[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 16




PHILIPPINES:

'Alcatraz' for drug lords pushed


Of the country's 7,107 islands, 1 can have a special purpose.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III said he would start his stint in the 17th Congress by 
reviving his proposal to have an "Alcatraz-style" prison island for convicted 
drug traffickers, who could allegedly still run their lucrative business from 
the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City.

Sotto on Wednesday said he would refile his Senate Bill No. 3326 on July 1. The 
bill calls for the segregation of so-called VIP prisoners, who would otherwise 
be sent to the lethal injection chamber if the country is still imposing 
capital punishment.

If passed, he said, the bill would do away with the need to reimpose the death 
penalty on high-level drug lords, as being espoused by incoming President 
Rodrigo Duterte.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa Senado forum, Sotto said the proposal to reimpose 
the death penalty would not be retroactive and thus not applicable to convicted 
drug lords who continue to find ways to operate behind bars.

Even if there was optimism that the Senate measure might be passed in 3 to 5 
months, Sotto said there was no assurance that the death penalty would be 
implemented because some groups would likely challenge it in the Supreme Court.

Still, he said, he intended to refile his bill in order to stop the continued 
operations of the drug convicts.

"Segregation is allowed by the Constitution," Sotto said. "If you segregate 
(high-level drug convicts) and establish a national penitentiary for high-level 
drug crimes, this will be more restrictive as they will be confined in 1 place 
and they can be watched closely."

"If they are confined in a rocky island in Palawan ... Alcatraz-style, they 
cannot operate anymore. There will be no phones, no cell sites."

This would be a big change from their current condition at New Bilibid Prison 
in Muntinlupa, which is also coping with overcrowding and "where a lot of 
things are happening," he said.

(source: Philippine Inquirer)

***********

Gabriela to join 'super majority' despite opposition to death penalty


Although it is joining the "super majority" coalition in the incoming Congress, 
Gabriela Women's party-list will still oppose President-elect Rodrigo Duterte's 
plan to reinstate the death penalty. Gabriela party-list Rep. Emmi de Jesus 
said the group is against bringing back capital punishment since the state of 
the country's justice system leaves much to be desired.

The revival of death penalty is 1 of the 3 priority measures of the Duterte 
administration, the other 2 being the shift to federalism and the lowering the 
age of criminal responsibility for minors.

Despite disagreeing with Duterte's stand on the death penalty, De Jesus said 
Gabriela and other progressive party-list organizations under the Makabayan 
bloc will be part of the super majority coalition led by the emerging dominant 
party, the PDP-Laban. She said their decision was borne out of optimism to give 
Duterte's administration a chance to make good on his promises.

However, the lawmaker maintained that their membership in the majority bloc is 
not tantamount to keeping silent on pressing issues.

Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, Duterte's choice as the next Speaker, 
said at least 200 lawmakers from various political parties have joined the 
super majority bloc in the House. Its size is expected to help fast-track the 
passage of the incoming administration???s priority bills.

For his part, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat said he is hopeful that the minority 
bloc in the incoming Congress will actively do its role in holding the Duterte 
administration accountable no matter how small its composition will be.

"I hope the minority will become the fearless few," said the Liberal Party 
stalwart, who has expressed his desire to become part of the minority.

Alvarez earlier said he plans to reduce the membership of the House minority 
coalition to a "bitesize" of around 20 lawmakers.

Among the parties that have expressed interest in joining the minority is the 
United Nationalist Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay. LP, meanwhile, is 
in talks with PDP-Laban to join the super majority coalition.

(source: gmanetwork.com)

*****************

Legal & int'l complications over the death penalty


IN 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a "moratorium on the use 
of the death penalty" in member countries around the world. The resolution 
proposed a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death 
penalty in the future. It was passed by a vote of 104 in favor - the 
Philippines among them, with 54 against, and 29 abstentions. A subsequent 
resolution in 2008 was adopted with increased support from 106 states, with 46 
against, and 34 abstaining.

In 2010, the General Assembly approved a new resolution drafted by the Office 
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, by a broader margin of support - 109 
votes for, 41 against, and 35 abstentions. The resolution renewed its call on 
"states that still maintain the death penalty to progressively restrict its 
use, reduce the number of offenses for which it may be imposed, and to 
establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death 
penalty. States which have abolished the death penalty are called upon not to 
reintroduce it."

The Philippines became the 1st country in Asia to abolish the death penalty 
when it incorporated in the Constitution of 1987, in the Bill of Rights, 
Article III, Section 19(1): "The death penalty shall not be imposed unless, for 
compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress thereafter provides 
for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion 
perpetua." In 1993, however, following a series of crimes described as heinous, 
RA 7659 reimposed the death penalty for 46 crimes, to be carried out by lethal 
injection, no longer by electric chair as before.

After 7 executions in 1999, President Joseph Estrada issued a moratorium on 
executions in observance of the "Jubilee Year" of the Roman Catholic Church. 
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo lifted the moratorium following a rise in 
drug trafficking and kidnappings, "to sow fear in the hearts of criminals." But 
no further executions were actually held, as the administration issued 
reprieves.

Today, the incoming Duterte administration has announced that it will renew 
executions as part of its campaign against crime, preferably by hanging. 
Secretary of Justice Emmanuel Caparas, however, has pointed out that the 
Philippines approved the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant 
on Civil and Political Rights aiming at abolition of the death penalty in 2007. 
In the absence of a withdrawal mechanism in the protocol, he said, once a state 
ratifies it, the death penalty cannot be reintroduced without violating 
international law.

The outgoing Aquino administration has urged the incoming Duterte 
administration to conduct a thorough study of the issue in view of these 
complications involving international law and international relations. There 
could be sanctions, such as withholding of international cooperation and aid. A 
referendum on the issue has also been suggested - this would help to determine 
the people's - not just the officials' - views on this most critical issue.

(source: tempo.com.ph)




CHINA:

China has scaled down death penalty and increased checks since 2012, gov't 
report says


China says that it has scaled down its use of capital punishment since 2012 and 
2nd trials of death penalty cases have all been conducted in open courts. The 
country has also put tighter checks on the death penalty, according to a 
government report on its 2012-2015 human rights action plan.

An oversight office to review death penalty cases was established in 2012 in an 
effort to increase checks on legal procedures related to the death penalty, 
according to the report, released Tuesday.

A criminal law amendment adopted last year cancelled the death penalties for 9 
crimes, reducing the number of crimes eligible for the death penalty from 55 to 
46.

The 9 crimes include smuggling weapons, ammunition, nuclear materials or 
counterfeit currency; counterfeiting currency; raising funds by means of fraud; 
arranging for or forcing another person to engage in prostitution; obstructing 
a police officer or a person on duty from performing his duties; and 
fabricating rumors to mislead others during wartime.

'Top executioner'

The number of death penalties carried out in China is a state secret, but 
Amnesty International estimates that thousands were imposed in 2015. China 
remains the top executioner in the world.

"There are signs that the number of executions in China has decreased in recent 
years, but the secrecy around the death penalty makes this impossible to 
confirm for certain," Amnesty said in a recent report.

The government also announced on the same day that it is formulating its human 
rights action plan for 2016-2020, China's 3rd such national plan.

The Chinese government's report follows Monday's Supreme Court decision for a 
retrial of Nie Shubin, who was executed for the rape and murder of a woman in 
1995.

(sourcec: Hong Kong Free Press)