[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 1


KENYA:

Tread carefully on issue of the death penalty law


The President recently commuted the death penalty for close to 3,000 inmates to 
life sentences. Unless there is mistrust in the effectiveness of our judicial 
system, there is a need for caution and careful thought. Death row prisoners 
did not commit minor offences. Many of them committed brutal murders. Also, 
some people are at home in prison, where they enjoy free ugali at the expense 
of the taxpayer. Severe sentences do not only render deserved punishment to 
offenders but also serve to deter crime.

GEORGE NYUTU KARARI, Thika

(source: Letter to the Editor, The Nation)






UNITED KINGDOM:

Ukip Leadership Candidate John Rees-Evans Wants Death Penalty For Paedophiles 
Unless Victim 'Looks 18'----Rival asks if 13-year-olds are 'fair game'.

A would-be Ukip leader has said paedophiles should receive the death penalty - 
but not if the victim "looks 18".

John Rees-Evans, who has previously suggested a gay donkey raped his horse, 
suggested only abusers of "pre-pubescent" children would face the penalty under 
his re-introduction of capital punishment, suggesting it would only apply when 
the victim was under the age of 13.

In an extraordinary policy position that even shocked fellow Ukip leadership 
contenders, Rees-Evans was speaking during a debate held by LBC radio when he 
caveated his position on paedophiles facing the death penalty - arguing it 
depends "what you define as a paedophile".

Questioned by presenter Iain Dale about bringing back the punishment, 
Rees-Evans said:

"I would vote in favour of the death penalty in the case of, specifically, for 
paedophiles and child killers."

Dale pressed him further, asking whether "all proven paedophiles" would face 
the same punishment. He replied, before hesitating:

"Yes ... but sorry, with paedophiles I wouldn't say necessarily someone (the 
victim) who looked 18, and was 15 1/2."

When others on the panel started to question his stance, he added:

"If you wanted to make that a semantic debate, you would have to sit down ... I 
haven't had the chance to clarify my answer.

"It obviously depends what you define as a paedophile. In some countries it's 
legal to get married much, much younger.

"Someone who is pre-pubescent. I would have the death penalty for someone (the 
victim) who is evidently pre-pubescent."

Dale asked if he meant a 12-year-old, and leadership frontrunner Suzanne Evans 
then asked: "So 13-year-olds are fair game?"

Rees-Evans replied:

"They are fair game for the current punishment we dish out right now, yes."

(source: huffingtonpost.co.uk)






PAKISTAN:

On Death Row in Pakistan


When former police officer Khizar Hayat was imprisoned in 2003 on charges of 
murder, his widowed mother Iqbal Bano was promised by state-appointed lawyers 
that her son would soon return home. Certain about Hayat's innocence, Bano sold 
her jewelry and family property to save her son, only to receive a call one 
evening in June 2015 that her son was to be executed the next day.

While a human rights law firm was able to get a stay on Hayat's execution due 
to his deteriorating mental illness, he is one of the thousands of prisoners in 
Pakistani jails currently awaiting execution. With 8,200 prisoners, Pakistan 
has the highest number of inmates on death row in the world, including many who 
weren???t given a fair trial or were convicted of crimes they didn't commit.

Hayat's case was fought by a public defender, since his family could not afford 
private legal service. According to Bano, Hayat???s lawyer lacked competency 
and failed to make a good case for him.

"Not getting a proper trial is something very common in Pakistan," says Zainab 
Mahboob, lawyer at Justice Project Pakistan, a pro bono law firm that worked to 
stay Hayat's execution. "State-appointed lawyers often take the fee and do not 
appear on hearings."

According to Mahboob, most of the prisoners in jails come from poor backgrounds 
and cannot afford the expense of a strong defense.

"Even if a crime is committed by a rich man, he never gets stuck in jail. He 
gets out. Don't know why and how, but he does," Mahboob added.

In December 2014, following the Peshawar school massacre, the government 
removed the 7-year old moratorium on the death penalty. However, the impact on 
curbing terrorism remains controversial.

According to the findings of Justice Project Pakistan, more than 3/4 of the 
death-row prisoners tried under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Courts have no link 
to a "reasonable definition of terrorism." These courts were established in 
1997 by the Anti-Terrorism Act, which carries a series of provisions that fall 
under "terrorism," including "doing of anything that causes death," "damaging 
property by ransacking or looting" and "burning of vehicles or any other 
serious form of arson."

The broad definition of terrorism has resulted in an aggravated use of death 
sentences and life imprisonment, resulting in overcrowded jails. Central Jail 
Lahore, where Hayat is imprisoned, is jammed with 166 % more inmates than its 
capacity.

"We don't treat animals like they treat prisoners. They have iron-caged cells 
about 8 by 10 feet, designed for 2 or 3 prisoners, but holding 8 or 9," said 
Sohail Yafat, a former prisoner who suffered police brutality.

"They subjected me to 3rd degree torture without any intimation or explanation, 
which resulted in the swelling of my testicles, blood in my urine and the 
swelling of my feet just like loaves of bread," said Yafat.

Yafat was arrested as a suspect in a murder case and ended up serving in jail 
for 10 years, before being released.

"When a young student is treated like a hard core criminal, its effect never 
leaves you," Yafat added. "It was a nightmare for me. Even today, [though] I 
have escaped with great difficulty from the trauma - I have not been able to 
fully recover."

Hayat has also been in jail for more than a decade, and police torture has 
worsened his mental health. In 2008, he was diagnosed with paranoid 
schizophrenia and is being medicated by jail authorities. Over the years, he 
has started getting hallucinations, talks to himself and no longer understands 
his circumstances.

"When I visit him, he asks me to take him home, not realizing he is on 
death-row," said Bano with watery eyes. "He doesn't even recognize his wife and 
children now."

While Bano doubts her son would return home, she is advocating for Hayat to be 
transferred to a separate mental health facility. His execution remains 
imminent.

(source: pulitzercenter.org)