Reed is still on death row despite all the evidence casting doubt on his guilt is indicative of the larger issues around the death penalty — particularly as it pertains to race. In the U.S., race is the single greatest predictor of who gets the death penalty, not the severity of the crime. Even though whites account for just 55 % of murder victims nationwide, they account for 80 percent of murder victims in cases resulting in an execution. Those convicted of killing white victims are three times more likely to be sentenced to death than those convicted of killing non-white victims. The disparities in who is executed are especially stark in Texas, which has the nation's third-largest death row population and accounted for more than 1/2 of all the executions in the U.S. last year. Of the states with more than 10 people currently facing execution, Texas has the highest number of minorities on death row. While African Americans make up only 12.6 % of Texas's population, 43.9 % of its death row inmates are Black. These statistics are particularly alarming when one considers that 166 people have been exonerated from death row. Of these, nearly 1/2 are Black, and nearly 50 are Black men from the South. Reed's family has organized a grassroots effort called the Reed Justice Initiative that is working to save Reed's life while also supporting families who are dealing with similar situations. Reed's cause also has help from the nationally recognized anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean and the Innocence Project, which has launched a petition seeking to halt his execution. "The evidence supporting Reed's innocence is uncontradicted and undeniable, and without the Supreme Court's intervention, I fear the State of Texas may execute an innocent man," said Bryce Benjet, Reed's lawyer and senior staff attorney at the Innocence Project. (source: Facing South) ** New Podcast: Texas Lawyer James Rytting on Junk Science and the Execution of Larry Swearingen In the latest episode of Discussions with DPIC, Texas capital defense lawyer James Rytting discusses the case of his client, Larry Swearingen, and the junk science that led to the execution of a man legitimate science strongly suggests was innocent. Rytting describes the false forensic analysis presented under the guise of science in Swearingen’s case, the appellate process that makes it “almost impossible” to obtain review of new evidence, and the persistent problem of wrongful convictions. Larry Swearingen was executed on August 21, 2019 after multiple courts declined to review evidence supporting his innocence claim. In the interview, Rytting explains the problems with the prosecution’s “smoking gun,” a piece of pantyhose used to strangle the victim, Melissa Trotter. The prosecution told the jury that a matching piece of pantyhose had been found in Swearingen’s home. In reality, that supposedly matching piece of the pantyhose had not been discovered in 2 initial searches of Swearingen’s house. It was only “found” in a 3rd search of the residence after Trotter’s body was
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 10 GLOBAL: Death Penalty Day: EU/Council of Europe joint statementJoint Declaration by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the European Union and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the occasion of the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, 10 October 2019 The European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe firmly oppose the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment contrary to the right to life. The death penalty means revenge, not justice, and its abolition contributes to the enhancement of human dignity. 142 countries, representing 74% of the UN member states, have already stopped using the death penalty, either by removing it from their penal code or not carrying out executions for a long time. The abolitionist trend is continuing, with the number of death sentences and executions also falling. In 2018, executions were carried out in 20 countries, representing a historic low of 10% of the countries of the world. The Council of Europe member states which have not yet acceded to Protocols No 6 and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights are called upon to do so without delay. The Council of Europe and the EU once again urge Belarus to abolish the death penalty and join the community of nations that have chosen to replace vengeance with human dignity. They also invite those observers to the Council of Europe who have not yet abolished death penalty to engage in dialogue on the obstacles blocking their path towards abolition. The EU and the Council of Europe encourage all countries to join the global Alliance for Torture-Free Trade, which currently involves 62 States committed to restricting the trade in goods used to carry out torture and the death penalty. Global cooperation against the death penalty can trigger change. It will also help to fight international organised crime, since abolitionist states will often not extradite suspects to countries where they could face capital punishment. An ever-growing majority of people and leaders share the view that the death penalty is no better a deterrent to crime than other punishments, and that it does not contribute to public safety. The death penalty disproportionately affects members of vulnerable groups, who cannot afford experienced defence lawyers, and death row prisoners continue to represent the most marginalised sections of society. The impact of this cruel punishment also affects the relatives of people subjected to the death penalty, first and foremost their children. Denying children and families a burial or cremation violates their human rights, notably their right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Children who have lost parents because of executions suffer deep and lasting grief and trauma. No-one is better placed than these unseen victims to understand the impact the death penalty can have. The EU and the Council of Europe recognise the importance of a fully-informed public debate about the death penalty. It has been shown that the more people know about the execution process, the arguments for abolition and alternatives to capital punishment, the more they agree with abolition. (source: coe.int) * WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY October 10th Day Against the Death Penalty: Civil Society Engagement on the rise From today, World Day for Abolition, there will be increased visits to death rows on different continents - The mobilisation of civil society is growing: since the beginning of 2019 a thousand people have asked the Community to correspond with a convicted person, furthermore, many signatures have been collected to ask for an end to executions. The Community of Sant'Egidio, for years close to those who are condemned to death on different continents, participates in the World Day against the death penalty by increasing, until the end of October, visits to death rows in the United States and several African countries. Before those who want to maintain or even, in some cases, reintroduce the death penalty, it is necessary to keep alive, at every level of society, institutions and governments, this great commitment of Civilization and Humanity that has allowed in recent years to take important steps towards the total abolition of the death penalty. Encouraging signs come from California, which has suspended all execution and dismantled the local death row. While the American Church has also mobilized for the abolitionist campaign. A delegation from Sant'Egidio is currently in Washington to draw, along with other organizations, possible paths of abolition in the states of the federation in which it is still in force. We are also encouraged by the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia to ask Republika Srpska to remove from its laws any reference to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 10 SINGAPORE: Plea of a Malaysian on Singapore’s death row to the republic’s president Currently, I have requested my lawyer to write to the Attorney-General’s office to help me secure a Certificate of Substantive Assistance under Section 33(b) of the Misuse of Drug Act (Cap 185) Certificate of Co-operation I will also be instructing my lawyers to refer me for psychiatrist evaluation to satisfy the requirement of Section 33b (1)(b) of the Misuse of Drug Act (Cap 185). I humbly beg to your Excellency to delay the execution of my sentence as it is pending the outcome of the ongoing Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) investigation and the psychiatrist evaluation. When I was in prison, I realized the harm and destruction drug abuse causes to families, communities, society and humanity as whole. I’ve failed to realise this truth in the years of my freedom, and had only gained this realisation when I was within a cell of 4 brick-walls for 4 years. I understand now, that nothing triumphs and matters more than the value of a life and living, love, family, freedom, moral and civic responsibility as human beings. I have learned that even in our most dire situation, we can still reach out to others, to ease their burden and lift them up so that they will be comforted with the fact that they are not alone in their sufferings and struggles that they face. We must offer help to the broken, and offer hope to the hopeless. If we, inmates in death row, were given a chance, we would share our life stories to the younger generation so that we could all stand united together with them against the abuse and misuse of drugs. Often times, the media only seeks to portray stories of positivity and successes, but chooses to side-line issues that are obviously not positive nor pleasant to hear like ours. We can write every week if we were given a small column in the newspaper, and also reach out to other various outlets such as radio, live interviews, TV, and social media. By our hands, we can disrupt the demand for drugs and remedy the cycle of addiction. These efforts could begin in prison as well. We could conduct blood donation campaigns involving the inmates. This will be surely provide a boost of positive energy to everyone, especially us inmates, as we begin to realise that we, despite of our current circumstances, are able to still contribute back to our society. We would gain a sense of responsibility towards our fellow men and society. Most of the time, many inmates, such as me, feel nothing but dread and hopelessness, which turns us back to our old, damaging habits but by positively influencing the inmates, we go through a character rehabilitation and at the same time are able to save lives. Parents, teachers, the media and public should band together in tackling drug abuse, it does not fall on the government’s hands only to tackle this. Parents should not view drugs as taboo and have conversations of their dangers over dinner. Meanwhile in schools, students should be educated on the dangers of drug misuse as early as primary level onwards. There are very few messages and warnings in the media, in TV and on the radio, on the danger of drugs. Even in Channel News Asia, there are no documentaries that shed light on the dangers of drug abuse. Meanwhile, youths, even those that are educated, expose themselves to recreational uses of these drugs, and exhibiting sensation seeking, risk-taking, impulsivity and anxiety, without realising the severity of their actions. Some even resort to such behaviour due to peer pressure or for the sake of impressing the wrong people. We have to reach out to them, in all the ways we can. The Minister in the Prime Minister’s office Ms, Indranee Rajah once said, “If you’re developing policy and programmes, you must know what’s on people mind, must know what are they feeling and every individual story gives you a deeper insight that gives you a more informed basis on which to do things to improves lives.” Also, the Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Dr. Koh Poh Koon has mentioned, “By hearing more personalised stories, I think it can help us understand how we can mitigate some of the circumstances where some people seem to fall through the cracks and then on, craft ways in which we can also help to lift them up”. The Government had, for many years, invested significantly in the prevention of drug abuse and in the treatment and rehabilitation of drugs addicts. Despite the imposition of mandatory death penalty, a sizeable number of drugs mules are still being caught yearly. The drug syndicates are clearly still able to continue with their modus operandi, despite the significant hurdles placed by the Government for them to do business. They are able to do so due because people get manipulated by them. A quick review of the profiles of these drug mules would reveal that most of them come from
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ILL., NEV., ORE., USA
Oct. 10 ILLINOIS: Prisoner Review Board considers clemency for woman once sentenced to die Marilyn Mulero was sentenced to die in 1993 after she pleaded guilty in Cook County Circuit Court to taking part in a gang revenge murder of two members of the Latin Kings gang. On Wednesday, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board entertained arguments by her attorneys that the conviction is flawed and that Gov. J.B. Pritzker should grant her clemency. It is the 3rd time that Mulero has turned to the Prisoner Review Board. “This was a very difficult and challenging case when we heard it the first time, and it’s no less difficult and challenging today,” Board Chairman Craig Findley said. But bolstering Mulero’s case this time are allegations that a key detective in the case, Reynaldo Guevara, was involved in framing dozens of suspects for murder. At a hearing at the James R. Thompson Center on Wednesday, Mulero’s attorneys cited a series of issues that long have cast doubt on Mulero’s confession and subsequent guilty plea. No physical evidence connected Mulero, who was 21 at the time of the 1992 murders of Jimmy Cruz and Hector Reyes, to the crime and the gun was never recovered. She and 2 members of the Maniac Latin Disciples, Jacqueline Montanez, 15, and Madeline Mendoza, 16, were arrested and charged with conspiring the murders. Marilyn Mulero’s attorneys Lauren Kaeseberg, Justin Brooks and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller speak to reporters after Mulero’s clemency hearing. Mulero gave a statement to Detectives Guevara and Ernest Halverson confessing to one of the murders. In her clemency plea she contends it came after spending more than 20 hours in police custody. The petition contends during that time she was denied an attorney and threatened with the death penalty and separation from her 2 children. After her confession she was represented by an inexperienced defense attorney who recommended she enter a guilty plea with no conditions attached, according to her clemency request. She then was sentenced to die by Cook County Circuit Judge John Mannion before, in 1998, she was resentenced to life in prison without an opportunity for parole. But first in 2005 and again in 2014, the Parole Board provided a hearing on her claim for clemency, after 1 of the co-defendants, Montanez, gave a statement that she had committed both murders and Mulero had not known what Montanez was about to do. “I shot [Reyes] once in the back of the head,” Montanez said in a Chicago Tribune video. “As he dropped, I came out of the bathroom and ran towards the other one. The other one had a gun. And my co-defendant Mendoza was scared cause you could tell that he was about to do something to her cause I’m sure he heard the gunshot. So I grabbed the gun and just shot and when I shot it hit him and he hit the floor.” Following both hearings, Mulero was denied clemency. On Wednesday, Mulero attorney Justin Brooks told the board that, fundamentally, the case comes down to what Mulero knew before the shootings. “The only thing that makes her culpable is if she knew that they were going to Humboldt Park for the shooting,” he said. The idea that Montanez would commit one murder, then hand the gun to Mulero to commit the other doesn’t add up, he said. “What makes more sense is that Jackie [Montanez] shot both victims and that’s something she confessed to many times over the years.” Focused on the more-recent accusations against Guevara, another of Mulero’s defense team, Lauren Myerscough-Mueller told the board that Mulero’s “case has a nexus in the pattern of abuse.” She added, “These are the same things courts have found Guevara and Halvorsen did to others.” Guevara has been accused of framing at least 51 people for murder. So far, 19 people have been exonerated in cases he investigated, and several include false confessions that followed beatings or coercion. The state’s attorney’s office opposed Mulero’s request for executive clemency. Assistant State’s Attorney Sara Whitecotton argued that Mulero’s involvement was clear. “Saying that she had no knowledge is just not reasonable. She was there, she helped facilitate the offense and she’s accountable,” she said. The governor has no time limit on when he reviews and decides whether to accept the board’s confidential recommendation, Craig Findley said Wednesday. Typically, a decision is announced around a year after a hearing. (source: injusticewatch.org) NEVADA: Bar Association joins appeal of Nevada death row inmate The American Bar Association has joined an appeal challenging the death sentence of a Nevada man it says was mentally ill when he was convicted of the 1998 hatchet slaying of a campus police officer. The national group of lawyers and professional legal scholars is asking the Nevada Supreme Court to block Siaosi Vanisi's execution. It wants the justices to rule that people
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., LA., OHIO
Oct. 10 TEXAS: With a wide variety of headlines dominating both global and domestic news, it is easy to overlook that today is World Day to Abolish the Death Penalty. It is clear that since the early 1980s, the majority of the world's nations have become better educated about the inherent flaws of every death penalty system in the world, and have committed themselves to the defense, protection and advocacy of human rights and human dignity. Sadly, the US is not one of these nations. We continue to embrace an archaic, barbaric, racist and mistake-prone system in which we justify hanging, gassing, electrocuting, shooting and chemically poisoning some convicted felons in the perverted notion of "justice". Texas itself leads the entire free world in executions since we resumed the practice in 1982. As we go to the polls next year, we would do well to hold our politicians accountable to all human rights issues, and ideally support someone who at the very least is willing to help make America a death penalty-free nation. Rick Halperin, Amnesty International (source: Dallas Morning News) *** Journalist talks about reconciling faith and career of covering executions Michael Graczyk, a parishioner at a Catholic church in Montgomery County, Texas, has personally witnessed more than 400 executions of Texas inmates in death penalty cases in his career as a journalist. An Associated Press reporter since 1983, Graczyk retired last year and still freelances for AP, continuing to witness executions, including 9 scheduled through the end of this year. "When you walk into the death chamber, you check your emotions at the door. I usually check my emotions at the prison gate," he said. "I've gotten to know many of the inmates through interviews. I also have sentiments for the families of the victims, who have to wait 10 or 20 years for the punishment to be carried out." Since Catholic teaching is pro-life, from conception to natural death, Graczyk reconciles the two parts of himself with a Scripture passage. "I look to the biblical passage 'render unto Caesar what is Caesar's.' Since this is the government doing these, I can remain faithful to the teachings of the church," Graczyk told the Texas Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. "The Catholic Church many times has been alone in its protection of life from conception to natural death. Liberals opposed to capital punishment are often times in favor of abortion. Conservatives are against abortion, but then favor the death penalty," he said. Executions used to be front-page news and network TV news regularly covered them, but now they are relegated to inside pages or a few seconds of a sound bite. "Back in the 1980s, it used to be a really big deal and significant media event. Executions should never be considered routine, but there does seem to be a public acceptance of it," he said. Hundreds of protesters would show up, many times for midnight candlelight vigils that included both pro-death penalty and anti-penalty protesters. "Some of those were Sam Houston University students who came from down the road in Huntsville. Now maybe there is a core group of protesters ranging from 1 to 2 dozen who show up in the heat, rain or cold," he said. But studies have not been able to conclude whether capital punishment is a deterrent for others not to commit crime. "I've interviewed hundreds of inmates and none of them said that capital punishment would have prevented them from crime," he said. 2 of the 9 scheduled for execution by the end of the year are part of the group of prisoners who escaped in 2000 and were convicted of fatally shooting a 31-year-old police officer on Christmas Eve in Irving. One of the toughest cases Graczyk remembers covering is the dragging death of an African American man, James Byrd Jr., killed 21 years ago in a hate crime on a secluded road outside Jasper. 2 white men were executed in the case, John William King, executed this past spring, and Lawrence Russell Brewer was put to death in 2011. A 3rd participant, Shawn Allen Berry, was sentenced to life in prison. "Emotionally, the Jasper cases were real tough. We went to Jasper, saw the 3 guys arrested, went to the asphalt road where it happened and there was still blood," he said. He also recalled covering the execution of the 1st woman on death row since the Civil War. Karla Faye Tucker was given a lethal injection in 1998 for killing 2 people with a pickax during a burglary. But Graczyk said he doesn't see any strong enough movement to stop executions in Texas. "It remains a hot topic, but there is no appetite in the Texas Legislature to stop it. The U.S. Supreme Court may shut it down again like they did in the 1960s until executions were resumed a deca
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 9 INDIA: SC confirms death penalty awarded to 'tantrik' couple The Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty awarded to a 'tantrik' couple from Chhattisgarh, for killing a 2-year-old boy as a human sacrifice perform during a religious ritual. A bench of Justices R F Nariman, R Subhash Reddy and Surya Kant termed the case the rarest of the rare, wherein main accused Ishwari Lal Yadav and his wife Kiran Bai planned and committed the murder of 2-year-old child Chirag, as a sacrifice to the God. The court also noted an aggravating circumstance, that the couple was already convicted and sentenced to death for the similar murder of a six-year-old girl but the high court had commuted their punishment to the life term without remission. They were not possessed of the basic humanness, they completely lacked the psyche or mindset which can be amenable for any reformation,” the bench said, noting that the couple had 3 children of their own. On November 23, 2010, 2-year-old Chirag went missing from his home in Durg. The family members, who started looking for him, noted loud music being played in the house of Yadav. When they entered the house, they found mounds of freshly dug earth. On being questioned by the crowd, the convicts confessed that they had sacrificed Chirag, whose body and severed head were retrieved. During the investigation, the couple, who claimed to be 'tantrik', confessed to killing another child 6-7 months before the incident. The clothes and skeletal remains of the 6-year-old girl they had sacrificed were recovered after their confession. In their appeal, the same bench confirmed the high court judgment sentencing them to life imprisonment for this killing. (source: deccanherald.com) PAKISTAN: Death penalty doesn't stop child abuse. What's it for then? The call to murder is the ultimate distraction. It is the most cynical act of manipulation. The bodies of 3 young children who were raped and killed in Kasur were discovered less than one year after the execution of Imran Ali for the rape and murder of young Zainab. Imran Ali, despite calls for a public hanging, was executed inside the walls of Kot Lakhpat jail, Lahore. Yet, his execution was public in the sense of it being inescapable in the national conversation, as a response to an unspeakable assault on common decency and moral fabric of the society. The cries for revenge, public hanging and the execution itself did not, however, stop the perpetrator of the next round of rape and killings. Before Imran Ali, there was Javed Iqbal, the serial killer who confessed to the murder of 100 young boys. The judge, while sentencing him to the gallows in March 2000, wrote “you will be strangled to death in front of the parents whose children you killed. Your body will then be cut into 100 pieces and put in acid, the same way you killed the children." Javed Iqbal later died in an apparent suicide while in prison. The point in the dominant discourse for Imran Ali and Javed Iqbal was not about protecting our children from the next Imran Ali or Javed Iqbal, but about looking tough as a government and a society in the face of an elementary, unconscionable failure. The death penalty is always about just that: demonstrating our willingness and capacity to inflict murder. The message is not directed to the future murderers and rapists (it demonstrably doesn’t work on them), but to the public at large. The relationship between an authoritarian state and the death was eloquently highlighted by Robert Badinter, French Minister of Justice under Francois Mitterrand in his September 1981 speech to the French parliament. “It is anti-justice…it is passion and fear prevailing over humanity.” More importantly, “in countries of freedom, abolition is almost the rule; in dictatorships, capital punishment is everywhere in use. This division of the world doesn’t result from just a coincidence. It shows a correlation. The true political signification of capital punishment is that it results from the idea that State has the right to take advantage of the citizen, till the possibility to suppress the citizen’s life.” Following the revolution in Iran, the Ziaul Haq regime began disseminating the news of executions being carried out under Ayatollah Khomeini. Archives of Pakistani newspapers following the overthrow of the Raza Shah’s regime in February 1979 have the death sentences being handed down as headline news and Khomeini doing “nashta” of “dozens” (of people). It seemed slightly odd; yet, it was deliberately aimed at creating acceptance for state-sponsored violence and setting up the stage of the biggest execution/murder of Pakistan’s history, the execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on April 5, 1979. In 1983, the murderer of Pappu, a young boy from Lahore, was publicly executed and the body of the killer was left hanging for an entire day as a spectacle. The
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 8 GLOBAL: All children are of worth On Thursday, the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty will be dedicated to children whose parents have been sentenced to death or executed. The theme this year is: Children: unseen victims of the death penalty. The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty states: “Today, 142 countries... are abolitionist in law or practice. While few studies have been done to quantify the number of children who have a parent who has been sentenced to death or executed, Amnesty International’s 2019 annual report stated that at least 19,336 people were known to be under sentence of death worldwide at the end of 2018 and at least 690 were believed to have been executed in that year... “Frequently forgotten, children of parents sentenced to death or executed carry a heavy emotional and psychological burden that can amount to the violation of their human rights. This trauma can occur at any and all stages of the capital punishment of a parent: arrest, trial, sentencing, death row stays, execution dates, execution itself, and its aftermath. The repeated cycles of hope and disappointment that can accompany all of these stages can have a long-term impact, occasionally well into adulthood. “Stigmatisation from the community in which they live and the loss of a parent at the hands of a state all reinforce deep instability in the child’s day-to-day life. In line with the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (November 20, 1989), the focus of this World Day is on children and their human rights. “The experience of having a parent sentenced to death affects each child differently, including children within the same family, depending on factors like their personality and circumstances, the reactions of those around them, and the wider public response to the situation, including the scrutiny of media coverage... “In international human rights law, it is a well-established principle that the best interest of the child should be a paramount consideration in any decision that impacts a child. It is therefore necessary to consider how a parent’s death sentence will impact the child and to take this into account when deciding on sentencing, commutation and pardon... “In 2013, the UN Human Rights Council adopted resolution 24/11, in which it ‘acknowledges the negative impact of a parent’s death sentence and his or her execution on his or her children’ and urges states ‘to provide these children with the protection and assistance they may require.’ And in 2018, the Human Rights Committee’s general comment No 36 made an explicit recommendation for states not to execute parents of young and dependent children: ‘States parties...should...refrain from executing parents to very young or dependent children.’” While we stand in solidarity with the victims of crime, including their children, let us not forget that all children are of worth and reach out in solidarity to the children of offenders. In observation of World Day, CCSJ, in collaboration with the Greater Caribbean for Life, RED Initiatives, and with the support of the EU Delegation ambassador, UWI Faculty of Law, St Augustine Campus, and Amnesty International, have organised a panel discussion on Thursday from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Church of the Assumption Parish Hall, Long Circular Road, Maraval. Admission is free. The moderator is Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, dean, Faculty of Law, UWI, St Augustine Campus. Panel speakers are Aad Biesebroek, EU Delegation ambassador, keynote speaker; Rhonda Gregoire-Roopchan, deputy director, care services, Children’s Authority; Gerard Wilson, Commissioner of Prisons; Alloy Youk See, PRO, Social Workers’ Association and former senior prison officer; Andrew Douglas, lifer, Maximum Security Prison, Arouca; and myself as chair of the CCSJ and member of Greater Caribbean for Life. (source: newsday.co.tt) IRAN: Iran charges famous Kurdish singer with being gay, faces execution "Well known Iranian Kurdish singer, Mohsen Lorestani was charged with ‘corruption on earth’ by a court in Tehran for posting ‘immoral’ content on social media." Iran has alleged that a prominent singer is gay and under the Islamic Republic’s anti-homosexual laws he could face the death penalty. BBC journalist Ali Hamedani tweeted on Sunday that “A famous Iranian singer from the Kurdish province of Kermanshah has been ‘accused’ of being a homosexual and could face execution. Iran executes gay men.” Volker Beck, a German Green Party politician and LGBTQ activist , told The Jerusalem Post that "It is a perversion of unjust states like Iran and Saudi Arabia that alleged or actual homosexuality is presented as an accusation that can cost you your life. It is time for the international community to outlaw states punishing homosexuals." The Kurdistan Human Rights Network tweeted that “Mohsen Lorestani, a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IND., ARK., KAN., OKLA., CALIF., WASH., USA
ve American put to death by the federal government for an “intra-Indian crime that occurred in Indian Country” if the execution went forward. In his latest appeal, Mitchell’s lawyers last August cited a Supreme Court case that said courts could consider evidence that jurors “relied on racial stereotypes or animus to convict a criminal defendant.” Ikuta said jurors in Mitchell’s case signed statements that said race played no role in their decision, and there was no evidence of bias on their part. But Mitchell’s attorneys said they should be allowed to question the jurors because of “the government’s closing argument was riddled with comments that should not have been made,” some of which related to Mitchell’s “religious beliefs and Navajo culture.” The 9th Circuit had ruled in 2007 that any comments in the closing arguments “were not, in and of themselves, nearly as inflammatory as the graphic evidence of the murders … which was quite properly before the jury.” And a district court last year rejected Mitchell’s latest request to question jurors. Mitchell’s appeal of that district court ruling was pending when Barr scheduled his execution for Dec. 11. Because the circuit court had ruled that the appeal could go forward, Mitchell asked for and was granted the stay while his appeal is argued. The circuit court set a hearing on that appeal for Dec. 13 in Phoenix. (source: cronkitenews.azpbs.org) * USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Russell Bucklew in Missouri on October 1, the USA has now executed 1,507 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. 1508---Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez--Texas 1509---Nov. 3-9---Charles Rhines---South Dakota 1510---Nov. 6-Justen Hall--Texas 1511---Nov. 7-James Dailey-Florida 1512---Nov. 13Patrick Murphy---Texas 1513---Nov. 20Rodney Reed--Texas 1514---Dec. 5-Lee Hall Jr.-Tennessee 1515---Dec. 9-Daniel Lewis Lee-Federal - Ark. 1516---Dec. 11James Hanna--Ohio 1517---Dec. 11Travis Runnels---Texas 1518---Dec. 13Wesley PurkeyFederal - Mo. 1519---Jan. 13---Alfred Bourgeois--Federal - Tex. 1520---Jan. 15---Dusten Honken-Federal - Iowa 1521---Jan. 15---John Gardner--Texas 1522---Jan. 16---Kareem JacksonOhio 1523---Feb. 6Abel OchoaTexas 1524---Mar. 11---Carlos TrevinoTexas (source: Rick Halperin) *** Ethics and Religion Talk: The Death Penalty What is Ethics and Religion Talk? “Ethics and Religion Talk,” answers questions of ethics or religion from a multi-faith perspective. Each post contains three or four responses to a reader question from a panel of nine diverse clergy from different religious perspectives, all based in the Grand Rapids area. It is the only column of its kind. No other news site, religious or otherwise, publishes a similar column. The first 5 years of columns, published in the Grand Rapids Press and MLive, are archived at http://topics.mlive.com/tag/ethics-and-religion-talk/. More recent columns can be found on TheRapidian.org by searching for the tag “ethics and religion talk.” We’d love to hear about the ordinary ethical questions that come up on the course of your day as well as any questions of religion that you’ve wondered about. Tell us how you resolved an ethical dilemma and see how members of the Ethics and Religion Talk panel would have handled the same situation. Please send your questions to ethicsandrelig...@gmail.com. Marritta asks: When I was a Christian, I believed in the death penalty because it was biblical. Almost as soon as I became an atheist, I did a 180. My reasoning was that if there is no god, all that's left is humanity; therefore, life is the only thing that's sacred. So, we should preserve it at all cost. Now, I'm not so sure. What should we do with mass murderers, pedophiles, rapists? Many of these offenders are sociopaths with no conscience or empathy, and psychology is beginning to recognize that, most likely, they cannot be rehabilitated. So, what is the ethical thing to do with them? Father Kevin Niehoff, O.P., a Dominican priest who serves as Adjutant Judicial Vicar, Dioce
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., DEL., N.C., FLA., ALA.
before the court Dec. 5, for his 1st pre-trial hearing. (source: The Monitor) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present47 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-565 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 48-Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez-566 49-Nov. 6-Justen Hall-567 50-Nov. 13Patrick Murphy--568 51-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-569 52-Dec. 11Travis Runnels--570 53-Jan. 15John Gardner571 54-Feb. 6-Abel Ochoa--572 55-Mar. 11Carlos Trevino--573 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) PENNSYLVANIA: U.S. Supreme Court won't hear Jordan Clemons' death penalty case “Petition denied.” In a 2-word order issued on the first Monday in October, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Jordan Clemons’ conviction and death penalty for the 2012 murder of Karissa Kunco. Clemons, now 30, was found guilty of 1st-degree murder by a Washington County jury, which chose to impose the death penalty after hearing trial testimony in 2015. Kunco’s body was found in Mt. Pleasant Township. District Attorney Gene Vittone was notified by the nation’s highest court via email, but he said the Supreme Court’s decision opens another avenue for the defendant. “It ends his direct appeal,” Vittone said. “I’m sure he’ll be filing other things, and we’ll address it.” Clemons’ next attempt to have his conviction overturned is likely to be a petition through the Post-Conviction Relief Act. His attorney, Marc A. Bookman, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Vittone relayed information about the Supreme Court’s decision to the victim’s father. “He treated this case like it was his own daughter,” said Paul Kunco of Baldwin, a suburb in Pittsburgh’s South Hills. “We were warned very well about this whole process. I get a heads-up every time they do some sort of appeal.” Of the latest development, Kunco said, “We’re not surprised. His case is very weak, but you never know. It does give you a little stress.” His, daughter, Karissa Kunco, would have been 29. “She’s still with us, just not physically,” Kunco said, noting that a room to accommodate a mother and up to four children at the Women’s Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh has been named after his daughter thanks to a benefactor. “Many women and children sleep safer and a lot more peacefully,” he said. Kunco, 21, Clemons’ former girlfriend, was last seen alive on Jan. 11, 2012. One of the issues before the nation’s highest court dealt with whether Clemons waived his right to have a lawyer present during his initial contact with police in January 2012 after he had consumed alcohol. As to Clemons’ right to have a lawyer present when his mother drove him to the state police barracks so he could turn himself in, Vittone wrote, “Miranda warnings were properly given to” Clemons, who “then immediately provided a statement which placed him with the victim the evening that she disappeared. This statement was admitted at trial.” Vittone’s position was that these issues were put to rest when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Clemons’ conviction and death penalty. In his attempt to have the U.S. Supreme Court intervene on his behalf, Clemons claimed postings on a Facebook page known as “Karissa’s Army” and other pre-trial publicity precluded a fair trial in Washington County, violating his constitutional rights. Clemons sought an out-of-county jury to weigh testimony in his case. Bookman cited the large number of followers writing comments, some of which were racially charged, on the Facebook pages and signing a petition to change domestic violence laws as reasons to prejudice a Washington County jury. Karissa Kunco had filed a protection-from-abuse petition against Clemons in Allegheny County for which he failed to appear in court. In his brief, Vittone wrote that although Public Defender Brian Gorman raised the publicity issue at a pretrial hearing, the defense attorney did not bring it up again at jury selection before Washington County Judge Gary Gilman. Clemons, an inmate in the State Correctional Institution at Greene County, asked the U.S. Supreme Court last May for permission to proceed as a pauper. Bookman is an attorney from the nonprofit Atlantic Center for Capital Representation in Philadelphia. Other than the 2-word denial, the only additional information appearing on the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket in Clemons’ case is that documents related to the case were “distributed for conference” on Oct. 1. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf declared a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania, the last of which occurred in 1999. (source: Observer-Repo
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 7 EUROPE: The Dark Life of a Medieval Executioner – A Cut Away from the Rest It is no surprise that the medieval period was filled with all kinds of undesirable jobs. There were leech collectors, cesspool cleaners, serfs, and gong farmers, to name a few. But one vocation that was, perhaps, one of the toughest, was the job of the medieval executioner. Theirs was one of the darkest, most taboo jobs of the Middle Ages. Whether employed in splendid royal courts or backwater petty castles, these vicious headsmen had a singular purpose – to do the job that very few could or wanted to do. Theirs was the role of taking lives, tightening the noose or decapitating those who were destined for an early grave. Their axes knew no class or creed – the sharp iron culled both king and peasant. Medieval Executioners: Masters of Dirty Jobs During much of the early medieval period, as well as the centuries that followed, crime and lawlessness were rampant throughout the world. From Europe to Asia and the Middle East, evil was an everyday occurrence. Rapes, thievery, murder, heresy, and leprosy – all manner of sin and decadence ran rampant in the unruly medieval world, under the auspices of death itself. But where there is lawlessness, there is also justice, albeit sometimes a cruel one. Mercy was not the usual approach to solving crimes, much to the disadvantage of the budding criminal of the period. This means that once dealt, justice was swift and brutal – a determined and definite retribution against the usurpation of the order of the society. In short, the death penalty was often the sentence. As the earliest epoch of the Middle Ages slowly advanced into a new, slightly more developed period, it also saw the rise of a new vocation. Someone was needed to perform the role that no one wanted - that was the executioner’s vocation. From as early as the 1200’s, the societies of Western and Central Europe were increasingly requiring an official position that would satisfy their needs for delivering capital punishment to their convicts. Prominent cities throughout France, Germany, and England required skilled executioners to act as the divine hand of justice appointed by the state and the royal court. One of the earliest documented official executioner positions dates to 1202, when a prominent headsman, Nicolas Jouhanne – nicknamed “la Justice” – was appointed the vicomte, and official executioner of the Normandy town of Caux. From then on, this official position spread through many capitals and large towns of Western Europe. But even before that period, and certainly well after it, the role of the executioner was definitely a troubled one, straddling a grey area between good and evil and between acceptance and repugnance. Executioners were very much ostracized. Death, and moreover, murder, always had a difficult position in society. When done by a mass of people, as in lynching, murder was no longer a taboo act – the group erased the perpetrator. But once an individual took the matter into their own hands, and performed a murder, the situation was different. And such was the predicament of the executioner. A person in this position, who was known to be the headsman, was seen as a troubled person, a sinner beyond redemption, and simply put – a killer. The masses could not accept the wanton taking of a life – on command – and could not comprehend the state of mind that hid behind the eyes of the headsman. One good example of this viewpoint of the masses can be observed from the many writings and memoires from the Middle Ages, and chiefly the writings of Joseph de Maistre. Here is a part of his observations of the character of an executioner: “This head, this heart, are they made like ours? Do they not have something odd or foreign to our nature? On the exterior he [the executioner] is made just as we are; he is born, like us; but he is an extraordinary being…Is he a man?” At the Edge of Society The truth is not very far – a medieval executioner had a hard time in the society around him. In many, if not most, cultures of the medieval world, an executioner was an ostracized, shunned person, who belonged to a markedly different caste of society. Even though they sometimes enjoyed financial benefits and could earn reasonable amounts from their work, these people still suffered in solitude and lived life on the margins of society – simply because of their vocation. To freely deliver death, torture, and all manner of foulness on another person was seen as reason enough for the people to look down on an executioner and shun him. In most countries, executioners and their families lived on the peripheries of cities, well away from the main residences. They also couldn’t be buried like the rest of the citizens – their graves were separated from the main graveyard, marked, and much less elaborate. The executioners had to be recognizable even
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., N.C., USA
Oct. 7 TEXAS: Murderer must die, Texas appeals court rules, despite victim’s family’s opposition An appeals court has rejected a lower court’s recommendation that urged judges to spare the life of a death row inmate or give him another sentencing hearing because prosecutors lied during his trial. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a ruling Wednesday saying that Paul David Storey has to die, despite an impassioned plea from the parents of the man he murdered that asked the court to let him live. Storey’s attorneys, Mike Ware and Keith Hampton, said they are considering options, and are now planing to ask the appeals court to reconsider its ruling. Three of the nine judges on the appeals court dissented from the court’s majority opinion. “The opinion says two things,” Ware said. “It’s OK for a lawyer to lie and say untrue things to the jury and to the judge, and it’s OK for the prosecutor to cover up that lie and the courts will allow that lie to go forward. I refuse to accept that is the law.” The court postponed Storey’s execution days before he was scheduled to die. Glenn and Judy Cherry, the parents of Jonas Cherry, the murder victim, said they never wanted to see their son’s killer put to death and that they told prosecutors early on about their feelings concerning the death penalty. Attorneys for Storey argued that the Cherrys told prosecutors about their opposition to the death penalty, yet during the sentencing phase of the trial, the state argued that everyone in the family was in agreement with the use of the death penalty. Christy Jack, then a Tarrant County prosecutor who is now a partner at Varghese Summersett, told the jury: “And it should go without saying that all of the Jonas’ [the victim’s] family and everyone who loved him believe the death penalty is appropriate.” Appellate judges sent the case back to a lower court to figure out the truth. Visiting State District Judge Everett Young ruled that Storey’s sentence is entitled to further review on multiple constitutional grounds, which include a violation of his right to due process, the suppression of mitigating evidence by prosecutors, the introduction of false evidence to a jury, and his right to a fair punishment hearing. Jack and another prosecutor, Robert Foran, have always maintained that Storey’s defense attorneys were told how the Cherrys felt about the death penalty prior to the trial. The appeals attorneys representing Storey now say the defense attorneys were never told about the Cherrys’ opposition to the death penalty. The appellate court said in its opinion that it does not often go against trial judges. But in this case, it did. “In an unprecedented move, the highest criminal court in Texas reversed Judge Young’s decision and reinstated the death sentence,’ Jack said. “The Attorney General’s Office will be seeking a new execution date. There really is nothing more to say at this point.” Opinion cites an absence of evidence The appeal judges ruled that there is no evidence that shows that one of Storey’s appellate lawyers, Robert Ford, did not know about the Cherrys’ death penalty stance and argues that Ford could have discovered how the father felt through the exercise of reasonable diligence. Young found that Ford, who is dead, did not know that the victim’s family members opposed the death sentence for Storey. But the appeals court said that finding is not supported by the record. The appeals court also said that while Ford had a good reputation as a diligent attorney, there was no evidence in the record that he was diligent in this case. If this ruling is allowed to stand, attorneys will be placed in the difficult position of assuming that all statements from prosecutors are lies, Hampton said. Those attorneys will also be forced to contact the family members of victims to determine their positions on laws like the death penalty. “The last thing that people want is to hear from the lawyers of the person who has been convicted of murdering their family members,” Hampton said. Storey’s legal team is exploring all possibilities including asking for intervention from elected officials, Hampton said. With a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, the governor has the power to commute Storey’s death penalty sentence. “We just had the Amber Guyger trial,” where the victim’s brother forgave a convicted killer, “and that’s what the Cherrys want to do,” Hampton said. “And instead of letting something beautiful happen, we are getting interference from the state’s highest court.” An appellate judge who wrote in support of the majority opinion pointed out that what a prosecutor says during closing arguments is not evidence. That judge also says in his opinion that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient enough to withstand any objections about the death penalty from the victim’s relatives. The
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 6 BOSNIA: Constitutional Court of BiH abolished Death Sentence Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) abolished death sentence in Republika Srpska (RS) entity! Considering the appeal of the Bosniak Club to the RS Council for the Constitutional Review of Article 11 paragraph 2 of the RS Constitution, the BiH Constitutional Court decided that such a norm could no longer exist in the RS Constitution. Namely, the Constitutional Court stated that with the entry into force of Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention, the death penalty was abolished in all circumstances, and that the said Protocol constitutes a legally binding act for all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including its entities. In a statement to the RTRS, the President of the Constitutional Court of BiH, Zlatko Knezevic, said that the RS institutions have three months to delete that provision, which virtually ceased to exist today with the Constitutional Court’s decision. Currently, only Belarus still enforces the death penalty, and Russia has imposed a moratorium on its execution since 1999, Radio Sarajevo reports. (source: Sarajevo Times) LEBANON: Lebanon Hails Court Verdict on 1999 Killing of 4 Judges Lebanese officials hailed on Saturday a court verdict indicting the accused in the 1999 assassination of 4 judges in the southern city of Sidon. President Michel Aoun said: “Justice has been served even if it is late,” said Aoun, as he called for amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure in order to prevent any delay in future proceedings. In 1999, four judges were assassinated inside the South Lebanon Criminal Court at the old Justice Palace in Sidon. “Justice is served even after a while. A salute to the Judicial Council which issued its verdict in the assassination case of the 4 judges. Our sincere solidarity today is with the families of the martyrs,” said Prime Minister Saad Hariri in a tweet. Justice Minister Albert Serhan said: “Justice is taking its course... the decision of the Judicial Council is good news for all, judges and citizens.” On Friday, the Judicial Council led by Judge Jean Fahed inflicted the death penalty on Ahmed Abdulkarim aka Abu Mehjen. 5 of his companions were sentenced to death in absentia for hiding in the southern Palestinian camp of Ain al-Hilweh camp, the National News Agency said. Wissam Hussein Tuhaibesh, Palestinian, was acquitted for insufficient evidence and released immediately unless convicted of another crime, NNA added. (source: naharnet.com) IRAN: New Signs of Expanded Reliance on the Death Penalty in Iran Authorities in the northern Iranian city of Rasht carried out the latest in a long line of public executions on Wednesday, hanging a man who had allegedly killed a security agent. The incident took place on the same day that four others were put to death in Rajai Shahr Prison alone, signifying a probable acceleration of the implementation of capital punishment throughout the country. The apparent increase in executions only serves to further safeguard Iran’s status as the nation with the highest per-capita rate of executions in the world. No other country exceeds the Islamic Republic in terms of the raw number of death sentences carried out each year. Iran also leads the world in terms of death sentences meted out and implemented for persons who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes. As a signatory to both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran is formally barred from this practice under all circumstances, but the Iranian judiciary routinely dismisses that provision by saying that it conflicts with the religiously-based laws of the Islamic Republic. The same international agreements also technically bar Iran from other activities that nonetheless remain commonplace, including the execution of supposed criminals whose offenses do not rise to an international standard for the “most serious crimes.” Wednesday’s executions may have included at least two offenses of this type. Of the 4 men hanged at Rajai Shahr, 2 had been convicted of murder, while the other 2 had been accused of “enmity against God.” This vague, political charged was originally established so as to apply only to armed insurrection against the Iranian regime. But in practice, the charge is known in Farsi as “Mohabareh” has been applied to a wide range of individuals deemed to be a threat to the theocratic system. This includes supporters of the leading Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK) – even those whose support is limited to financial donations. It is unclear what, if any, actual activities were undertaken by the two men executed on Wednesday which justified their death sentence. And Iran’s state media is little help since it often
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---N.C., FLA., WYO., USA
Oct. 6 NORTH CAROLINA: Trial begins in prison murders The trial of 1 of 4 inmates charged with 4 counts of 1st-degree murder in the October 2017 slaying deaths of 4 prison employees is scheduled to start Monday in Dare County Superior Court. Mikel Brady will go on trial for causing the deaths at Pasquotank Correctional Institute of Correction Enterprises Manager Veronica “Ronnie” Darden, 50; corrections officers Justin Smith, 35, and Wendy Shannon, 49; and maintenance mechanic Geoffrey Howe, 31. District Attorney Andrew Womble is seeking the death penalty against Brady and the 3 other inmates charged in the prison workers’ deaths: Wisezah Buckman, Seth Frazier and Jonathan Monk. Prosecutors allege Brady and the 3 other inmates viciously assaulted the 4 prison workers on Oct. 12, 2017 during their failed attempt to escape from PCI. Darden and Smith died from their injuries the day of the attack; Shannon and Howe died later from their injuries. Womble said Friday that the death penalty will remain on the table even if Brady chooses to enter a guilty plea. “I can’t stop them from coming in and pleading guilty to first-degree murder,” Womble said. “But that is not going to stop me from trying to impose the death penalty.” The question of the penalty will go to the jury and “only the jury can decide that,” Womble said. Although the trial is not being held in Pasquotank County, it is still taking place within the 1st Judicial District. Brady’s attorneys, who requested a change of venue, had asked that the trial be held outside of the 1st Judicial District. Resident Superior Court Judge Jerry R. Tillett will preside over the trial. Buckman will be the next of the inmate defendants to be tried after Brady. Womble said Friday that Buckman’s trial is scheduled for March. At the time of the murders, Brady was serving a prison sentence for the attempted 1st-degree murder of a state trooper in Durham County. Buckman was serving a sentence for 2nd-degree murder in Mecklenburg County. Monk was in prison serving a sentence for attempted 1st-degree murder in Cumberland County. Frazier was serving a sentence for 1st-degree burglary in Onslow County. (source: dailyadvance.com) FLORIDA: Polk County's tie to the women of death row In July, a Polk County jury unanimously agreed that Cheyanne Jessie should be executed for brutally killing her 6-year-old daughter, Meredith. Should Circuit Judge Jalal Harb follow that recommendation, 29-year-old Jessie would become the first woman to be condemned to death for a Polk County murder, but she wouldn't be the 1st Polk County woman on Florida's death row. That would be Virginia Larzelere. Those who grew up with her in Lake Wales might not have recognized the name emblazoned across headlines nearly 30 years ago. To them, she was Gail Antley — one of William "PeeWee" Antley's 4 daughters and a 1970 graduate of Lake Wales High School. But that was then. Since 1993, she's been inmate #842556, the moniker assigned to her after a Volusia County jury found her guilty of masterminding the execution-style killing of her husband, Norman, 39, who was gunned down in the hallway of his Edgewater dental practice in March 1991. Prosecutors argued she wanted to cash in on his $2.1 million in life insurance. To this day, Larzelere maintains she's innocent. Larzelere, now 66, spent 15 years on death row before the Florida Supreme Court overturned her death sentence in 2008 on grounds that her lawyer, the late Jack Wilkins of Bartow, failed to adequately prepare her case during her trial's sentencing phase. The state's high court sent the case back to Volusia County, and lawyers there agreed to a life sentence without presenting any testimony. But those 15 years, spent in part in #2201, Quad 2, T Dorm at Lowell Correctional Institution near Ocala, remain burned in her memory. "During my death row stay at Lowell, the entire compound was locked down anytime that I exited the cell," she said in a recent email to The Ledger, "and I was accompanied by six of the largest and meanest staff available. There were days without communication from anyone. "The following people will peer into the cell window once a week: the warden, the chaplain, the colonel," she wrote. "A mental health specialist would come once a week to ask if you are suicidal or homicidal, and then tells you to do the best you can." Larzelere said she's survived by immersing herself in her education, receiving her college degree in education and working with other women — 183 to date — who've received their high school equivalency diplomas. "The sterling record I have is because I choose to live life in a manner that allows me to atone for all the years of my greedy, narcissistic, promiscuous ways," she wrote. Through gain time and good behavior, she's scheduled for release in August 2034. She'll be 81 and have served half her
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 5 BOSNIA: Court Orders Bosnian Serb Entity to Outlaw Death Penalty Bosnia's Constitutional Court has given the Serb-led entity, Republika Srpska, a deadline to remove mention of the death penalty from its laws and constitution – although the ruling is largely symbolic, as the entity does not use it. The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has upheld an appeal filed by a group of Bosniak delegates in the parliament of Bosnia’s Serb-led entity, ordering the Republika Srpska to remove references to the death penalty from its laws and constitution. Friday’s ruling is mainly symbolic, as the entity does not use the death penalty in practice, even though it remains in certain statues. The constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia’s other entity, does not mention the death penalty. Presiding Judge Zlatko Knezevic gave the RS a deadline of three months to change its laws. The ruling comes after a group of Bosniak delegates in the RS assembly filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court in June. Bosnia abolished the death penalty in 1994, a decision formalised in 1998. The last death sentence in Bosnia was issued by the Sarajevo District Military Court in March 1993, which sentenced Borislav Herak and Sretko Damjanovic to death for genocide. The penalty was not carried out. The RS has a history of ignoring rulings from the state constitutional court. It has taken no notice of a March 29 ruling outlawing celebration of January 9 as Day of Republika Srpska, as BIRN has previously reported. Belarus is the only European state still using the death penalty, and carried out two executions in 2018. Russian law still allows for its use, but it has been suspended there since the late-1990s. The Council of Europe long ago made abolition of the death penalty a prerequisite for membership, while the European Union not only prohibits it among its members but actively campaigns against its use worldwide. (source: balkaninsight.com) INDIA: President commutes 20 death sentences in 9 years These commutations were based on the President’s exercise of powers under Article 72 of the Constitution after the convicts filed mercy petitions. The President commuted death sentences to life imprisonment in at least 20 cases over the past nine years, based on the recommendations received from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). These commutations were based on the President’s exercise of powers under Article 72 of the Constitution after the convicts filed mercy petitions. Separately, last week the MHA took a decision to commute the death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted over the assassination of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, as a “humanitarian gesture” ahead of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Sikh founder Guru Nanak. It also decided to release 8 other prisoners convicted for life for their involvement in Sikh militancy as a ‘token of goodwill’. Beant Singh and at least 16 others were killed in an explosion outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh in 1995. Rajoana was sentenced to death in 2007 by a special court and he refused to file a mercy petition. The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex body of the Sikhs, filed a petition on his behalf in 2014. BJP ally and NDA member, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), had been pressing the Centre to commute Rajoana’s death sentence. “Rajoana never engaged a lawyer when the case was being heard in the court,” said Manjinder Singh Sirsa, an SAD leader who had recently met Home Minister Amit Shah regarding Rajoana’s case — the only Sikh prisoner on death row in a militancy related case. “To highlight the atrocities against the Sikhs, he refused legal assistance. After he was sentenced to death, the SGPC decided to file a mercy petition on his behalf,” added the SAD leader. The ministry’s decision to release the 8 Sikh prisoners convicted under the repealed Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) is seen as a one-off gesture as it is not in consonance with the guidelines regarding the 2018 “Cabinet decision to grant special remission to prisoners on the occasion of 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.” As per the guidelines: “special remission will not be given to prisoners who have been convicted for an offence for which the sentence is sentence of death or where death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment; cases of convicts involved in serious and heinous crimes like dowry death, rape, human trafficking and convicted under POTA, UAPA, TADA, FICN, POCSO Act, money laundering, FEMA, NDPS, Prevention of Corruption Act, etc.” A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “This was in response to the long pending demands on release of Sikh prisoners raised by various sections of the Sikh community.” Process on to commute Rajoana sentence: MHA
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., NEV., USA
incoherent. Mays’ execution was the s2nd stopped this week. On Friday, the execution of Randy Halprin, set for Oct. 10, was halted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. (source: The Texas Tribune) *** Mays receives stay of execution Henderson County District Attorney Mark Hall has confirmed, Randall Mays received a stay of execution for the 2007 murder of 2 Henderson County Sheriff's Deputies. Visiting Judge Joe D. Clayton had set Mays to be executed for 6 p.m.,Wednesday, Oct. 16. Henderson County District Attorney Mark Hall said Clayton has stayed the executive due to the fact his attorneys have file an appeal on Mays competency. Mays' attorneys are appealing a decision made June 5, by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirming the decision by Clayton that Mays is competent to be executed. In May of 2008, Mays, 58, of Payne Springs was convicted and sentenced to death for killing Deputy Tony Ogburn. He also killed HCSO investigator Paul Habelt and seriously wounded Deputy Kevin Harris. Ogburn and Habelt were a pair of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office’s most experienced lawmen. Habelt had more than 40 years to his credit. Ogburn was a veteran deputy who had worked around the courthouse for several years. Mays’ trial in early 2008 again brought the story to the forefront. For days, witnesses recounted the events until the decision finally went to the jury. They returned with a guilty verdict almost a year to the day after the shootings. The original execution date of March 18, 2015, was stayed by the Court of Criminal Appeals. The appellate court justices found Mays, 58, of Payne Springs, made “a substantial showing that he is incompetent to be executed” and ordered further competency hearings, including the appointment of mental-health experts. No date has been set for Mays execution. Hall said Mays is entitled to other appeals before an execution is carried out by the state of Texas. (source: Athens Review) *** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present47 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-565 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 48-Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez-566 49-Nov. 6-Justen Hall-567 50-Nov. 13Patrick Murphy--568 51-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-569 52-Dec. 11Travis Runnels--570 53-Jan. 15John Gardner571 54-Mar. 11Carlos Trevino--572 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) *** USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Russell Bucklew in Missouri on October 1, the USA has now executed 1,507 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. 1508---Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez--Texas 1509---Nov. 3-9---Charles Rhines---South Dakota 1510---Nov. 6-Justen Hall--Texas 1511---Nov. 7-James Dailey-Florida 1512---Nov. 13Patrick Murphy---Texas 1513---Nov. 20Rodney Reed--Texas 1514---Dec. 5-Lee Hall Jr.-Tennessee 1515---Dec. 9-Daniel Lewis Lee-Federal - Ark. 1516---Dec. 11James Hanna--Ohio 1517---Dec. 11Travis Runnels---Texas 1518---Dec. 11Lezmond Mitchell-Federal - Ariz. 1519---Dec. 13Wesley PurkeyFederal - Mo. 1520---Jan. 13---Alfred Bourgeois--Federal - Tex. 1521---Jan. 15---Dusten Honken-Federal - Iowa 1522---Jan. 15---John Gardner--Texas 1523---Jan. 16---Kareem JacksonOhio 1524---Mar. 11-------Carlos TrevinoTexas (source: Rick Halperin) FLORIDA: Court filings give insight into how defense may keep convicted murderer Everett Miller off death row Court filings in the case of convicted murderer Everett Miller have given some insight into how the defense may be trying to keep Miller off death row. The retired marine was convicted last month in the 2017 murders of Kissimmee police officer Matthew Baxter and Sgt. Sam Howard. Channel 9’s legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said the defense can use as many mitigating factors as they
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 4 IRANexecutions Iranian authorities execute 6 prisoners, including 1 in public Iranian authorities executed 4 prisoners on Wednesday, October 2, at Raja’i Shahr Prison in the city of Karaj, near the capital, Tehran. 2 of the victimes identified as Hossein Roshan and Mohsen Kounani were sentenced to death on charges related to moharebeh (“enmity against God”), while Mohammad Reza Ghanbari and Hamid Sheikhi were hanged on murder charges. As a consequence of the clerical regime’s failure to categorize murders according to their degrees, anyone committing murder is sentenced to death, regardless of their motives. On Wednesday, October 2, the Iranian regime executed a man in public in the northern ciry of Rasht. He was hanged for killing a security agent. Another prisoner identified as 24-year-old Razgar Zandi was executed on Tuseday, October 1, in Sanandaj Prison. He was charged with killing a man during a group fight. The clerical regime also executed at least 12 prisoners including 2 women on September 24 and 25, 2019. The news of these executions has not been announced by any of the state media in Iran. The unidentified woman hanged with 7 men on September 25, 2019, in Gohardasht Prison was accused of deliberately murdering her husband. An eye-witness said she had been taken for implementation of her death verdict to Gohardasht from either Shahr-e Ray (Qarchak) or Kachouii Prison. The woman has not been identified yet as this news is being posted. Taking into account the execution that took place on September 25, the number of women executed during Rouhani’s tenure reaches 96. Eight of these women have been hanged in a period of slightly over 3 months. One of these women was Leila Zarafshan who was executed on Thursday, September 26, 2019, in the Central Prison of Sanandaj. This should be compared to the 9 women executed during the entire year 2016, ten women in 2017, and 6 women in 2018. The Iranian regime is the world’s top record holder of per capita executions. At least 3800 persons have been executed during Rouhani’s terms in office. (source: Iran Human Rights) SAUDI ARABIA: Verdict in Saudi dissident case expected October 10 A Saudi court will issue a verdict in the case of dissident Sheikh Salman al-Awda on October 10, the prominent cleric’s son said today, amid concerns he will be sentenced to death. “Today, my father, Salman al-Awda, was present in a Riyadh court,” Abdullah al-Awda tweeted. “Next Thursday (October 10) will be the sentencing hearing.” Awda was among 20 people, including writers and journalists, arrested in September 2017 as part of a crackdown on dissent in the ultra-conservative kingdom. Awda’s family and Saudi media have said prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The charge sheet has not been made public. Human rights groups have said the trial is a political reprisal against Awda, a leading figure in a 1990s Islamist movement associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. In the past 2 weeks, at least 7 sessions in the cleric’s case were convened, according to his son. In one of the hearings, the prosecution presented “what it called evidence against (Awda), which was about 2,000 tweets posted to his Twitter account”, he added. The cleric’s family have said Saudi authorities had demanded that Awda and other prominent figures publicly back the kingdom in a dispute with neighbouring Qatar, but he refused. Riyadh and several allies cut off all diplomatic and economic ties with Doha in June 2017, accusing it of links to Islamist extremists, a charge Qatar has denied. (source: malaymail.com) INDIA: SC commutes man’s death penalty to life imprisonment 8 years after awarding sentence The Supreme Court commuted a man’s death penalty to life imprisonment more than 8 years after the apex court awarded the sentence. The man had been found guilty of killing his wife and 4 kids including 10-month-old baby in Maharashtra. The Supreme Court has now found fault in its verdict for coming to the conclusion about the severity of the offence to justify the extreme punishment and commuted his sentence to imprisonment for the entire life. (source: indiatimes.com) ** 2-year-old baby's rape and murder: India Supreme Court confirms death sentenceHe kidnapped, apparently kept on assaulting her over 4-5 hours till she breathed her last The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed the death penalty to a man convicted of murder and rape of a 2-year-old girl. The sentence was confirmed by 2:1 majority by a three-judge bench of Justices R. F. Nariman, Surya Kant and R.Subhash Reddy. The top court was hearing convict Ravi's plea challenging a Bombay High Court order which has confirmed the death penalty after holding him guilty of murder and rape. Justices Nariman and Kant observed that the victim was barely a two-year old baby whom the convict
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----KAN., OKLA., ORE., USA
Oct. 4 KANSAS: U.S. Supreme Court to hear Kahler death sentence appealCourt schedules three Kansas cases for fall docket 3 appeals involving Kansas will be on the U.S. Supreme Court docket when the court reconvenes for its October term, with 1 case centered on a capital murder conviction and subsequent death penalty sentence delivered by a jury and judge in Osage County, Kan. On Oct. 7, the first day of this year’s term, the Court will hear the defendant’s appeal in Kansas v. James Kraig Kahler, the capital murder case arising from Osage County. In the appeal, defendant Kahler does not dispute killing his wife, the couple’s 2 daughters, and his wife’s grandmother in November 2009, but argues Kansas law unconstitutionally prevented him from asserting an insanity defense in his case. The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted the defendant’s request to review that decision. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office reported it is the first time in modern Kansas history that the state has had three cases pending before the high court at one time. The attorney general’s office will represent Kansas in all three appeals as it does in all U.S. Supreme Court litigation. “The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear only about 1 % of the cases they are asked to review each term,” said Attorney General Derek Schmidt. “It is highly unusual for a single state, especially a small state like Kansas, to have 3 cases pending before the Court simultaneously. We are working vigorously to prepare for these 3 arguments and look forward to presenting the State’s cases in the fall.” Kansas last participated in oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015, when the attorney general successfully argued that that the death sentences imposed on two capital murder defendants in Wichita and one in Great Bend did not violate the U. S. Constitution. Those cases were Kansas v. Jonathan and Reginald Carr and Kansas v. Sidney Gleason. (source: osagecountyonline.com) OKLAHOMA: More benefits planned for some Okla. death row inmatesSome of the 44 death row inmates will be moved to a unit that gives them more benefits and access to the outdoors The Oklahoma Department of Corrections plans to move some of the 44 death row inmates housed at the prison’s maximum-security H-Unit to another unit to give them more benefits and access to the outdoors. The agency’s interim Director Scott Crow says in a letter released Thursday to the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma that he plans to move “qualifying inmates” to another unit by the end of October. Crow says the move will allow those inmates to have direct sunlight, better access to the outdoors and unrestricted conversation with other inmates. The ACLU of Oklahoma warned Crow in a July letter about numerous potential constitutional violations of the rights of death row inmates, mostly by confining them to their cells for 23 hours per day. (source: Associated Press) OREGON: Death penalty for Jeremy Christian is not an option, given Oregon’s new law, defense attorneys tell judge Defense attorneys for Jeremy Christian -- who is accused of aggravated murder for the killings of 2 strangers on a Northeast Portland MAX train -- filed court papers this week asking a judge to dismiss the death-penalty murder charges against their client. The attorneys say that, due to a new law passed by the state Legislature and that went into effect Sunday, Christian can no longer be tried for aggravated murder and therefore is no longer eligible for the death penalty if he’s found guilty. The new law, which was signed by the governor and passed into law as Senate Bill 1013, narrows the definition of aggravated murder, which is the only crime in Oregon that can draw a death sentence. In order to be convicted of that crime, a defendant must have killed two or more people as an act of organized terrorism; intentionally killed a child younger than 14 with premeditation; killed another person while locked up in jail or prison for a previous murder; or killed a police, correctional or probation officer. Under the new law, Christian’s attorneys say that prosecutors could choose to pursue him under the newly created charge of first-degree murder. That crime calls for sentences ranging from life in prison with a 30-year minimum to a “true life” prison term, meaning Christian would spend the rest of his life locked up if convicted of 1st-degree murder. Christian, 37, is currently scheduled for trial starting Jan. 21. Christian was arrested on allegations of fatally stabbing Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche in the neck on a train as it pulled into the Hollywood MAX station on May 26, 2017. A third passenger, Micah Fletcher, was stabbed in the neck but survived. Although Christian is accused of killing two people, he no longer appears to be
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, MASS., FLA., MISS., OHIO
Oct. 4 TEXASimpending execution Next Thursday, 10 October 2019, World Day against the Death Penalty, Randy Halprin is scheduled to be executed in Texas. The Community of Sant’Egidio has published an urgent appeal on her website to stop this execution. It can be sent online to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles – and to Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Because this execution is scheduled on such a particular day I invite you to all sign this petition and ask others to do the same. Just click on the following link: http://nodeathpenalty.santegidio.org/ [nodeathpenalty.santegidio.org] Thank you ! (source: Annemarie Pieters, Community of Sant’Egidio) * Judge won’t reduce bond for Border Agent accused of killings A judge in Texas has declined to reduce the bond for a U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of killing 4 women last year who prosecutors say were sex workers. KGNS-TV says the judge in the border city of Laredo on Thursday denied the bond reduction request for Juan David Ortiz. Ortiz, who is charged with capital murder , remains in Webb County jail on $2.5 million bond. Those testifying at the hearing included Erika Pena , who told investigators she escaped from Ortiz’s truck after he pointed a gun at her. She ran to a state trooper who was refueling his vehicle and, with her help, authorities were able to find Ortiz and arrest him in September 2018. The district attorney has said he’ll seek the death penalty in the case. (source: Associated Press) * False witness: why is the US still using hypnosis to convict criminals? For decades, US law enforcement has used ‘forensic hypnosis’ to help solve crimes – yet despite growing evidence that it is junk science, this method is still being used to send people to death row. In January 2016, Charles Flores, a Texas prisoner, was moved to death watch, where inmates awaiting execution spend their final months. Seventeen years earlier, Flores had been convicted of murdering a woman in a Dallas suburb in the course of a robbery, a crime he says he did not commit. All of his appeals had been denied and his lethal injection was scheduled for 2 June. Flores’s new neighbour on death watch, who was due to die in two weeks, gave him the name of his attorney, Gregory Gardner. Gardner specialised in fighting capital punishment convictions and had helped this man take his case to the US supreme court. Flores wrote to Gardner, telling him about the troubling course his trial had taken. No physical evidence had been presented to tie him to the murder, his defence had failed him in multiple ways and, perhaps most troublingly, the only eye witness who claimed to have seen him at the scene of the crime had been hypnotised by police during questioning. Hypnosis has been used as a forensic tool by US law enforcement and intelligence agencies since the 2nd world war. Proponents argue that it allows victims and witnesses to recall traumatic events with greater clarity by detaching them from emotions that muddy the memory. In the case that led police departments across the country to begin using forensic hypnosis, a school bus driver in California, who had been abducted and buried alive with 26 students in an underground trailer, later accurately recalled most of the licence plate of his abductors while under hypnosis. (All 27 captives survived the ordeal, after they dug themselves out of the trailer with a piece of wood.) That was in 1976. In recent decades, the scientific validity of forensic hypnosis has been called into question by experts who study how memory operates, especially in police interviews and courtrooms. It is one example of a growing number of forensic practices – including the analysis of blood spatter patterns and the study of what distinguishes arson from accidental fires – that prosecutors once relied on to secure convictions, but which are now considered to be unreliable. “The breadth of scientific error in forensic disciplines is breathtaking,” Ben Wolff, an attorney for Flores, told me. After reading about Flores’s case, Gardner got in touch with a hypnosis expert named Dr Steven Lynn. As a young psychologist in the 1970s, Lynn was a “true believer” in the power of hypnosis to retrieve memories, he later testified in a hearing in Flores’s case. But when Lynn began to test this assumption, he found that in study after study, hypnosis actually harmed subjects’ recall. It led them to “recover” at least as many false memories as accurate ones, while increasing their confidence in the memories’ accuracy. “Maybe they’re having a very vivid experience during hypnosis, but that experience is not necessarily a truthful experience,” Lynn told the court. After contacting Lynn, Gardner filed an appeal before the highest criminal court in Texas. He based the appeal on a law passed in Texas three years earlier, in May 2013, known as the junk
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 3 IRAN: Death decrees finalized for 2 women in Khoy and Isfahan Death decrees were finalized for 2 women in the cities of Khoy and Isfahan while two women were executed in late September in the cities of Sanandaj and Tehran. The death decree for Zahra Derakhshan was recently upheld and finalized by the Criminal Court of Urmia. Zahra Derakhshan has been detained in Khoy Prison since November 2016. The first time she received the death decree was in November 2018, but she objected to the court ruling. Khoy is the second largest city of West Azerbaijan Province, in northwestern Iran, after the capital city of Urmia. Another woman by the name of Fariba was also sentenced to death for killing a police officer while trying to help a prisoner escape. Mohammad Reza Habibi, general director of Isfahan’s Department of Justice, announced that the death decree had been objected by the lawyer of this case, but the ruling was finally upheld by the supreme court on September 3, 2019. (The state-run ROKNA news agency – September 23, 2019) Leila Zarafshan was hanged in the Central Prison of Sanandaj on September 26, 2019, and another unidentified woman was hanged in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, on September 25, 2019. Ninety-six (96) women have been executed in Iran under Rouhani. The actual number of execution victims and other victims of the clerical regime’s Judiciary are far above the data and information published in the state-run press. One of the signs of stepped up pressure and crackdown on women in Iran and the accelerating pace of executions is the number of women hanged in recent months. Eight (8) Iranian women have been executed in a period of slightly over 3 months, while in a year-long period from 2016 to 2018, the number of women executed by the Iranian regime in the whole year ranged between 6 and 10. (source: ncr-iran.org) ** 4, including 2 Iranians, told to enter defence for drug chargeJudge Datuk Akhtar Tahir made the decision at the end of the prosecution case against J. Balakrishnan, 61, B. Lacheme Devi, 56, Mohammad Abbasi Younes, 27, and Syedmohsen Namazikivaj Seyedreza, 31. 4 accused, including 2 Iranian men, were told to enter their defence by the High Court here today for drug charges in 2015. Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir made the decision at the end of the prosecution case against J. Balakrishnan, 61, B. Lacheme Devi, 56, Mohammad Abbasi Younes, 27, and Syedmohsen Namazikivaj Seyedreza, 31. An amended charge was read out to all the accused – in Tamil for Balakrishnan and Lacheme Devi, and in Persian for the Iranians. In the amended charge, all 4 were accused of trafficking by the way of manufacturing methamphetamine at a house at Taman Sri Rambai in Seberang Perai Tengah district on Aug 20, 2015 about 10.10pm. It is an offence under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code which carries the death penalty or lifetime imprisonment. If not sentenced to death then the accused must be whipped not less than 15 times. All 4 pleaded not guilty and claimed trial after the charge was read to them. Balakrishnan was represented by A. Ashok, Lacheme Devi by RSN Rayer and the 2 Iranians were represented by Kitson Foong. Deputy Public Prosecutor Farah Aimy Zainul Anwar prosecuted. "I hereby order the accused to enter defence against the charges," said the judge. He then explained the 3 options that are available to enter defence; to remain silent, give testimony from the dock, or sworn testimony from the witness stand. "They can speak with their counsels, but the decision must be made by them," he added. All 4 then agreed to give sworn testimony and the court fixed Nov 11 to 14 for hearing. (source: indiatimes.com) SRI LANKA: Mother and son sentenced to death over murder A mother and a son of the same family have been sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court over a case of murder. The order was issued by High Court Judge Pradeep Hettiarachchi when the case was taken up today (03). The convicted mother and son had murdered the wife of the son by setting on fire back in 2007. The incident which had taken place in 2007 had, reportedly, been the result of a family issue. Following an extensive hearing, the 75-year-old mother and the 35-year-old son were issued capital punishment today. (source: adaderana.lk) INDIA: Prime Accused In Radha Kumari Murder Case Sentenced To Death The prime accused in the Radha Kumari rape and murder case has been awarded the death penalty by the District and Sessions Judge, Sivasagar, SK Poddar on Thursday, October 3. The court gave the accused, Bikas Das, 30 days to appeal before the High Court. 21-year-old Radha Kumari was raped and strangled to death inside a passenger train travelling from Tinsukia to Rangia on
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, NEV., ORE., USA
Oct. 3 OHIO: Ohio Governor Grants Reprieve to Prisoner Who Was Abandoned by Attorneys Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has granted a reprieve to Cleveland Jackson, delaying his execution date from November 13, 2019 to January 13, 2021, because of a misconduct complaint filed against his previous appellate attorneys. The ethics complaint alleges that John Gibbons and James Jenkins, who were appointed in 2007 to represent Jackson during his habeas corpus appeal, missed critical filing deadlines, did not meet with their client for years, and even failed to inform him when an execution date was set. Without consulting with Jackson, they also rejected offers of help from the Capital Habeas Unit for the Northern District of Ohio. The Board of Professional Conduct, the disciplinary branch of the Ohio Supreme Court, filed the complaint on September 27, 2019. Governor DeWine issued the reprieve three days later. The reprieved marked the sixth time Jackson’s execution date has been postponed. A news release issued by the Governor’s office on September 30 suggested that the Jackson’s execution might be postponed beyond the two months authorized by the reprieve order. “While a certified disciplinary complaint is only an allegation, this is a serious allegation raising significant questions that need to be resolved in the disciplinary process,” the statement said. “It is prudent to issue a reprieve in this matter until the disciplinary process is resolved.” The statement also said the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections was experiencing “[o]ngoing issues” relating to its ability “to acquire drugs pursuant to their protocol.” The 25-page ethics complaint sets forth a litany of failures that the Board of Professional Conduct complaint charges Gibbons and Jenkins with failing to provide competent representation, failing to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing Jackson, failing to reasonably consult with Jackson about the case, keep him informed of developments in the case, and respond to his inquiries, failing following their withdrawal from the case “to take steps, to the extent reasonably practicable, to protect [Jackson’s] interest,” and “engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.” In 2007, Jackson requested that federal defenders be appointed to represent him in his habeas corpus proceedings. The court denied that request and instead appointed Gibbons and Jenkins, who filed a habeas petition that was quickly denied. They appealed that denial, seeking several extensions of time before ultimately submitting a brief that, the complaint says, failed to conform to the court’s rules. After the appeals court upheld the lower court’s ruling, the Ohio federal defender’s office offered to help the 2 lawyers. They refuse the offer without consulting Jackson. They then failed to inform Jackson when Ohio issued a death warrant scheduling his execution for 2013. Even after agreeing to withdraw from the case, counsel remained uncooperative, failing to time provide the defense files to Jackson’s new lawyers. In response to one request for those files, Gibbons emailed to Jackson’s federal defenders: “Thank you for your gratuitous, asinine, threatening letter …. Mr. Jenkins and I are individual practitioners, not supported by the United States taxpayers, such as you and your office.” He insisted on up-front payment for the costs of retrieving the files before providing them to the new lawyers. The ethics complaint says that, when the files were turned over, they contained very little work product. Jackson’s current lawyer, assistant federal defender Dale Baich, called the reprieve issued by Governor DeWine “entirely appropriate due to the failure of Mr. Jackson’s former habeas counsel which resulted in a problematic legal process in his case.” Baich said numerous issues “were not explored due to Mr. Jackson’s poor legal representation, [and] evidence of Mr. Jackson’s intellectual disability was not developed and presented at the appropriate time.” Baich said that prior counsel’s failures have “cost Mr. Jackson his right to raise this constitutional challenge, which would have made him ineligible for a death sentence. Now,” Baich said, “the courts may no longer have the ability to review these and other meritorious claims.” (source: Death Penalty Information Center) * Murderer George Brinkman: No excuses, give me death George Brinkman argued for his own death sentence Wednesday, telling a panel of 3 judges he deserves the harshest of punishments. Stepping to the witness stand, the 47-year-old Stark County man apologized for murdering Roberta (Bobbi) and Rogell (Gene) John in June 2017. Brinkman said he wasn’t making excuses for taking their lives. “They were extremely kind, caring and wonderful and people who did not deserve to be killed by me,” he said. ”... I’m so very
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., FLA., MISS., LA.
Oct. 3 TEXAS: Death Watch: Judge's "Horrible Bigotry" Not Enough to Force New TrialThe 5CA has denied Randy Halprin's plea as his death date nears The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals doesn't dispute that the judge in Randy Halprin's trial was a racist. But in its Sept. 23 ruling, the 5CA says there's nothing it can do about it now that will help Halprin, a member of the notorious Texas 7, scheduled to be executed Oct. 10. Halprin's attorneys allege that his trial was biased beyond repair and a new one is in order. The 1st sentence of their appeal to the 5CA reads: "The Honorable Vickers Cunningham, the presiding judge at Randy Halprin's capital trial, is a racist and anti-Semitic bigot who described Halprin – a Jewish man – as 'that fuckin' Jew' and a 'goddamn kike.'" Cunningham presided over most of the trials of the Texas 7, a group of inmates who broke out of prison in 2000 and robbed a sporting goods store, then shot down Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins when he responded to the alarm. They hid out for months before a tip to the television show America's Most Wanted led authorities to Colorado, where they apprehended 6 of the 7 men in 2001 (one killed himself to avoid capture). One after another, the defendants received death sentences from Cunningham; 4 have already been executed. Patrick Murphy, whose execution was stayed in March after he'd asked for a Buddhist priest to attend to him in the death chamber, is now scheduled to die in November. Cunningham's bigotry came to light 15 years after the trials, when he was running in the 2018 Republican primary for a seat on the Dallas County Commissioners Court. Cunningham's brother told The Dallas Morning News about the living trust Cunningham had set up for his children – allowing them to receive shares of their inheritance only upon marrying straight white Christians. In a video interview with the News, Cunningham said, "I'm supporting what my beliefs are." When asked if he had ever used the "N-word," he gazed pensively into the air and waited 9 seconds before answering no. This news broke on the last day of early voting in the run-off, in which Cunningham had been heavily favored; he ended up losing by 25 votes. He and other family members deny he is a racist; he still practices law in Dallas today. McKinney said Cunningham took pride in the death sentences he handed out, and remembers him saying, “from the wetback to the Jew, they knew they were going to die.” Halprin's appeal to 5CA is replete with other examples of Cunningham's bigotry. Tammy McKinney, who grew up with Cunningham and knew him well, is quoted as saying he regularly used language "such as 'nigger,' 'wetback,' 'spic,' 'kike,' 'the fuckin' Jews.'" She said Cunningham took pride in the death sentences he handed out to the Texas 7 and remembers him saying, "From the wetback to the Jew, they knew they were going to die." Amanda Tackett, who worked on Cunningham's earlier failed run for Dallas County district attorney in 2006, also remembers his demeaning language. She says Cunningham often used the N-word and would place it in front of a black person's name, as he did with former Dallas D.A. Craig Watkins, whom he referred to as N-word Watkins. Halprin's request for a new trial attracted widespread support; over 100 Jewish attorneys and community leaders filed a brief in his favor, and The Washington Post backed his appeal. Current Dallas County D.A. John Creuzot did not oppose a retrial. But there were technicalities to consider, rules of procedure. The 5CA said that for the appeal to be considered, it had to have something new in it; while Halprin's defense attorneys argued that they didn't know about Cunningham's racism until the 2018 election – and thus it was new evidence – the judges ruled that since Cunningham had been racist all along, it did not constitute new grounds for appeal, and in any event wouldn't matter. For the 5CA to order a new trial, the evidence of bias would have to be so compelling that it would make a normal jury change its verdict; the judges ruled that Halprin's jury would still have found him guilty even if they'd known of Cunningham's bigoted views. Now, time is growing short. Halprin's lawyers will surely ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review his case and order a new trial, but SCOTUS hasn't replied to questions about their plans. If they don't hear the case, the appeal has nonetheless offered a picture of the judiciary rarely seen, though often suspected. In that regard, the 5CA felt compelled to draw a distinction between Cunningham's views and its own. The statement of principle came in a footnote: "Cunningham's racism and bigotry are horrible and completely inappropriate for a judge." (source: Austin Chronicle) * Man accused of killing trooper appears in court The 24-year-old man accused of killing Texas Department of Public Safety
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., MISS., KY., MO.
Oct. 2 TEXAS: UT Amnesty International chaper holds rally for death row inmate Rodney Reed The UT Amnesty International chapter held a protest Tuesday at West Mall in support of Rodney Reed, who was convicted of murder in 1998 and has been on death row in Texas for 23 years. Amnesty International is the largest human rights organization in the world, and UT’s chapter works to spread awareness about human rights abuses, according to the organization’s websites. A couple dozen protestors encouraged bystanders and nearby students to take flyers and sign clemency letters on Reed’s behalf. Zoe Marshall, a UT Amnesty International officer, said chapter members have been closely following Reed’s case, and they believe the evidence shows he is innocent. She said the chapter’s top priority is engaging with and lobbying for this issue in state government. “This case really matters, not just because it involves the death penalty but because Rodney Reed is an innocent man, and he was not given a fair trial,” history senior Marshall said. “Amnesty International stands for fairness and justice for everyone, especially in an instance where this man could be facing death. It’s a case that has lots of urgency for us right now.” Members of Rodney Reed’s family were also present at the protest, including his brother Rodrick and stepsister Wana. “I have been in support of my brother from day one, and I will continue to support him as long a I have a breath in my body,” Rodrick said. “It’s very important that my family and these students get involved because it affects everybody. It is injustice, and when you do it to one person, you’ve done it to us all.” Public relations sophomore Tavia Zepeda said she believes it was “pretty clear” that Reed’s race and socioeconomic status has to do with him being convicted. “It’s almost a never ending story of white police officers taking advantage of black lives,” Zepeda said. Government senior Jenny Matthews said the fight for justice ultimately rests in the hands of the current generation of college students. “The prelaw students here are going to be the ones trying cases like this in the future,” Matthews said. “We’re the future leaders of America … The people in power seem to have no interest in this. Their only interest is in holding up the status quo. They’re not interested in getting people like Rodney Reed out, and we need to change that.” (source: The (Univ. of Texas) Daily Texan) FLORIDA: Jury questioning begins for Michael Jones' death penalty trial in murder of Diana Duve Michael Jones sat passively in court Tuesday as a few people called for jury duty described in detail what they knew about how he’s accused of killing Diana Duve in 2014 after the couple met for drinks at a local bar. Most of the pool of 33 potential jurors called to court for Jones' death penalty trial said they didn’t know anything about the former wealth management advisor, or Duve’s homicide, which police said happened in the early hours of June 20, 2014. Jones, 36, who arrived in court wearing a suit jacket, white dress shirt and blue tie, is charged with 1st-degree murder and faces the death penalty if convicted. He's pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Indian River County Jail. By midday, 6 prospective jurors had been released from serving on his jury. Michael Jones murder trial: “Could you vote for death?” Some recited facts they’d read in recent media reports and during the past 5 years. A few recalled that Jones and Duve had dated and that he’s accused of strangling her then putting her body in the trunk of her car and driving it to another county. Duve was discovered in the trunk of her Nissan Altima in a Melbourne parking lot. Jones was charged with murder days later. One woman who was cut from the jury said she worked as a medical biller and knew Duve, who was a nurse at Sebastian Medical Center. The woman said one of her nurse friends was close to Duve. Duve's parents, Lena and Bill Andrews and other family members silently watched the proceedings in court. One man dismissed from the jury pool said it didn’t matter if state prosecutors proved Jones was guilty, he’d still find him innocent out of fear of retribution if there was a conviction. A couple of people said they’d already decided he was guilty and it would be difficult to set aside their strong opinions about the case. As 15 jurors were quizzed one at a time, Jones sat at the defense table with his public defender legal team, taking notes on a legal pad. He showed no emotion but seemed to be listening to each person as they spoke. After a lunch break, prosecutors and Jones’ lawyers continued speaking to a group of 25 people covering a range of questions about their beliefs related to the death penalty and their experience with or exposure to domestic violence. "I'm interested in your personal feelings about the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 2 INDIA: Mumbai: Prosecution seeks death for 29-year-old in physiotherapist rape, murder case Special Public Prosecutor Raja Thakare submitted before the court that the manner in which the crime was committed showed the “total depravity” of Debashish Dhara, who was found guilty last week of charges including murder, rape and unnatural offences. The prosecutor added that the victim had a bright future and academic aspirations for herself as well as her younger sister. A week after a special court in Dindoshi found a 29-year-old man guilty of raping and murdering a 24-year-old physiotherapist, the prosecution on Tuesday sought the death penalty for him, citing the brutality of the offence. Special Judge A D Deo will decide on the quantum of punishment on October 4. Special Public Prosecutor Raja Thakare submitted before the court that the manner in which the crime was committed showed the “total depravity” of Debashish Dhara, who was found guilty last week of charges including murder, rape and unnatural offences. Thakare said that the crime was so brutal that it had shocked the conscience of the society. Dhara had entered the victim’s home on the intervening night of December 5 and 6, 2016, while she was sleeping. He then strangled her with a pair of jeans and raped her. Before leaving, he kept books and clothes on the victim and set her on fire to destroy evidence. Thakare told the court that the brutality of the crime could be seen by the fact that a witness, who was part of the inquest panchnama, could not even describe the injuries of the deceased when she came to depose. He further said that it could not be looked at as a case of murder alone as the accused has also been found guilty under Section 376 A (punishment for causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of victim) of the Indian Penal Code, which like the murder charge also carries the maximum punishment of death. The prosecutor added that the victim had a bright future and academic aspirations for herself as well as her younger sister. Thakare also sought compensation for the victim’s family. Dhara, who was brought before the court on Tuesday, claimed that he was assaulted by other inmates after he returned to prison following his conviction last week. He sought leniency, stating that he is the only breadwinner of the family and had unmarried sisters to look after. Dhara also sought that he should be transferred to a prison in his native village in West Bengal, so that he could remain in touch with his family. *** Beant Singh’s kin to move SC if Centre commutes death penalty A special court had in July 2007 awarded the death sentence to Rajoana, along with another terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, in the Beant Singh assassination case. The family of slain Punjab chief minister Beant Singh will challenge in the Supreme Court any decision by Centre to commute his assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana’s death sentence to life imprisonment, the leader’s grandson and Punjab MLA Gurkirat Singh Kotli Tuesday said. The Union Home Ministry is yet to officially confirm if Rajoana’s death sentence is being commuted, even as politics has heated up in Punjab over reports on such a move. “We will challenge the Centre’s decision in Supreme court,” Kotli said. “We are taking legal opinion on what grounds it will be challenged. One of the main grounds for challenging the Centre’s decision will be that Rajoana himself had never apologised and had never moved any mercy petition for commuting his death sentence,” he added. Kotli, who is an All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and an MLA from Punjab’s Khanna, termed the Centre’s decision unfortunate and politically motivated. “The Modi government should make it clear whether it is with peace-loving people or with those who want to vitiate the atmosphere,” he said. Kotli alleged that the Centre took the decision as Rajoana had appealed for votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Shiromani Akali Dal during the last Lok Sabha elections. He claimed that Rajoana’s sister Kamaldeep Kaur had posted this appeal on her Facebook page. Another grandson of the assassinated leader and Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, who had earlier warned that “Centre was playing with fire”. Tuesday said he has sought time from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss matter. “Why this double standard by the PM? On one hand, he talks about fight against terrorism and on the other, he is all set to release the most dreaded terrorist. If a sitting chief minister’s killers can be set free, how can a common man expect justice,” Bittu said in Ludhiana. He said he will be writing individually to all the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs and “tell them about the BJP’s stand on terrorism”. “If they are thinking of gaining Sikh votes, they are living in a fools’ paradise,” he added.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEB., WIS., ARIZ., ORE., USA
Oct. 2 NEBRASKA: Death Row: Could Nebraska see its 1st woman sentenced? A woman accused of murder may be the 1st woman on death row in the state. Bailey Boswell will go on trial in s6 months, but those against the death penalty say there are better options. Currently, there are 12 men on death row in Nebraska. In March 2020, Bailey Boswell, one of the people accused of killing and dismembering Lincoln woman, Sydney Loofe, could be the 1st woman to get the death penalty. The death penalty hasn't always been an option; the state has gone back and forth on the death penalty. In 2015, lawmakers got rid of it and a year later it was voted back in. The last execution in Nebraska was in 2018 and Carey Dean Moore was put to death. Moore's death was the first in the state to use lethal injection and reignited the conversation over the death penalty. Matt Maly with Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty says this method needs to be reevaluated. “Even if we wanted to continue doing secret executions and to continue to not have transparency in such a gray and important process," says Maly. "We still don’t even have the drugs to do it that way.” Nebraska’s supply of lethal drugs expired in 2018 but Maly says his group still wants it off the books entirely. “We’re not going to give up on this issue. Nebraskans have been fighting to get rid of the death penalty for decades, and we’ll continue to do public education and be all over this state, teaching people the facts about the death penalty.” Governor Pete Ricketts has fought to keep the death penalty for years. In a statement on his website, “I will veto any attempt to repeal the death penalty here in our state. This proposal is the wrong direction and would soften our state’s approach to dealing with criminals.” According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Death-row prisoners in the U.S. typically spend more than a decade awaiting execution. “From a victim’s perspective, there’s over 30 families who have been through horrible, horrible things and have things done to their loved ones," says Maly. "They have been told this crime was so terrible that we’re going to seek the ultimate punishment. This person is going to be executed for what they’ve done to you and almost all of those families, it never happened.” As far as Boswell potentially being the first woman on death row, Maly says it shouldn’t be an option. “We have the full ability to lock them up for a life sentence, they’ll never ever come before a parole board, there is zero chance of them ever getting out and walking the streets again. Again, we can save a lot of money that way and just lock them up and forget about them.” According to a Creighton University study, the state spends around $14.6 million a year to keep its capital punishment system. An average of $23.2 million more a year than other states without it The costs come from appeals, pre-trials and attorneys. (source: Fox News) WISCONSIN: "More than half of death row prisoners are people of color." — Gwen Moore on Friday, July 26th, 2019 in a tweetWisconsin lawmaker hits the target with claim on racial background of death row prisoners All told, some 2,700 people are on death row at the state level. A little more than 60 are in federal prisons awaiting the death penalty. Wisconsin was one of the first states to abolish capital punishment, on July 10, 1853. The move followed the 1851 execution of John McCaffary, the 1st and last person to be executed under Wisconsin state law. More than 2,000 people witnessed the execution by hanging of McCaffary in Kenosha. He had received the death penalty for drowning his wife, Bridgett McCaffary, on July 23, 1850, in a backyard cistern. The hanging turned into a gruesome spectacle, as McCaffary struggled on the end of the rope for some 20 minutes as he was slowly strangled, according to the MurderPedia.org website. The uproar over the slow public strangulation of McCaffary prompted Wisconsin to ban the death penalty. While there is no death penalty in Wisconsin, the issue resonates nationwide -- particularly since the Trump administration moved in July 2019 to reinstate the federal death penalty. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., slammed the reinstatement in a July 26, 2019 tweet: "The death penalty is a discriminatory policy. More than 1/2 of death row prisoners are people of color. The Trump administration isn’t fooling anyone by reinstating the federal death penalty and executing a white supremacist first. Distraction & deflection is their goal." Is Moore right that "more than 1/2 of death row prisoners are people of color"? Establishing the terms Before we jump in, some background on the issue. As of August 28, 2019, there are 30 states that currently allow the death penalty. They include Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, Texas and Utah. Most of the death penalty states are in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MISSOURI, USA
the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Missouri and the 89th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1989. Only Texas (565), Virginia (113), Oklahoma (112) and Florida (99) have carried out more executions than Missouri since the death penalty was re-legalized in the United States on July 2, 1976. Bucklew becomes the 17th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1,507th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. There are currently 3 more executions scheduled in October (all in Texas), 5 in November and 6 in December. The nation carried out 25 executions in 2018. (source: SE Missourian & Rick Halperin) USA: USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Russell Bucklew in Missouri on October 1, the USA has now executed 1,507 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. 1508---Oct. 10Randy HalprinTexas 1509---Oct. 16Randall Mays-Texas 1510---Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez--Texas 1511---Nov. 3-9---Charles Rhines---South Dakota 1512---Nov. 6-Justen Hall--Texas 1513---Nov. 7-James Dailey-Florida 1514---Nov. 13Patrick Murphy---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. 15---John Gardner--Texas 1525---Jan. 16---Kareem JacksonOhio 1526---Mar. 11---Carlos TrevinoTexas (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----worldwide
Oct. 1 GLOBAL: How states are trying to slowly kill off the death penalty Switzerland and other countries last week managed to push through a resolution against the death penalty at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Over the past decade the small alpine nation has strongly opposed capital punishment, which has seen a slow decline. While critics have accused Switzerland of keeping a low human rights profile since Ignazio Cassis took over as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in 2017, the country has continued its strong commitment to abolish the death penaltyexternal link and keep the issue at the top of the international agenda. “Switzerland strongly deplores the fact that in 2019 the international community has again witnessed mass executions and those of minors,” Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Valentin Zellweger told the councilexternal link, which concluded its 42nd session last Friday. In his speech, the Swiss diplomat urged the 10 countries with the highest total number of executions - China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Iraq, Egypt, the United States, Japan, Pakistan and Singapore – to abolish or suspend capital punishment. But according to Amnesty International’s most recent report on the death penalty covering 2018external link, these countries are not all exactly in the same position. “Overall, the total number of executions recorded fell by more than 30% [between 2018 and 2017], mainly due to sharp decreases seen in some of the countries that use it most, such as Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Somalia,” it noted. But Amnesty noted reversals: “For the 1st time since 2009, Thailand has carried out an execution, and several other countries reported an increase in the total number of executions recorded during the year, including Belarus, the United States, Japan, Singapore and South Sudan.” There were also significant increases in the number of death sentences handed down in countries such as Egypt and Iraq, the NGO said. The few statistics made public by the Vietnamese authorities indicate that Vietnam has made extensive use of the death penalty. In China, the use of the capital punishment is still surrounded by secrecy, but Amnesty believes that the country continues to condemn and execute thousands of people. Successful resolution It was not surprising, therefore, that some of these states tried to weaken a human rights resolution on the death penalty, via amendments or by voting against it last Friday. In the end the resolution, which was co-sponsored by Switzerland, was adopted by 26 states, 14 were against and there were 6 abstentions. Hilary Power, a representative of Amnesty International at the UN in Geneva, welcomed the result and stressed the continuing positive momentum for the abolition of the death penalty. But she added: “We are concerned about the possible resumption of executions in Sri Lanka and the possible reintroduction of the death penalty in the Philippines". In the resolution approved last week, the council decided that the upcoming biennial high-level panel discussion to be held at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council will address human rights violations related to the use of the death penalty, in particular with respect to whether the use of the death penalty has a deterrent effect on crime rate. It also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its 48th session. Long-term programme What is exact purpose of such a resolution? Presented every 2 years, it examines human rights violations caused by capital punishment legislation when it targets, for example, homosexuals, minors or ethnic minorities. The resolution does not directly aim to abolish the death penalty or call for a moratorium, which is the subject of a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. It simply tries to encourage countries where the death penalty is still in force to reduce its scope. Iran, for example, has abandoned the death penalty for drug cases, which led to a sharp drop in the number of executions last year. Friday’s resolution is part of a Swiss foreign ministry’s 2017-2019 action plan for the universal abolition of the death penaltyexternal link, which was drawn up a decade ago and renewed. The strategy involves different channels and approaches, with support from an ?ad hoc coalition of external NGOsexternal link. A similar strategy was pursued in the case of the 1997 Ottowa landmine ban treaty. (source: swissinfo.ch) IRAN: Iran sentences 1 person to death for spying for the US and jails another for 10 years for spying for Britain Iran has sentenced an alleged US spy to death and imprisoned 3 others including an alleged British agent. 3 people face 10-year prison sentences, one of them accused of spying for
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, TENN., ARK., MO., NEB., NEV.
Oct. 1 OHIOexecution date moved Governor delays execution of Lima murderer Convicted Lima murderer Cleveland R. Jackson’s date with Ohio’s lethal injection gurney has again been delayed, this time for more than a year. Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday cited a disciplinary complaint filed against Jackson’s former attorneys as he issued another reprieve for the man who, with half-brother Jeronique Cunningham, opened fire 17 years ago on a crowded apartment kitchen in a robbery. 2 died — Jayla Grant, 3, and Leneshia Williams, 17. He faces execution for Ms. Williams’ death but is serving life in prison without parole for Ms. Grant’s murder. The execution, previously set for Nov. 13, has been postponed until Jan. 13, 2021.The move by the Republican governor follows a disciplinary complaint that was made public on Friday against the attorneys who previously represented Jackson, 41. The attorneys have been accused of all but abandoning him, leading to the appointment of new counsel. A news release from Mr. DeWine’s office also cited the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s continuing difficulties in obtaining the drugs it wants to use as part of its three-drug protocol. The governor previously had cited a federal court’s ruling in which the magistrate judge expressed his opinion that Ohio’s lethal injection protocol amounts to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment. But that Dayton magistrate judge never issued an order to postpone an execution, and the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned his decision in which he registered his opinion. Although they’ve each tried to blame the other for firing the gun, Jackson and Cunningham were both convicted of corralling eight people into an apartment kitchen on Jan. 3, 2002, robbing them, and then opening fire at close range. The next person scheduled to be executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville is James Galen Hanna, convicted of stabbing his cellmate, Peter Copas, in the eye and bludgeoning him with a sock containing a padlock in 1997. Hanna was serving a life sentence in the Lebanon Correctional Institution at the time for the 1978 murder of a clerk in a West Toledo convenience store. He is scheduled for execution Dec. 11. (source: Toledo Blade) TENNESSEE: Tennessee governor hands-off as AG moves for more executions Tennessee's governor is refraining from weighing in on the attorney general's request to schedule executions for 9 death-row prisoners and restore a 10th inmate's death sentence. Republican Gov. Bill Lee said Thursday that it is Attorney General Herbert Slatery's prerogative to request the execution dates and to challenge a court's decision commuting an inmate's death sentence to life in prison. Lee said he and Slatery haven't discussed the decisions. If Slatery's 2 moves are successful, Lee would have to decide 12 separate times whether to spare the life of a prisoner on death row: 2 other executions have already been scheduled. Tennessee, which performed three executions last year, was second only to Texas, which carried out 13. Most states have been moving away from the death penalty. "The Supreme Court and the attorney general make determinations about executions ... and how that process unfolds," Lee told reporters Thursday. "So I will let that process ... play out. That's their responsibility." As a 2018 gubernatorial candidate, Lee touted his Christian faith and highlighted his participation in inmate-mentoring programs. Last week, Slatery announced he would challenge a Nashville criminal court's decision to commute the death sentence of black inmate Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman's to life in prison after concerns were raised that racism tainted the jury selection pool. Slatery argued in his appeal that the court's order "circumvented established legal procedures." He also asked the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for 9 death row prisoners. Tennessee has executed five people since August 2018, including three by electrocution — an option for inmates convicted of crimes before January 1999. Two of the executions have taken place since Lee took office. In those cases, the governor denied each of the inmates' requests for clemency. In Tennessee, the attorney general can request execution dates once juries have delivered death sentences and inmates have exhausted their three-tier appeals process in state courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court then schedules the executions. Lee is expected to reveal a slate of criminal justice reform proposals for the upcoming legislative session in January, but changes to the death penalty are not expected to be among them. Asked Thursday if he thought the death penalty law should be changed, the governor replied, "That's a decision for the people of Tennessee and the Legislature. The death penalty is appropriate for those
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., FLA., ALA., MISS., LA.
Oct. 1 TEXAS: Jurors to decide if Haskell a future danger to society Aurielle Lyon sobbed as she identified 4 of her nieces and nephews from their autopsy photos. She will never see Bryan Stay, 13, graduate from high school. She won’t watch Emily, 9, go through childhood with her cousin and closest pal, or witness Rebecca, 7, develop her wacky fashion sense into her teenage years. Her own son can’t become best friends with Zachary, 4. “My mind just goes to the experiences I should have had with these children,” Lyon said Monday during the 1st day of testimony in the punishment phase of convicted murderer Ronald Haskell, who admitted to killing the children and their parents. The aunt painted a portrait of the lively children, fatally shot at their Spring home in 2014 along with their mother and father. Earlier in the day, Haskell’s lawyers told jurors that the man, found guilty of capital murder last week, is no longer a future danger to society and should be given life without parole. Harris County prosecutors are urging the jury panel to choose the death penalty. “He is who he is,” prosecutor Samantha Knecht said during the punishment phase’s opening arguments. “He’s a manipulator, he’s a con artist, and he’s a future danger.” (source: Houston Chronicle) Convict accused of killing Sikh Texas deputy will likely face death penalty, judge saysThe deputy had gained national attention in 2015 when he was permitted to grow a beard and wear a turban on the job to observe his Sikh faith. The man accused of gunning down a Texas deputy who was celebrated when he was permitted to grow a beard and wear a turban on the job to observe his Sikh faith will likely face the death penalty, a judge said Monday. Robert Solis, 47, was arrested on suspicion of capital murder in connection with the shooting of Harris County Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal during an afternoon traffic stop on Friday. Evidence does not suggest the "ambush-style" attack was a hate crime, police said. Solis, who was convicted of kidnapping in 2002 and was wanted for violating parole at the time of the shooting, will be held without bond, Harris County Judge Chris Morton said during a court hearing Monday morning. "It's a likely outcome that death be the sentence here," Morton added, according to NBC affiliate KPRC. Dhaliwal, 41, attracted national attention in 2015 when the Harris County department became the nation's largest sheriff's office to allow a Sikh to police while wearing his articles of faith, including turban and beard. The 10-year veteran of the department was known locally as a public servant with a big heart, who volunteered his time assisting with hurricane relief not just at home, but also in Puerto Rico and Louisiana. "He was an exemplary person, exemplary deputy. He was just loved by so many people, his teammates, community and everybody," said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. "He just had this positive energy about him and this light that unfortunately was dimmed much too soon." A candlelight vigil will be held for Dhaliwal on Monday night and his funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. He is survived by 3 children, a wife and a brother. Gonzalez said the department was receiving calls from people from all over the country who want to come to the services to honor Dhaliwal. (source: NBC News) NORTH CAROLINA: Warrant: Cary man told landscapers he shot his wife, asked them to call 911 A Cary man told lawn workers that he killed his wife and asked them to call the police on Sept. 19, according to newly released search warrants. According to the documents, 59-year-old Michael Sauls admitted to shooting his ex-wife in the backyard of their home at 2201 Piney Plains Road, near the Crossroads Plaza shopping center. Police were called around 11:45 a.m. to the couple's home. When officers arrived, they found Patsy Sauls suffering from a gunshot wound and a black revolver in the grass nearby. Patsy Sauls was rushed to WakeMed in Cary where she died from her injuries just after 12:30 p.m. Michael Sauls was still at the scene and was taken into custody without incident. In an interview room, immediately following his arrest, Michael Sauls kept asking if his wife was OK and if she was alive, according to the search warrant. Sauls also asked for a lawyer and refused to answer any questions. A landscaping crew was working nearby when they heard the shots, and workers told police that Michael Sauls met them on the front lawn and asked them to call the police because he had shot his wife. One of the lawn workers told police that Michael Sauls said, "Call the police, I just shot my wife. It was a domestic, I just shot her." The worker remained on the phone with the 911 dispatcher until police were at the scene. The couple's son told police that the couple was still
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MISSOURI
October 1 MISSOURIimpending execution Missouri governor denies clemency in execution case Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has denied clemency for a convicted killer hours before the man is scheduled to be put to death. Russell Bucklew has a rare medical condition that his attorneys have said could result in a gruesome execution, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday. Defense attorney Cheryl Pilate confirmed Parson denied clemency. Bucklew was convicted of killing Michael Sanders in 1996. He suffers from cavernous hemangioma. He has blood-filled tumors in his head, neck and throat. A permanent tracheostomy in his throat helps him breathe. His attorneys said in the clemency request that if one of the throat tumors bursts, Bucklew could choke to death. The U.S. Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for the execution in April; Pilate didn't say if any last-minute court appeals are planned. (source: Associated Press) *** Governor won't grant clemency in Bucklew execution Man scheduled to die Tuesday night Missouri Gov. Mike Parson will not interfere with the scheduled execution of a man convicted of murder. Parson's office said he has declined to grant clemency to Russell Bucklew, who is scheduled to be executed Tuesday. Bucklew's lawyers have argued his execution would be unconstitutional because of a rare condition that could cause him severe pain during the execution. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Potosi Correctional Center in eastern Missouri. Bucklew's execution date has been moved three times but stopped over concerns about his medical condition. The condition causes blood-filled tumors to grow in his head, neck and throat. Bucklew has argued the throat tumor could burst during the execution, causing him to choke on his own blood. The United States Supreme Court ruled in April that the state could go forward with the execution. Activists are set to protest at the governor's office in the Missouri Capitol at noon Tuesday. A demonstration is also scheduled at the Boone County Courthouse at 5 p.m. A Boone County jury convicted Bucklew of first-degree murder, kidnapping and first degree burglary and recommended the death sentence, court documents show. The case out of Cape Girardeau County was heard in Columbia on a change of venue. Bucklew was accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend's presumed new boyfriend, Michael Sanders, and firing at Sanders' son, 6, before kidnapping her. After raping his ex-girlfriend, he engaged in a gunfight with authorities, during which Bucklew and a Missouri state trooper were injured, according to court documents. (source: ABC News) ___ 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----worldwide
Sept. 30 CHINA: Fears for Yang Hengjun's health amid reports he is being shackled in Chinese detention There are fears Australian writer Yang Hengjun is being shackled with chains to his legs and hands during interrogations at a Beijing detention centre. A family friend has raised concerns over the detention conditions faced by Australian citizen Yang Hengjun in Beijing amid reports the writer is being shackled during interrogations. The 53-year-old Australian citizen has been accused by Chinese authorities of spying since being detained after landing at Guangzhou airport with his family in January. Now a family friend of Dr Yang has shed light on his detention conditions telling the Australian he “wears chains” and is being “tied to a chair” during questioning. “His health condition is not good as a result of seven months of solitude from being under house arrest without access to any other people but interrogators,” the friend said. “He suffers from weakened memory, blood pressure and kidney issues. But he has not collapsed and continues to insist his innocence.” It comes after The Guardian revealed multiple sources describing the same account of Mr Yang’s conditions inside the ministry of state security detention centre. Investigators have reportedly told Mr Hung he is being chained because of the gravity of his alleged crimes and that he could face the death penalty. His interrogations are reportedly lasting up to four hours at a time. Foreign Minister Marise Payne has previously described the conditions faced by Dr Yang as “harsh” raising concerns over a failure to provide him access to lawyers or family visits. “We have serious concerns for Dr Yang’s welfare, and about the conditions under which he is being held,” Ms Payne said last month. Chinese officials have said national security concerns are behind not providing the writer to access to his legal team. But Australian consular officials have still been permitted to make half-hour visits to Dr Yang once a month. In his account of Dr Yang’s detention, the family friend provides an insight into the conditions faced by the Australian writer. The friend said Dr Yang is not being held in solitary confinement. “He doesn’t have to live in total loneliness. He is allowed to walk out of the cell twice a day in the morning and the afternoon, each time for 45 minutes,” he told the Australian. “Police keep asking him the same questions as … before he was transferred to the detention centre." “The interrogations have been reduced from every day when he was under house arrest to once a week, which indicates the police have found no breakthrough in evidence." The Guardian has reported he is able to drink water and purchase additional food supplies including “fruit, biscuits, and chocolate.” He had initially been held under “residential surveillance” before being placed in detention in July and was formally charged on 23 August. Prior to this, Dr Yang ran a popular blog, had written a series of spy novels and had long pushed for democratic reforms in China. He was once a diplomat for China’s ministry of foreign affairs before moving to Australia and becoming an Australian citizen in 2002. Since then he had spent time in the United States as a visiting scholar at Columbia University. China has previously defended its detention of Dr Yang and spoken out against Australia’s criticisms. "China deplores the Australian statement on this case," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press conference in August. "Australia should respect China's judicial sovereignty and not interfere in any way in China's lawful handling of the case." (source: sbs.com.au) PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Govt team to get views on death penalty A government team will consult further with the people regarding the law on the death penalty, in particular the method of execution to be used, Justice Minister and Attorney-General Davis Steven says. Steven told The National that Justice Secretary Dr Eric Kwa would lead the team. He also said 12 people were currently on death row. “I’ve been working on the death penalty submission mainly because it’s my duty as the attorney-general to reflect the position of the law, especially in this case where the courts have already imposed the penalty,” he said. “I have gone to NEC to approve the method of execution (so) that the implementing agency can implement the court decisions.” The 5 methods recommended by officials tasked to advise the Government are hanging, electrocution (electric chair), lethal injection, beheading and shooting. Steven said Cabinet wanted to move on the issue given the social and community interest in the subject and the history of the law inherited and maintained since independence. “Given the international concern on the subject, whether the death penalty is a deterrent or not, the NEC directed
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., MO., USA
Sept. 30 FLORIDA: Sievers murder trial set to start Tuesday at the Fort Myers courthouse In a matter of days, two of the people accused of murdering a beloved doctor are expected to finally face justice. Teresa Sievers was murdered 4 years ago. Mark Sievers, 51, and Jimmy Rodgers, 29, will go on trial for the murder of the doctor on Tuesday morning. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. Teresa’s husband, Mark, is accused of hiring Wayne Wright, who is also suspected of hiring Jimmy to carry out the murders. Just twenty days before her murder, Teresa told Mark his “helicoptering is making her crazy.” She goes on to say he cares more about her than himself. However, it is the text message that Mark sent on the morning of her murder that is eerie. He told her, “Good morning babe. I love you.” Teresa, 46, had the back of her head bashed in and was found face down on the kitchen floor on June 29, 2015. Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies said her husband orchestrated the entire murder. He even took out 5 insurance policies on his wife, worth a combined total of $4 million. Initially, the judge set a trial date for June 3, but it was backed due to delayed DNA reports and dozens of motions that had not been sorted through yet. In August, attorneys for Mark and Jimmy said they received 4,700 pages of discovery from the Federal Bureau of Investigation evidence analysis report and need more time to review them. Mark’s attorney said they are not ready for a Tuesday trial due to the severance motion granted to Rodgers. That means this allows him to have a separate trial from Mark. “Every time we come to court, we receive more and more material,” said Kathleen Fitzgeorge, the attorney for Jimmy. “We can’t go right up to Oct. 1 wondering if we’re going to be to be ready or not.” “The expert may go through 2000 of those pages in a day and decide it’s worthless,” said Bruce Kyle, the Lee County judge presiding over the case. “I need more information; he needs to review it; we’re still set for trial. Motion denied.” There are many reasons why this trial is taking so long. We have also received new details in the murder case. Mark and his attorney tried to keep the jury from seeing extremely graphic pictures from the crime scene, but the judge denied that motion. (source: WINK news) * Family remembers 9-year-old Felecia Williams after jury recommends death for her killer A day after the jury recommended death for the man convicted of murdering 9-year-old Felicia Williams, her family is working to keep her memory alive. "She was a great person, lovable, sweet, kind," said Jenny Brinson, her aunt. The family gathered Sunday, sharing memories of the young girl. "My sister was the best and she had so much to offer the world. It’s really sad the way she left this world, but she’s in a better place you know and her legacy will live on forever in our hearts," said her sister, Mecia Williams. "I just want my sister to know that I love her I’m so proud of her that she put up a good fight until the very end and that I will never ever ever forget her," said her sister, Charlecia Adams. This week, a jury convicted Granville Ritchie of sexually battering and killing Williams. The jury unanimously recommended he receive the death penalty. Following the verdict, her mother says justice has been served. "As long as I know he’s in that box for the rest of his life, that’s all I care about because my daughter is up under all that dirt in a box for the rest of her life," said Felecia Demerson on Friday. One day later, loved ones are focused on the little girl's life. "We're still gonna keep her name alive and we’re still gonna celebrate her. I’m gonna celebrate her til the day I die," said Brinson. "And I want people to remember we can prevent stuff like this from happening. I want you all to say her name. I want you to be on the lookout I want you to protect your neighbor’s children," said Mecia Williams. (source: ABC News) MISSOURIimpending execution Death Penalty Opponents Rally to Prevent Scheduled Execution Death penalty opponents have mobilized in an attempt to block next week’s scheduled execution of Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew. He’s been sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Michael Sanders of southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, the NAACP, ACLU, and others want Governor Parson to stop Bucklew’s execution and argue that his brain condition could cause him to suffer a cruel death. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty says it intends to host a watch party for Becklew. They say they will mourn when he dies or rejoice if Gov. Parson spares him. Russell Bucklew also severely attacked his ex-girlfriend and beat two of her relatives over the heads with a hammer. Parson spokesperson Kelli Jones says the governor has
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 29 PAKISTAN: 2 sentenced to death in child kidnap, murder case An antiterrorism court on Saturday awarded death sentence to 2 men for kidnapping and killing a child over non-payment of ransom. 4 accused — Abdul Ghaffar Brohi, Abdullah Magsi, Ali Magsi alias Ali Dino and Zahid Hussain Gopang — were charged with kidnapping 4 1/2-year-old Ammar Hussain Jatoi within the remit of the Waleed police station, Larkana in 2012. On Saturday, the ATC-II judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced his verdict reserved after recording evidence and final arguments. The ATC hands down life imprisonment to 2 more accused The judge noted that the prosecution successfully proved the allegations of kidnapping for ransom against the accused Abdul Ghaffar Brohi and Abdullah Magsi and handed down capital punishment to them. The judge awarded life imprisonment to accused Ali Magsi and Zahid Hussain and also ordered them to pay Rs500,000 each to the legal heirs of the victim as compensation. The judge further sentenced them to four-year imprisonment for possessing illicit arms and ammunition. However, all the sentences shall run concurrently. According to the prosecution, the accused abducted the child, a student of nursery class, when he was playing outside his house in the Sheikh Zayed Colony on March 9, 2012 and drove him away in a car. Later, they demanded a ransom of Rs5 million for his safe release. But, his body was found from an abandoned house as the family failed to pay the ransom, the prosecution added. The accused were arrested and led the police to the recovery of the child’s body. Trial transferred due to political interference On April 25, 2012 the Sindh High Court (SHC) had ordered transfer of the case from ATC Larkana to an ATC in Karachi after complainant Asfar Hussain Jatoi moved an application alleging that then ministers belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party were influencing the investigation to favour the accused persons. “All the prosecution witnesses (were) examined; (they) supported that on Feb 13, 2012 the dead body of the child was recovered at the pointation of accused persons, mashirnama was prepared as per direction of Assistant Superintendent of Police, but nothing was brought on record,” the judge wrote in the order. He added: “In such circumstances the case was transferred to Karachi due to involvement of three Ministers of political party.” The verdict added that “the mashirnama of the (victim’s) body was prepared, but it was destroyed on political grounds and that record is available in his report under the Section 168 of the Criminal Procedure Code”. Earlier, special public prosecutor Nazeer Ahmed Bhangwar submitted that from the very beginning of the investigation the police were favouring the accused persons and had tried to hide the facts. He added that two brothers-in-law of the complainant had seen the four accused persons with arms in the car, as they were taking away the child and had informed the complainant about the incident. The prosecutor argued that accused Abdullah Magsi had made a phone call to the complainant demanding Rs5m ransom for the safe release of his kidnapped son, but agreed on Rs3.5m. While the complainant was arranging the money the same accused called him the next day and asked him to pick the body of his kidnapped son from a house in Yar Mohammad Colony on March 13, 2013, he added. He contended that the accused persons were arrested on March 13, 2013 and on their information the police had recovered the body, but the police showed their arrest on March 15 to create doubts and favour the accused. He argued that the evidence fully corroborated the prosecution’s case and pleaded to the court to convict them in accordance with the law. Advocate Altaf Hussain for the complainant said that the accused persons were influential and politically involved, therefore, under their influence the police did not investigate the case honestly. He added that the complainant had to move an application for re-investigation, which was conducted after great difficulty. On the other hand, defence counsel Wazeer Hussain Khoso and Safdar Ali Bhutto argued that their clients were innocent, but the police framed them in a false and fabricated case with mala fide intentions. 5 cases under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 365-A (kidnapping for ransom), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offenders) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 (acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and Section 13-E of the Arms Ordinance were registered at the Waleed police station. (source: dawn.com) ** 7-judge bench to decide span of life sentence A 7-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) – led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., FLA., TENN., OHIO
Sept. 29 TEXAS: Texas officer who made headlines for his turban and beard killed in traffic stop Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal was one of the first to wear the traditional Sikh articles of faith as part of his uniform A Texas police officer who made headlines for being one of the first to wear traditional articles of faith as part of his uniform was killed during a routine traffic stop on Friday Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, a sheriff’s deputy in Harris county, which includes Houston, died after a suspect appeared to ambush him and shoot him in the back of the head. The alleged shooter, Robert Solis, 47, was arrested and charged with capital murder. Although it was not immediately clear what punishment prosecutors would seek, Texas is a death penalty state. “I’m sad to share with you that we’ve lost one of our own,” Harris county sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on Twitter. Dhaliwal “was unable to recover from his injuries”, he said. “There are no words to convey our sadness. Please keep his family and our agency in your prayers.” Dhaliwal was shot about 12:45pm on Friday. Footage from a dashboard camera showed him having a conversation with the driver, then walking back toward his squad car. The driver’s door swung open and he ran up behind Dhaliwal and shot him, the Houston Chronicle reported. Dhaliwal, 42, had worked at the sheriff’s office for 10 years, starting as a detention officer in his late 20s. He was promoted to a deputy in 2015. He had 3 young children and was a practicing Sikh. Dhaliwal made national headlines when he was granted permission to wear a turban and beard as part of his uniform in one of America’s largest sheriff’s offices. “Sandeep was a trailblazer for the Sikh-American community,” Bobby Singh, south-east regional director for the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said on Twitter. “He served not just the Sikh community here in Houston with honor and dignity, but all of his community.” Houston mayor Sylvester Turner called Dhaliwal “a bold and groundbreaking law enforcement officer in the eyes of our county, our state, our nation”. Texas senator Ted Cruz said the state was “mourning a hero”. The turban is a traditional sign of faith for Sikh men, which typically covers uncut hair and is worn with a long beard. According to the Sikh Coalition, a civil rights group, a turban is “a public commitment to maintaining the values and ethics of the tradition, including service, compassion, and honesty”. In 2012, Washington DC became the 1st major US police force to make explicit accommodations for Sikhs to preserve their appearance on duty. An estimated 500,000 Sikhs live in the US as a whole. Dhaliwal tried to fit into American culture when he was young by shaving his beard and removing his turban, he told India Abroad, an Indian-American news weekly. He was once told he could only mop floors because of his poor English, the outlet reported. “I found it very insulting, and decided I will work overtime on my education and my English,” Dhaliwal said. He later started a trucking business, according to CBS. Dhaliwal changed careers in his late 20s and took a “huge pay cut” to join the sheriff’s department, Gonzalez told India Abroad. Permission to wear his articles of faith took time to wind through the department but was eventually made possible by a formal police department policy. Dhaliwal said the permission to wear his turban and beard “was a very American thing to do. You can be a good American and you can practice freely your religion.” According to India Abroad, the same day it was announced Dhaliwal could wear his articles of faith, he was given the day off. Instead, Dhaliwal went to work, to show his new uniform to his colleagues. (source: The Guardian) SOUTH CAROLINA: After sentencing Tim Jones to death, jurors still shaken, haunted by child murders 3 months after one of South Carolina’s most bone-chilling trials — the death penalty case of a Lexington County father who killed his 5, young children — jurors remain haunted by what they saw and heard. “I think about it every day,” said a 52-year-old woman with the initials, L.A., who served as an alternate juror until being excused near the trial’s end. “Many times during the trial, I went in the jurors’ bathroom and just wailed – cried my eyes out.” Jurors have stayed silent since June 13, when they unanimously voted to put Tim Jones Jr. to death for the 2014 murders of his children in the family’s Red Bank home. They endured some of the most harrowing testimony ever uttered in a S.C. courtroom — testimony that left veteran police officers and news reporters, seated in the court room, blinking back tears and recoiling in horror at the parade of gruesome evidence. Since then, nine of the 18-member jury panel have spoken to The State Media Co. about their life-changing experience. The trial left some traumatized,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 28 PAKISTAN: Pakistani court overturns blasphemy conviction of Muslim man Pakistan's Supreme Court acquitted a man Wednesday who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2002, saying there was a lack of evidence against him. Wajih-ul-Hassan was exonerated Sept. 25, with the court deciding that prosecutors hadn't proven that letters which were the basis of the accusation had in fact been written by him. Pakistan's state religion is Islam, and around 97 percent of the population is Muslim. The country's blasphemy laws impose strict punishment on those who desecrate the Quran or who defame or insult Muhammad. Although the government has never executed a person under the blasphemy laws, accusations alone have inspired mob and vigilante violence. The allegations against Hassan arose from letters he allegedly wrote to a lawyer, according to Dawn, a Karachi-based daily. The lawyer, Ismail Qureshi, had sought amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code, saying that blasphemy should be punished only by capital punishment; the PPC also allows life imprisonment as a sentence for the crime. Hassan allegedly wrote letters to Qureshi in 1998 which the lawyer deemed blasphemous; Qureshi went to the police and filed a petition against Hassan the following year. Mohammad Amjad Rafiq, additional prosecutor general of Punjab, told Dawn that in 2001 Hassan confessed before a manager at his place of work; the manager then took Hassan to a police station, where he was arrested. The next week, a handwriting expert said that Hassan's writing matched the blasphemous letters. Hassan was convicted and sentenced, a decision which was subsequently upheld by the Lahore High Court. But the Supreme Court overturned Hassan's conviction this week, saying Hassan's “extra-judicial confession” and the testimony of the handwriting expert were not strong enough evidence of his guilt, and there were no witnesses to the supposed crime. “Presumption of innocence remains throughout the case until such time the prosecution on the evidence satisfies the court beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of the offence alleged against him,” the Supreme Court's decision reads. “There cannot be a fair trial, which is itself the primary purpose of criminal jurisprudence, if the judges have not been able to clearly elucidate the rudimentary concept of the standard of proof that prosecution must meet in order to obtain a conviction,” it continued. Pakistan's blasphemy laws are reportedly used to settle scores or to persecute religious minorities; while non-Muslims constitute only 3 % of the Pakistani population, 14 % of blasphemy cases have been levied against them. Many of those accused of blasphemy are murdered, and advocates of changing the law are also targeted by violence. The blasphemy laws were introduced between 1980 and 1986. The National Commission for Justice and Peace said more than 1,300 people were accused under this law from 1987 until 2014. The Centre for Research and Security Studies reported that at least 65 people have been killed by vigilantes since 1990. More than 40 people are serving a life sentence or face execution for blasphemy in the country. Last year, the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned the blasphemy conviction of Asia Bibi, a Catholic woman who was accused in 2009. Her initial conviction had also been upheld by the Lahore High Court. (source: Catholic News Agency) Innocence after 18 years on death row The Supreme Court’s decision to acquit a man falsely charged with blasphemy is more than a verdict about the innocence of an individual: it speaks volumes about our justice delivery system. Wajihul Hasan was sentenced to death in a blasphemy case in 2002 and he spent 18 years on death row until September 25, when a 3-judge bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah exonerated him of the charges under Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks, etc, in respect of the Holy Prophet [Peace Be Upon Him]) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) over the lack of concrete evidence against him. He was arrested when the complainant, a lawyer, accused him of writing letters full of objectionable content. The case was based on 5 letters written to the complainant in 1998. Later, another letter received by the complainant revealed the identity of the earlier writer – Wajihul Hasan. The police showed reluctance to go ahead but a Lahore High Court decree ordered the Lahore police to register the case involving the blasphemy charge. Wajih’s ‘confession’ of the charge has a twist too: He confessed before Mohammad Waseem, the manager of a steel/iron factory where he worked, of having committed the crime. The manager got Wajih’s ‘extrajudicial confession’ on a paper and handed him over to the police in 2001. The Supreme Court overturned the death penalty handed down by the sessions court and later upheld by the high
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, MASS., PENN., FLA., TENN., MO., OKLA., CALIF.
Sept. 28 TEXAS: Utah man convicted in murder of ex-wife's family, faces death penalty A Utah man, who claimed to hear voices in his head when he killed 6 members of his former wife’s family in Texas, faces the death penalty after a Houston jury rejected his insanity defence and found him guilty of murder on Thursday, officials said. District Attorney Kim Ogg in Harris County, Texas announced the verdict against Ronald Lee Haskell, 39, and said in a statement that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the July 2014 slayings, which included 4 children. Police said Haskell posed as a FedEx delivery man when he entered the Stay family’s suburban Houston home, looking for his former wife, but instead only found his ex-wife’s sister and family. He tied up the family and shot and killed his former sister-in-law Katie Stay, 34 and her husband, Stephen Stay, 39 and their children Bryan, 13, Emily, 9, Rebecca, 7 and Zach, 4, Ogg said in a statement. A 5th child, Cassidy Stay, then 15, was left for dead but survived. Media accounts of the trial say that Cassidy Stay described family members begging for their lives, and she prayed her uncle would not shoot. She survived the head-shot by playing dead, media including NBC News reported. A forensic psychiatrist testified at the trial that Haskell suffered from a severe mental illness that prevented him from knowing right from wrong, media reported. Prosecutors said that Haskell was motivated by vengeance against the family and not mental illness. “There was never a reasonable doubt that Haskell meticulously planned and carried out the slaughter of the Stay family,” Ogg said in a statement. Prosecutors tried him only on 2 counts of murder, as part of a strategy to hold other potential charges in abeyance in case there are unforseen legal issues, media reported. Haskell’s attorneys were not available for comment early on Friday. The sentencing phase of the trial is scheduled to begin Monday. (source: ottawacitizen.com) MASSACHUSETTS: Death penalty bill for cop killers before lawmakers As police, elected officials and loved ones honored the line-of-duty loss of police officers in a ceremony outside the State House Friday, lawmakers inside have before them a bill that would allow the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a cop. “Men and women in law enforcement put their lives on the line every day for us. They are under attack, they never know if something as simple as a traffic stop could result in their death,” state Rep. Shaunna O’Connell told the Herald. “I think we have to send a strong message that we will not tolerate the murder of law enforcement officers and if you murder a police officer, you could face that same fate.” O’Connell (R-Taunton) filed a bill with Rep. David DeCoste (R-Norwell) to allow death sentences for anyone over the age of 18 who is convicted of murdering a police officer. DeCoste and O’Connell said they look forward to a hearing on the bill before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which has yet to be scheduled. The state representatives were prompted to act by the deaths of Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna, Yarmouth Sgt. Sean Gannon and Auburn police officer Ronald Tarentino, who were all shot dead in the line of duty in recent years. The Chesna family are constituents of DeCoste, who has long been a proponent of instituting the death penalty in Massachusetts. “It is important for us as a society to be able to say that some behavior is absolutely unacceptable and that in some cases, we have the option of taking a person’s life,” DeCoste said, “of executing a person for egregious activity, egregious crimes.” DeCoste noted that Gov. Charlie Baker indicated support for the concept after Chesna died last summer, when Baker stated, “I certainly do support the death penalty for people who kill a police officer, for a lot of reasons.” The bill also has the support among law enforcement professionals, including Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, president of the Major City Chiefs Association, who said the level of concern has “heightened significantly” after the recent deaths of Massachusetts police officers. “People understand that police officers that are out there are sworn to protect and serve members of public. To take the life of an officer, the consequences should be the highest, the death penalty,” Kyes said. “We hope that it would never have to be used. We hope no one would take the life of a law enforcement officer, but we should put it on the books, lay it out there to act as a deterrent.” (source: Boston Herald) PENNSYLVANIA: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects Petition to Rule Death Penalty Unconstitutional The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected a petition on behalf of 2 death row inmates to declare capital punishment unconstitutional in the commonwealth. The 1-page ruling, which came down Thursday but
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----GHANA, UK, JAP., PAKIS., INDIA, MOROC., IRAN
Sept. 27 GHANA: Waiting To Die: 180 On Death Row, No Executions Since 1993 Some 180 condemned prisoners are languishing on death row at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison because successive Presidents had, since 1993, refused to sign their death warrants. The condemned prisoners include 174 men and 6 women, with many of them being sentenced to death by hanging for murder. The Nsawam Medium Prison is the only prison in the country with a condemned block that can hold 200 prisoners. Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra last Wednesday, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service, Superintendent Vitalis Aiyeh, said he was not in a position to explain why Ghana’s Presidents would not sign death warrants. “Of course, we are in a democratic dispensation and all over the world people are clamouring for the abolition of the death sentence, so that could be a reason,” he, nonetheless, said. The laws The Criminal Code lists crimes punishable by death as murder, treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and smuggling The Constitution states that individuals who commit treason against the constitutional order “shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to suffer death”. Genocide includes acts committed with the intent of destroying in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group: killing or causing serious mental or bodily harm to members of the group, inflicting conditions intended to destroy the group and imposing measures to end births in the group. For smuggling, the law says any individual concealing or carrying away from Ghana any gold or diamond without lawful authority or with the intent to evade any enactment concerning the export of gold or diamond “shall be liable on conviction to a sentence of death”. After the conviction, the President will have to append his signature to a death warrant before the death penalty will be carried out. Mental torture Supt Aiyeh said condemned prisoners went through a lot of psychological torture “because the man is there and he wouldn’t know when he will be killed”. ”So when you are there, it is between you and your God, unlike the normal prisoner who knows one day he will go home,” he added. He explained that one relief for condemned prisoners was that they could have their sentences commuted to life sentences after serving 10 years or more in prison, saying, however, that that would have to be done through the process of amnesty. The last time such amnesty was granted in Ghana was in 2016 when three people had their sentences commuted to life. Lawyers clash Speaking to the issue, 2 lawyers, Nana Obiri Boahen and Mr Francis-Xavier Sosu, gave divergent views on the death sentence. Nana Boahen, who is based in Sunyani, faulted Presidents of the Fourth Republic for failing to sign death warrants when nothing stopped them from doing so. “Rawlings, Kufuor, Prof. Mills, Mahama, Nana Akufo-Addo — none of them signed the death warrant, why?” he asked. He said there was brazen impunity in the country, with people committing murder, sometimes in public places and in broad daylight, adding that he believed the death sentence, when carried out, would help check the killings. He said failure to carry out the death sentence had emboldened criminals to go out to kill, without any fear. The legal practitioner said there were four ways in which the death sentence could be carried out — hanging, firing squad, electrocution or lethal injection. “In all these cases, the pronouncement must be made by the judge,” he said. Human Rights lawyer But Mr Sosu, a human rights lawyer, said no one had the right to take another person’s life. He said there had been many instances of people who were alleged to have killed being later found to be innocent. According to him, the reason Presidents had not signed death warrants could be that they were sensitive to the provision concerning the right to life. He also argued that the international community had moved away from killing people who had killed others. “Punishment has revolved over the time. It used to be retributive, but now it is more of corrective,” he explained. Touching on how the country should deal with people who had been condemned to death, he said their sentences should be communed to life sentences. “Keeping them in condemned cells is different from keeping them as life prisoners. In the condemned cells, you sometimes don’t have the right to sunshine; they are kept in dark rooms for many years and that affects their health in general,” he said. Mr Sosu posited that to keep people in condemned cells without signing their death warrants and not make them lifers was a clear violation of the dignity of those people. He said if Presidents were not ready to sign the death warrants of prisoners on death row, then the courts must begin to move away from giving death sentences, providing the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARK., MO., OKLA., USA
Sept. 27 ARKANSAS: White supremacist on death row who killed three of family seeks relief, says 'junk science' gave him 'psychopath' tag Daniel Lee along with Chevie Kehoe, who wanted a whites-only country, killed the family and dumped them in Illinois Bayou in 1999. A man who murdered an entire Arkansas family in 1999 and is currently on death row has now filed for relief from the sentence. Daniel Lewis Lee, 46, from Oklahoma, had been convicted of slaying a Pope County family, which included an 8-year-old girl, along with Chevie Kehoe. The 2 were said to be white supremacists who had wanted to steal guns and money from the family, with ambitions to start a whites-only country in the Pacific Northwest. The two were convicted of a number of charges, including the murders of Bill Mueller, 53; Nancy Mueller, 28; and Sarah Powell, 8. Prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice had said that Lee along with Kehoe had first shot the three with a stun gun, covered their heads with plastic bags, and sealed them with duct tape. He then threw the weighted bodies into the Illinois Bayou. While Lee was given the death penalty, Kehoe was given a life sentence. Prosecutors believed that Kehoe had been the leader of the group and Lee was not the ring leader. A psychological evaluation said Lee was a psychopath and a danger to others. His lawyer Morris Moon said in a statement to MEAWW that Lee's sentence was unconstitutional. The attorneys filed a habeas petition on September 26 and asked the court in Indiana – which does have the power to consider these claims – to overturn Lee’s unconstitutional death sentence and prevent him from being executed on December 9, Moon said. Moon said the "dangerous psychopath" tag was a result of "junk science." “The government obtained a death sentence against Danny Lee using junk science. It promoted the fiction that Mr. Lee was a ‘dangerous psychopath’ based on a forensic instrument that even the government’s own trial expert now admits lacks any scientific validity," he said in a statement. He further added that the jury had also been misled. “That junk science was not the only false evidence the government used to secure a death sentence. It also misled the jury into believing that Mr. Lee had committed a prior murder as a juvenile," he said. "The government’s presentation about Mr. Lee’s ‘history of violence’ was not only highly inflammatory, it was also categorically false. Court records demonstrate that a state judge had actually dismissed the inflated murder charge against Mr. Lee after looking at the evidence," he said. Pointing out the fact that Kehoe was slapped with a life sentence without parole, he said that it was also "important to remember that Mr. Lee’s more-culpable co-defendant, Chevie Kehoe, does not face execution." Lee's execution is back on after Attorney General William Barr's July announcement to resume the federal death penalty. Murderers Lezmond Mitchell, Wesley Ira Purkey, Alfred Bourgeois and Dustin Lee Honken are others currently scheduled to be executed. (source: meaww.com) Arkansas judge asks that bid to reassign cases get tossed An Arkansas judge who demonstrated against the death penalty is asking the state Supreme Court to dismiss the attorney general's request to prohibit the judge from hearing cases involving her office. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen told the state Supreme Court Thursday that the request by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to reassign the civil cases is a "blatant attempt" to defy Arkansas' constitution and its process for investigating complaints against judges. Rutledge has accused Griffen of regularly demonstrating bias against her staff in his court. Griffen was prohibited from handling execution cases in April 2017 after he was photographed participating in a death penalty demonstration the same day he blocked Arkansas from using a lethal injection drug. The court last week rejected Griffen's request to resume hearing execution cases. (source: Associated Press) MISSOURIimpending execution Missouri Governor Is Last Hope For Death Row Inmate Missouri is scheduled to execute Russell Bucklew by lethal injection on Tuesday, but his advocates want Gov. Mike Parson to stop it because they say a medical condition would make him endure needless pain. The Cape Girardeau man was convicted of murder, rape and kidnapping in 1997. His lawyers and advocates are not challenging his guilt, but instead say Bucklew’s rare medical condition would cause him to suffer a cruel and unusual punishment. Bucklew has a condition that causes blood-filled tumors to grow in his head, neck and throat. A medical exam completed by Joel Zivot, an associate professorat Emory University’s School of Medicine, concluded that Bucklew had a “very high risk” of choking to death on his own blood if executed by lethal
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., TENN., KY., ILL.
Sept. 27 TEXAS: Texas Recently Murdered a Man for a Crime Experts Say He Did Not CommitLarry Swearingen was put to death for a murder and a rape that the science says he did not do. His last words were those of Jesus Christ. Pious Catholic barbarians say things like, “Oh well! La di dah! If he’s innocent then he’ll to heaven! No harm done! Let’s kill some more because of something something retributive justice! Ignore the teaching of Holy Church calling for the abolition of the death penalty. I have a book here by Ed Feser that says killing prisoners is fine so that makes it okay to fight the Church. And besides, abortion is worse and so it’s okay if I wink at the murder of an innocent man. It’s just one guy. God won’t notice if I cheer for just one murder.” What they don’t seem to grasp is that pious barbarians could have said the same thing when they murdered Jesus. The thing is, the fact he went to heaven did not do his murderers any good. That’s the thing: the death penalty doesn’t just kill the victim. It kills the soul of the person who cheers for the death of innocents in the lust for the blood of the guilty. The problem with the death penalty is, then, basically tripartite: 1.It kills people who do not need to be killed. 2.It kills completely innocent people in order to kill people who do not need to be killed. 3.It makes the people who kill them into people who are eager to kill completely innocent people in order to kill people who do not need to be killed. In addition to this, it makes Catholic death penalty defenders into people willing to make war on the Church in order to become people who are eager to kill completely innocent people in order to kill people who do not need to be killed. (source: patheos.com) DNA Testing Could Save This Texas Man’s Life. But Prosecutors Are Opposing It.Rodney Reed, set to be executed on Nov. 20, is innocent of a rape and murder, his lawyers say, and untested evidence will prove it. But prosecutors have pushed back, arguing the evidence is contaminated. For the last 2 decades, Rodney Reed has said he can prove he is innocent of the crimes that landed him on Texas’s death row. The key to his freedom, he has argued, lies in a box in the Bastrop County clerk’s office. The box contains items—including a belt, name tag, shirt, and two beer cans—found in 1996 near the dead body of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. On these items, Reed has maintained, is biological material from Stites’s killer, and testing will show that material does not belong to him. Prosecutors, however, have said that Reed, who in 1998 was convicted of raping and murdering Stites, could not be innocent. They have opposed testing the evidence, which includes the murder weapon, as the case has wound its way through state and federal courts. In August, Reed’s attorneys filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, arguing that executing him without first conducting DNA testing is a violation of his constitutional rights. And on Tuesday, they asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider his innocence claims. In that filing, Reed’s attorneys asked whether convicting or executing a person who is innocent violates the U.S. constitution. Reed is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Nov. 20. As DNA testing has become more advanced, so has its ability to provide crucial information that can reconstruct who was present at a crime scene. Test results, as part of a larger case, can carry enormous weight: They can help prove that someone is innocent and in some cases, identify the person who committed the crime. Or they can do the opposite and confirm a person’s guilt. In death penalty cases, testing has saved lives. Of the 166 people exonerated from death row since 1973, 21 of those were freed using DNA testing. Still, some prosecutors continue to oppose this testing to re-examine convictions in capital cases. Vanessa Potkin, director of post-conviction litigation at the Innocence Project, told The Appeal that during her time there, at least 6 people have been executed, despite the availability of DNA testing that could prove their innocence. Prosecutors fought against the testing in all of those cases. “We have a human system we know it doesn’t always get it right,” she said. “It’s pretty shocking when you get to a capital case, where the stakes couldn’t be higher, to encounter prosecutorial resistance to simple tests that could get to the truth.” There were no eyewitnesses to support the state’s theory that Reed abducted Stites on her way to work; raped and murdered her; and abandoned her body. Instead, the state’s case hinged on three sperm cells found inside Stites. Prosecutors argued at trial that the cells, which a 1996 DNA test confirmed were Reed’s, proved that he had raped Stites just before killing her. Reed’s attorneys have not disputed that the sperm belongs to their client.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MO., OKLA., UTAH, CALIF., ORE.
Sept. 26 MISSOURIimpending execution Ahead of Bucklew execution, lawyers meet with Parson’s office to seek commutation Just 1 week before Russell Bucklew is set to be executed by the state, his lawyers met with members of Gov. Mike Parson’s office to seek commutation. Bucklew, now 51, was convicted of murder in 1997 for the March 1996 shooting death of a man his ex-girlfriend had begun to live with. He had reportedly stalked, kidnapped, beat, and raped his former girlfriend, who is now deceased. Bucklew’s attorneys maintained he is now a “fundamentally different person” from when he committed the crimes. They said he is “incredibly remorseful for his conduct and the pain and suffering he caused,” in a petition for clemency to the governor. But furthermore, his attorneys alleged if the state continues with its plan to execute Bucklew by lethal injection on Oct. 1, he will suffer an “excruciatingly painful death” because of “unstable” tumors filled with blood in his face, head, and throat. He suffers from a rare, incurable disease called “cavernous hemangioma.” “Russell’s compromised medical condition make[s] it highly likely that the state’s protocol will cause a visually gruesome execution that will traumatize corrections personnel and witnesses alike,” his attorneys alleged, providing pictures of Bucklew’s face in the petition. Bucklew’s attorneys met with members of the Governor’s Office Monday to ask he take into consideration a host of factors — his unique medical condition, a “false” psychiatric diagnosis during trial, and his remorse — in considering clemency. Laurence E. Komp, a federal public defender, praised those at the meeting for a “productive” session. “We’re thankful for the opportunity to present to them. I found they were prepared and asked the kinds of questions you would expect anybody entrusted with advising the governor. I felt it was a positive meeting,” Komp told The Missouri Times. “What does that mean? I don’t know. I felt we were appreciative of the opportunity.” “We readily acknowledge that this is a horrible tragedy, and there is a just punishment. Our dispute is that the appropriate punishment in this case is not the death penalty,” Komp said. “The Governor takes seriously both his duty and responsibility to see that lawfully entered capital sentences are carried out in accordance with state law,” Kelli Jones, Parson’s spokeswoman said in a statement. “Each case of capital punishment will be thoroughly reviewed before any decision for pardon or clemency is made.” Jones noted, however, the Republican governor “has consistently supported capital punishment when merited by the circumstances and all other legal remedies have been exhausted and when due process has been satisfied.” Elyse Max, the state director for Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) said this case in particular could be a “stain” for Parson and sets up Missouri to “define what is torture for the rest of the nation” when it comes to capital punishment. “This case is particularly troublesome because with the medical condition of Russell Bucklew, we know it’s going to be a particularly tortuous execution,” Max told The Missouri Times, noting MADP has planned a rally in the Capitol building with citizens and lawmakers Thursday. Bucklew’s case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In April, the nation’s highest court issued a narrow ruling against Bucklew’s request for a different manner of execution. Should the state continue with its plans for execution next week, Bucklew will become the 89th person to be put to death in Missouri since the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the use of capital punishment in 1976. He will be the 1st under the Parson administration. But Bucklew’s attorneys argue that he is reformed and not a danger to others. “Russell is now 51-years-old, suffers from a host of debilitating medical infirmities and has demonstrated through his actions that commuting his death sentence would be an act of compassion leading to just punishment,” the petition said. Bucklew is being held at the Potosi Correctional Center near Mineral Point. Aside from Bucklew, there are 22 other people in Missouri who are capital offenders, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. Missouri allows the death penalty — by lethal injection or gas — which is overseen by the Department of Corrections. The death penalty can be imposed on individuals who are at least 18 years old and found to have deliberately committed first-degree murder, a class A felony. The law instructs jurors to consider certain evidence, including the perpetrator’s past record, when considering the death penalty. Individuals who are found to have a mental disease or inability to “understand the nature and purpose of the punishment about to be imposed upon him or matters in extenuation, arguments for clemency or reasons
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, USA, PENN., FLA., OHIO, TENN.
---Nov. 13Patrick Murphy--570 53-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-571 54-Dec. 11Travis Runnels--572 55-Jan. 15-John Gardner----573 56-Mar. 11Carlos Trevino--574 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Robert Sparks in Texas on September 25, the USA has now executed 1,506 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. 1507---Oct. 1-Russell Bucklew--Missouri 1508---Oct. 10Randy HalprinTexas 1509---Oct. 16Randall Mays-Texas 1510---Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez--Texas 1511---Nov. 3-9---Charles Rhines---South Dakota 1512---Nov. 6-Justen Hall--Texas 1513---Nov. 7-James Dailey-Florida 1514---Nov. 13Patrick Murphy---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. 15John Gardner---Texas 1525---Jan. 16---Kareem JacksonOhio 1526---Mar. 11--Carlos Trevino---Texas (source: Rick Halperin) PENNSYLVANIA: Death penalty sought for man after shooting A Lycoming County man was arrested last month after being involved in a deadly shooting. 21-year-old Ikeem Fogan is charged with robbing a local convenience store and killing a customer. The Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office is now seeking the death penalty against Ikeem Fogan for his part in the deadly shooting at the Uni-Mart on West Fourth Street. Police say 21-year-old Ikeem Fogan shot 48-year-old Rhonda McPeak of Williamsport while robbing the Uni-Mart on West Fourth Street back on August 4. “It was scary. Weird, you know. Good thing I didn’t come in that day,” store employee Michael Poblete said. “It’s sad. It’s really sad. There’s an innocent person that’s dead because of somebody just wanted to make a little bit of money,” Felicia Welch of Williamsport said. Now the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty for Fogan. “Under Pennsylvania law, where you believe there is enough for 1st-degree murder, which we do, which we believe in this particular case and under the circumstances of this case, we believe that there are aggravating factors under the law,” Lycoming County District Attorney Kenneth Osokow said. Osokow says Fogan committed 1st-degree murder in the course of a felony, which in this case, was the robbery as well as creating a great risk of death to another person in the store. “The 3rd factor is the victim was a prosecution witness to a murder or other felony committed by the defendant that was killed for the purpose of preventing his testimony against the defendant in any criminal preceding,” Osokow said. And the 4th… “The victim was being held by the defendant as a shield or hostage and in this case, we believe the evidence shows that he held the victim in front of her while he committed the robbery. She was a shield if the clerk had pulled out a weapon or anything,” Osokow said. The DA says, assuming this case goes to trial, it is ultimately up to the judge or jury to decide if Fogan will receive the death penalty, after hearing the evidence of the aggravating factors. “If you are willing to kill somebody, I think your life should not be around because, oh you get out and you do it again,” Welch said. Fogan waived his arraignment, which was scheduled for this past Monday. His attorney and the district attorney are slated to meet October 28 for a status update. If the district attorney is going to offer any deals, it will be at that update. (source: WBRE news) FLORIDAnew execution date DeSantis signs death warrant in 1985 murder of 14-year-old girl in Pinellas County More than 34 years after
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, USA
rently 7 more executions scheduled in Texas this year. Sparks becomes the 16th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1,506th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. There are currently 15 executions secheduled in the USA during the remainder of this year. *** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present47 http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_scheduled_executions.html Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-565 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 48-Oct. 10Randy Halprin---566 49-Oct. 16Randall Mays567 50-Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez-568 51-Nov. 6-Justen Hall-569 52-Nov. 13Patrick Murphy--570 53-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-571 54-Dec. 11----Travis Runnels--572 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Robert Sparks in Texas on September 25, the USA has now executed 1,506 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. 1507---Oct. 1-Russell Bucklew--Missouri 1508---Oct. 10Randy HalprinTexas 1509---Oct. 16Randall Mays-Texas 1510---Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez--Texas 1511---Nov. 3-9---Charles Rhines---South Dakota 1512---Nov. 6-Justen Hall--Texas 1513---Nov. 7-James Dailey-Florida 1514---Nov. 13Patrick Murphy---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----worldwide
Sept. 25 PHILIPPINES: CHR: Not all crime victims seek revenge via death penalty Not all victims of heinous or drug-related crimes are out for revenge by seeking the death penalty for those who have wronged them, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said. CHR Commissioner Karen Dumpit made the position during the first hearing on bills restoring the death penalty before the House Committee on Justice. Dumpit cited the case of actress Cherry Pie Picache, who was able to forgive the person who murdered her mother, as well as Clara Sarmenta, who prefers that former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez—the one who, along with six cohorts, raped and killed her daughter Eileen—pays for his crime by languishing in prison. “Not all victims want revenge, and not all of them are for death penalty,” Dumpit said. Likewise, Dumpit also cited the results of a March 2018 poll by the Social Weather Stations that surveyed 2,000 respondents aged 15 and above. It showed that only 3 out of every 10 Filipinos are in favor of imposing the death penalty for drug-related crimes such as: • importation of illegal drugs, • maintenance of drug dens, • manufacture of illegal drugs, • murder under the influence of drugs, • rape under the influence of drugs, • sale of illegal drugs, and • working in drug dens. “Our legislators and government can curb crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable without the death penalty. If we are going to use the assertion of revenge as motivation, we will only perpetuate a culture of violence,” Dumpit added. The CHR, however, stands alone among government agencies opposed to the death penalty. The Philippine National Police, the Department of Justice and the Public Attorney’s Office are all in favor of death penalty, although they have yet to submit a written position paper before the House Committee on Justice. The House of Representatives approved the reimposition of the death penalty for drug-related crimes during the last 17th Congress. The death penalty measure, however, was not acted upon by the Senate despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s support of the measure. Under the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty provided by the United Nations Human Rights office, the imposition of death penalty must be “carried out so as to inflict the minimum possible suffering." (source: gmanetwork.com) *** House panel tackles death penalty bills The House Committee on Justice on Tuesday launched its deliberation on bills seeking to reinstate death penalty on heinous crimes in the country. At least 11 House bills are pending under the justice panel, all seeking to repeal Republic Act 9346 or the law prohibiting the imposition of death penalty and to impose higher penalties to designate death by legal injection among other penal laws. Among these measures are House Bill (HB) 1380 filed by Capiz Second District Rep. Fredenil Castro, which seeks to highlight the imposition of death penalty on drug-related crimes, with the execution ranging from hanging, through a firing squad or through lethal injection under the authority of the Bureau of Corrections director. HB 1588, filed by Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr., a pastor and a self-proclaimed “life” advocate, seeks the same methods of execution of death sentence, but prefers carrying them out in a public place except for lethal injection. Witnesses may include the media and children 9 years old and above who are accompanied by their parents or guardians. Abante justified the imposition of death penalty by citing Bible verses in his explanatory note. “If God did not see death penalty as a deterrent, if He did not consider death penalty as right for the good of men and society, He would not have instituted it. If God saw it right, who is man to consider it otherwise?” a portion of Abante’s explanatory note read. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil,” the lawmaker said, citing Ecclesiastes 8:9. Sarangani Rep. Rogelio Pacquiao, the brother of evangelical Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao who is a known death penalty advocate himself, also filed House bills imposing the death penalty, focusing on the heinous crime of kidnapping and illegal detention, drug use and rape under HBs 1800, 1806 and 1807, respectively. Meanwhile, Muntinlupa City Rep. Rozzano Biazon zeroed in on the imposition of capital punishment on illegal drug traffickers and their cohorts. “There have been instances where the convicted trafficker continues to deal in the illegal drug trade even behind bars. They continue to profit from the misery of others, to the detriment of society, under a very secure base of operations — our prisons,” Biazon said. His stand was opposed by representatives from different government agencies, who sat as resource
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., MO., ARIZ., ORE.
Sept. 25 TENNESSEE: Tennessee Seeks Execution Dates for 9 Death Row InmatesTennessee's attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to set 9 execution dates, bucking a national movement away from capital punishment. Tennessee's attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for nine death row prisoners, bucking a national movement away from capital punishment. Attorney General Herbert Slatery quietly filed the request on Friday with no explanation, and the state Supreme Court later posted it on its website on Tuesday. "The Tennessee Constitution guarantees victims of crime the right to a 'prompt and final conclusion of the case after the conviction of sentence,'" Slatery said in a statement Tuesday in response to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Slatery's motion came the same day he publicly announced he would challenge a Nashville Criminal Court's decision to commute the death sentence of black inmate Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman's to life in prison after concerns were raised that racism tainted the jury selection pool. Slatery argued in his appeal that the court's order "circumvented established legal procedures." Assistant Federal Public Defender Kelley Henry said she was surprised by the request when she received it in the mail on Monday. 7 of the 9 men included in Slatery's motion are represented by the public defender's office. "Each case is unique and represents a number of fundamental constitutional problems including innocence, racism, and severe mental illness," Henry wrote in a statement on Tuesday. "We will oppose the appointed attorney general's request." In Tennessee, the attorney general can request execution dates once juries have delivered death sentences and inmates have exhausted their three-tier appeals process in state courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court then schedules the executions. It has not yet scheduled the 9 Slatery requested but has scheduled 2 others for the coming months. Tennessee has executed 5 people since it resumed executions about a year ago. The state was 2nd only to Texas in the number of executions it carried out in 2018, the 4th consecutive year in which there have been fewer than 30 executions nationwide. Tennessee executed 3 people last year; Texas put to death 13. The 9 men in Slatery's execution request are: — Byron Black, who was convicted of murder in the 1987 slayings of his girlfriend Angela Clay and her 2 daughters, Latoya and Lakeisha Clay, in Nashville. He was sentenced to die for the death of Lakeisha Clay and received 2 life sentences for the other killings. — Tony V. Carruthers, who was convicted of 1st-degree murder in the 1994 slayings of Marcellos Anderson, Delois Anderson and Frederick Tucker in Memphis. He was given a death sentence for each conviction. — Henry Eugene Hodges, who pleaded guilty to 1st-degree premeditated murder and aggravated robbery in the 1990 slaying of Ronald Bassett in Nashville. — Donald Ray Middlebrooks, who was convicted of torture and murder in the slaying of 14-year-old Kerrick Majors in Nashville in 1987. The high court reversed the death sentence in 1992 and ordered the case back to trial court for resentencing, but Middlebrooks was eventually given a 2nd death sentence. — Farris Genner Morris, who was convicted of murder in the 1997 slayings of 15-year-old Erica Hurd and James Ragland in Jackson, as well as the rape of Angela Ragland. A jury imposed the death penalty for Hurd's killing. — Harold Wayne Nichols, who was convicted of rape and 1st-degree felony murder in the 1988 death of Karen Pulley in Hamilton County. — Pervis Tyrone Payne, who was convicted of murder for the 1987 deaths of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter Lacie in Memphis. He was sentenced to death for each of the killings. Payne also was convicted of intending to murder Christopher's 3-year-old son Nicholas. — Oscar Franklin Smith, who was convicted of murder in the 1989 triple slayings of his estranged wife Judy Lynn Smoth and her 2 sons from a previous marriage, Chad and Jason Burnett in Nashville. He was sentenced to death for all 3 killings. — Gary Wayne Sutton, who was convicted of 1st-degree murder in the 1992 slaying of Tommy Griffin in Blount County. A jury sentenced Sutton to death. In Tennessee, executions are carried out through lethal injection unless the drugs are unavailable, in which case the electric chair is used. Additionally, death row inmates who were convicted of crimes before January 1999 can choose the electric chair or lethal injection. Tennessee put 56-year-old Stephen West to death by electric chair last month. West was convicted of the 1986 kidnappings and stabbing deaths of a mother and her 15-year-old daughter. He also was convicted of raping the teen. (source: Associated Press) *** Nashville attorney: Death
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., S.C., OHIO
Sept. 25 TEXASimpending execution Texas set to execute Robert Sparks after brutal deaths of his stepsons, wifeSparks was convicted in the 2007 stabbing deaths of his family members in his Dallas home. His lawyers have sought to stop his execution with arguments of intellectual disability and a jury tainted by a bailiff wearing a syringe tie. 12 years ago, Robert Sparks told police he killed his wife and 2 stepsons, ages 10 and 9, by repeatedly stabbing them in their Dallas home in the middle of the night. He then confessed to raping his 12- and 14-year-old stepdaughters. He told investigators his family had been poisoning him; he wanted to be tested for poison and for the girls to undergo polygraph tests, according to court records. He said a voice told him to kill his family. On Wednesday, Sparks, now 45, is set to be executed in the deaths of his stepsons, Raekwon Agnew and Harold Sublet Jr. Texas officials say his execution for the heinous crime should not be delayed, but Sparks’ attorneys filed multiple appeals within the last month. They fought for more time and resources to fully prepare a filing arguing that Sparks is intellectually disabled, which would legally bar him from execution. And they have continued to contend his trial was tainted by false testimony and a bailiff who wore a tie with a syringe on it during jury deliberations. “Without a stay of execution, it is likely that Texas will execute an intellectually disabled man,” Sparks’ attorney, Jonathan Landers, wrote in a recent federal district court filing. That appeal, along with those filed in state court and the federal appellate court, has been rejected. Final requests to stop his execution reside within the U.S. Supreme Court chambers. Sparks has been diagnosed as psychotic with delusions and with schizoaffective disorder, according to court records. At his trial, Dallas County prosecutors detailed how Sparks called police after the murders and later confessed on tape to killing the boys, as well as his wife, Chare Agnew. According to WFAA-TV, Sparks said he had been recording his family because he thought they were poisoning him, and he threatened to kill Agnew if he found out she had been. When everyone was asleep in September 2007, he stabbed his wife 18 times in their bed, court records state. He then woke the boys and stabbed them repeatedly — Harold at least 45 times. At the trial, emotions ran high. The court was disrupted several times by Harold’s father, who jumped up and ran toward Sparks when attorneys detailed how his son died, according to court records. A large blade found in the gallery disrupted court proceedings one day. And closing arguments were delayed in the guilt phase of the trial after Sparks apparently tried to kill himself, The Dallas Morning News reported. Ultimately, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in December 2008. In recent court filings, Sparks’ attorneys asked for funds to hire a neuropsychologist to determine if Sparks was intellectually disabled. They said things like an IQ score of 75 (a borderline number for the disability), his struggle in special education classes, and poor learning and memory indicate a strong possibility Sparks would be ineligible for the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court precedent that forbids execution of the intellectually disabled. Intellectual disability is often discussed in Texas death penalty cases since the U.S. Supreme Court slammed Texas for a 2nd time in February and invalidated its method of determining whether a death penalty inmate is disabled. Sparks’ lawyers said the appeal wasn’t brought forward earlier because Texas’ old method of determining intellectual disability was more restrictive than current medical standards. They argued that now Sparks’ low functioning, in addition to his borderline IQ of 75, “necessitates a full intellectual disability analysis.” A federal district court judge denied the request for funds and a stop to his execution last month. U.S. District Judge David Godbey said Sparks already had a full analysis before trial, when his IQ score was given, and he was not deemed intellectually disabled. An appellate court also rebuked Sparks for first raising the claim of intellectual disability months before his execution. In final filings before the U.S. Supreme Court, Sparks’ argument hinges on behavior at his trial. His lawyers say false testimony from a witness and a bailiff’s wardrobe affected the jury. Sparks’ lawyers said a state witness falsely claimed at trial that if sentenced to life in prison instead of death, Sparks would automatically be inserted into lower-security housing, providing the chance to eat and socialize with other inmates. Sparks’ attorneys said this influenced the jury to lean toward a death sentence and that it was likely he would have been in more restrictive custody based on his
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 24 PAKISTAN: Hospital employee gets death sentence for murdering colleague A model court on Monday sentenced a man to death for killing a fellow employee at a private hospital in Gulshan-e-Hadeed 2 years ago. The Malir district’s additional sessions judge awarded capital punishment to Rajesh alias Raju after he was found guilty of the murder charge. According to the prosecution, 25-year-old Nawab Din Channa, who worked as a receptionist at Saima Hospital in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, was stabbed to death by Rajesh, who had hidden his identity to avert arrest, on September 26, 2017. Police said that Nawab was sleeping on a bench when Rajesh attacked him with a dagger, stabbing him multiple times. The receptionist died due to excessive loss of blood. His body was later moved to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. His post mortem report stated that the victim was attacked with a sharp object and wounds were seen on his neck and chest. 7 hospital staffers were detained for interrogation and a CCTV footage of the murder also appeared on social media, showing a man attacking the receptionist while he was asleep. The accused was arrested after he withdrew cash from an ATM using the deceased’s bank account. According to the police, he took out Rs21,000. The suspect during interrogation confessed to the murder, saying that he was had personal enmity with the victim. (source: thenews.com.pk) ** Supreme Court Acquits 2 Life Sentence Convicts On Benefit Of Doubt The Supreme Court on Monday acquitted 2 life sentence convicts Faqir Ullah and Muhammad Ashraf, on benefit of doubt. The trial court had awarded capital punishment to Faqir Ullah and Muhammad Ashraf over murder of Sohail Aamir in Multan's area of Makhdoom Rashhed in 2002. The high court converted the death penalty into life imprisonment. A 3-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and comprising Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Faisal Arab heard the murder case in dispute of 2 parties through video link from the SC Lahore Registry. During the course of proceedings, the state prosecutor said that accused Faqir Ullah and Muhammad Ashraf had killed Sohail Aamir and threw his dead body into canal after packing it in a bag. Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa remarked that investigation officers informed court about joint recovery but they did not know that there was zero status of joint recovery before the courts. He observed that the investigation officers had less understanding about the law. He also observed that the witnesses recorded contradictory statements. He remarked that the case would have been stronger if police took finger prints of the deceased and motorcyclist. No record of the case has been disclosed and the prosecution failed to prove the case, he added. The court after hearing arguments suspended the decision of theLahore High Court and acquitted Faqir Ullah and Muhammad Ashrafon benefit of doubt. (source: urdupoint.com) IRAN: 3 Prisoners Transferred to Solitary Confinement for Execution At least 3 prisoners have been transferred to the solitary confinement of Rajai-Shahr prison in the Iranian city of Karaj for execution. According to IHR sources, At least three prisoners have been transferred to the solitary confinement of Rajai-Shahr in the Iranian city of Karaj for execution. IHR identified the prisoners as Ali Dravari, Mostafa Bakhti and Mojtaba Soleimani. All of them have been sentenced to death for murder. If they fail to win the consent of the plaintiffs, they would be executed. According to the Iranian Islamic Penal Code (IPC) murder is punishable by qisas which means “retribution in kind” or retaliation. In qisas cases, the plaintiff has the possibility to forgive or demand diya (blood money). In this way, the State effectively puts the responsibility of the death sentence for murder on the shoulders of the victim’s family. In many cases, the victim's family are encouraged to put the rope is around the prisoner's neck and even carry out the actual execution by pulling off the chair the prisoner is standing on. Executions are usually carried out on Wednesdays at Rajai-Shahr prison. (source: Iran Human Rights) IRAQ: Iraq to hang 9 convicted terrorists for deadly 2013 bombing of justice ministry An Iraqi court on Monday sentenced to death 9 people convicted of involvement in the bombing of the Justice Ministry 6 years ago. The so-called Islamic State had previously claimed responsibility for the March 2013 bombing that killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens. The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement that the “terrorists admitted during the trial that the attack was organized to target the largest number of victims and sabotage state institutions.” “The court sentenced those convicted to death by hanging in accordance with the provisions of Article
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, ARIZ., USA
Sept. 24 OHIO: Ohio Governor's Lethal Injection Comments Allowed in Lawsuit A federal magistrate judge is allowing comments about the death penalty made by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to become part of a long-running lawsuit challenging Ohio's lethal injection process. Lawyers for death row inmates asked for the inclusion of "numerous statements" by the Republican governor that he would not authorize executions using the state's current 3-drug method. The lawyers argued the statements weren't barred by rules preventing the use of hearsay and that they were relevant since DeWine has said executions won't go forward for now. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Merz in Dayton on Monday ruled in favor of allowing DeWine's comments into the court case. Executions have been on hold in Ohio while the prisons system looks for new supplies of lethal drugs. (source: Associated Press) ** The Parole Board's Clemency Process Is Changing The changes the Parole Board is making when considering clemency for death row inmates will begin in January. The Ohio Parole Board will get more information on the background of inmates. The inmate’s application for mercy, reports of child abuse, mental health and substance abuse history will all be given to parole board members early. Senior Federal Public Defender David Stebbins says they were getting just the inmate’s case record, disciplinary history and rehabilitation efforts on the day of the clemency hearing. “This permits the board to have all of the positive reasons for clemency before them before they interview the client," Stebbins says. Gov. Mike DeWine said he wanted changes after criticism that the board wasn’t transparent. Former State Sen Shirley Smith, who used to sit on the board, said the board lacked integrity and decency in the way it handled death penalty cases. (source: statenews.org) ARIZONA: Death Row Inmates Challenge Post-Conviction Rules Death row inmates are ill-served by the way states approve attorneys for post-conviction defense teams, 11 Arizona prisoners and the state’s Office of the Federal Public Defender claimed Monday in suing the Department of Justice. At issue are federal rules governing how states provide death row inmates with adequate representation. The rules allow a quick process with little oversight, which gives inmates curtailed timelines for filings, no voice in rulemaking, and leaves them at the mercy of states, which can simply write a letter saying the process is fine, according to the 37-page complaint. Once the Justice Department approves the states’ processes, the timeline for habeas corpus proceedings is shortened and judicial review of state judgments is curtailed, according to the complaint, which challenges the rules as substantively and procedurally deficient. Considering the states’ process certifications as “orders,” not rules, shortens the length of time allowed to file some petitions; states do not have to adequately explain their process for certifying attorneys; the rulemaking process does not require meaningful public input; and the rules allow improper communication between state and federal officials, lead plaintiff Steve Boggs says. Not requiring states to fully explain how they decide attorneys are qualified unfairly puts the burden on defendants to show that the process is inadequate, rather than requiring the states to show it was not — a clear violation of the intent of Congress, the complaint states. “A state applying for certification must bear the burden of demonstrating that it meets the statute’s requirements, as Congress clearly intended, but the regulations improperly leave it to the public to demonstrate that the state does not,” the plaintiffs say. For example, the Arizona attorney general submitted only a 3-page letter stating the process there is adequate, despite numerous public comments decrying the process, including from the plaintiffs, going unaddressed, the lawsuit says. It takes specific aim at the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Clinton-era legislation: “At bottom, the Attorney General is free under the regulations to arbitrarily disregard relevant comments without explanation, thus depriving the public of its right to understand the basis for agency action affecting important legal rights and further frustrating a reviewing court’s ability to evaluate the Attorney General’s decisions,” the complaint states. In short, the rules allow the U.S. attorney general far too much discretion, the plaintiffs say. “The regulations create a procedurally and substantively inadequate procedure by which the Attorney General may certify the adequacy of a state’s mechanism for appointing counsel with little public input and few constraints on his discretion,” they say. The Arizona federal defender’s office represents 77 indigent death-row prisoners in federal habeas
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., S.C., GA., FLA., LA.
Sept. 24 TEXASimpending execution North Texas man set to be executed for killing family A 45-year-old North Texas man who was convicted of murdering his wife and 2 stepsons before raping his stepdaughter is set to be put to death. Robert Sparks, 45, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday at the Huntsville “Walls” Unit. That is if the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t step in. Sparks, who has been on Texas death row since his conviction in 2008, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution, arguing that the jury specifically relied upon “the false testimony of prosecution expert A.P. Merillat when sentencing him to death. The appeal also claims that the courtroom bailiff wore a syringe tie on the date of jury deliberations, “creating an unacceptable risk of impermissible factors coming into play at trial.” Court records show that just after midnight on Sept. 15, 2007, Sparks put his hand over the mouth of his wife, Chare Agnew, and stabbed her 18 times in her bed. Then, one at a time, he woke up his stepsons — 9-year-old Harold and 10-year-old Raekwon — and stabbed them 45 times each, dragging their bodies into the living and stashing them under a comforter. Next, he went after the girls, raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter on the couch while her younger sister watched. Afterward, he apologized to them for the rapes and murders — but said their mother had been trying to poison him. Sparks was arrested a few days later and tried the following year. If carried out, Sparks will be the 16th person executed in the United States this year and the 7th in the state of Texas. (source: Huntsville Item) *stay of impending execution Texas court halts the execution of Stephen Barbee to consider U.S. Supreme Court precedentThe Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay in Barbee's case. He was set for execution on Oct. 2. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday temporarily stopped the execution of Stephen Barbee. He had been set to die Oct. 2. Barbee, 52, was sentenced to death in Tarrant County in the 2005 murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Lisa Underwood, and her 7-year-old son, Jayden. According to court records, Barbee initially confessed during police interrogation to killing them because he feared Lisa would tell his wife that he was likely the father of her unborn child and that he would have to pay child support. He later recanted the confession, which his lawyer argues was “the product of fear and coercion,” and has since maintained his innocence. The Texas court stopped next week’s execution because Barbee’s attorneys at his short, two-and-a-half day trial, admitted to his guilt, likely in an attempt to secure the more favorable sentence of life in prison without the opportunity for parole. Barbee has said this concession of guilt was against his wishes, that he repeatedly told his lawyers he wanted to maintain his innocence and that his lawyers’ statement was “a complete surprise.” The concession, Barbee argues, is a violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The argument was rejected earlier, but after a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision out of Louisiana, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered further review of the case. In McCoy v. Louisiana, the high court ruled that “a defendant has the right to insist that counsel refrain from admitting guilt, even when counsel’s experienced-based view is that confessing guilt offers the defendant the best chance to avoid the death penalty.” Though the ruling has been raised unsuccessfully in other Texas death penalty appeals, the state appellate court decided Barbee’s case requires an opinion the case's reach. The judges gave the state and Barbee 30 days to file briefs on issues involving the Supreme Court decision. (source: The Texas Tribune) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present46 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-564 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 47-Sept. 25---Robert Sparks---565 48-Oct. 10Randy Halprin---566 49-Oct. 16Randall Mays567 50-Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez-568 51-Nov. 6-Justen Hall-569 52-Nov. 13Patrick Murphy--570 53-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-571 54-Dec. 11Travis Runnels--572 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) *impending execution Texas plans to execute a man who says DNA evidence could exonerate himRodney Reed’s lawyers have filed a lawsuit claiming Texas is violating his constitutional rights TEXAS'S DEATH-PENALTY machinery is humming. Last year, the state carried out more than half of America's execut
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEV., ORE.
Sept. 23 NEVADA: Lawyer suspended over accusations against Nevada Supreme Court justices A panel of appointed district judges this week suspended Las Vegas lawyer James Colin because of his conduct after the Supreme Court rejected his client’s appeals in a death penalty case. Colin represented Charles Lee Randolph, 53, who was convicted of 1st-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1998. After losing that case and the appeal, Colin launched into a tirade against the high court, accusing justices of dishonesty, unethical behavior and a laundry list of other violations including illegally taking money to sit on the high court’s Library Commission — a duty they were authorized to receive payment for. And Colin made the charges in a series of pleadings filed with the high court. The panel of district judges appointed to review his conduct agreed with the State Bar and, in an opinion issued Thursday, ruled his conduct violated the rules by making false statements about the integrity of the justices and “conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.” Colin wrote, among other things, that, “The Nevada Supreme Court has no respect for the Nevada Constitution or the law of the United States of America. The court’s despicable and blatantly lawless actions have repeatedly proven this sad truth.” He charged that: “The court works hard to this very day to break the law, make up lies and complete the judicial lynching of Charles Lee Randolph.” He accused justices of being “drunk with power, acting like a lawless bully just lying and cheating to accomplish its evil objective to see Randolph dead,” and described them as “vindictive, dishonest and totally biased.” The State Bar conducted a formal hearing that Colin failed to show up for. Afterward, the State Bar recommended Colin be suspended for a year and a day. Throughout the dispute, he repeatedly called for disqualification of six of the high court members. Justice Lidia Stiglich was not a member of the court when all this occurred. To avoid suggestions of bias, a panel of six district judges from around the state was appointed to review the bar recommendation. That panel, headed by Stiglich, issued its opinion Thursday: “We conclude that the State Bar proved that Colin made statements in pleadings to the court concerning the integrity of several justices that he knew to be false or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.” That, the opinion states, violates the ethical rules lawyers are required to follow. They suspended him from practice for six months and a day and ordered that he pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam before getting his license back. Colin represented Randolph in 1998 when he was tried and convicted of murder and six other felonies including kidnapping and robbery. He remains in prison at the Ely maximum security prison. (source: Nevada Appeal) OREGON: Primus criticizes lack of action to fix death penalty law Gov. Kate Brown’s refusal to call a special session to fix a flaw that would make a new death penalty bill retroactive stymies Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus. Brown said she couldn’t justify the cost of a special session when she wasn’t sure if the votes were there to approve the fix. Primus says there is no cost too great when it comes to the crime victims. “We’re talking about the concern of incurring a cost when we’re talking about victims that are going to be revictimized as a result of this, that are going to have to go through this some more of a result of this and changes to their cases,” Primus questioned. Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena) has told KUMA News that he was told the votes for the fix were there in the Senate. Primus said all the lawmakers had to do was add a few words. “Just add a little language that would read, ‘As of Sept. 29, when the bill is to take place, that this would only affect crimes that occurred after that date,’” he said. There are 35 inmates who have been sentenced to death in Oregon. Thirty three of them are on death row. The only woman is in another correctional institution. One man is now at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla so he can undergo dialysis. (source: mycolumbiabasin.com) ___ 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----worldwide
Sept. 23 BANGLADESH: Bangladesh trying to bring back founder’s killerAfter 35 years of the murder, Bangladesh’s Apex court served capital punishment against 12 convicts A top Bangladeshi official claimed that a Canadian court’s verdict has cleared the way of dialogue between the two states over bringing back of a convicted killer of country’s founder from Canada as he has been reportedly absconding there for many years. “The verdict of the Canadian Federal Court is one step progress in the way of bringing back Nur Chowdhury [self-confessed and convicted killer of Bangladesh’s founding leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman],” Bangladesh’s Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq told in an exclusive interview with the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency on late Saturday. Canadian government earlier refused to return Chowdhury to Bangladesh as the Bangladeshi Apex court had already awarded capital punishment to him in his absence. Mujib was killed along with his wife and 3 sons including 10-year-old Sheikh Russell on Aug. 15, 1975 while his 2 daughters, incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, survived the carnage as they were then in abroad. After 35 years of the killing, 5 self-confessed killers — all former top army officials — were hanged to death in 2010 while one died of natural causes. The rest six convicts are still at large and Nur is 1 of them. Bangladesh government is trying to bring them home to execute the capital punishment. The ruling Awami League party also committed to hold trial of Mujib’s killers in its electoral manifesto in 2008. The minister said: “It [Canadian court’s verdict] also allowed disclosing Nur’s immigration status in Canada which was, earlier, closed by the Canadian government, saying that it was a shut case.'' “We can now exchange information with the Canadian government and give correct documents if Nur had given any wrong information to the Canadian authorities. We will try to utilize this opportunity to expedite the extradition process of Nur,'' the report quoted Huq as saying. Citing Nur’s latest situation in Canada, the minister added: “The Canadian government, earlier, used to tell us ‘There is capital punishment in your country. And you have already awarded him (Nur) that punishment. So, we will not handover him to you’. But we came to know that Nur was not given political asylum there rather his deportation was also postponed.” (source: aa.com.tr) INDONESIA: Police thwart attempt to smuggle 6,000 detonators in Indonesia Parepare Police in South Sulawesi have reportedly foiled an attempt to smuggle roughly 6,000 detonators out of South Sulawesi through Nusantara Port and arrested 3 individuals during the operation conducted on Friday. Those arrested have been identified only as AM, 39, from Boya Baliase village in Sigi regency in Central Sulawesi and AM, 59, and NA, 57, both from Kampoti village in Bone regency in South Sulawesi. The detonators were hidden under milk packages in 6 different sacks, Parepare Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Pria Budi explained, adding that the police were investigating where the detonators were to be sent and what for purpose. "We have yet to discover the real owner of the detonators, as the 3 arrested individuals are refusing to give up any information," Pria said as quoted by Antara. He said the 3 men could be charged under the 1951 Emergency Law on illegal firearm possession with a maximum punishment of the death penalty. (source: asiaone.com) KUWAIT: Hoshiarpur man gets death penalty in Kuwait<>P> Rajinder Singh, a resident of Taragarh village at Jalandhar Road, has been sentenced to death in Kuwait for drug trafficking. Rajinder’s family, calling him innocent, has requested the state as well as the Central Government to take up the matter with Kuwait to get him released. Rajinder had gone to Kuwait in 2016. He has been lodged in a jail since January. His father Baldev Singh said Rajinder (30), his only son, first went to Dubai in 2014 and returned soon. He left for Gulf again and landed in Doha Qatar. In January 2016, he once again shifted, this time to Kuwait where he worked in Savi. His visa was to expire in February 2019 so he was about to return. Here, his family was engaged in preparations for his marriage. In January, he went to Kuwait’s Kharbania town to stay with Sonu who too hails from Taragarh village. A few days later, the family received a call regarding Rajinder’s arrest. The family said Rajinder phoned them from jail to inform that on January 15, 2019, he was waiting at a station for his firm’s bus, along with his over 20 colleagues, to go to work when another man gave him his bag to handle for a while, claiming that he had forgotten something in his room. Assuring that he would return soon, he left and then police turned up and
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 22 CANADA: T.W. Paterson column: McLean brothers’ murderous rampage ended quietly “Shoot! you son of a ——-, shoot! I’m not afraid of an ounce of lead.”—condemned murderer Allen McLean. For those who are familiar with provincial criminal history, this summer’s murderous but, happily, brief rampage by 2 Island teenagers was an eerie echo of a similar outrage that dates back all of 140 years. That’s when the three McLean brothers, Allen, Charlie and Archie, and their friend Alex Hare, sought for stealing a prized stallion, cold bloodedly murdered Provincial Police Constable John Tannatt Ussher and an inoffensive shepherd then terrorized local ranchers before being captured after a dramatic shootout with a posse. It’s a story so oft-told I won’t go into further detail here; rather, I want to explore their final days in the B.C. Penitentiary, the tragic conclusion of their almost senseless crimes that could have had only one conclusion in that age of capital punishment. To do so I must introduce the anti-heroes of our tale: 25-year-old Allen McLean, leader, younger brothers Charlie, 17, Archie, 15, and friend Alex Hare, 17. All were the products of mixed-race marriages, the McLeans’ father having been a notorious firebrand who committed a murder of his own, and who, deadly with rifle, revolver and hunting knife, were said to be “the true product of a wild frontier existence”. They also have been described as being “of a wild, reckless disposition, and being good horsemen and capital shots [who] preferred enjoying a roving life to any settled employment.” But their roving life of horse and cattle rustling came to an abrupt end with their murders of Constable Ussher and shepherd Kelly, subsequent arrest, trial, conviction and sentence of death. The fact that Archie was only 15 cut no ice with the judicial system which, no doubt, was influenced by eyewitness testimony that it was he who’d delivered the coup de grace to the wounded Ussher. An appeal, based not on evidence of their guilt but on a legalistic and egotistical administrative joust between Attorney-General George Walkem and Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Begbie (who hadn’t presided at their trial) caused a second trial and a year-long delay. Again, the verdict was guilty and, while awaiting their fate in the penitentiary beside the Fraser River, in New Westminster, they were anything but model prisoners. Their behaviour, until a month before execution, was described as “bad — characterized by one continued resistance to authority and defiance of discipline interspersed with small plots to escape, and exhibitions of a disposition to gratify a splenetic vein”. When Warden Moresby detected a knife up Allan’s sleeve, he had to disarm him at gunpoint. On another occasion when Moresby drew his revolver, Allan snarled, “Shoot! you son of a ——-, shoot! I’m not afraid of an ounce of lead.” The gang constantly upset prison quiet and routine with their whistling, cursing, shouting and dancing, behaviour that was dismissed by one journalist as an unseemly exhibition of bravado — “like that of little boys whistling in the dark to scare away the rats”. Further searches of their cells turned up knives, nails sharpened to fine points and the handle of a tin cup which had been flattened and ground to a sharp edge. These had been stowed away in rat holes. The possession of these weapons and Archie’s threatening to strike a guard with a bucket led to Moresby seeking special permission to chain them to the walls which finally succeeded in “cooling them down”. Why they didn’t just break out quietly is a mystery considering the pathetic state of the prison where, the Colonist complained, “Safety forms no prominent feature of [the] cells. The walls for seven inches from their bases are rotten — in fact they are nothing more or less than ‘plank’ and can be pulled to pieces with the fingers. Had the prisoners desired it they could have emerged from their confinement within a few hours by simply using the heels of their boots. One of the doors, it is said, fell off its hinges, the wood being too much decayed to sustain the strain[!]” Perhaps they were relying upon a plot they’d hatched to make their escape at almost the last minute — while being led to the scaffold. John Henry Makai, a “half breed” [sic] Kanaka serving two months for selling liquor to Indians, had volunteered to serve as executioner, a duty often performed by non-professionals. Makai’s “frequent importunities” for the unpleasant job made Moresby suspicious. Through an inmate informant he learned that Makai had arranged with the McLeans and Hare that, should he act as executioner, he’d “by some means secure possession of a knife and while pinioning [them] prior to their taking their position on the scaffold [he’d] cut the ropes almost through, leaving a few threads sufficient to maintain the ropes in their place
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, FLA.
Sept. 22 TEXAS: Rodney Reed's family holds rally, asks for re-trialTexas convicted prisoner Rodney Reed's execution date is two months away, but his family continues to protest, hoping to stop the execution scheduled for November. Rodney Reed's family held a rally in Bastrop on Saturday afternoon with supporters, protesting his execution set for Nov. 20. "It's about truth and justice, not just for Rodney, but for all," said Roderick Reed, Rodney Reed's brother. Reed was found guilty of the rape and murder of Stacey Stites in 1996, after DNA tests linked him to her death. Supporters of Reed claim Stites' killer was actually her fiance at the time; they believe Reed is innocent. "It's been hard," said Roderick Reed. "It's been really hard. It's been trying, but at the end of the day we put our faith in God. We trust in God. Sometimes bad things have to happen to bring in the greater good." Reed's family said they won't stop until Reed is out free. It's been decades of supporting him, with a lot of controversy surrounding the case, but they're sure it'll be worth it. "I just thought it was crazy that Texas was trying to execute someone who had a strong claim of innocence, and there wasn't DNA testing and they weren't willing to exhaust that option before," said Wana Akpan, Reed's sister-in-law. (source: KVUE news) FLORIDA: One last court appearance for suspects charged with FSU professor's murder before trial A man and woman charged in the murder for hire of an FSU professor appeared in a Tallahassee court Friday for the last time in jail blues. On Monday, Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia faced jurors in their street clothes. The state is seeking the Death Penalty against the alleged triggerman, Garcia. Professor Dan Markel and Wendi Adelson divorced a year before the murder. Prosecutors consider her family un-indicted co-conspirators and believe they paid Garcia through Magbanua for the hit. On Friday, lawyers squared off over whether pages of divorce filings could be admitted. Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman calling them 500 pages of “bad blood”. “He said there may be some limited exceptions to that if they make a more specific objection, but in general they can come in. Not for particular truth of each pleading, but in general to prove the motive for the crime,” said Cappleman. The trial, which begins Monday, could last as long as 3 weeks. It is a case that is being covered by several major news magazines including 20/20 and Dateline NBC. (source: WJHG TV news) ___ 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----worldwide
Sept. 21 GREAT BRITAIN: An A-Z guide to the history of executionsFor centuries, capital punishment was part of everyday life, as shown by this alphabetical guide to a very British way of death. Writing for BBC History Revealed, historian Gavin Mortimer explores… A … is for ASPHYXIATION Hanging was the preferred method of execution in England from early Anglo- Saxon times, but it was neither efficient nor painless. Deaths were drawn out, with the condemned hanging until they suffocated. Over time, the method evolved, and in 1783 ‘new drop’ gallows were first used at London’s Newgate Prison, whereby the condemned – often many at a time – fell through a trapdoor. Around a century later came the ‘long drop’, where the prisoner’s height and weight were used to determine the length and rate of drop, to ensure a swift death from a broken neck rather than asphyxiation. B … is for BODY SNATCHERS A lucrative profession for criminals in 17th- and 18th-century Britain was body snatching. Freshly interred corpses would be dug up from cemeteries and sold, in most cases, to medical schools for anatomical study. Oddly, the snatching itself was not illegal, but dissecting a body was. That changed with the Anatomy Act of 1832, prompted by the trial of William Burke and his execution in 1829. He and his partner, William Hare, progressed from removing corpses to committing murder in their attempt to ensure a supply to sell to Edinburgh physician Robert Knox. Burke was hanged in front of 25,000 people. His corpse, fittingly, was dissected. C … is for CODE By the 19th century, some 222 crimes were defined as capital offences, including murder, robbery and impersonating a Chelsea pensioner. Even maiming a cow or being out at night with a blackened face was punishable by death, with the age, sex and mental health of the offender being deemed an irrelevance. So harsh was the penal code that it became known as the ‘Bloody Code’, and it wasn’t until 1861 that Parliament passed a bill de-capitalising minor crimes. After then, only four offences carried the death penalty: murder, arson in a royal dockyard, high treason and piracy with violence. D… is for DORCHESTER The English town takes an unexpectedly prominent part in the history of executions. It was there that Elizabeth Martha Brown became the last woman publicly executed in Dorset when she met her end in 1856. Her husband John had struck out at her and she retaliated by burying an axe in his head. Brown was hanged on 9 August in front of a few thousand onlookers. In the crowd was the 16-year-old Thomas Hardy, who drew on the experience when writing his classic novel, Tess of the d’Urbervilles. He later recalled: “I saw they had put a cloth over the face [and] how, as the cloth got wet, her features came through it. That was extraordinary.” Brown’s remains are believed to be among those of 50 executed prisoners found under the former Dorchester Prison, and which may be reinterred in Poundbury Cemetery. E… is for EXECUTIONER The pioneer of the ‘long drop’ in the 1870s was William Marwood, an executioner who was far more humane than his predecessor. The notorious William Calcraft had executed more than 450 people over the course of 45 years in the job and was reputed to enjoy seeing them suffer, sometimes prolonging their death throes to excite the crowd. The most prolific British executioner of the 20th century was Albert Pierrepoint, whose father and uncle were also hangmen. As many as 600 were despatched by him, including hundreds convicted of war crimes. He considered his work as “sacred” and the “supreme mercy”. F… is for FINAL WORDS Facing imminent death affected the condemned in different. ways. Some confessed their sins and asked for forgiveness; others maintained their innocence. James MacLaine, the ‘gentleman highwayman’, murmured only “Oh, Jesus” as he stood on the gallows in 1750. Others may have been eager for the end to be as swift as possible, such as the famous Elizabethan explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, who urged the executioner wielding the axe to “Strike, man, strike!”. As for the highwayman Isaac Atkinson, hanged in 1640, he addressed the crowd: “Gentlemen, there’s nothing like a merry life, and a short one.” G … is for GIBBETING While a gibbet can refer to the actual scaffold used for an execution, gibbeting was the grisly act of publicly displaying. the dead in human-shaped cages to serve as a warning. Even more gruesomely, prisoners could be encased alive in an iron gibbet and suspended from a beam to die of starvation and/or exposure. Gibbeting, also known as ‘hanging in chains’, was around since medieval times, but reached a peak in the mid-18th century. It was a fate that befell the pirate Captain William Kidd, whose body was displayed over the !ames at Tilbury Point in 1701 to make sailors think twice about turning to piracy. H … is for HEART THROB A native of
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., ARK., MO., WYO., IDAHO, CALIF., ORE.
Sept. 21 TENNESSEE: Tennessee AG Challenges Decision to Drop Abdur’Rahman Death Sentence A Nashville judge approved an order last month vacating the sentence months before execution In August, Nashville Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins approved a proposed order vacating the death sentence of Nashville death row prisoner Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman and replacing it with a life sentence. The order was proposed by Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk, who cited racial discrimination in jury selection and other prosecutorial misconduct during the 1987 trial, and looked to spare Abdur’Rahman the death penalty months before his scheduled execution. Funk’s proposed order came after Watkins decided that Abdur’Rahman was entitled to a new hearing in the case. But now, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery says he will challenge that order, calling it “unlawful” and “unprecedented.” In his statement, Slatery does not specifically address the racial discrimination in jury selection or prosecutorial misconduct on the part of then-Assistant District Attorney John Zimmermann. The statement: The order exchanged the death sentence of Tennessee inmate Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman for life in prison, thus essentially granting clemency through a court and a district attorney that both lack the authority to do so. James L. Jones Jr., as he was known at the time of his crimes, was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and armed robbery in 1986. The same jury that found him guilty of murder sentenced him to death. Over the last 30 years Mr. Abdur’Rahman has repeatedly raised the same issues Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk relied on in the trial court, all of which were thoroughly litigated and rejected in the state courts and on federal review through the United States Supreme Court. That leaves no option for reopening Abdur’Rahman’s case for post-conviction proceedings or otherwise amending the sentence. The Office of the Attorney General has the obligation to defend the rule of law and to ensure that the process is fair and transparent, especially when it relates to criminal matters that affect the rights of innocent victims, the accused, and the public. "The public has put a special trust in this Office to help preserve the integrity of the criminal justice system," said General Slatery. "This order uproots decades of established legal procedure and lacks any legal justification which is why we are appealing." In response to Slatery’s announcement, Funk tells the Scene, “I stand by my position.” Abdur’Rahman’s attorney Bradley MacLean tells the Scene he will respond to the AG’s announcement. We will update this story when he does. Update: See MacLean's statement below. Today the Tennessee Attorney General filed a Notice of Appeal seeking to challenge the Agreed Order approved by the Davidson County Criminal Court that converted Mr. Abdur’Rahman’s death sentence to a life sentence. The Davidson County District Attorney General and Mr. Abdur’Rahman entered into an arms-length consent decree converting Mr. Abdur’Rahman’s death sentence to a life sentence. This consent decree was based upon the evidentiary record demonstrating that a rogue prosecutor engaged in racially discriminatory jury selection at Mr. Abdur’Rahman’s capital trial. The Davidson County Criminal Judge Monte Watkins, after taking the matter under advisement, approved the consent decree. Judge Watkins found that the parties had reached an “equitable and just resolution” in order to “remedy an injustice.” The Attorney General has taken the unprecedented step of challenging the judgment and authority of the Davidson County District Attorney who is responsible for all criminal cases in Davidson County. The State of Tennessee is bound by the consent decree, and the Attorney General lacks standing to challenge it. The Tennessee Constitution gives the District Attorney the exclusive authority to handle criminal cases within his district. Today’s action by the Attorney General is an unlawful attempt to usurp the power of the District Attorney. By attempting to undermine the authority and the prosecutorial discretion of the District Attorney, the Attorney General is turning a blind eye to the gross injustices in Mr. Abdur’Rahman’s case and is attempting to sanction the kind of racial bias and egregious prosecutorial misconduct that occurred in the case. The Attorney General is not seeking to uphold our most cherished constitutional principles. Instead, the Attorney General is taking a stand for racism and a prosecutor’s violation of his constitutional and ethical duties. We will vigorously defend the lawful judgment of the Criminal Court. (source: nashvillescene.com) ARKANSASfemale to face death penalty Rebecca O’Donnell appears in court for hearing in Collins murder case A woman accused of capital murder in the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., S.C., GA., ALA., OHIO
Sept. 21 TEXAS: Once his defense, Greco’s sexuality used against him as prosecutors push for death penalty When Daniel Greco was first questioned 3 years ago for the murder of Anjanette Harris and her unborn child, Greco told investigators that he accidentally killed Harris during bondage sex when he bound her and pulled a rubber strap around her neck. His defense attorneys, hoping to get a conviction less severe than capital murder, incorporated this defense in their closing arguments to jurors on Wednesday. That argument ultimately failed, and the jury convicted Greco for capital murder. On Friday, as the trial entered the punishment phase, prosecutors hit hard on Greco’s sexuality as they steered their case toward their goal: seeing Greco get the death penalty rather than a life sentence without a chance for parole.<\P> Prosecutors welcomed 2 women who once had sex with Greco to the witness stand. They both said they believed or were told by friends “it could have been me” who Greco murdered if it were not Harris. Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Sheugit, as she questioned one of the women, presented jurors with letters between Greco and six women while he’s been locked up in the Denton County jail. In the letters, Greco wrote sexually explicit notes to each of them. “I like bad girls, like to talk dirty and be funny, so hit me up,” he wrote one, saying to another, “Thank you for the pics, they really got my juices flowing.” All of this will matter in the context of whether Greco gets to live for the rest of his life among the general populations inside the Texas prison system or live isolated on death row until he is executed. After failing to see Greco acquitted of capital murder, his defense attorneys are now locked in a struggle to prove that Greco was and remains a good person despite making a bad decision to kill Harris. Responding to the rounds of letters the state showed the jury, defense attorney Derek Adame showed the jury through his cross examination of one of the women that inmates, regardless of their convictions, write sexually in letters to former sex partners, something Adame argued is routine and in no way an indication that Greco has no remorse for what he did to Harris. Adame and fellow defense attorney Caroline Simone cross examined witnesses with questions related to how encouraging and supportive Greco is of them. Adame called in one man who lived in the cell next to Greco in the county jail. He, too, talked about how supportive Greco was of him. The waning days of this trial become personal, at times painfully, on Friday for Greco. The state not only plunged into Greco’s sexuality but called his mother, Mary Greco, to the witness stand. Prosecutors asked her questions about her son’s decades-long struggle with drug addiction and about his childhood. In his letters to his mother, Greco, who on previous convictions spent time in state prison, acknowledges how much better the Texas Department of Criminal Justice food is than at the Denton County jail, and how much easier it is to sneak contraband into prison than the county jail. In one letter, Greco wrote his mother that he was remorseful but that he didn’t want to spend life in prison. “I feel like I deserve 20 years,” he wrote, the length of the maximum sentence one can receive after a manslaughter conviction. The punishment phase of the trial will continue at 8:30 a.m. Monday in Denton County 431st District Court. (source: Denton Record-Chronicle) * Valley death row inmate granted stay of execution A Court granted a death row inmate’s request for a stay of execution, court records show. In a Sept. 17 order filed in the Southern District of Texas, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez granted Juan Raul Navarro-Ramirez’s motion for a stay — adopting, in its entirety, the “Report and Recommendation,” order from Magistrate Judge Peter E. Ormsby filed in July, the record states. Navarro-Ramirez, 35, who has been sitting on death row in Livingston, Texas, for nearly 15 years, was convicted of 2 counts of murder in December 2004 and given a sentence of death in connection with a failed drug rip against rival gangmembers that left 6 men dead in January of 2003. Navarro-Ramirez, and several fellow members of the Tri-City Bombers, wearing law enforcement gear, participated in the robbery of drugs from a rival gang at a stash house in Edinburg. Ultimately, 6 men were killed, and at least 10 co-defendants arrested in connection with the incident, including Juan Arturo Villarreal Cordova, Robert Garza, Jeffrey Juarez, Reymundo Sauceda, Robert Cantu, Salvador Solis, Juan Miguel Nunez, Juan Ramirez and Jorge Espinosa Martinez. Originating from the Pharr, San Juan, and Alamo area as a breakdancing crew called the “Tri-City Poppers,” the crew began their criminal enterprise first with petty crimes, and then
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 20 SUDAN: Sudan's sovereign council decides to drop death penalty against 8 militants Sudan's Sovereign Council on Thursday decided to drop the death penalty against 8 members of an armed group in Darfur. "The council decided to drop the death penalty against 8 members of Sudan's Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdul-Wahid Nur," Mohamed Al-Faki Suleiman, spokesman of the council, told reporters. According to him, the council also decided to release 18 prisoners of armed groups. He added that a committee assigned by the Sovereign Council has been in contact with the armed movements from Sudan's Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions to implement the agreement reached prior to a round of peace talks. On Sept. 11, Sudan's government and the armed groups signed a declaration of principle and agreed to hold peace talks on Oct. 14 to address the war issues in the country. The declaration was reached after talks held in South Sudan's capital Juba between representatives of the Sudan government and the armed groups, under a mediation initiative by South Sudan's president. The 2 sides also agreed to form specialized committees to arrange for the peace negotiations, follow up procedures of releasing the prisoners of war, as well as supervise measures of cessation of hostilities. (source: xinhuanet.com) PHILIPPINES: Reform or execution I have been wanting to write about the Bucor (Bureau of Corrections) controversy. There are questions in my mind that I have been meaning to ask because what I read in newspapers or online articles are never that complete. What I know for a fact is that controversy or scandal is a recurring event in New Bilibid Prison. The very place where criminals are imprisoned, both as a punishment and a way to protect the public from them – ironically appears to be a major headquarters for ongoing criminality around the country. It can even seem that there are no bigger organized crime organizations than the ones being run from the NBP. Reviewing historical events that have marked Bilibid as a persistent source of controversy or scandal, it is inevitable that we reach one conclusion. If major criminals can run their organizations from prison, then prison officials have either been neglectful or complicit. The latter is more probable. Constant neglect is easier to correct than systemic corruption – anywhere. The mess in Bilibid has not been corrected, but its corruption has been quite effective. If I had more time and inclination, I would do more detailed research of the thread of controversies and scandals that have accompanied the New Bilibid Prison in its long history. Fortunately, I have neither more time or inclination. What I remember is enough. And not so much about the details, but more of the bitter aftertaste. Somehow, when the gory details of corruption are momentarily forgotten, the filth sticks to the soul. What does one do when something has become an uncontrollable menace to society? Well, many leaders in government that are mandated to address the menace, like illegal drugs, simplify matters and push for the return of the death penalty. Even before the reinstatement of the death penalty, the official war on drugs by the national government is already very bloody. Like the New Bilibid Prison history, I do not have the time or inclination to research on the body count. Whether it is 10,000 or 30,000, is it really more important than the fact that people are killed? When the details are forgotten, the stink of blood is retained by the nostrils. My thoughts simply associate a solution that is copied from the official recommendation of the Executive Branch – the death penalty. Why not apply the death penalty to the New Bilibid Prison. If the corruption is more powerful than any appointee, why not execute the New Bilibid Prison? If no administration has the fortitude of waging a relentless and winnable war against an establishment and system that has become a monster, why not sentence it to death? If reform has become an impossibility, what other option is there? It is important to choose between reform or execution. Whichever direction we take will demand its own pathway, very different pathway. History, however, favors the death penalty in the case of the New Bilibid Prison. The rate of failure of reform is not only dismal, it is total. The monster has not been tamed, it has grown stronger and more innovative in corrupting the appointed reformers. It can even be speculated, from the long line of failed reformers, that the monster influences even the many layers of appointing powers. Reform is not impossible, but it is improbable considering everything. It is difficult to bring a crucial part of our society’s security on a path of improbability. Organized crime is supposed to be dismantled, not nurtured. Let us look at how it has been over the last several decades,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., KY., TENN., MO., CALIF., ORE., USA
Sept. 20 TEXAS: 1 Year Later: The trial of alleged BP serial killer Juan David Ortiz Editors Note: 1 year later, the Laredo Morning Times is taking a look at the fallout from the serial killings that shook the Gateway City to its core last September. LMT reporters talked to the families affected the most after the series of murders and a resulting investigation ended with the arrest of Border Patrol agent Juan David Ortiz. One year later, the aftershock from the crimes can still be felt in Laredo. Ortiz appeared in court for a bond hearing on April 28, but his first attorney, Joey Tellez, asked for more time to amend the application seeking bond reduction. The hearing was reset for Aug. 8, but it was delayed and will be held Oct. 3 in 406th District Court Judge Hale's court. Webb County District Attorney Isidro "Chilo" Alaniz said the state is seeking the death penalty. Unlike other murder cases, capital murder is a murder case that factors in other elements, such as the circumstances of the case and how serious it was. Capital murder includes killing someone under the age of 10, killing police officers or firefighters while carrying out their duties, or killing multiple people in the same episode. 1 Year Later This story is 1 section of a 6-part series that details the fallout of the serial murders that affected the Gateway City last September. "The decision to seek death is always a sensitive decision, because there's a lot that goes into that decision," Alaniz said. "It's punishment reserved for the most egregious, the most heinous and horrific murders that take place." When it comes to motive, Alaniz said Ortiz made statements about the victims' work, but that more aspects of the motive will appear as the trial goes on. "There were statements made by him, and I know people always want to know the reason why someone did something," he said. "That's something that we will eventually develop in the trial. It's complicated." Alaniz said anything can happen between now and 2021. With capital murder, he said the jury must answer two questions to determine either the death sentence or life without parole: if there are any mitigating factors or if the suspect is a future danger. "Is there a probability this person will commit crimes in the future?" he asked. "Mitigating factors go to circumstances surrounding the case: medical history, mental history, diseases, defects, other types of issues that the jury can consider." Ortiz is held at a $2.5 million bond, and it is up to the judge to decide when or if there will be a bond reduction hearing. "We will continue to argue that the bond be maintained at that amount," Alaniz said. "We consider him a danger to society, and we consider him a flight risk, just by the nature of the offense and the punishment." (source: Laredo Morning Times) ALABAMAfemale may face death penalty Lauderdale County capital murder suspect appears in court ? -- The suspect could be facing more charges. A capital murder suspect in Lauderdale County, Peggy Hall, went before a judge Thursday morning. The district attorney's office says she killed her ex-husband, Randall Bobo, at his home on County Road 130. Hall is being held at the Lauderdale County Detention Center. She is being held without bond right now, and she could face additional charges. It's unclear what those could be yet. The district attorney said they charged her with capital murder, because she came into Bobo's home with the intent to burglarize the place, and then ended up shooting him. The district attorney says grandchildren saw it all happen. Bobo and Hall have 2 adult children together, and the prosecutor says all of that will factor into how they proceed. "This is death penalty eligible, so we've got to make that decision in the next coming days and weeks if we will ask for the death penalty. It's certainly early in the investigation. We know what happened with the actual murder, but there are still some other items that need to be checked out," Chris Connolly, the Lauderdale County District Attorney, said. He also said once the investigation is complete, Hall could be facing more charges. In court Thursday morning, the judge read Hall's charges to make sure she understands them. She has a court-appointed attorney. We're waiting to hear when her next court appearance will be. (source: WAAY news) KENTUCKY: Should people under 21 be eligible for the death penalty?The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether the death penalty should be an option for those ages 18-21. The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Thursday over whether the death penalty should be an option for those younger than 21 in the state (it is already banned for those under 18 nationwide). The death penalty is a contentious issue across the United States; some argue we shouldn’t have it at all,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 18 INDIA: Odisha: Death penalty for Salipur rape & murder accused A POCSO court today awarded death penalty to accused youth convicted in 2018 Salipur minor girl rape and murder case. Yesterday, the special POCSO Court, Cuttack, had convicted accused Mohammed Mustaque under sections 302, 363, 376 a-b of IPC and section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The accused had raped a 6-year-old girl near a school under Salipur police limits on April 21, 2018. He had crushed her head with a stone following rape. The girl was rushed to the SCB Medical College & Hospital in critical condition, where she succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment on April 29 last year. This is the 5th case in Odisha where the accused persons were sentenced to death for the heinous crime. (source: Odisha Sun Times) MALAYSIA: Nov 27 death penalty appeal for Banting man who sold medicinal cannabis The Court of Appeal has set November 27 to hear the appeal by a 30-year-old father who was sentenced to death for trafficking cannabis which he claimed was used for medicinal purposes. A 3-man panel comprising Justices Datuk Yaacob Md Sam, Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Lau Bee Lan fixed the hearing date when the matter came up before the court today. Earlier, Justice Yaacob granted an application by Muhammad Lukman Mohamad’s lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik to include two additional grounds in the petition of appeal. Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Nazran Mohd Sham did not object to the application. On August 30 last year, the Shah Alam High Court found Muhammad Lukman guilty on 3 charges of trafficking 3,010mm of delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (cannabis extract), 1,422g of delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol and 279.81g of cannabis. He was accused of committing the offences at a house in Bandar Mahkota, Banting at 6.45pm on December 7, 2015. (source: malaymail.com) SRI LANKA: 2 Indian drug peddlers sentenced to life term in Sri Lanka 2 Indian nationals have been sentenced to life terms in Sri Lanka for drug peddling, police said on Wednesday. The 2 named Dhanivel Mani and Lebbai Jalaluddin Mohifeen Mohadeem have been held in Sri Lanka since 2016. They were sentenced by the Negombo High Court on Tuesday after they admitted to pedaling heroin, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. They were arrested by the Sri Lanka Customs and handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau. The sentencing came as President Maithripala Sirisena was contemplating action to renew the capital punishment for a drug-related crime. Sirisena's move was halted by the apex court in response to a petition filed by public interest activists. The President had signed 4 death warrants when the Supreme Court stayed the executions till October 30. Sirisena's decision came in spite of a UN moratorium on the death penalty which Sri Lanka has been a part of. All Sirisena's presidential predecessors since 1978 had declined to sign death warrants for capital punishment. The death sentence is commuted to life terms. Sirisena said he was compelled to reintroduce the death penalty related to drug crimes due to the growing menace of drugs. (source: Press Trust of India) PAKISTAN: SC converts death sentence of 7 accused into imprisonment The Supreme Court on Wednesday converted the death sentence of 7 murder accused into 10-year imprisonment. A trial court awarded capital punishment to 7 accused while 6 accused were awarded life sentence over murder of 2 brothers in Sialkot in 2010. The high court also maintained the trial court verdict. The incident took place in Sialkot in 2010 where an angry mob shot and killed 2 brothers Hafiz Muneeb and Hafiz Mughez by terming them bandits. The apex court also took suo moto notice over the incident. A 3-member Bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa comprising Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmad heard the case through video link from SC Lahore Registry. During the course of proceedings, the Chief Justice said that two stories were made in this case and 2 FIRs were registered. In first FIR injured persons were mentioned but in the second FIR no injured person was mentioned, he added. He said that these are disadvantages of the suo moto notices. He said that the State had the power to punish in case of any crime. If people had captured the robbers, they did not have authority to punish them, he added. He said that violence could not be allowed at all in society. If courts released accused, people would get a licence to torture, he added. The court after hearing the arguments converted death sentence of 7 accused and life imprisonment of 5 to 10 years imprisonment. Detailed judgment of the case will be issued later. (source: nation.com.pk) Shahid Afridi calls for public hanging of rapists Former
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., ARK.
Sept. 19 TEXASimpending execution Death Watch: Failures at Trial Anchor Last-Chance Appeal for SparksIf SCOTUS does not act, Sparks will be the 3rd man executed in Texas this month Robert Sparks was deep in the throes of a psychotic break at the time of his crimes – that is not disputed. He was hearing voices; he thought his wife was trying to poison him. He stabbed her and his 2 stepsons to death and raped his 2 stepdaughters, but he felt he'd be exonerated. Instead he was sentenced to death in 2008 in one of the most emotionally charged trials in the history of Dallas County. Now, his execution date approaches on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Claiming insanity isn't a good strategy to overturn a death sentence; by law, defendants have to be not merely mentally ill, but uncomprehending of what is happening to them. Thus Sparks' lawyers, in what could be his final appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court, are looking elsewhere: to the flawed testimony of expert witness A.P. Merillat and inappropriate conduct of bailiff Bobby Moorehead. Merillat was for many years a go-to witness for prosecutors in Texas in capital murder cases. His specialty was convincing juries that a defendant would be a future danger, a requirement to sentence a person to death. His testimony, according to the appeal, helped send at least 15 men to death row, including Sparks. But Merillat's star was tarnished in 2012 when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals condemned his testimony as false in the trials of Adrian Estrada and Manuel Velez. In both cases, Merillat assured jurors that without a death sentence the defendants would land in general population, able to attack fellow prisoners in the mess hall, the library, the visitation area. But Merillat was mistaken; because of the viciousness of their crimes, both prisoners would have been segregated. The CCA knocked their death sentences down to life without parole, and Merillat was out of a job as an expert witness. As a witness for the prosecution in Sparks' trial, Merillat again insisted Sparks would land in general population. Only upon cross-examination did he admit, reluctantly, that Sparks might be segregated from other prisoners. But at the end of cross-examination, he bizarrely doubled down on his original message. In Sparks' prior appeals, the CCA and 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, in the words of the current filing, that "Merillat's false testimony was corrected when he briefly flirted with the truth on cross examination." Sparks' lawyers say Merillat's testimony, taken as a whole, left the jury with a false impression, thus violating due process. The other major claim in Sparks' appeal concerns the conduct of bailiff Moorehead, who wore a black tie with a white needle emblazoned on it the last day of the trial. His attorneys argue the display violated Sparks' right to an impartial jury, a claim the CCA and 5CA have previously rejected, ruling the defense failed to prove that the jury saw the tie. But the appeal notes that Moorehead sat directly behind Sparks, 10 yards from the jury – "the media present at trial saw the tie, defense counsel saw the tie ... and portions of the jury box provided an unobstructed view of the tie." If SCOTUS does not act, Sparks will be the 3rd man executed at Huntsville this month – Mark Soliz was put to death on Sept. 10 and Billy Crutsinger on Sept. 4 – and the 7th since the start of the year. Another 8 are scheduled to die between now and December 11. To date, 564 Texans have died at the hands of the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. (source: Austin Chronicle) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present46 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-564 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 47-Sept. 25---Robert Sparks---565 48-Oct. 2-Stephen Barbee--566 49-Oct. 10Randy Halprin---567 50-Oct. 16Randall Mays568 51-Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez-569 52-Nov. 6-Justen Hall-570 53-Nov. 13Patrick Murphy--571 54-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-572 55-Dec. 11Travis Runnels--573 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) * After Ranger testifies, end in sight for Little Elm capital murder trial Jurors in the capital murder trial against Daniel Greco are expected to begin their deliberations Wednesday after both prosecutors and defense attorneys stopped calling witnesses and admitting evidence Tuesday afternoon. The day ended with Judge Jonathan Bailey storming out of the 431st District Court, saying he was “ticked” after Greco’s defense attorneys sub
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 18 SOUTH AFRICA: Online petition calling for death penalty surges to over 580k in 2 weeks SIGNATURES on an online petition calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty now number nearly 600 000, despite Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola describing the campaign as flawed. The petition on Change.Org was started by Agent of Change and is addressed to the government of South Africa and President Cyril Ramaphosa. It was started 3 weeks ago following the murders of University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana; female karate and boxing champion Leighandre “Baby Lee” Jegels; Mitchell’s Plain pupil Janika Mallo; Pinetown Girls’ High School pupil Ayakha Jiyani; and her Lyndhurst Primary siblings Siphesihle, Khwezi and Kuhlekonke Mpungose. Lamola said last week the Constitution stated that everyone has the right to life following the Constitutional Court’s landmark judgment in the 1995 case of convicted killers Themba Makwanyane and Mvuso Mchunu. However, 2 weeks after the petition was started there were already 400 000 signatures and by last Saturday 580 000 people had registered their support, with the goal of getting 1 million signatures. A link to the petition has also been doing the rounds on local WhatsApp groups. While a constitutional law expert and Emeritus Professor at UKZN said he was personally opposed to the reinstatement of the death penalty, people in favour of its reinstatement had every right to be heard. “We are a democracy; they are entitled to organise, petition and lobby Members of Parliament to support them and help them persuade the ANC, which is strongly against the death penalty. “Every year under apartheid executions increased, but the number of homicides went up,” said Professor George Devenish, who was chairman of the local chapter for the abolition of the death penalty. Last Tuesday the IFP re-tabled its motion to debate in Parliament reinstating the death penalty. IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said yesterday they expected the debate to be held as and when the schedule allowed as outlined by the National Assembly’s programming committee. “We hope the signatures (on the petition) increase so that they can be a stamp of approval as a voice of the nation, because this is not just a political party thing but a societal thing,” he said. Oshnee Singh from Pietermaritzburg shared a link to the petition, which she had already signed, in a local crime discussion group. “Many of us are bearing the brunt of serious crimes with too relaxed punitive measures and these serious offences are increasing at an alarming rate. There is so much fear among citizens and that means no peace and harmony prevails any more,” she said. (source: iol.co.za) INDIA: Bengal lynching bill under governor scrutinyThe Congress and the Left bring the ‘grave irregularities’ to governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s notice The Mamata Banerjee government’s plan to pass a bill to prevent lynching in Bengal has come under the scanner of Raj Bhavan with the Congress and the Left bringing to governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s notice the “grave irregularities” and “legislative improprieties” in the procedure. The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019, which has the provision of the death penalty, was passed in the Assembly on August 30. It is now awaiting the governor’s seal of approval. On Tuesday, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Congress MLA Abdul Mannan, and Left Legislature Party leader Sujan Chakraborty met the governor and sought his intervention. “It was indicated by them (the Opposition representatives) that the bill placed in the House on 30.8.2019 was different than the draft copy of the bill that was circulated amongst the members of the Assembly on 26 August, 2019, and the one to which the governor had recommended introduction,” a Raj Bhavan media release said. Senior bureaucrats said they could not recall an earlier instance of Raj Bhavan issuing a media release following a representation from the Opposition over a bill. The fact that the bill will face the scrutiny of Raj Bhavan was clear in the language of the release. “The governor, after hearing them, indicated that he would look into the available records and if required, would go through the proceedings of the Assembly, even thereafter, if a situation is occasioned, he would seek inputs from the Hon’ble Speaker and the advocate general,” said the release. Raj Bhavan sources said Dhankhar, a senior Supreme Court advocate, had expressed surprise when he was informed about the manner in which the bill was passed. “The government inserted the provision of the death penalty in the final bill, but the bill that had been circulated among the members had life imprisonment as the highest penalty. These changes were made without bringing in any amendment,” Chakraborty said. Mannan said that as the two
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---WYO., UTAH, ARIZ., NEV., ORE
Sept. 18 WYOMING: Suspect in Deadly Cheyenne Shooting Could Face the Death Penalty A 25-year-old Cheyenne man could face the death penalty after allegedly killing 2 people and seriously injuring 2 others in a shooting in east Cheyenne. Andrew Weaver was booked into the Laramie County jail Monday night on 2 charges of 1st-degree murder and 2 charges of aggravated assault. He has yet to make his initial court appearance. Weaver is accused of killing 37-year-old Adrien Butler and 30-year-old Shaline Wymer, who were found shot to death inside their home at 3436 E. 11th Street around 4:30 p.m. Monday. Police spokesman Officer Kevin Malatesta says 2 14-year-old Cheyenne boys, whose names aren't being released, were also in the house and suffered life-threatening injuries. "They are all unrelated," said Malatesta, who didn't know why the teens were in the house. "Last I knew, which was this (Tuesday) morning, they were both in the hospital," he added. "One had been life-flighted to Denver and the other is here at CRMC." Malatesta says police "have evidence to believe" the shooting was methamphetamine-related. The case remains under investigation by the Cheyenne Police Department. (source: KGAB news) UTAH: Should religious ‘delusions’ keep Ron Lafferty from a Utah firing squad?Inmate wants federal appeals court to rehear arguments it rejected last month Condemned killer Ron Lafferty wants a federal appeals court to rehear arguments it rejected last month that would keep him from facing a firing squad. Lafferty’s federal public defenders filed a brief Monday seeking an “en banc” hearing before the entire 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. En banc hearings are rarely granted. A 3-judge panel last month rejected his request for a certificate of appeal, a legal document required for another court to hear arguments that a prior appeal was wrongfully denied. State attorneys said after that ruling that Lafferty could be months away from execution. Lafferty’s lawyers argue that the panel’s decision conflicts with previous U.S. Supreme Court decisions on a defendant’s mental health. The judges rejected Lafferty’s claim that a 4th District judge erred in finding him competent to stand trial in 1996. They also rejected his contention that the judge improperly relied on a psychiatrist’s opinion that Lafferty was “situationally competent.” Lafferty and his brother, Dan Lafferty, were convicted of slitting the throats of his sister-in-law, Brenda Lafferty, and her infant daughter, Erica, in 1984 — crimes they committed after Ron Lafferty claimed a revelation from God told him to kill them. A jury convicted Ron Lafferty in 1985 and sentenced him to die. In a separate trial, a jury convicted Dan Lafferty and sentenced him to life in prison. Ron Lafferty was retried in 1996 after an appeals court found the judge used the wrong standard in finding him competent for trial. A jury again convicted him and sentenced him to die. He chose the firing squad. One psychiatrist testified at a 1996 competency hearing that Lafferty’s buttons could be pushed in some instances by defense attorneys or prosecutors who could manipulate him and render him incompetent. Therefore, he found that Lafferty was “situationally competent” because he worked well with his lawyers and they were skilled at dealing with him. The judge in 1996 also relied on a theory of delusions that was not accepted in the medical community, according to Lafferty’s latest court filing. The court failed to take into account that Lafferty’s severe delusions, which stemmed from his mental illness, prevented him from rationally understanding his legal proceedings and assisting his attorneys, according to the court filing. Mental health experts testified that Lafferty received revelations, some of which came from God, but some of which came from evil beings or spirits he called “travelers.” Lafferty identified the “travelers” as homosexual spirit beings with the power to inhabit the bodies of living persons or hosts, including the judge, the prosecutors, the experts, his lawyers, witnesses and the jurors. Travelers have the power to “exude evil” and to control the persons they inhabit. They have the ability to travel from one human host to another since they knew the “key words” necessary to travel, according to court testimony. Two of the experts testified that Lafferty referred to some of the travelers as “factors”: the “B factor” was Beelzebub/Buddha/Mormon/Japan; the “M factor” was Lucifer/Mussolini/Moroni; and the “H factor” was Satan/Hitler/and Lafferty’s father, Watson. Lafferty also believed that he was enlisted in a war between good and evil on the side of God in a premortal existence in which he did spiritual battle with Lucifer. Experts testified that Lafferty believed he had “Christ-like powers.” One psychiatrist conceded in his testimony that
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., PENN., FLA., OHIO
Sept. 18 TEXAS: Supporters Rally for New Trial for Rodney Reed, Sentenced to Death by All-White Jury in ?‘Jim Crow Trial’ in Texas Supporters of Rodney Reed are calling for a new trial for the Texas death-row prisoner sentenced to death in 1998 by an all-white jury in a racially charged trial. On September 10, 2019, Reed’s family and supporters protested Texas’ death penalty outside the governor’s mansion in Austin. Their plea for a new trial based on evidence of his innocence has been joined by a growing chorus of supporters, which include the Innocence Project, the victim’s cousin, Texas state representative Vikki Goodwin, and Sister Helen Prejean. Reed, who is black, faces a November 20, 2019 execution date for the 1996 murder of a 19-year-old white woman, Stacey Stites, with whom he was having a secret affair. He has consistently maintained his innocence. Reed has argued that Stites was murdered and that he was framed by her fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, an Austin-area police officer who was later fired and jailed based on allegations that he had kidnapped and raped a woman while on duty. In August, the Innocence Project filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court seeking DNA testing of evidence from the crime, including the belt that was used to strangle Stites. Sandra Reed, Rodney’s mother, has been advocating on his behalf for years. “He never had a chance,” she told the supporters at the rally. In an interview with The Guardian, she said “[r]ace was a big factor in this case. A ‘Jim Crow trial’, an all-white jury, none of his peers.” Rodney Reed has said he and Stites had kept their affair secret because it would have caused a scandal in their small Texas town and because Stites feared Fennell’s reaction if he found out. According to the Innocence Project court filing, witnesses said they had heard Fennell on several occasions threaten to kill Stites if she cheated on him, including saying “he would strangle her with a belt.” The lawsuit says that, in addition to the sexual abuse charges that led to his conviction, Fennell had been the subject of several complaints about “racial bias and use of excessive force at the Giddings police department where he worked.” The Innocence Project pleading says Fennell gave “inconsistent statements” about his activities on the night of the murder. According to the pleading, “prominent forensic pathologists” have concluded Fennell’s testimony that Stites was abducted and killed on her way to work is “medically and scientifically impossible.” As Reed’s scheduled execution date approaches, he has received support from some prominent and unusual sources. Heather Campbell Stobbs, a cousin of Stacey Stites, has publicly expressed doubts about Reed’s guilt. “Too many things point to the ineptitude of law enforcement when they first started working the case,” she said. Texas state representative Vikki Goodwin is calling for a retrial, or for Reed to be removed from death row. “I don’t think anyone can say he is guilty without a shadow of a doubt,” Goodwin said. “I don’t believe we should carry out the death penalty when there’s doubt about the truth of the case.” She pointed to other cases of innocence, saying, “I believe history has shown that in too many cases what seems to be true and just has turned out not to be so when new information or new scientific advances occur.” Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and the recently released River of Fire, has also spoken out on Reed’s behalf. “Racial discrimination infects the death penalty system as a whole and we see it in this case,” her spokesperson, Griffin Hardy, said. “It’s disturbing to see these kind of biases and prejudices that can ultimately cost someone their life.” (source: Death Penalty Information Center) *** Goliad County grand jury returns murder indictments for 2 accused of fatal shooting A Goliad County grand jury has returned murder indictments for 2 people arrested in connection with the shooting of a vehicle carrying a mother, a father and their infant child. Arrested on capital murder charges, Goliad residents Daniel Mendoza, 18, and Jade Ayana Culpepper, 26, are now charged with murder among other charges returned during a Sept. 6 grand jury, said Assistant District Attorney Tim Poynter. In Texas, capital murder can carry the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. It is defined, among other criteria, as the murder of a person during the commission of a kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault or arson. Grand jury proceedings and testimony are confidential, and Poynter declined to specify why jurors may have decided against capital murder indictments. “It just wasn’t supported by the evidence,” he said. Goliad County sheriff’s deputies and investigators arrested Culpepper and Mendoza, initially charging them with the June 13 capital
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 17 JAMAICA: Jamaican senator suggests resumption of death penalty by hanging, but is quickly shot down A Government senator has nudged the Andrew Holness administration to make changes to the law that will allow Jamaica to resume hanging, but that suggestion was quickly shot down by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck. Though the death penalty remains on the books, there have been no hangings in Jamaica since 1988. Hanging was halted in Jamaica following the 1993 landmark Pratt and Morgan ruling by the United Kingdom Privy Council that it is cruel and inhumane to hang an inmate who has been on death row for more than 5 years. Charles Sinclair, one of 13 government senators in the Upper House, made it clear on Friday that he is ready to support legislative amendments that would allow Jamaica “to fit within the UK Privy Council decision in Pratt and Morgan”. “If we have to establish special courts to fast-track and ensure that the hearings go through and persons are given justice, so be it,” he said during a debate in the Senate on a bill that provides significantly higher fines for offences contained in 40 laws that fall under the justice ministry. “Whatever the amendments that need to be made, I will support it,” declared Sinclair, a prominent criminal defence attorney, to applause from his colleagues. But his suggestion appears to be a non-starter with Chuck, who acknowledged that he is personally “against hanging”. “It is unlikely that Jamaica will resume it. That’s the present status, which we are unlikely to disturb”, the justice minister told The Gleaner yesterday. Asked if he saw any merit in Sinclair’s proposal, Chuck was blunt. “No,” he responded. But Sinclair, in revisiting the hot-button issue, recounted that the last time capital punishment was put to a conscience vote in Parliament, a majority of lawmakers supported it. “When you listen to the commentary across Jamaica, a lot of persons support it … but it is not being used at all.” (source: stabroeknews.com) BELARUS: Parliament hopes for Belarus' PACE special guest status restoration The Belarusian parliament may have its special guest status at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in the nearest future, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said in an interview to the Belarus 1 TV channel on 16 September, BelTA has learned. In January 1997, Belarus lost its special guest status at the PACE. Its absence, however, does not hinder the country to develop cooperation with this international organization, the speaker of the House of Representatives said. “I would say it restraints to some extent but does not hinder. The main issue is the abolition of death penalty. This, however, does not mean we do not cooperate with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I think we will have our status in this parliamentary organization restored in the near future,” Vladimir Andreichenko said. In his words, Belarusian MPs are regularly invited to attend meetings of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy. The committee is expected to sit in early October to discuss the elections in Belarus. The Council of Europe is a European intergovernmental organization comprising 47 states. It was established on 5 May 1949 and is headquartered in Strasbourg. The Belarusian delegation received a so-called special guest status at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in September 1992. In March 1993 Belarus applied for membership to the Council of Europe. In January 1997 the status was suspended. Nevertheless, cooperation with the Council of Europe continues in a number of areas. According to representatives of the organization, the main obstacle towards the restoration of the special guest status is the issue of death penalty. (source: belta.by) TUNISIA: Tunisia election: Outsider in lead stuns after most votes countedWith 2/3 votes in presidential race counted, conservative constitutional law professor Kais Saied takes the lead. Law professor and political outsider Kais Saied is leading Tunisia's presidential polls with 2/3 of the votes counted, the electoral commission said, after the country's 2nd free vote for head of state since the 2011 Arab Spring. Saied was on 18.9 % on Monday night, ahead of imprisoned media magnate Nabil Karoui, who was on 15.5 %, according to the electoral commission, ISIE. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, a presidential hopeful whose popularity has been tarnished by a sluggish economy and the rising cost of living, could well turn out to be the election's biggest loser. ISIE figures showed him in 5th place with 7.4 % of the vote, trailing both Ennahdha party candidate Abdelfattah Mourou and former defence minister Abdelkarim Zbidi. "The anti-system strategy has won," ISIE member Adil Brinsi told
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., S.C., LA., OHIO, MO., USA
Sept. 17 TEXASimpending executions Stephen Dale Barbee's exertion is scheduled to begin at 6 pm CDT, on Wednesday, October 2, 2019, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. 52-year-old Stephen is convicted of the murder of 34-year-old Lisa Underwood, and her 7-year-old son Jayden at their Fort Worth, Texas home on February 19, 2005. Lisa was also 7-months pregnant at the time of the murder. Stephen has been on death row in Texas for the last 13 years. Stephen was a year away from graduating high school, when he dropped out, however, he eventually obtained his GED. Stephen lost both his siblings when they were each 20 years of age, resulting in a downward spiral for a time. However, he eventually got his life back on track, working as a police officer and operating a tree-trimming and concrete cutting business with his ex-wife, Theresa, from whom he was divorced. Stephen was also a member of a local church, where he worked with children. Lisa Underwood, a bagel shop owner in Fort Worth, Texas, met Stephen Barbee, a customer, and the 2 eventually started seeing each other. In July 2004, Lisa became pregnant and believed Barbee was the father (DNA tests would later prove Barbee was not the father). Barbee married another woman at the end of 2004. On February 19, 2005, Lisa’s family and friends held a baby shower for her, but she never arrived. They contacted the police who began investigating her disappearance. Police checked our her home, which did not appear to have been broken into. However, Lisa’s blood was discovered throughout the living room. Police also visited Theresa (Barbee’s ex-wife), to inquire about Barbee’s whereabouts. Theresa urged Barbee to turn himself in. On the day of Lisa’s disappearance, unbeknownst to Fort Worth detectives, Barbee was stopped by a deputy sheriff along a service road. Barbee was observed to be wet and covered in mud. He gave a false name to the deputy and fled on foot. On February 21, 2005, Lisa vehicle was discovered in a creek, about 300 yards from where the deputy had stopped Barbee. The windows were down and in the rear of the vehicle, police discovered cleaning solution. Later that day, police tracked Barbee, his current wife, and another co-worker, Ronald Dodd, to a job site in Tyler, Texas. All agreed to go to the Tyler police station for questioning. In his first interview with police, Barbee stated that he had not seen, nor heard from Lisa in months. After his initial statement, Barbee asked to use the bathroom, and while in there, confessed to a detective that he killed Lisa. Barbee said he started a fight with Lisa and held her face down on the carpet until she stopped breathing. He then held his hand over Jayden’s mouth and nose until he stopped breathing. Barbee attempted to defend himself, saying he was just trying to calm them down, however, evidence showed that both bodies had been severely beaten. He said he committed the crime because he thought Lisa was going to ruin his family and his relationship with his wife. This confession was not recorded. Barbee then gave another, recorded, confession to the police, however this confession was not allowed to be presented at the trial. The day after confessing, Barbee took police to the location of the 2 buried bodies. A few days later, Barbee recanted his confession. Barbee was convicted and sentenced to death on February 27, 2006. Please pray for peace and healing for the family of Lisa and Jayden. Please pray for strength for the family of Stephen Barbee. Please pray that if Stephen is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will be presented prior to his execution. Please pray that Stephen may find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Randy Ethan Halprin is scheduled to be executed at 6 pm CDT, on Thursday, October 10, 2019, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. 42-year-old Randy is sentenced to death for his part in the murder of 29-year-old Police Officer Aubrey Hawkins on December 24, 2000, in Irving, Texas. Randy has spent the last 16 years on death row in Texas. Randy was born in Texas. He was raised in the Jewish faith, including having a Bar Mitzvah when he was 13. He dropped out of school after the 11th grade. Randy would work as a laborer and perform maintenance prior to being arrested. In 1997, Randy was convicted and given a 30-year sentence for severely beating an 18-month-old child he was babysitting. The child suffered two broken legs, two broken arms, and a skull fracture. When he confessed, Randy claimed that he was upset that the child wouldn’t stop crying. Randy was serving his time at the John B. Connally Unit, a maximum security state prison near Kenedy, Texas, when he joined six other inmates - 38-year-old
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---worldwide
Sept. 16 JAMAICA: Fix law to resume hanging – Sinclair A Government senator has nudged the Andrew Holness administration to make changes to the law that will allow Jamaica to resume hanging, but that suggestion was quickly shot down by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck. Though the death penalty remains on the books, there have been no hangings in Jamaica since 1988. Hanging was halted in Jamaica following the 1993 landmark Pratt and Morgan ruling by the United Kingdom Privy Council that it is cruel and inhumane to hang an inmate who has been on death row for more than 5 years. Charles Sinclair, one of 13 government senators in the Upper House, made it clear on Friday that he is ready to support legislative amendments that would allow Jamaica “to fit within the UK Privy Council decision in Pratt and Morgan”. “If we have to establish special courts to fast-track and ensure that the hearings go through and persons are given justice, so be it,” he said during a debate in the Senate on a bill that provides significantly higher fines for offences contained in 40 laws that fall under the justice ministry. “Whatever the amendments that need to be made, I will support it,” declared Sinclair, a prominent criminal defence attorney, to applause from his colleagues. But his suggestion appears to be a non-starter with Chuck, who acknowledged that he is personally “against hanging”. “It is unlikely that Jamaica will resume it. That’s the present status, which we are unlikely to disturb”, the justice minister told The Gleaner yesterday. Asked if he saw any merit in Sinclair’s proposal, Chuck was blunt. “No,” he responded. But Sinclair, in revisiting the hot-button issue, recounted that the last time capital punishment was put to a conscience vote in Parliament, a majority of lawmakers supported it. “When you listen to the commentary across Jamaica, a lot of persons support it ... but it is not being used at all.” (source: Jamaica Gleaner) SWITZERLAND: How a Montreux bank heist led to calls for the death penalty A deadly bank robbery carried out by two Russians in Montreux in 1907 resulted in public outcry and heavy prison sentences In the early 1900s Switzerland was rocked by a wave of terror incidents by anarchists. A bank heist carried out by 2 Russians in Montreux in 1907, in which a bank clerk was shot dead, led to public calls for the death penalty. On the morning of September 18, 1907, the town of Montreux on Lake Geneva was the scene of dramatic incidents straight out of a gangster movie. Two men sprint down Avenue du Kursaal. “Stop them, stop them!” cry passers-by. A postal employee, Auguste Vuilliamoz, manages to throw one of them down to the ground; the other takes off “like a rabbit”, according to an eyewitness. Shots ring out Jules Favre, a notary, courageously blocks the fugitive’s way. But the man takes out a gun and shoots Favre in the leg, then sprints off again. A hairdresser, Georges Bär, who comes out of his shop meets the same fate – he too is shot. In Schopfergasse, a coachman, Octave Pittet, tries to stop the man. Another shot rings out followed by a scream. Pittet falls to the ground with a bullet in his stomach. The locksmith Alfred Nicklès fearlessly takes up the pursuit. He is more fortunate, as a bullet only grazes him. Finally, the police arrive. The fugitive has run out of bullets and he is arrested in Mrs Terribilini’s henhouse. At the police station, the two detainees refuse to talk. However, the police are convinced that they are Russian anarchists. Meanwhile, at the Banque de Montreux, Oskar Gudel, a cashier, is lying dead in a pool of blood. An eyewitness recounts how the robbers entered the bank to change money. While Gudel was counting the money, one of the robbers shot him in the head, the other one rushed to the open safe and stuffed cash into a cloth bag hanging from his neck. Then they took off. The bank director, who was informed by telephone, is outraged: “Poor man!” he says, with tears in his eyes. “Poor Gudel! He was such a decent young man!” Narrowly escaped lynching That evening, the police transfer the criminals to Lausanne to be identified. They have a hard time protecting the men from a crowd of several hundred Montreux locals threatening to lynch them. In Lausanne, anger is brewing too, and the officers protecting the prisoners are assaulted. “Like in Russia,” says the La Liberté newspaper on its front page the next day. As well as giving the details of the Montreux drama, the paper runs an interview with the postal worker, who helped catch one of the criminals. “A dodgy looking individual with a gangster-like face was running towards me on the other side of the road. Without hesitation, I threw myself at him and was able to stop him. The witnesses who told me what had happened arrived shortly afterwards. One of them – a worker carrying an iron pole – was so outraged
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.J., PENN., USA
Sept. 16 TEXAS: Federal defender files claims on behalf of Rubio An attorney representing convicted child killer John Allen Rubio wants the conviction tossed, claiming Rubio’s appointed defense did not represent him properly and that his case was handled by a district attorney that was steeped in scandal and misconduct. Jeremy Schepers, supervisor of the Capital Habeas Unit and federal public defender, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus this month in the U.S. federal court in the Southern District of Texas, “declaring unconstitutional and invalid his (Rubio’s) conviction for capital murder as well as the resulting death sentence.” A jury in 2010 found Rubio guilty in the beheading of Julissa Quesada, 3; John E. Rubio, 14 months; and Mary Jane Rubio, 2 months. The 3 children were those of his common-law wife Angela Camacho. The children were smothered, stabbed and mutilated, according to Brownsville police investigators. Their decapitated bodies were stuffed inside trash bags and found near a bedroom door. According to a confession Rubio made to police, he admitted to killing the children in 2003 because he believed there was an evil presence in them. He even asked one of the officers who first arrived at the crime scene to place him under arrest, according to the officer’s statement. Rubio, 39, a Brownsville native, remains on death row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas. Camacho, 39, pleaded guilty to murder in 2005 and was sentenced to life in prison and remains in custody at the Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville. She is eligible for parole March 3, 2043. Schepers lists 9 claims for relief in why Rubio’s conviction should be tossed out and he be given a new trial. Mental Health According to the writ, Rubio’s attorneys failed to include the appropriate mental health expert on his defense team. Rubio was being represented by attorneys Ed Stapleton and Nat C. Perez Jr. “Trial counsel’s failure to assemble the minimum required defense team prejudiced Rubio at the competency trial, and at both the guilt/innocence and punishment phases of the trial on the merits,” the writ alleges. Had Rubio’s defense team retained a consulting mental health expert, “they would have recognized the need to present testifying experts regarding, among other things, Rubio’s exposure to extreme trauma beginning in utero and continuing into adulthood,” the writ states. According to that document, Rubio suffered from neuropsychological deficits, significant brain damage and various psychiatric conditions. “All such testimony would have been highly relevant to Rubio’s competency at the time of trial, his sanity at the time of the offense, and punishment,” the writ further states. During Rubio’s February 2010 competency trial, his mother, Hilda Barrientes, testified that she drank a 6 pack of beer on a daily basis while she was pregnant with her son. She also admitted to at one time doing cocaine, but couldn’t recall if she did the drug while pregnant with Rubio. Barrientes testified that Rubio would make comments to her that “God would tell him he was the chosen one.” She testified that she did not try to get any help for him “because I didn’t think he had a problem.” Ineffective Counsel The writ claims that defense attorney Stapleton was in over his head. This was his 1st death penalty case. Instead of hiring a qualified mental health expert, Stapleton decided that he would be the team’s mental health “expert,” the writ says. “He failed to recognize the need to pursue red flags that Rubio suffers from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE), brain damage, severe trauma, and other psychiatric issues,” the writ stated. According to the writ, Stapleton’s failures prejudiced Rubio’s competency trial, as well as the guilt/innocence and punishment phase of the trial. The writ also states that during a state habeas hearing both Stapleton and Perez acknowledged that they “provided ineffective assistance to Rubio.” At an Aug. 8, 2010 state post-conviction hearing, Stapleton and Perez both said they provided ineffective assistance to Rubio, the writ claims. “Stapleton testified that he was ineffective under oath, and Perez yelled, from the jury box: We provided ineffective assistance of counsel,” the writ states. The jury deliberated for 3 hours and found Rubio guilty on 3 counts of capital murder. State Misconduct Armando R. Villalobos was the sitting Cameron County district attorney at the time of Rubio’s capital murder trial. It’s alleged in the writ that Villalobos didn’t give Rubio’s defense attorneys favorable pleas or dismissals because there were no hefty payoffs to be given to Villalobos. “While Villalobos was abusing his position for personal enrichment, and that of his office, he was also personally prosecuting Rubio, an indigent defendant who could not afford to buy
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 15 IRAQ: They Left to Join ISIS. Now Europe Is Leaving Their Citizens to Die in Iraq.A Belgian fighter captured in Syria was transported to Iraq to face trial. He's now on death row. There was no other way out. After months under siege in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the Belgian Islamic State member Bilal al-Marchohi decided to escape. He fled his post as a religious police officer at the break of dawn on August 29, 2017, and ran with his wife and son to the closest enemy checkpoint. With his arms up, he handed himself over to the Kurdish militants in the hope of eventually being repatriated to Belgium. The family was immediately separated, and his spouse and child were transferred to a nearby Islamic State relatives camp. Along with other jihadi comrades, al-Marchohi was driven to a prison near the city of Tabqa, where he was interrogated by U.S. officials on his role in the organization, his closest companions, and on weaponry manufacturing. The 23-year-old jihadi told them he used to attend the Friday prayers at De Koepel mosque in Antwerp, whose imam, Youssef, ended up joining the fight in Syria. Al-Marchohi waited until he turned 18 to cross the Turkish-Syrian border with his girlfriend and other acquaintances, first joining the Nusra Front and later deserting to the Islamic State, after internal clashes erupted within the armed opposition brigades. U.S. soldiers took him to Kobani in northern Syria and from there to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan by helicopter, he recalls. “I was alone. I stayed there for 2 months and I went crazy. It was very hard. … Because of the strong lights, I was not able to sleep,” al-Marchohi told Foreign Policy in an exclusive interview. The Belgian was one of the first jihadis transferred by the U.S. army from Syria to Iraq after the liberation of Raqqa, as part of a series of renditions, during which at least 3 other European citizens were handed over to the Iraqi judiciary. The Belgian was one of the first jihadis transferred by the U.S. army from Syria to Iraq after the liberation of Raqqa, as part of a series of renditions, during which at least three other European citizens were handed over to the Iraqi judiciary, possibly in contravention of international law. “I even met the Belgians there and I cooperated with them,” he said, referring to Belgian intelligence agents. “They told me: ‘We will take you to the local government now, and you will wait to see the judge and maybe you go back to Belgium, maybe not.’” But al-Marchohi wasn’t repatriated; instead he was escorted from Erbil to Baghdad, where he was delivered to Iraqi counterterrorism forces and subjected to a new, harsher round of interrogations. Western governments are generally reluctant to facilitate the repatriation of Islamic State militants. After the departure of more than 5,000 European citizens, European countries don’t wan’t to deal with the returnees file. “Except Germany, no other European country is interested in the return of their citizens accused of being Daesh members,” claimed Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi researcher who briefs officials on jihadi group dynamics. “Western countries don’t have a policy for jihadi returnees, they are not ready for their arrival. … And if they get a death penalty in Iraq, they will be thankful,” he says. The issue of repatriation would also require consensus across the European Union from a security perspective. If a returnee enters the Schengen Area, all of that territory would be at risk because of free movement. A returned Belgian could strike in Spain. Bringing Islamic State members back also exposes a judicial weakness; a lack of evidence could lead to short prison sentences, and jihadis might only serve three- to five-year jail terms before they are back on the streets. If a terrorist attack were perpetrated by a repatriated fighter in coming years, the political party that approved their return would face devastating consequences. Al-Marchohi has become a pawn in this international political chess match—rejected by his own nation and subject to the judicial system of one where he has never lived. He claims Iraqi officers fabricated a confession to show he could therefore be tried under Iraqi jurisdiction. “They wrote that I got arrested in Mosul, and forced me to put my fingerprints on it,” he explains, despite the fact that he surrendered in Raqqa. An investigative judge examined this evidence and passed his case on to a criminal court. It was not until a year later that al-Marchohi attended his first hearing, at Rusafa court in Baghdad. In front of three magistrates, confined in a wooden cage, the Belgian got a court-appointed defense lawyer with whom he couldn’t communicate before the trial. During the third hearing, with Belgian consular officials in attendance, he was sentenced to death by hanging for “belonging to a terrorist organization and his involvement
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, NEV., US MIL.
Sept 15 OHIO: New twist in Ohio death penalty Vicki Williams of Lima believes Cleveland Jackson showed little regard for her daughter, Leneshia, when he killed her in 2002. As for his death sentence, the only thing she sees as being “cruel and unusual punishment” are the 17 years she’s waited for his execution. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with her on Wednesday. It said a federal judge in Dayton was wrong when he ruled in January that Ohio’s execution protocol was cruel because it created a sensation of drowning. Now the big question is what will Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine do? He delayed executions following the Dayton judge’s ruling, saying “Ohio is not going to execute someone under my watch when a federal judge has found it to be cruel and unusual punishment.” That’s no longer a factor. (source: limaohio.com) *** Death penalty hearing scheduled for 1985 murder of Boy Scout A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments later this year about whether an Ohio man should be executed for the torture, rape and murder of a 12-year-old Boy Scout. Danny Lee Hill was sentenced to death for the 1985 slaying of Raymond Fife. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2018 ruled Hill shouldn't be executed because he showed signs of being intellectually disabled. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which unanimously agreed the 6th Circuit should reconsider the case saying in making its ruling it had relied extensively on a case decided after Hill was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court in 2002 ruled that executing people with intellectual disabilities is unconstitutional. Oral arguments are scheduled for Dec. 5. (source: Associated Press) NEVADA: Nevada Inmate Released From Prison After 33 Years on Death Row Paul Browning was released from Ely State Prison on Wednesday after spending 33 years on death row. Browning, 63, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for the 1985 stabbing of Las Vegas jeweler Hugo Elsen, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. 33 years later, he was freed due to a 2017 opinion from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found “a mixture of disturbing prosecutorial misconduct and woefully inadequate assistance of counsel” led to “extreme malfunctions” at his murder trial. District Judge Douglas Herndon dismissed the murder conviction, but Browning, who has always maintained his innocence, stayed behind bars because prosecutors asked to postpone the ruling to appeal the decision with the Nevada Supreme Court. Browning was able to walk free on Wednesday after Herndon lifted the hold. “I just want to find a little bit of peace after coming through all this madness,” he told the Review-Journal. (source: thedailybeast.com) US MILITARY: Green Beret charged with murdering suspected Taliban bomb-maker will finally get his day in court Nearly a decade after he allegedly murdered an unarmed Afghan civilian during a 2010 deployment, the case of Army Maj. Matthew Golsteyn is finally going to trial. In February 2010, Golsteyn allegedly executed an Afghan villager who an Afghan tribal leader had identified as bomb-maker who had killed two Marines earlier that month. According to the Washington Post, Golsteyn and two other soldiers later exhumed the victim's remains and burned them. But while Army documents indicated that Golsteyn had admitted during a 2011 CIA polygraph test that he'd killed the man, it took 8 years and 2 separate Army investigations to actually bring the decorated Special Forces officer to trial. Following the 2011 polygraph, Army Criminal Investigative Command opened an investigation into Golsteyn's alleged admission, which civilian lawyer Philip Stackhouse dismissed as a "fantasy," per Army Times. The Army closed its investigation in 2013, and the polygraph only became public knowledge in 2015. In December 2018, the Army officially charged Golsteyn with murder. But days later. President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he planned on reviewing Golsteyn's case. "At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a 'U.S. Military hero,' Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder," Trump wrote. "He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bomb maker while overseas." Trump's announcement appeared to come in reaction to a segment by Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth that asked whether the Army was "betraying Maj. Matthew Golsteyn." "A decorated war hero who fought for our country overseas, now a suspected war criminal," Hegseth said in opening the segment. "Former Green Beret Maj. Matt Golsteyn could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Taliban bomb maker while overseas in 2010." Indeed, Golsteyn claimed during a February 2019 interview with Hegseth that he had "conducted an ambush" when he
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 14 JAPAN: Pope may meet Japanese man seeking retrial over death sentence Arrangements are being made for a meeting between Pope Francis and Iwao Hakamada, who is seeking a retrial for his conviction in a 1966 quadruple homicide, during the pontiff’s visit to Japan in late November, it was learned Saturday. The meeting may be held just before or after a Mass planned at the Tokyo Dome, according to supporters of Hakamada, 83, whose death sentence was suspended in 2014. It is still uncertain, however, whether the meeting will become a reality due in part to Hakamada’s health problems, the supporters said. The pope opposes the death penalty, and any remarks he may make about Japan’s system of capital punishment are expected to attract attention. According to supporters, Hakamada’s lawyers and others sent a letter to the pope last year, expressing hope for a meeting. Hakamada was arrested and indicted in 1966 over the murder of 4 people in the same family in Shizuoka Prefecture. His death sentence was finalized in 1980. In 2014, about 48 years after the arrest, he was released from prison after Shizuoka District Court granted a retrial to him. But the Tokyo High Court overrode the decision in 2018. The suspension of the death sentence and imprisonment was maintained, but Hakamada’s side has appealed to the Supreme Court. (source: japantimes.co.jp) VIETNAM: Vietnamese drug trafficker arrested Border guards of Vietnam's central Thanh Hoa province have detained a local man for trafficking 7 cakes of heroin and 56,000 pills of synthetic drug, Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday. The 55-year-old man from the province's Quan Son district was caught red-handed transporting the illicit drugs on a national road in the mountainous district on Thursday. According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty. In a partial dissent, however, Judge Marsha Berzon wrote that Ramirez should be allowed to pursue his claim that he should not receive the death penalty because he is intellectually disabled. Gabrielsen agreed, saying Berzon’s dissent could be the basis of a future appeal. “I think she hit it right on the head,” he said. “I think she was absolutely on the money.” (source: xinhuanet.com) SAUDI ARABIA: 130 executed in Saudi Arabia in 2019, most of whom were bin Salman’s opponents An international human rights organisation has revealed that the Saudi authorities have executed more than 130 people since the beginning of this year, most of whom were opponents of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. In a report presented at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Anti Death Penalty Project organisation announced that six of the executed opponents were children at the time of their arrest. (sourceL Middle East Monitor) IRAN: Iran vs the 21st century: 85 children on death row Simmering tensions in the Persian Gulf, resumed uranium enrichment programs, and supporting proxy military operations in Syria’s civil conflict and Yemen headline the current impasse between the West and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Add the diplomatic deadlock in the wake of the United States pulling out of the so-called Iran nuclear Deal, and there’s serious cause for concern over Teheran’s next moves. Now as the UN General Assembly approaches, there’s guarded optimism over a possible meeting between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the world gathering. Such an encounter could “break the ice” for further discussions. The U.S. has toughened economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic, including its once lucrative petroleum sector. Yet it’s Iran’s mullahs who stand to gain should there be some sort of revised “deal” over their proscribed nuclear capacity. Stifling sanctions have crippled Teheran’s standing. But beyond the geopolitical and the diplomatic assessments, there is one lens which is rarely applied to viewing Iran: the sordid human rights situation inside the country of 83 million people where a corrupt and loathsome regime has instilled a reign of fear, intolerance and stupidity in the fabled land of Persia. A recent United Nations human rights report on the Islamic Republic of Iran underscores a situation “marked by the ongoing targeting of human rights lawyers and defenders, trade unionists, peaceful protesters and journalists.” The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights “continued to receive reports of torture, arbitrary detention and trials that failed to adhere to international standards.” Iran’s use and abuse of the death penalty causes particular concern among human rights monitors. The High Commissioner received information “that at least 253 people were executed in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., ARIZ., CALIF., USA
Sept. 14 TEXAS: Death penalty waived in Royse City capital murder caseThe office of Hunt County District Attorney Noble D. Walker Jr. has waived the death penalty in connection with a capital murder case out of Royse City. 2 men will not be sentenced to death by lethal injection if they are convicted of capital murder in connection with the February homicides of 2 people in Royse City. Hunt County District Attorney Noble D. Walker Jr. said his office filed the motion Friday with the 354th District Court in the cases against Dearis Rayvone Davis, 19, of Arlington and Calvin Earl Rayford, 18, of Rowlett. “We have waived the death penalty as a punishment based on the evidence in the case,” Walker said, declining further comment. Davis and Rayford are each being held in lieu of $1 million bond on charges of capital murder of multiple persons, filed by the Royse City Police Department. Both were taken into custody May 29 and were indicted in August on the capital murder charges by the Hunt County grand jury involving the deaths of Courtland Trowell-Wilmore and a juvenile male whose family is asking for his name to be withheld from publication. The Royse City Police Department reported it had found 2 people dead in the Woodland Creek subdivision during the early hours of Feb. 3, with a 3rd individual believed to have left the scene. One of the two victims was a high school student at the time of his death, and the other was a former student. Capital murder carries a sentence upon conviction of lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Davis will now need a new attorney, as he had been represented by the West Texas Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases program, which only handles death penalty cases, while Rayford has hired a defense attorney. Arraignment hearings in their cases are scheduled later this month in the 354th District Court. (source: Greenville Herald-Banner) PENNSYLVANIA: Commentators Criticize Pennsylvania Death Penalty, Call for Reform or Abolition As the September 11, 2019 Pennsylvania Supreme Court argument date approached in 2 cases challenging the constitutionality of the state’s death penalty, commentators and stakeholders weighed in on the case in op-eds across the state. These opinion articles highlighted the work of a June 2018 report by the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment that found deep flaws in the administration of the Commonwealth’s death penalty, as well as the experiences of exonerees and victims’ family members. Daniel Filler, a law professor and member of the Task Force’s advisory committee, wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Our legislators have not stepped up to ensure a fair and effective process for deciding [death penalty] cases. Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that does not fund a statewide capital defender program or contribute to the costs of representing indigent capital defendants. Each county must fund the defense individually, and most simply cannot afford the price tag. Without adequate representation, Pennsylvania has sentenced numerous defendants to death only to later find that they were severely mentally ill or innocent or intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for a death sentence.” Filler urged the court to step in to act where the legislature had failed, saying, “Our society has rules and norms and at some point a court can no longer ignore a death penalty system that does not conform to them.” The (Allentown) Morning Call published an op-ed by former federal prosecutor Thomas Farrell, who wrote, “As a former prosecutor, I am deeply troubled by this fact: Pennsylvania does not choose fairly those it condemns to death.” He noted the racial and geographic disparities that plague Pennsylvania’s death penalty, saying, “If Pennsylvania wants a death penalty system worthy of its ultimate power, then it needs to start by reforming its process for capital prosecutions. Life or death for a murder defendant depends more than anything on in which of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties he is prosecuted. … The pernicious effects of race, whether the defendant’s or the victim’s, continue to distort prosecutorial and sentencing decisions.” Farrell concluded, “when it comes to the death penalty, an imperfection can mean a wrongful execution. Almost as momentous, it means we the people — through our legislature, courts, prosecutors, and juries — have acted unjustly. That risk has persisted for over 40 years despite our best efforts to get it right. It’s time to stop.” In a separate op-ed for The Legal Intelligencer, law professor Jules Epstein—who authored one of the amicus briefs filed in support of the prisoners’ challenge—echoed those sentiments, presenting specific data on racial bias in Pennsylvania. “At its simplest, the data conclusively show the following—white victim cases result
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Sept. 13 UGANDA: Museveni orders death penalty for convicted murderers in Uganda after brutal killing of nephew President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda wants the death penalty activated in cases of crime following the killing of his nephew There is a proposition from the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, for the courts of the land to mete out equal measures of punishments to persons who have perpetrated crimes, especially convicted murderers. In a statement made on his official Twitter page, the president laid the blame at the feet of the country’s law enforcement agencies for what he described as their unprofessionalism at tackling crimes in the country. The president made the statement in reference to the recent rise in violent crimes in the country, one of which claimed the life of his nephew, Joshua Rushegyera, reports Reuters. In 2015, while attending a Judges’ Conference in the capital, Entebbe, the president called on the judges implement the death penalty instead of the unnecessarily lenient judgments they pass on murderers. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that today, he is calling for the same punishments to be handed out to people who kill others. The Reuters reports that crimes have soared, from killings to violent robberies and kidnappings for ransom, and these have stoked widespread public anger. The most recent cases have prompted the president to rehash his call for the death penalty to be activated in cases of crimes. In Uganda, death is the maximum penalty for a range of crimes, including murder, treason and defilement, however, executions have been rare. Last week, the nephew of the president was found lying on his back on the tarmac on an expressway near the capital, dead from gunshot wounds. His body was found near his parked vehicle where a woman, also dead from gunshot wounds, was in the back seat. In the other recent case, the bodies of a woman working for a local non-governmental organization and her driver were found dumped in a swamp just east of the capital, Kampala. Their bodies were found two days after they were kidnapped in their own vehicle outside the gate of the woman’s home. On that particular case, President Museveni laid the blame at the feet of police officers, accusing them of negligence and for not acting swiftly in using a recently installed CCTV system to trace and save them. He has accordingly directed the arrest and trial of the officers on that case who were found to be negligent, pending their dismissal if found guilty. “You may commit a crime, carelessly taking away the lives of others; however, you will also lose your own life,” Museveni said in a statement. “It must be an eye for eye”, reports Bloomberg. According to the president, the country will introduce measures such as digital registration of all vehicles and motorcycles so that their movements are electronically tracked. “We need to work on the courts,” Museveni said in his statement. President Museveni attended the 2015 Judges’ Conference in Kampala where he also advocated for the death penalty to be implemented The Ugandan police, who have also denied corruption claims levelled against them by the public, have said that murders in the country have mainly been conducted by people riding motorcycles. “Those people who willfully kill others should be sentenced to death and hanged under the law,” President Museveni stated in 2015 while speaking with judges in the country. (source: face2faceafrica.com) THAILAND: Thai man convicted of murdering family, sentenced to die A Thai provincial court yesterday convicted and sentenced a 37-year-old man for murdering 5 family members – including his pregnant wife. An Uttaradit court on Wednesday condemned Weerapol Pin-amorn to die for murdering his wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law and cousins. He can appeal his case to the Supreme Court. Weerapol was arrested in January while attempting to flee the country following the brutal incident. Upon his capture, police said he confessed to the five murders. Prior to the murders, the gunman said he had been fighting with Kanyarat Kingkaew, his pregnant wife, and her family over possessions after they’d broken up that day. Chilling CCTV footage emerged to show the moment Weerapol shot his wife and father-in-law. The 2 victims, lying on the ground, could be seen crawling towards one another before dying in each other’s arms. Last year Thailand carried out its 1st execution since 2009, prompting criticism by rights groups who had hoped the country was moving toward abolishing the practice. Debates around capital punishment started again last month when two Myanmar migrant workers sentenced to death for the brutal murder of a pair of British backpackers in Thailand lost their final appeal. (source: coconuts.co) MALAYSIA: 2013 cosplay killer has death sentence reversed on appeal Poon Wai Hong
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., OHIO, TENN., OKLA., USA
Sept. 13 TEXAS: El Paso shooting: Prosecutor plans to pursue death penalty after capital murder indictment The man accused of opening fire in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart, killing 22 people and wounding several others, has been indicted on a capital murder charge, the El Paso County District Attorney's Office said following the grand jury's Thursday decision. District Attorney Jaime Esparza intends to seek the death penalty in the August 3 massacre, according to a statement. "The District Attorney's Office will continue to work hard to ensure that justice is done and is committed to assisting the victims through the judicial process," the statement said. Capital murder is the highest charge in Texas, Esparza's office said, and is punishable by death or life in prison without parole. In the days after the deadly rampage, suspected gunman Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, was placed on suicide watch based on the recommendation of medical staff, El Paso County Sheriff's spokeswoman Leslie Antunez told CNN on Tuesday. The 21-year-old is being held at the El Paso County Detention Facility without bond. He is accused of opening fire on unsuspecting shoppers at the Cielo Vista Walmart in the west Texas city near the Mexican border. He surrendered and identified himself as the shooter following the massacre, police said. He told police that he was targeting Mexicans, according to an arrest affidavit. While in custody, the suspect has been "cold" in his interactions with police, authorities told CNN last month. Days after his arrest, Police Chief Greg Allen told reporters that the suspect had been cooperative, though he's shown no remorse and "appears to be in a state of shock and confusion." The suspected shooter is believed by investigators to have authored a racist, anti-immigrant document that stated his disdain for Hispanic immigrants whom he said were overtaking America. The 4-page document, titled "The Inconvenient Truth," was published on the online message board 8chan about 20 minutes before the shooting, authorities said. The writing is filled with white supremacist language and racist hatred aimed at immigrants and Latinos, and the author says he opposes "race mixing" and encourages immigrants to return to their home countries. (source: CNN) PENNSYLVANIA: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Hears Argument on Constitutionality of Death Penalty The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral argument on September 11, 2019 on whether to exercise its extraordinary “King’s Bench” powers to determine whether the death penalty, as currently applied in the Commonwealth, violates the Pennsylvania constitution. If the court agrees to reach the constitutional issue, it has the power to strike down the death penalty, uphold its constitutionality, or issue directives or standards regarding its future use. Assistant federal defender Timothy Kane of the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania argued on behalf of death-row prisoners Jermont Cox and Kevin Marinelli, who challenged the state’s death penalty after a June 2018 report by the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment raised numerous concerns about the way the death penalty is administered in Pennsylvania. Before a packed courtroom in Philadelphia, with an overflow audience listening in an adjacent room, Kane described what he called a broken and arbitrary death-penalty system skewed by an overly broad statute and plagued with racial and geographic disparities. Kane asked the court to declare the Commonwealth’s death penalty unconstitutional and to reduce the sentences of the state’s 137 death-row prisoners to life in prison without parole. Kane’s argument emphasized the unreliability of Pennsylvania death-penalty verdicts, noting that courts have overturned more than half of the 441 death sentences imposed since the Commonwealth reinstated the death penalty in 1974. “The reliability of the system as a whole is cruel and the systemic problems affect every case,” Kane argued. “If the system is cruel, it’s incumbent for this court to say so.” The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office joined with the defenders in calling for the end of the Commonwealth’s death penalty. Supervisory Assistant District Attorney Paul George, of the D.A.’s appeals division, told the court that the systemic provision of deficient representation to indigent capital defendants has produced a constitutionally indefensible death penalty. Paul cited a study by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office of 155 death sentences imposed in Philadelphia from 1978-2017. In that forty-year period, he said, 72% of the death verdicts had been overturned, most as a result of ineffective defense representation. “When you’re talking about having a 72% error rate, you’re not talking about a reliable system,” George said. Ronald Eisenberg, a
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Sept. 12 SCOTLAND: Over 41 % of Scots would like return of death penalty A poll for the Times has found that 1.8 million Scots would support the reintroduction of death penalties for murderers. According to a YouGov poll for The Times questioning 1,059 Scots, 41 % of the population, or 1.8 million people, would support the death penalty for murderers being reintroduced. A marginally higher percentage of the population, 44 % of Scots, would continue to oppose the death penalty, whilst 15 % of voters were unsure. The poll indicated that those who were more likely to back state execution were people who voted Leave in the 2016 EU referendum and older people, by 65 % and 54 % respectively. A previous poll by YouGov from 2017 showed that 53 % of Leave voters UK-wide wanted to revive the death penalty, which is 12 % less than Leave voters in Scotland this year. Scottish citizens who backed Yes in the 2014 Independence referendum and Unionist were slightly less supportive, with the former polling at 44 % and the latter voting 42 %. Although Scotland tops European rates of imprisonment, several reforms have been put in place to support reintegration and rehabilitation, including the vote against ineffective short prison sentences of 12 months or less which MSPs voted on in June this year, which aims to increase more effective methods of both addressing offending and rehabilitation, like Community Payback Orders (CPOs). The last man hanged in Scotland was Henry John Burnett, who was sentenced to death by the high court in Aberdeen for the murder of merchant seaman Thomas Guyanat and was executed in 1963 at HM Prison in Aberdeen, aged 21. (source: The Scotsman) MALAYSIA: Malaysian man escapes gallows over death of teenage girl A 29-year-old man has escaped the gallows over the death of a teenage girl after his murder charge was reduced by the Malaysian Court of Appeal on Thursday (Sep 12). Poon Wai Hong was sentenced to death by a High Court in April last year for causing the death of 15-year-old Ms Ng Yuk Tim, a cosplay enthusiast. The Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday that Poon should instead be sentenced to 22 years' jail after his murder charge was reduced to one of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. His jail term will start from the date of his arrest on Oct 22, 2013, the court added. Justice Kamardin Hashim, chairing a three-member bench, said the court found merits in Poon's appeal and set aside the death sentence. He was convicted of causing Ms Ng's death at a house at Kampung Cempaka in Kelana Jaya between 3pm and 4pm on Oct 21, 2013. Poon’s lawyer Rajpal Singh told the High Court in April last year that Ms Ng had gone to the house to get help with some cosplay costumes. He said that Poon had intended to have sex with Ms Ng but a friend had interrupted the duo, causing him to leave the house. When Poon returned, Ms Ng did not want to have sex anymore, which sparked a fight. Mr Singh said that Poon had tried to stop Ms Ng from shouting during the altercation. After she bit his hand, Poon pushed her away to prevent her from attacking him with a stun gun, the lawyer claimed. Poon said that after retrieving his spectacles that had fallen to the ground, he saw Ms Ng lying motionless on the floor after falling and hitting her head on a dumbbell. Mr Singh said Poon panicked and stuffed Ms Ng's body in a luggage bag instead of calling the authorities. DNA evidence showed that Ms Ng’s blood was found on the ring of the dumbbell but the handle of the dumbbell did not have Poon's DNA, Mr Singh added. During mitigation for a lower jail sentence, the lawyer told the court that his client was remorseful and had apologised to Ms Ng’s family. Deputy public prosecutor Nurshafini Mustafha argued that there was overwhelming circumstantial evidence that Poon had murdered Ms Ng. She said the deceased was 15 years old at the time, and she urged the court to consider that there was a loss of life as well as the way her body was disposed of. Ms Nurshafini told reporters that the prosecution would be appealing to the Federal Court. (source: channelnewsasia.com) * Bill to abolish mandatory death penalty tabled at next meeting The bill to abolish the mandatory death penalty will tentatively be tabled at the next parliamentary meeting, which begins on October 7 and runs until December 5, said Liew Vui Keong. The de facto law minister said it is in line with Pakatan Harapan’s election promise to do away with mandatory death penalty. (source: themalaysianinsight.com) INDIA: Gadkari cites death penalty for rape to defend new traffic rules, says fines aimed to save lives A day after a BJP-ruled state -- Gujarat -- itself slashed the traffic fines under the amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that states
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEB., WYO., NEV., ARIZ., CALIF.
Sept. 12 NEBRASKA: Nebraska county OKs sales tax to pay wrongfully convicted A Nebraska county that owes more than $30 million to 6 people wrongfully convicted of murder approved a new half-cent sales tax Wednesday to help pay the legal judgment, but the former prisoners still will have to wait at least 6 years to collect the full amount they’re owed. The Gage County Board of Supervisors voted 7-0 to impose the sales tax, which will generate an additional $1.3 million annually to cover the county’s debt. Known as the Beatrice 6, the ex-inmates spent more than 70 years in prison collectively for a 1985 rape and killing in Beatrice, Nebraska, about 40 miles (64 kilometres) south of Lincoln. DNA evidence exonerated them in 2008. They sued Gage County the following year, alleging that the county ran a reckless investigation. A federal jury awarded them $28.1 million in 2016, plus interest and attorney fees that raise the total to more than $30 million. The county wasn’t properly insured when the six were convicted, and its appeals were all rejected. That left officials with no choice but to pay the judgment. Now that the county has to pay it, “we’re trying to find ways to fund this as best as possible and take some of the burden off the landowner,” said County Board Chairman Erich Tiemann, according to the Beatrice Daily Sun. Gage County has already raised its property tax as high as legally allowed and has started making $3.8 million a year in payments, but county officials say relying on property taxes alone isn’t fair to farmers whose land requires them to pay much more than homeowners and renters. The new tax is intended to ease that burden and possibly allow the county to pay the judgment in 6 years instead of 8. Starting Jan. 1, anyone who buys $100 worth of taxable goods or services in Gage County will pay an extra 50 cents to help with the judgment. Even with the extra funding, the surviving members of the Beatrice 6 will likely have to wait years to receive everything they’re owed. One of the six was killed in a 2011 factory accident in Alabama, and several others are aging and have health problems. Attorneys for the 6 weren’t immediately available for comment. The board’s vote followed a newly enacted state law tailored to Gage County’s situation that allows counties to impose a sales tax to pay off a legal judgment without putting the issue on the ballot, as is normally required. Lawmakers approved the measure over the veto of Gov. Pete Ricketts, who argued that voter approval should have been required. “It’s something that should definitely help the property owners in Gage County,” said state Sen. Myron Dorn, a former Gage County supervisor who sponsored the law. It’s unlikely that voters would approve a sales tax increase because many didn’t live in the county when authorities were investigating the killing, and some residents still believe the 6 were involved even though state officials have declared them innocent. Some of the 6 have been diagnosed with mental health problems and were coerced into confessing with threats of capital punishment. Both the sales and property taxes will expire once the judgment is paid in full. (source: Associated Press) WYOMING: Dale Wayne Eaton considering U.S. Supreme Court appeal, lawyer tells Natrona County judge A Wyoming man convicted of the kidnapping, rape and murder of a teenage woman more than 30 years ago may still appeal his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, his lawyer told a Natrona County judge on Tuesday afternoon. Sean O’Brien, the Kansas City, Missouri, lawyer and law professor who has led Dale Wayne Eaton’s recent post-conviction appeals, made the statement by phone to Judge Daniel Forgey during a mid-afternoon scheduling conference in Natrona County District Court that spanned about 10 minutes. The conference marked the first hearing in the state court since a regional federal appeals court issued an opinion this summer that declined to prevent prosecutors from seeking Eaton’s death. Eaton, now 74, has asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Denver, to reconsider its opinion. The Wyoming attorney general’s office has until the end of the week to reply to the request. If the case returns to the state court, Eaton may again defend himself against the death penalty. On Aug. 5, about two weeks after the 10th Circuit’s decision, Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen filed paperwork indicating he would seek Eaton’s capital punishment. The same day, he filed request for the status conference. Neither Itzen nor Eaton appeared in court Tuesday. In the prosecutor’s stead were assistant district attorneys Mike Schafer and Kevin Taheri, who spoke only briefly. O’Brien appeared by phone with Lindsay Runnels, also of Kansas City, and Terry Harris, who practices in Cheyenne. O’Brien told Forgey a federal district court stay on proceedings in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA., OHIO
Sept. 12 TEXAS: Family and nun fight for retrial as man convicted by all-white jury faces death Supporters of Rodney Reed, scheduled for execution in November, point to racial bias and questionable evidence “He never had a chance.” That’s what Sandra Reed said at the start of a rally in front of the Texas governor’s mansion calling for a retrial for her son, Rodney Reed. Reed, 51, has been on death row in Texas since 1998 and is scheduled to be executed on 20 November for murder. But an array of supporters even beyond his own family, ranging from some relatives of the woman he was convicted of killing to a world-famous nun, argue that Reed is innocent and is a casualty of a criminal justice system beset by errors and racial bias. In 1998, Reed, who is African American, was convicted – by an all-white jury – of the 1996 murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. His family has spent years trying to get his case overturned and he is represented by the Innocence Project, the not-for-profit group that focuses on DNA testing to exonerate wrongly convicted people and campaigns to reform the system. Reed’s lawyers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Texas last month, after repeatedly being thwarted in their demands for DNA testing of the murder weapon, a leather belt used to strangle Stites. His lead attorney, Bryce Benjet of the Innocence Project, said continued refusal to perform the test violates Reed’s constitutional rights. And Reed’s case has caught the attention of the Texas state representative Vikki Goodwin. “I don’t think anyone can say he is guilty without a shadow of a doubt,” Goodwin said. “I don’t believe we should carry out the death penalty when there’s doubt about the truth of the case.” During the original trial, DNA from the Stites case matched Reed, but he said he was having a secret affair with her to avoid scandal in a small Texas town, especially because Reed is black and Stites white. Reed’s legal team believes new evidence presented at a retrial would prove that Jimmy Fennell, Stites’s fiancé at the time of her death, was the murderer. Fennell was a police officer for Georgetown, near Austin, at the time, and was later sentenced to 10 years in prison for a different crime stemming from allegations that he kidnapped and raped a woman while on duty. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of actions to get Reed a retrial. Three weeks before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection, on 5 March 2015 in the Texas state penitentiary, his lawyers filed an appeal to the criminal appeals court, citing multiple problems with his conviction and urging a stay of execution and a retrial. That same month, the US supreme court declined to review Reed’s case. In the August 2019 lawsuit, the Innocence Project lawyers claim there are “multiple additional items of evidence” collected during the murder investigation in a “condition suitable for DNA testing”. The suit also argues that that Fennell couldn’t keep his testimony straight and failed his polygraph tests and that he acted “suspiciously” following Stites’ death, including closing his bank account and disposing of his truck. Fennell’s “inconsistent statements” about his whereabouts on the night of 22 April 1996 are significant because the condition in which Stites’s body was found on 23 April indicates she was “murdered several hours before” her body was found, the suit claims. “Prominent forensic pathologists have reached the un-rebutted conclusion that Fennell’s testimony that Ms. Stites was abducted and murdered while on her way to work around 3:30AM is medically and scientifically impossible,” the lawsuit claims. Several complaints were filed against Fennell alleging “racial bias and use of excessive force at the Giddings Police Department where he worked”, and he was overheard several times saying that if Stites cheated on him, “he would kill her” and “he specifically stated he would strangle her with a belt”, the suit said. Fennell was initially a suspect but investigators focused on Reed after his DNA was discovered inside Stites’s body, and a jury concluded that Reed raped and strangled Stites after intercepting her on the way to work, a timeline his lawyers argue has been discredited. Supporters think there are other issues at play. “Race was a big factor in this case. A ‘Jim Crow trial’, an all-white jury, none of his peers,” Sandra Reed told the Guardian. Benjet said there was data showing racial disparity in “most if not every” aspect of the US criminal justice system. Sister Helen Prejean, an anti-death penalty activist and author of the book Dead Man Walking, visited with Reed’s family in 2015 as his previous execution date neared. Her book about the death penalty and the subsequent film changed many people’s perspectives in the US on capital punishment. She tweeted about Reed’s case in 2015. She has followed the case
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 11 IRANexecution Prisoner Hanged in Borujerd CityThe execution has not been announced by the Iranian authorities or media so far. A prisoner was executed almost a month ago at a prison in Lorestan province, Iran. The execution has not been announced by the Iranian authorities or media so far. According to IHR sources, on the morning of August 7, 2019, a prisoner hanged at the central prison of the Iranian city of Borujerd, Lorestan province. His name was revealed as Toranj Feizi, 37. He was arrested four years ago and sentenced to death for a murder charge. At least 110 people were executed in Iran in the first half of 2019; Only 37 of the executions have been announced by authorities or Iranian media. Iran Human Rights (IHR) could confirm 73 more through its sources. IHR only reports the unannounced executions if it could confirm those with two separate credible sources. Therefore, the actual number of executions may be even higher than reported. There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and intent. (source: Iran Human Rights) SINGAPORE: Man gets death penalty for trafficking heroin A 59-year-old man was sentenced to death in the High Court after being found in possession of 52.75 g of diamorphine, also known as heroin, for the purpose of drug trafficking. Justice Aedit Abdullah, in judgment grounds issued on Monday, held that the case against Sulaiman Jumari had been proven beyond reasonable doubt. He found that Sulaiman had control over the room where he had been arrested and no one else would have had access to it, and the elements of the charge had been made out by the prosecution. Sulaiman had been nabbed by Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers while alone in a rented room in Lorong 39 Geylang on June 23, 2016. The drugs, contained in 22 packets, were recovered from a wardrobe, a bedside table and a bed in the room. At issue were three packets containing 49.86g of heroin inside a wardrobe drawer that did not have his DNA on them, unlike other exhibits. Sulaiman did not dispute possession of the other packets containing 2.89g of heroin recovered from the bedside table. But he claimed he did not know the three packets with 49.86g of heroin were in his room. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount trafficked exceeds 15g. He said other people had access to the room, including on the day he was arrested, and the packets could have been placed in the wardrobe drawer without his knowledge. His defence lawyers, led by Mr Anand Nalachandran, further argued that the statement he gave at the time of his arrest should not be admitted, or it should be given minimal weight, alleging that Sulaiman had been induced to give it. But the prosecution led by Deputy Public Prosecutor April Phang said Sulaiman had admitted clearly, in the statement he gave shortly after the drugs were discovered in his room, that the drugs in the three packets belonged to him, and he knew they contained heroin and were meant both for smoking and for sale. Among other things, when asked by CNB officers if he had anything to surrender as he was placed under arrest, Sulaiman said "three" and gestured at the wardrobe. A search revealed the 3 packets. The prosecution noted the drug trafficking paraphernalia found together with the quantity of drugs showed he meant to sell drugs. Justice Aedit said no evidence was presented during the 11-day trial to support Sulaiman's version that the packets had been put in the wardrobe by someone else. "For someone to have left the (3 packets) there without his knowing of it was beyond any reasonable belief," said the judge. He also found that Sulaiman's statement at the time of arrest was not given as a result of any inducement or any adverse conditions. Sulaiman, having been convicted, faces the death penalty unless he was a courier who had given substantive help to the authorities or was found to have mental abnormalities. "As the accused was found to have had the drugs for sale, he did not qualify for the alternative sentencing regime, and accordingly the death sentence was passed against him," said Justice Aedit. (source: straitstimes.com) PHILIPPINES/SYRIA: Manila hails conviction of Filipina’s murderer in Syria Filipino authorities said on Tuesday that justice has finally been served in the case of an overseas worker after her Syrian employer was found guilty of her murder in Kuwait last year. The body of 29-year-old Joanna Demafelis was found stuffed in a freezer at an abandoned apartment. The Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that a Syrian district criminal court had found Mouna Ali Hassoun guilty of her murder, with a prison sentence ranging from 8-15 years expected. “We welcome the news, which means that
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., S.C., OHIO, WYO., CALIF., USA
Sept. 11 TEXASexecution Texas Inmate Mark Soliz Executed for 2010 Killing“I want to apologize for the grief and the pain that I caused y’all,” he said before receiving a lethal injection. A Texas death-row inmate convicted of murdering a 61-year-old woman during a robbery in 2010 was executed on Tuesday night, becoming the state’s 6th execution this year. Mark Soliz, 37, died by lethal injection despite claims by his lawyers that he suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and therefore should be spared from execution. Soliz was the 15th prisoner put to death this year. Despite his hopes for a reprieve from the death penalty, Soliz reportedly did not file a last-minute appeal with the Supreme Court. According to The Huntsville Item, Soliz was apologetic to the family of his victim—Nancy Weatherly—in his final statement. “I want to apologize for the grief and the pain that I caused y’all,” Soliz reportedly said to the 2 members of the Weatherly family who attended the execution. “I’ve been considering changing my life, it took me 27 years to do so. I don’t know if me passing will bring y’all comfort for the pain and suffering I caused y’all. I’m at peace.” Soliz and his lawyers went through the appeals process for years, with the most recent denial reportedly coming last week. His lawyers had cited a decision two weeks ago by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which stayed the execution of Dexter Johnson based on new standards for evaluating mental disability. “They’re almost identical,” Soliz’s lawyer, Seth Kretzer, said of the 2 cases. “It’s simply not right to execute the mentally disabled,” Kretzer said, adding that he knows they may not prevail. “Hope is a very dangerous thing to have in prison. We’ve used every legal tool we can to fight this and now we just have to wait.” Under the old medical standards, Soliz’s IQ of more than 70 meant he did not qualify as mentally disabled. But under new criteria, Soliz’s lawyers say his diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome should qualify him as mentally disabled and ultimately save him from a lethal dose of pentobarbital. “Because Mr. Soliz suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, he should be categorically exempted from the death penalty under the 8th amendment to the United States constitution,” his lawyers argued in court documents. “[Fetal alcohol syndrome] is the functional equivalent of the conditions already recognized as disqualifying exemptions to the death penalty such as intellectual disability.” Soliz’s mother was a prostitute who drank and huffed glue during her pregnancy. He scored 75 on his last IQ test, which falls within the 70-84 range considered borderline intellectual functioning, according to an evaluation paid for by his lawyers and reported in the Austin Chronicle. Greg Westfall, who represented Soliz during his 2012 trial, said that in a different jurisdiction, his client would have received a life sentence. “Johnson County has a huge evangelical presence and a large amount of people who believe in the death penalty,” he said, adding, “and there’s racial overtones to the case. He’s a Hispanic who killed a white grandmother.” Soliz’s deadly crime spree began in June 22, 2010, when he and co-defendant Jose Ramos stole several guns. The pair went on to steal from several stores and killed a man in one of the robberies, making a widow of his eight-months pregnant wife. (Ramos pleaded guilty and was given a life sentence for the slaying.) On June 29, 2010, Weatherly, a grandmother and engineer at an aerospace company in Godley, Texas, heard her doorbell ring around 10:30 a.m. and opened her front door to find Soliz pointing a Hi-Point 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in her face. Soliz brought her inside and began to search the house for valuables. When she asked him not to take her deceased mother’s jewelry box, he told her she would join her mother shortly and shot her in the back of the head. (source: thedaiylbeast.com) Texas executes man who killed woman during spate of crimes A Texas death row inmate was executed Tuesday for fatally shooting a 61-year-old grandmother at her North Texas home nearly a decade ago during an 8-day spate of crimes that included thefts and another killing. Mark Anthony Soliz, 37, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the June 2010 slaying of Nancy Weatherly during a robbery at her rural home near Godley, located 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Fort Worth. Soliz was the 15th inmate put to death this year in the U.S. It was the 6th execution in Texas and the 2nd in as many weeks in the state. 9 more executions are scheduled this year in Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state. During a 5-minute final statement, Soliz apologized profusely from the death chamber gurney. "I don't know if me passing will bring y'all comfort for
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, USA
564th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on Dec. 7, 1982. Soliz becomes the 46th condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas since Greg Abbott became governor in 2015 Soliz becomes the 15th condemned inmate to be executed this year in the USA and the 1,505th overall since the nation resumed executions no January 17, 1977. Soliz’s execution was the 3rd carried out by Johnson County, which sits just south of Fort Worth, since the death penalty was reinstated nationwide in the 1970s. The last one was in 2004. Texas’ 6 executions so far this year make up more than 1/3 of the 15 that have taken place in the country. Of the 17 executions still scheduled in the country through December — including 3 federal cases — 9 are set to take place in the Texas death chamber in Huntsville, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Last year, Texas executed 13 men. (sources: The Texas Tribune & Rick Halperin) * Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present46 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-564 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 47-Sept. 25---Robert Sparks---565 48-Oct. 2-Stephen Barbee--566 49-Oct. 10Randy Halprin---567 50-Oct. 16Randall Mays568 51-Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez-569 52-Nov. 6-Justen Hall-570 53-Nov. 13Patrick Murphy--571 54-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-572 55-Dec. 11Travis Runnels--573 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) *** USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Mark Anthony Soliz in Texas on September 10, the USA has now executed 1,505 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. 1506---Sept 25Robert SparksTexas 1507---Oct. 1-Russell Bucklew--Missouri 1508---Oct. 2-Stephen Barbee---Texas 1509---Oct. 10Randy HalprinTexas 1510---Oct. 16Randall Mays-Texas 1511---Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez--Texas 1512---Nov. 3-9---Charles Rhines---South Dakota 1513---Nov. 6-Justen Hall--Texas 1514---Nov. 13Patrick Murphy---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 Jackson----Ohio (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
Sept. 10 TEXASimpending execution Federal Court Denies Stay for Texas Prisoner with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Mark Soliz, who is scheduled for execution in Texas on September 10, 2019, was denied a stay and an opportunity to present a new argument related to mental impairments that his attorney says should exempt him from execution. He had sought a stay because he has fetal alcohol syndrome, a condition his attorney says is the “‘functional equivalent’ of conditions already recognized as disqualifying exemptions to the death penalty,” because his mother’s alcohol consumption during her pregnancy impaired his intellectual development. Under the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Atkins v. Virginia, people with intellectual disabilities cannot be executed. “Expansion of the Supreme Court’s holding in Atkins to protect offenders suffering from FASD [fetal alcohol spectrum disorder] is a constantly evolving doctrine that merits further consideration,” his appeal stated. He also argued that recent changes to the DSM-5, the most recent diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists and psychologists to diagnose mental illness and developmental disorders, such as intellectual disability, mean that “higher IQ scores no longer bar a diagnosis of an intellectual disability.” An earlier claim of intellectual disability was rejected because Soliz’s IQ score of 75 was slightly above the threshold for a diagnosis of intellectual disability. Soliz’s attorney, Seth Kretzer, said the execution “should certainly be stayed. … Mr. Soliz is a victim of his mother’s ingestion of harmful substances in the womb. Supreme Court doctrine will not permit the execution of people who are functionally developmentally impaired.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected his appeal and request for a stay on September 9, 2019. Texas prisoner Dexter Johnson successfully obtained a stay of execution in August, arguing that his intellectual disability claim should be reconsidered in light of the changes to the DSM. Like many death-row prisoners, Soliz experienced chronic trauma throughout his childhood. He witnessed his aunt’s murder and was surrounded by prostitution and drugs. Defense attorney Greg Westfall said of Soliz, “That case was overwhelmingly sad for everyone involved. The effects of neglect and trauma on a developing brain are becoming better known. Basically, Soliz had a monstrous childhood and should not be executed. The death penalty is stupid. It fulfills none of the promise of closure and is incredibly expensive.” Soliz’s case also highlights the excessive costs of death-penalty trials. According to Johnson County District Attorney Dale Hanna, “It was our most expensive and longest trial in the county’s history. The expense of these type trials is just staggering.” County Auditor Kirk Kirkpatrick said the trial, which ended in 2012, cost $903,544.13, not including the cost of Soliz’s incarceration or appeals. (source: Death Penalty Information Center) ___ 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----worldwide
Sept. 10 INDIA: Odisha man gets death sentence for rape & murder A POCSO court in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district today awarded death penalty to a person for raping and murdering a minor girl, last year. The convict has been identified as Kalia Manna alias Laba. According to reports, Laba had raped and murdered a minor girl in Gadaharishpur village under Erasama police limits in the district on March 21, last year. Acting on a complaint lodged by the family members of the deceased, police had arrested Laba and forwarded him to court. Adjudicating the case, the court today pronounced capital punishment for him. (source: Odisha Sunt Times) VIETNAM: Mass killings in Vietnam ‘a cancer of the soul’ Inequality, poverty and a cultural normalization of violence are major factors behind increasing incidence of mass killings in Vietnam, experts say. On September 1, the nation was appalled and aghast as a middle-aged man coolly and remorselessly hacked four people to death in public view. The atrocity occurred in the capital city’s Dan Phuong District and its perpetrator was a 53-year-old man driven to murder by a dispute over 0.5 square meters of land. After spending a sleepless night brooding over the dispute regarding land that he had inherited with his younger brother, Dong took a knife and went on a stabbing spree. Younger brother Nguyen Van Hai and his daughter were killed on the spot. His wife and 1-year-old granddaughter were taken to the hospital and died there. His daughter-in-law is in critical condition at present. Only Hai’s son, who had met Dong the night before, managed to run away, unscathed physically. Lieutenant-Colonel Dao Trung Hieu, an expert in criminal psychology at the Ministry of Public Security, said Dong’s behavior was driven by his own violent temper as well as negative social influences. In several interviews given to the local media, Hieu said the murders were rooted in greed and self-interest in an increasingly materialistic society, which is also destroying traditional family values and ties. Serious degeneration Massacres, murders and violence of different degrees are occurring in Vietnamese society because social ethics is degenerating seriously, he said, adding, "Some call it cancer of the soul." Last year, 31-year-old Ly Dinh Khanh, who had earlier served 3 years in prison for child rape, again attempted to rape a neighbor, failed, and went on to kill her and 3 other people related to her in northern Cao Bang Province. In the same year, 18-year-old Nguyen Huu Tinh on February 13 killed 5 people in his employer’s family to avenge a scolding he had received. Hieu laid the blame at a materialistic approach to life that was exacerbated by socio-economic issues stemming from it. The gap between the rich and the poor, unemployment and other social problems make many people feel frustrated and stuck, and they are easily influenced by gangs and other negativities, especially through the Internet, he said. "A person with a good job and income is unlikely to use violence to solve conflicts, or kill and rob others," he said. Robberies and murders (robbers have killed whole families when caught in the act) account for many serious killings in the country. Other major causes include family and romantic conflicts, road rage, mental problems and drugs. On May 25, in Lam Dong Province, 48-year-old Nghiem Thi Nhi killed 3 people (an old woman and her 2 grandchildren) for revenge. On the 15th, 16th and 17th of the same month, in Hanoi and Vinh Phuc Province, 38-year-old Do Van Binh killed 2 men in a fit of road rage, and went on to kill an ex-girlfriend and injured another because of perceived hurt feelings. Many perpetrators of multiple killings are young people. Hieu said that even youth without previous criminal records have acted viciously, showing that they are unstable, imbalanced and insecure in life. Young people can also easily absorb toxic influences, play violent games and develop the habit of using violence to deal with ordinary conflicts. For this, Hieu said, the educational system and the family as an institution are to blame. At school, children are crammed with academic knowledge, but barely taught living skills. At home, parents are too wrapped up with making a living, and don’t pay attention to their children, and set bad examples of indifference and selfishness which children internalize. The massacres in recent years have happened across the country, from remote mountainous provinces in the north such as Lao Cai and Yen Bai, to southern metropolises like HCMC and Binh Duong Province, which have "complex growing populations" with significant immigration. Hieu said that financial distress was a particularly important factor in poor remote areas where people can feel deeply frustrated and even trivial conflicts in daily life may break out into full-blown violence.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., LA., TENN., USA
Sept. 10 FLORIDA: Confessed Parkland School Shooter Wants New Prosecutor The man who admits gunning down 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year wants a new prosecutor, saying the state attorney is willfully "blind to any evidence that contradicts his own conclusion that (the defendant) is evil." The defense says State Attorney Michael Satz told them in February he would not waive the death penalty; he would consider no evidence that would mitigate against a death sentence; and that the killer is "evil – worse than Ted Bundy," referring to a now-executed serial killer. Satz's "determination that (the killer) is evil does not appear to be a reasoned decision but instead a decision based on caprice and emotion," constituting "substantial misconduct," defense attorneys argue in their motion to disqualify. But, in response, the state calls the move "legally meritless," saying Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer is being asked to do what only a governor can do – reassign a prosecution based on some perceived appearance of impropriety. The parents of Carmen Schentrup filed a lawsuit against the United States alleging that the FBI didn't do enough to prevent the Parkland tragedy, despite numerous red flags and warnings of the confessed shooter. NBC 6's Laura Rodriguez reports. The killer, Nikolas Cruz, is essentially arguing "he is entitled to a prosecutor more receptive to his offer of entering a guilty plea in exchange for a sentence of life imprisonment," the state wrote in its response. The prosecution notes a jury will decide if execution is the proper punishment for the February 2018 massacre, plans for which the killer laid out in detail on cellphone video he recorded three days prior to the killings. "Simply because the state attorney made an individualized determination to seek the death penalty and that a jury should decide what mitigation justifies something less than death – particularly when faced with such horrific facts and powerful aggravating circumstances – it is neither error nor grounds to disqualify him," the state countered. Judge Scherer said Monday she would hear argument and, perhaps, witness testimony on the matter during a hearing Friday morning. (source: nbcmiami.com) *** Jury selection begins for Granville Ritchie, accused of killing 9-year-old girl 5 years after young Felicia Williams' body was found, the man accused of killing her will head to trial. Jury selection for Granville Ritchie’s murder trial is set to begin Monday morning, and the state attorney says he will ask those jurors to consider the death penalty. Ritchie is facing capital punishment for the rape and murder of 9-year-old Felecia Williams. Williams went missing in 2014 and was later found floating in the water near the Courtney Campbell Causeway inside of a suitcase. (source: Fox News) ** Hearing in Polk County’s worst mass murder postponed until spring. Nelson Serrano was originally convicted in 2006 of the execution-style slayings of 4 people at Bartow’s Erie Manufacturing in 1997. That didn’t happen. Hurricane Dorian and a prosecutor’s health issue have pushed the court proceedings back to next spring. Assistant State Attorney Paul Wallace, who was co-counsel for the state in Serrano’s 2006 trial and is lead counsel in the resentencing, said he sought to postpone the hearing after learning he would be missing several days of work to address a health matter. At the same time, Hurricane Dorian was bearing down on southeast Florida, where defense lawyer Gregory Eisenmenger lives and has his offices. “He was concerned that he may have to evacuate,” Wallace said. “We talked about it, and we agreed it would be best just to delay it.” He said the resentencing has been tentatively set for early March. Eisenmenger wasn’t available for comment Monday. Serrano, who will be 81 this month, remains on death row at Union Correctional Institution as preparations continue for his resentencing. In 2006, a jury voted 9-3 to recommend that he be sentenced to death for the execution-style killings of George Gonzalves, 69, Serrano’s former partner in Erie Manufacturing, and Frank Dosso, 35, Diane Dosso Patisso, 27, and George Patisso, 26 — the son, daughter and son-in-law of a 2nd business partner, Phil Dosso. The 4 were gunned down in the company’s offices in the early evening of Dec. 3, 1997. Initially, law enforcement had eliminated Serrano as a suspect after he had produced evidence of being in Atlanta on business at the time of the killings. But over the next 4 years, agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement discovered that he had secretly returned to Florida that afternoon using aliases to book flight and rental car reservations, according to trial testimony. Agents broke his alibi when they found his fingerprint on a parking
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
executions still scheduled in the country through December — including 3 federal cases — 9 are set to take place in the Texas death chamber in Huntsville, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Last year, Texas executed 13 men. (source: The Texas Tribune) * Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present45 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-563 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 46-Sept. 10---Mark Anthony Soliz--564 47-Sept. 25---Robert Sparks---565 48-Oct. 2-Stephen Barbee--566 49-Oct. 10Randy Halprin---567 50-Oct. 16Randall Mays568 51-Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez-569 52-Nov. 6-Justen Hall-570 53-Nov. 13Patrick Murphy--571 54-Nov. 20Rodney Reed-572 55-Dec. 11Travis Runnels--573 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) * USAimpending/scheduled executions With the execution of Billy Crutsinger in Texas on September 4, the USA has now executed 1,504 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. 1505---Sept. 10---Mark Anthony Soliz---Texas 1506---Sept 25Robert SparksTexas 1507---Oct. 1-Russell Bucklew--Missouri 1508---Oct. 2-Stephen Barbee---Texas 1509---Oct. 10Randy HalprinTexas 1510---Oct. 16Randall Mays-Texas 1511---Oct. 30Ruben Gutierrez--Texas 1512---Nov. 3-9---Charles Rhines---South Dakota 1513---Nov. 6-Justen Hall--Texas 1514---Nov. 13Patrick Murphy---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) Coalition of Jewish Organizations Seeks New Trial for Jewish Death-Row Prisoner in Texas Tried by Anti-Semitic Judge A coalition of national and local Jewish organizations and lawyers have asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to stop the scheduled October 10, 2019 execution of a Jewish death-row prisoner to review his claim that the judge before whom he was tried was racist and anti-Semitic. Randy Halprin (pictured) was convicted and sentenced to death in a trial presided over by Dallas County Judge Vickers Cunningham, who referred to Halprin as a “f***ing Jew” and a “G*dd**n k**e” and called Halprin’s Latino co-defendants “wetb***s.” On September 5, 2019, the American Jewish Committee, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Men of Reform Judaism, and more than 100 Jewish members of the State Bar of Texas filed an amicus brief with the state court in support of Halprin’s request for a stay of execution and a new trial free of bias. Halprin was sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer who responded to a robbery committed by a group of inmates, later dubbed the“Texas 7,” who had escaped from a Texas prison in 2000. Halprin has long maintained that he was not involved in the shooting, but was convicted under Texas’ law of parties, which permits the death penalty based upon the actions of other participants in a felony, even if the defendant himself did not commit the killing or intend that a murder take place. Halprin’s lawyers first learned of Judge Cunningham’s possible racial and religious bias as a result of news reports by the Dallas Morning News in 2018 that revealed that Cunningham had established a financial trust that rewarded his children if they married a white Christian of the opposite sex. Subsequent investigation by Halprin’s defense lawyers discov
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 9 SOUTH AFRICA: Death penalty no deterrent to crime, says expert Bringing back the death penalty would be the same as recreating past injustices and targeting predominantly poor people. This is according to rape and violence law expert Lisa Vetten, who told the Pretoria News that reinstating the death penalty would be hard from a legal point of view due to the fact that it was unconstitutional. Calls for the death penalty multiplied last week following increased reports of femicide in the country, with the most recent outcry coming after UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana was sexually assaulted and brutally murdered. “There is no research to substantiate or support the idea that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime or violence. If we want to do it for vengeful or retributory reasons we have to really ask ourselves if that kind of stance isn’t part of the reason why we have a problem of violence and crime in SA anyway.” She said using violence to address the scourge of crime in the country was not the way to go. “We already have a problem of violence in the country, and in this instance even if it is legally state-sanctioned murder, it is still violence. (source: Pretoria News) ** Serjeant at the Bar: Can the death penalty assist in reducing the current levels of violent crime? With a generally incompetent police force, and very limited detective and DNA capacity, the death penalty will do little to protect those who live in this country, writes Serjeant at the Bar. It is hardly surprising that calls have been made for the reinstatement of the death penalty in the wake of the recent horrendous murders of young women. Indeed, it is understandable that the public is desperate for any possible solution to the ever-increasing violence, particularly against women and children. The criminal justice system has failed the country abysmally at the very time that any scintilla of social cohesion has disappeared. While no justification for the gross inhumanity perpetrated on a daily basis, in these latest cases against young women with their lives full of promise cut short so savagely, we are truly reaping the harvest of more than 300 years of violence which manifested itself systemically on the basis of race and gender. Twenty-five years into constitutional democracy, and the violence has only intensified. It should not be forgotten that unemployment, even on a conservative estimate is 29%. The geography of our cities have hardly transformed from their apartheid formats and millions live in the same squalor and despair as characterised life before 1994. Patriarchy is still dominant and populist forms of politics seek to divide between us and them – vide the xenophobia engulfing Johannesburg at present. The past 10 years have eviscerated the competence of key institutions, including the National Prosecuting Authority and the police service, which has never been able to transform itself from its repressive past into the key guardian of the safety of 58 million people. I mention all of this, albeit briefly, to focus attention on the key question – can the reinstatement of the death penalty serve the purpose claimed for it by those who now wish it to return? In other words, can the death penalty assist in reducing the current levels of violent crime? Comparative research on this issue is not particularly helpful. In 2012, the National Research Council in the USA published a report on the available research at that time. Of particular relevance was the following passage: "The relevant question about the deterrent effect of capital punishment is the differential or marginal deterrent effect of execution over the deterrent effect of other available or commonly used penalties, specifically, a lengthy prison sentence or one of life without the possibility of parole. One major deficiency in all the existing studies is that none specify the non-capital sanction components of the sanction regime for the punishment of homicide. Another major deficiency is the use of incomplete or implausible models of potential murderers' perceptions of and response to the capital punishment component of a sanction regime. Without this basic information, it is impossible to draw credible findings about the effect of the death penalty on homicide." In 2014, Franklin Zimring - a famous criminologist - took the debate further by analysing the effect of the death penalty in Singapore and Hong Kong. He and his co-researchers found that Singapore had an execution rate close to 1 per million per year until an explosive twentyfold increase in 1994-95 and 96 to a level that we show was probably the highest in the world. Then over the next 11 years, Singapore executions dropped by about 95%. Hong Kong, by contrast, has no executions during the last generation and abolished capital punishment in 1993. Homicide levels and trends are
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., OHIO, ARIZ., USA
Sept. 9 TEXAS: Forensic testing backlog at issue in RGV courts Gabriel Keith Escalante has been incarcerated in Hidalgo County for 18 months. His chances of making the $1.25 million bond on charges of capital murder of multiple persons are slim to none. And as he sits behind bars, a serious question remains unanswered. Will the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office seek the death penalty against the 40-year-old Edinburg man on accusations that he, along with his girlfriend, 41-year-old Irene Navejar, beat 53-year-old Alejandro Salinas Sr. to death and suffocated the man’s mother, 73-year-old Oliva Salinas, on April 23, 2018. The answer depends on what the analysts at the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Weslaco Crime Lab find when those officials test forensic evidence in the case. As of Aug. 21, the crime lab hadn’t even started. At a court hearing in Escalante’s case last Thursday, Hidalgo County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Almaguer could only tell Judge Linda Reyna Yáñez that the DPS crime lab told him that officials there would begin analysis on several items. That’s a problem for Escalante’s defense attorney, O. Rene Flores. “There currently exists an epidemic of delay with forensic analyses of evidence at the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab — the crime lab of choice for prosecutions in Hidalgo County, Texas,” he said in a motion filed on Aug. 21, the day DPS notified the state testing would begin on several pieces of evidence in the case. “Several announcements have been made by the State in the instant case, effectively placing the accused and this Court on notice that there is a chronic delay in the forensic analysis of evidence across the board in criminal cases in Hidalgo County.” The state, through Almaguer, didn’t disagree. Neither did the judge, Yáñez. “This is an issue for many cases,” she said, while listening to Flores’ argument. But Flores suggested a solution: send the samples to a private lab since forensic testing is “backlogged” at the DPS crime lab in Weslaco. Yáñez is considering the motion, but agreed to give Almaguer until Sept. 16 to provide her with a status of where DPS is at with the forensic analysis. Escalante wasn’t the only defendant at the Hidalgo County Courthouse this week where delays in evidence testing at the crime lab impacted their cases. Take 23-year-old Alamo resident Alex Arevalo, who has admitted to shooting and killing 41-year-old McAllen resident Nicolas Anthony Bazan on June 19, 2017. Court records indicate he agreed to a plea agreement on March 27 to a charge of murder, escaping a capital murder charge. The state in this case said it would recommend a 45-year prison sentence, court records indicate. He was scheduled to receive his sentence Wednesday morning. But he didn’t. Flores also represents Arevalo and said that case has fallen victim to the “crime lab epidemic.” Arevalo’s sentencing was rescheduled until Nov. 6. The spector of the DPS crime lab backup also raised its head on Thursday afternoon during a hearing for 25-year-old Mission resident Guadalupe Garcia Vela, who is accused of gunning down Yvette Garza and Natalie Hernandez on Dec. 20, 2015 during a botched drug deal. Vela has been in jail since January 2016. Nereyda Morales-Martinez and Regina “Regi” Richardson, Vela’s attorneys, said during a pre-trial hearing that DPS began testing cannisters found at the crime scene in early August. The crime happened more than three years ago. Vela’s jury trial, which was scheduled for late September, was canceled in part to wait for the forensic analysis of the cannisters. There was also a delay due to additional ballistic testing that may be conducted in the case due to a request made by the defense on Thursday to test the service weapon of a police officer who may have had a relationship with one of the victims. PROCEDURAL DISMISSAL In the early morning hours of April 11, 2018, after 38-year-old Brownsville resident Robert Galvan finished cutting hair at the Mr. Flawless barbershop and having some beers at a friend’s house, he took a ride that sent him right back to state prison. The Brownsville Police Department arrested Galvan, who was on probation for a violent assault against his former girlfriend, and charged him with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for killing 54-year-old Horacio Eguia and seriously injuring 43-year-old Brian Scott during an argument over gas money in the 200 block of East 10th Street. From the moment police began interrogating Galvan, the man maintained that he acted in self defense when he used a pair of scissors from his barber kit to slash Eguia and Scott, who he claimed were the agressors. Galvan told police that the men offered to give him a ride to a residence and once at the location, demanded gas money. Galvan claims they jumped him, but Scott, who survived, told investigators
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 8 IRAN: 38 People Executed in August 2019The actual number of executions may be even higher than reported. At least 38 people were executed in August 2019 in Iran. In sum, between January 1 and August 31, 2019, at least 185 people have been executed in the country. The number shows an increase compared to the same period last year. According to the Iran Human Rights statistic department, at least 38 people were executed in August 2019 in Iran, including 2 public hangings and 36 executions inside prisons. Most of those executed (30), were sentenced to qisas (retribution in kind) for murder charges. 6 others were executed for drug-related charges and 2 for Moharebeh (waging war against God). Iranian officials or media have only announced 13 executions in August 2019. The rest were confirmed by Iran Human Rights (IHR). Only unannounced executions confirmed by two independent sources are included in our reports. Therefore, the actual number of executions may be even higher than reported. The number of executions in August 2019 shows a rise compared with the same period last year. In August 2018, at least 20 people were executed in Iran. Moreover, 185 people have been executed between January 1 and August 31, 2019. This figure also shows a rise compare to the same period last year which 165 executions were recorded. (source: Iran Human Rights) SOUTH AFRICA: The state has no business administering the death penalty Neither the death penalty, nor a state of emergency can curb the savage violence that society appears to have licensed. Only a restoration of values and an effective state can, writes Ebrahim Fakir. The past few days have seen renewed calls for the reintroduction of capital punishment and the imposition of a "state of emergency" in response to the wanton brutality, criminality and impunity of the recurrently xenophobic, but more properly, generalised criminal violence and theft. The long scourge of brutal rape of and violence against women, which culminated this past week in the rape and murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana have intensified these calls. The death penalty and a state of emergency are considered by some of its proponents locally as an antidote to the inability of authorities to effectively police recurrent outbreaks of criminal looting and xenophobic violence and the seemingly constant savage criminality that South Africans have to live with. Those who want the imposition of capital punishment or the declaration of a state of emergency believe that it will also serve to curb the scourges that society's public morality and civic ethics have failed to contain and miraculously restore them. Surprisingly, calls for both feign ignorance of South Africa's horrendous apartheid past, which eroded all sense of public ethics but worse, when these were used - not as instruments of effective policing and social control, but - as instruments of political oppression and socio-economic marginalisation and exclusion. My concern here is two-fold. Apart from being inhumane and ineffective, capital punishment is premised on a society anchored in unmediated vengeance, victimisation and retribution rather than reconciliatory rehabilitation. Apart from the moral problematic, the administration of capital punishment and its utility as a deterrent is entirely dependent on capable and effective policing and the efficient administration of justice. States of emergencies extend the power of the repressive instruments of the state in extraordinary ways, which, to be a means for the restoration of social order, requires reasonable levels of state capacity, especially in the criminal justice cluster. This can't be said of South Africa at present, which would render both these measures moot, except to entrench the well-known impunity with which an incapable, inept and corrupted security establishment behaves and further license the impudent unaccountability of the political class in charge of them. For good reason, capital punishment was scrapped in 1995. Instrumentally, the re-imposition of capital punishment will require a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and the support of six of the nine provinces in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). This implies that six of the nine provinces will need to resolve in favour of capital punishment at provincial level and instruct their delegations to the NCOP to support a resolution in favour of it. This is an unlikely prospect. But the elaborate and practical legislative process impediment ought to be less serious a consideration. The values of society and the use of these instruments as effective modes of deterring criminal barbarism and social control are. On this score, the evidence is that in South Africa this is unlikely to be prudent, or effective. Globally, there is no proof that capital punishment is effective as a deterrent to abhorrent violent
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., OHIO, CALIF.
Sept. 8 TEXAS: County may renew membership in death penalty defender program The Hunt County Commissioners Court is scheduled this week to renew the county’s membership in a program which helps pay for defense attorneys in death penalty capital murder cases. A vote to approve the renewal of the interlocal agreement with Lubbock County through the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases program is included under the consent calendar for the regular session, starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday inside the Auxiliary Courtroom, 2700 Johnson Street, in Greenville. Hunt County has been a part of the program since first enrolling in August 2012. The West Texas Regional Public Defender Office was established in 2007 through interlocal agreements between the counties in the 7th and 9th judicial regions, with Lubbock County serving as the administrative county. Each participating county agrees to pay a yearly fee, based on its population and the number of capital murder cases it has filed within the last 10 years. The cost of the program to Hunt County is on a sliding scale, with the costs rising each year. There are some limitations to the program. In the event 2 people are charged with capital murder and are facing the death penalty in the same case, the office could only defend 1 of them. The office also doesn’t handle the appeals of any convictions, nor does it pay for “second chair” defense attorneys, both of which would be still be paid for through the county. The office also does not handle capital murder cases where the death penalty is not being sought. Hunt County currently has 4 potential death penalty capital murder cases pending trial, two of which at last report are being represented by the West Texas Regional Public Defender Office. (source: Greenville Herald-Banner) ** Lawyers say the Texas judge who presided over this Jewish death row inmate’s trial later called him anti-Semitic slursLawyers for Randy Halprin, a member of the "Texas Seven," are requesting a stay of his execution amid allegations that the judge who handled his case made racist and anti-Semitic comments during his time on the bench. “Lawyers say the Texas judge who presided over this Jewish death row inmate’s trial later called him anti-Semitic slurs” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Lawyers for “Texas Seven” gang member Randy Halprin, who is Jewish, requested a stay of his execution set for Oct. 10 amid allegations that the judge who handled his case in 2003 made racist and anti-Semitic comments during his time on the bench. In a filing Thursday, Halprin’s lawyers accused former criminal court Judge Vickers Cunningham of describing Halprin using expletive-laden anti-Semitic comments after the trial ended. The Dallas Morning News also reported during Cunningham’s 2018 Republican primary race for Dallas County commissioner that each of his children could only receive an inheritance by marrying a straight, white Christian. During the election, Cunningham acknowledged putting such stipulations in his will. He lost the race by 25 votes. Halprin is on death row for capital murder in connection to a high-profile 2000 prison escape during which seven inmates went on the run. The group robbed a North Texas sporting goods store on Christmas Eve, and Irving police Officer Aubrey Hawkins was shot and killed as he responded to that crime. The escaped inmates fled to Colorado, where most of them were arrested in January 2001. Four of the gang members have already been executed, and a fifth shot himself before police could arrest him. The seventh member is also scheduled to be executed this fall. Halprin’s attorneys wrote in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals filing that Cunningham could have biased the case in areas ranging from jury selection to evidence submission. Cunningham also prevented the jury from knowing that state officials labeled Halprin as the “weakest” of defendants, according to court documents, which his attorneys said might have caused jurors to consider alternative sentences to the death penalty. Cunningham has denied the allegations of bias in Halprin’s case, and of being racist and anti-Semitic, according to various news reports. The 69-page filing calls Cunningham a “racist and anti-Semitic bigot” in the first sentence and accuses him of believing Jews “needed to be shut down because they controlled all the money and all the power.” Halprin’s lawyers also wrote that minorities who walked into his courtroom knew they were “going to go down” regardless of the evidence or what happened at the trial. Halprin’s federal public defender, Tivon Schardl, said they began looking into Cunningham following the Morning News’ investigation last year. Prior to that,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 7 IRELAND: Irish Legal Heritage: The Manchester Martyrs On 18 September 1867, Police Sergeant Charles Brett was shot dead while transporting prisoners, including 2 members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), from Manchester police court to Bell Vue Gaol. Thomas Kelly and Timothy Deasy had been arrested when police observed them “loitering about the streets in a suspicious manner” in the middle of the night, and presumed they were plotting a robbery. They were found to have loaded revolvers in their pockets, and were charged under the Vagrancy Act. However, communications with the Irish police led them to be identified as “notorious Fenians” who were key members of the IRB (M McDonnell Bodkin, Famous Irish Trials (1918)). Sergeant Brett was killed when a group of between 30 and 40 men encircled the horse-drawn police van carrying the prisoners, and ordered Sergeant Brett to open the door. After he refused, one of the men fired his revolver into the lock to break it open – just as Sergeant Brett was looking through it to see what was happening outside. Sergeant Brett died instantly from a bullet wound to the brain, and his keys were used to release the prisoners. Immediately afterwards, a reward of £300 was offered for the arrest of Kelly and Deasy, and a reward of £200 was offered for “information which would lead to the apprehension and conviction of the parties implicated in the rescue”. Kelly and Deasy evaded capture, but the investigation led to the arrest of 26 men. The first 5 men to be put on trial were William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin, Michael O’Brien, Edward O’Meagher Condon (otherwise known as Edward Shore), and Thomas Maguire (M McDonnell Bodkin, Famous Irish Trials (1918)). The jury found all 5 of the accused to be guilty of murder. The men were sentenced to death by hanging, to which they cried from the dock “God save Ireland!”. Edward O’Meagher Condon and Thomas Maguire were ultimately saved from the death penalty. The Home Secretary recommended that Thomas Maguire should be pardoned after it was accepted that he was not present at the rescue and that the witness testimony, upon which he and the other accused were convicted, was false. The Crown also granted reprieve to Edward O’Meagher Condon, as “he was unarmed when apprehended and was not proved to be armed during the fatal affray”. On 23 November 1867, William Allen, Michael O’Brien, and Michael Larkin were publicly executed in Manchester to a jeering crowd of thousands of people. It was widely believed that none of the men had fired the fatal shot, and that a miscarriage of justice had occurred. Their cries of “God save Ireland” were ever memorialised in a song written by Timothy Daniel Sullivan that served as an unofficial Irish national anthem for years after their deaths: “God save Ireland” said the heroes, “God save Ireland” said they all. Whether on the scaffold high, Or the battlefield we die, Oh, what matter when for Erin dear we fall! (source: Irish Legal News) JAPAN: Father of killed son on crusade for abolition of death penalty Once filled with hatred and anger toward a truck driver who killed his son, Tadaari Katayama now is an unlikely anti-death penalty advocate. Katayama, 63, has jointly set up a citizens group seeking to end capital punishment after engaging in activities to support crime victims and interacting with inmates. He said he has come to believe that criminals can reform. “I do not want the lives of anyone to be ended anymore,” said Katayama. In November 1997, Katayama's 8-year-old son Shun, a 2nd-grade elementary school student, was hit by a dump truck while on his way to school and killed. Questioning why the perpetrator was not prosecuted, Katayama sought eyewitnesses to the accident and waged a petition campaign calling for the case to be reopened. The public efforts forced prosecutors to admit their failing and indict the driver, who was eventually convicted of professional negligence resulting in death. The case also provided a good opportunity to review the way crime victims are treated. At that time, Katayama felt not only hatred and sadness but also fear toward the perpetrator. As the motorist did not visit him to apologize and just sent perfunctory letters, Katayama thought the driver “may be a monster-like individual.” But when meeting with the perpetrator on the recommendation of the lawyer, Katayama was surprised that the small, pale-faced man was just a young father at a loss over what to do about the accident. Although they could not find common ground, Katayama felt at ease to learn that the driver is “a normal person.” Katayama in 2000 started speaking of “the viewpoint of victims” at prisons and juvenile training schools at the request of the Justice Ministry. He has since had a dialogue with convicts eight times a month. Inmates who had killed others sometimes
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEB., NEV., CALIF., ORE., USA
Sept. 7 NEBRASKA: Judge grants change of venue for Bailey Boswell's trial The jury trial of a woman accused of killing and dismembering a Lincoln woman will be moved from Wilber to Lexington. In a Saline County court filing on Friday, Judge Vicky Johnson approved the change of venue for Bailey Boswell, 25, who is facing charges of 1st-degree murder, improper disposal of human remains and conspiracy to commit murder. Boswell and Aubrey Trail, 52, are accused in the November 2017 killing and dismemberment of Sydney Loofe, 24, after prosecutors said she was lured in on Tinder, a dating app. Loofe's remains were discovered in separate bags in rural Clay County. Boswell's attorneys had previously filed the request for a new trial location, citing the "extraordinary amount of news coverage" received during Trail's trial. Her attorneys also said the publicity has made it so it will be difficult to find impartial jurors in Saline County. Her new trial date is set for March 16, 2020. Trail was found guilty of murder and conspiracy back in July. Trail waived the jury's aggravated circumstances hearing, which would have let the jury decide if his sentence could include the death penalty. With the jury now out of the picture, the decision will be left to Nebraska judges. They could decide if the crime is worthy of the death penalty or life in prison. A date for the panel's meeting has not been set, and Trail's attorneys said it could be months before a decision is made. Trail pleaded guilty to improper disposal of a body on June 17, but maintained not guilty pleas for the other 2 charges. When claiming that Boswell couldn't get a fair trial in Saline County, attorneys cited several pieces of evidence in the form of web searches for key terms on Nebraska media websites and social media. They include the following: •(a) Exhibit 5. A woman displayed a sign of support for the victim outside of the Saline County Courthouse during trial. This sign was broadcast on Omaha station Fox 42 KPTM. •(b) Exhibit 6. KOLN-KGIN TV, Lincoln and Grand Island. A search for “Sydney Loofe” on the web page yielded 144 results. •(c) Exhibit 7. WOWT, Omaha. A search for “Sydney Loofe” on the web page yielded 125 results. •(d) Exhibit 8. KMTV, Omaha. A search for “Sydney Loofe” on the web page yielded 269 results. •(e) Exhibit 9. KLKN TV, Lincoln. 390 results on the web page. •(f) Exhibit 10. KETV, Omaha. 48 results on the web page. •(g) Exhibit 11. KPTM, Omaha. 19 results (not a complete listing, according to counsel). •(h) Exhibit 12. NTV, Central Nebraska. 18 listings on the web page. •(i) Exhibit 13. NET, Statewide. 7 or 8 listings on the web page, depending on the search term. •(j) Exhibit 14. Lincoln Journal Star. 105 search results on the web page for Aubrey Trail. •(k) Exhibit 15. Beatrice Daily Sun. 123 results on the web page for Aubrey Trail. •(l) Exhibit 16. Seward Independent. 49 results on the web page. •(m) Exhibit 17. Omaha World Herald. 19 results on the web page for the last 30 days, retroactive from July 18, 2019. •(n) Exhibit 18. KOLN-KGIN Facebook page, July 29, 2019. Under a story regarding Boswell’s request for a change of venue, 12 pages of comments. There are numerous expressions of belief of Boswell’s guilt and opinions in favor of a death sentence. •(o) Exhibit 19. A different iteration of Exhibit 18. •(p) Exhibit 20. KOLN-KGIN Facebook page, no date noted. Headline: BREAKING: Aubrey Trail has been found guilty. 38 pages of comments. There are numerous expressions of belief of Boswell’s guilt and opinions in favor of a death sentence. •(q) Exhibit 21. Lincoln Journal Star, July 29, 2019. Facebook post on Boswell’s Motion to Change Venue. 17 pages of comments. There are numerous expressions of belief of Boswell’s guilt and opinions in favor of a death sentence. •(r) Exhibits 22-24. Comments of a witness regarding the unwanted publicity that she has received due to her testimony and her reluctance to testify again. •(s) The record reflects that 15 requests were received for expanded media coverage of the Trail trial. (source: foxnebraska.com) NEVADA: Nevada Man Convicted by Prosecutorial Misconduct and ‘Woefully Inadequate’ Defense Counsel Released After 33 Years on Death Row 33 years after a trial a federal appeals court described as “a mixture of disturbing prosecutorial misconduct and woefully inadequate assistance of counsel,” a Las Vegas trial court freed Paul Browning from Nevada’s death row. On August 21, 2019, Clark County District Judge Douglas Herndon — who in March had dismissing murder and related charges against Browning — ordered state corrections officials to release Browning from custody pending the outcome of the prosecution’s appeal of his order dismissing the charges. Browning’s lawyer, Tim Ford, had questioned Browning’s continued detention, arguing: “How can Mr. Browning
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA.
Sept. 7 TEXASimpending executions Convicted killer of 2 set for execution Fort Worth attorney Greg Westfall labeled Mark Anthony Soliz the “poster child for how stupid the death penalty is.” Former Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford called Soliz one of the most dangerous men he ever dealt with. Barring an unlikely reprieve, Soliz will almost certainly draw his last breath sometime between 6 p.m. and midnight on Tuesday. Soliz, 37, who has spent the last 7 years on death row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, will be transported to Huntsville about 30 miles away where he will be put to death by lethal injection. Johnson County jurors in the 413th District Court sentenced Soliz to death on March 23, 2012, for the June 29, 2010, shooting death of Nancy Hatch Weatherly, 61, in her home near Godley. Soliz earlier that same day shot Ruben Martinez, a delivery man, in the parking lot of a Fort Worth convenience store. Rushed to John Peter Smith Hospital, Martinez died 13 days later. Soliz, at the conclusion of his trial, displayed no emotion as Judge Bill Bosworth read the jury’s verdict. Soliz’ accomplice, Jose Clemente Ramos, pleaded guilty to capital murder on Aug. 10, 2012, and received life in prison without parole. Should his date hold firm, Soliz will become the 6th person executed in Texas this year. Life on death row Robert Hurst, communications officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, points left toward 3 gray buildings. “That’s death row,” Hurst said. “There’s about 210 men there now. The women, they’re kept at Gatesville.” The inmates get about six hours per week outside recreation time should they choose to take advantage of it, but always alone. Otherwise they remain in their single cells even during meals. “No TV,” Hurst said. “Some have a radio but most don’t. They can get newspapers or magazines as long as they’re approved.” TDCJ did away with the last meal request about a decade ago. “One guy requested a huge smorgasbord of food then didn’t eat any of it,” Hurst said. “After that they decided to stop doing that. So that one guy screwed it up for everyone else. Now they get a variety to choose from, usually a choice of a meat, chicken or fish dish.” 2 death row inmates are already in the small booths in the visitor’s section. One looks around occasionally but otherwise stares into space. The second ignores his chair choosing instead to poise himself in a crouched position on a small shelf beneath the phone in his booth. He alternates between looking around and reaching up to touch the ceiling. Both, Hurst explains, are either waiting for their visitors or have already had their visit and are sitting tight until someone comes to take them back to their cells. Soliz, scheduled to arrive any moment, never shows. Although he agreed several days earlier to an interview he pulls a last minute change of mind. Subsequent requests from jailers fall on deaf ears and he refuses to budge. Unfortunately, Hurst says, such is his choice. The jailers can’t force him to talk if he doesn’t want to. Hurst and his fellow workers come off surprisingly courteous and upbeat given the nature of their jobs. Attempts to contact family members of Weatherly and Martinez were also unsuccessful. The cost of justice “It was our most expensive and longest trial in the county’s history,” Johnson County District Attorney Dale Hanna said. “The expense of these type trials is just staggering.” Soliz’ trial cost the county $903,544.13, County Auditor Kirk Kirkpatrick said. Of that total, defense costs ate up $782,517.17 and prosecution expenses $120,891.13. That amount covers only Soliz’ original trial in the 413th District Court. The state footed the bill for the many appeals that followed pushing the total cost to well above $1 million. The trial involved costs that can’t be measured in dollars as well. “It took a year just to prepare for that trial,” Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Martin Strahan said. “I’ve worked on seven capital murder cases since I’ve been here but Soliz was the only death penalty case I’ve had. Fortunately, they’re pretty rare. It takes a lot out of you working a case like that, but in those situations you want to make sure you’re 100 % right. We thought, based on his record, he was a very dangerous person who would hurt other people if there was ever any chance he might be let loose, which is why we decided to go with the death penalty option.” Former Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Christy Jack assisted the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office in the case against Soliz. This because the chain of events constituting Soliz’ crimes stretched from Tarrant to Johnson County. Jack said she’s worked several capital murder cases both as prosecuting and defense attorney. “Every one you try changes and takes a little bit out of you,” Jack said. “Because you’re
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 6 IRAN: Juvenile Offender Mehdi Khazaeian in Imminent Danger of ExecutionBased on his identity documents, Mehdi was born on November 20, 1999. The alleged murder took place when he was 16 years old, in Gorgan on March 13, 2016. Unofficial sources have informed Mehdi Khazaeian’s family that his execution will be carried out soon. Mehdi Khazaeian is a juvenile offender whose death sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court and can be implemented at any time. According to close sources, Mehdi Khazaeian’s family have been informed that he will be executed soon. Mehdi Khazaeian is charged for a murder allegedly committed at the age of 16. He is currently being held at the Correction and Rehabilitation Center of Gorgan. Based on his identity documents, Mehdi was born on November 20, 1999. The alleged murder took place when he was 16 years old, in Gorgan on March 13, 2016. The relatives of the juvenile offender stated that he was in a gang fight leading to the murder of Amir Hossein B., 19, and it is not clear who delivered the fatal blow. The verdict, a copy of which was received by IHR, mentions, “The forensic report indicates that “currently there’s no sign of mental disorder in the defendant and considering his statements about the incident and his total awareness of the situation, it seems that he was in a good mental health and wasn’t under the influence of alcohol and was mentally mature as of March 14, 2016 “ Eventually, Mehdi Khazaeian was sentenced to 80 lashes for the drinking of alcohol, 3 years in prison for participation in a gang fight, and qisas (retribution) death penalty for murder. The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. Based on Article 91 of the new Islamic Penal Code, approved in 2013, judges can potentially deny issuing a death sentence for juveniles who do not understand the nature of their crime. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Iran has ratified, clearly bans execution and life imprisonment of juveniles. It’s worth mentioning that currently a sum of money is being collected in order to win the consent of the plaintiffs. Since the juvenile offender couldn’t choose a lawyer during his arrest and the proceeding of his case, Iran Human Rights invites human rights lawyers who are willing to voluntarily handle the cases of juvenile offenders to help this death-row prisoner. Since the beginning of 2019, at least 2 juvenile offenders have been executed in Iran. (source: Iran Human Rights) ENGLAND: To Gene, on death row For almost 20 years, the charity Human Writes has fostered connection between American death row inmates and British pen pals. One of the most vivid memories from my childhood is a small, slightly time-worn and sun-faded polaroid of a a mixed-raced man in his mid-20s, handsome and healthy, with the first signs of five o’clock shadow and a cautious smile that hints at an imperceptible private amusement. It sat on a bookcase in the living room of the flat where I was raised by my aunt and grandmother, and would hardly catch your eye unless you were looking for it. I've never met the man. Neither has anyone in my family. His name is Gene* and he was on Death Row in Texas, having been convicted before his 18th birthday, sometime in the late 1990s. He was part of our life many thousands of miles away in both London, then Scotland, because my aunt wrote to him for years, even after his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment following a Supreme Court ruling. She, like many others, was a volunteer writer for Human Writes, a UK-based charity that links American Death Row prisoners with correspondents — or “writers” in the charity’s parlance — from across the pond. For almost 20 years, the charity has have worked towards the same, unwavering goal: an offer of friendship to those living within a particularly inhuman method of incarceration. Human Writes is not unique, nor is it the first British organization of its kind. The civil-rights charity LifeLines formed in 1988 after its founder, Jan Arriens, found himself intensely moved by the BBC Documentary 14 Days In May, which charts the aftermath of one young man’s execution in Mississippi. In 2000, controversy erupted when Sue Fenwick, a senior member of LifeLines, married her pen pal, Bobby “Tenessee” Lusk, which caused a schism in the small world of prison writing. Fenwick joined Human Writes soon after and remains a key figure in its work to this day. The charity is entirely self-funded, with membership fees covering its essential operating costs, while all of the key office holders are volunteers, including the “state coordinators” who act as the liaison between Human Writes and each U.S. state with the death penalty. They are also the main point of contact for writers in the UK, there to provide support to both sides of the pen-pal relationship. My aunt had seen Human Writes advertised
