[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 2



SINGAPORE:

He gives hope to those on death row----Lawyer wins award for pro bono work in 
capital offence cases


Even after appealing twice, his client was still sentenced to hang for 
trafficking in drugs.

But lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam held on to hope that he could save his client, 
Dinesh Pillai Reja Retnam, a Malaysian national who was convicted in 2011.

Just when it seemed hopeless, an amendment to the law allowed Mr Thuraisingam 
to apply for a re-sentencing.

His client, who was found to be suffering from depression when caught 
trafficking in 19.35g of heroin in 2009, became the 1st drug convict to escape 
the noose because of his mental condition.

Dinesh Pillai, who was given life imprisonment, is just one of many clients Mr 
Thuraisingam has saved from the death penalty in the past 12 years.

Yesterday, Mr Thuraisingam, 41, was conferred the Lasco Award - in recognition 
of his commitment and service to the scheme, state and community - at the 
inaugural Tri-Court Volunteers Appreciation Dinner.

Since January 2012, he has handled 13 cases - 6 trials and 7 appeals under the 
Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences (Lasco).

Lasco is a scheme which ensures that all people facing capital charges in the 
High Court are given legal representation by pro bono lawyers.

There are about 200 lawyers on board this scheme.

Mr Thuraisingam said that his wife and three children, aged between 5 and 8, 
were proud of him for receiving the award, but he admitted that there have 
always been mixed emotions when handling cases involving the death penalty.

Referring to Dinesh Pillai's case, he said the Malaysian was paid RM200 (then 
S$80) to carry a package containing drugs into Singapore.

"I was happy that I saved someone from the gallows. Yet I was also sad because 
over a RM200 profit, someone has to spend the rest of his life in prison," he 
said.

Mr Thuraisingam also represented another Malaysian, Wilkinson Primus, who was 
caught with 35.66g of heroin in his motorcycle when riding into Singapore on 
Nov 3, 2008.

Wilkinson was given the then-mandatory death penalty in 2009.

But in 2014, Mr Thuraisingam applied for a re-sentencing under the amended 
laws, relying on psychiatric reports that Wilkinson was suffering from major 
depressive disorder and was "performing at an extremely low level of 
intellectual functioning" at the time.

The prosecution did not object to the application and Wilkinson was also given 
life imprisonment.

Working such capital charge cases are never easy and are always stressful, said 
Mr Thuraisingam.

"The pressure is very high. It's extremely intense," he said.

"What most of us do is to take a step back and be objective, because you won't 
do the client any good if you don't distance yourself from the fact that he is 
facing capital punishment.

"So know your law well, know the facts well and fight hard to the best of your 
ability," he said.

Mr Thuraisingam is full of praise for the Lasco scheme.

He said: "Without the dedication and compassion shown by the many lawyers who 
participate in this scheme, there would be no representation for these people 
in court.

"Because none of them can afford lawyers. They are the poorest of the poor, 
some who are exploited for RM200."

Mr Thuraisingam, who is against the death penalty, said he will continue to 
fight to save lives.

"The simple reason is that none of us can say why we are here on earth and 
where we go to when we die.

"When you cannot answer that question, I feel you have no right to take away 
life," he said.

I was happy that I saved someone from the gallows. Yet I was also sad because 
over a RM200 profit, someone has to spend the rest of his life in prison.-- 
Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam on one of his cases

Judicial volunteers and pro bono services are essential in making justice 
accessible to those in need, said Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at the 
inaugural Tri-Court Volunteers Appreciation Dinner, held at the Grand Copthorne 
Waterfront Hotel, last night.

For the 1st time, the judiciary, comprising the Supreme Court, the State Courts 
and the Family Justice Courts, came together to show its appreciation and 
recognise the contributions of volunteers in pro bono work.

In the last 3 years, the number of judiciary volunteers - including lawyers as 
well as volunteers, such as engineers, lecturers and retirees who serve as 
mediators and counsellors - grew by about 20 %, from 229 in 2014 to 284 this 
year.

VITAL TO JUSTICE

Said CJ Menon: "The fact is there are the disadvantaged in society who lack the 
means to pay for legal services that would allow them to access justice in a 
meaningful way.

"It is here that pro bono work bridges the gap."

He referred to lawyers and non-lawyers, such as volunteers who provide 
meditation or counselling services, and said both groups are equally vital to 
the administration of justice.

Last night, 4 volunteers were accorded Outstanding Court Volunteer Awards for 
their outstanding work in the State Courts or Family Justice Courts, alongside 
Mr Eugene Thuraisingam, who was conferred the Lasco Award.

23 volunteers also received long service awards.

(source: tnp.sg)






PHILIPPINES:

Death penalty is worst Christmas gift for Pinoys: Lagman


Albay Representative Edcel Lagman is not happy with reports that House Speaker 
Pantaleon Alvarez wants to pass a bill reviving the death penalty before 
Christmas.

In an interview, Lagman said the revival of the death penalty would be "the 
worst Christmas gift to the Filipino people."

"I doubt very much if that can be done because in the first place there are so 
many members of the House, also belonging with the super majority that are 
opposed vehemently to the re-imposition of the death penalty," he said.

In an interview last week, Alvarez said that before members of the lower 
chamber go on their Christmas break, they will approve on third and final 
reading a bill that will bring back state-sanctioned killings of drug convicts 
and those involved in heinous crimes.

But Lagman asserted the proposed measure has not even been discussed at the 
committee level, which is a requirement of legislation.

He added they will push before the House the argument that reimposition of the 
death penalty in the country will be against the commitments made by the 
Philippines to an international convention abolishing death penalty.

He said death penalty has proven to be ineffective to deter heinous crimes.

"Death penalty has been with civilization ever since. Until now, the commission 
of heinous crimes has not been stopped even with death penalty. In Texas, they 
have executions, but what is happening? The commission of heinous crimes 
continues."

He also explained that in the Philippines, the death penalty has been proven as 
an anti-poor measure since 98 % of convicts meted with death penalty are 
members of the poor sector who could not afford the service of a good lawyer.

Lagman said human justice is not perfect and when an error is committed by 
imposing the death penalty, the life of an executed convict cannot be restored. 
He vowed to oppose the move no matter how long it takes.

"It took me 20 years to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. I 
don't care if it will take me another 20 years to oppose its re-imposition," he 
said.

(source: abs-cbn.com)






KAZAKHSTAN:

Kazakhstan's Court Sentences to Death Man Accused of Killing 10 People


A court in the southern Kazakhstan's city of Almaty sentenced to death Ruslan 
Kulekbayev, who was accused of killing 10 people including 8 police officers, a 
RIA Novosti correspondent reported.

"[The court] imposes a death penalty on Ruslan Kulekbayev," a judge said.

On July 18, an armed man, later identified as Ruslan Kulekbayev, attacked 
police officers in Almaty killing 9 people.

Another woman was killed by Kulekbayev at night before the attack.

At the court Kulekbayev admitted his guilt and said that he did not repent of 
the committed attack. He said that the victims were on the "wrong path" and 
that he retaliated for oppression of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The attack was qualified as an act of terrorism.

(source: sputniknews.com)






PAKISTAN:

Pardon Imdad Ali


The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of Imdad Ali, a schizophrenic 
man convicted in 2002 of murdering a cleric. The hanging was postponed on the 
basis of Ali's mental illness. The court issued notices to the Advocate General 
Punjab, the Prosecutor General Punjab and the Attorney General, seeking their 
comments on the issue. The notices were issued in connection with a review 
petition submitted by Imdad Ali's wife. The apex court had already rejected a 
plea as his lawyers said Ali is unfit to be executed since he is unable to 
understand his crime and punishment. A 3-member bench headed by Chief Justice 
Anwar Zaheer Jamali heard the case. Counsel for Ali's wife informed the court 
that the death warrant for Ali had been issued. However, he has not yet been 
executed. The hearing of the case will resume in the second week of November.

While dismissing her appeal against the August 23 order of the Lahore High 
Court's Multan Bench, which upheld the sentence awarded by the trial court, the 
Supreme Court had ruled that a mental sickness like schizophrenia does not work 
as revocation of the death penalty because such a psychiatric disorder is not a 
permanent disease. Government doctors in 2012 certified Imdad Ali, 50, as being 
a paranoid schizophrenic, after he was convicted and sentenced to death for the 
2001 murder of a cleric. The decision was covered by the media outlets 
worldwide, and was widely condemned by different human rights organisations and 
NGOs. Different online petitions were initiated by organisations such as the 
Amnesty International and the Justice Project Pakistan to stop the execution of 
Ali.

Firstly, a lot of discrepancies have been highlighted by the human rights 
organisations in the Supreme Court's ruling that termed schizophrenia as not a 
permanent mental disorder, and rather "an imbalance, increasing or decreasing 
depending upon the level of stress." The claim was widely debunked by 
specialists from around the world, terming the decision as a dangerous 
precedent for Pakistan's justice system.

In her review petition, Safia Bano, had pleaded that the Supreme Court 
reconsider its Sept 27 judgement, especially when it was evident from medical 
jurisprudence that paranoid schizophrenia was classified as a chronic and 
permanent mental disorder, affecting cognitive functions. The medical records, 
the petition said, reflected that Ali had consistently displayed symptoms of 
schizophrenia, was not showing signs of improvement and had active psychotic 
symptoms.

Most of the experts have termed Supreme Court's decision to review the ruling 
as a response to the mounting pressure from international rights organisations. 
According to the Amnesty International, more than 140 countries around the 
world has abolished the death penalty in law or practice, and in most of the 
countries where it exists, due process is followed strictly, and punishments 
are accorded according to the mental health of the culprits. The moratorium on 
the capital punishments was lifted following the tragedy of the Army Public 
School in December 2014, under the impression that it was only to be used to 
execute hardcore terrorists. But the majority of the executions conducted since 
then have been those people who were not involved in terrorism.

With such rulings, amid a dilapidated condition of legal processes, Pakistan 
might face strict moral sanctions from the international community. The 
practice of capital punishment should be abolished for all circumstances. 
Instead of executing the mentally ill persons, the state should improve the 
condition of prisons by providing mental health facilities so that prisoners 
could be rehabilitated for their reintegration into the society following their 
jail terms. Similarly, life term should be used as the harshest punishment. 
Capital punishment, wherever it has been practised around the world, has not 
helped much in decreasing the crime rate, and its merit as a deterrent is 
highly debatable. Pakistan should follow suit and abolish capital punishment, 
and should focus on alternative ways to dispense suitable punishments.

(source: Editorial, The Daily Times)