[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 24



SAUDI ARABIA:

3 sentenced to death for terror links in Saudi Arabia


3 Saudi men have been sentenced to death for their role in one of the the 
country's largest terror cells, media reported Tuesday.

The Special Criminal Court in Riyadh awarded the death penalty to the 3 terror 
suspects Monday, the Saudi Gazette reported.

The court also sentenced 20 suspects to prison terms ranging from 5 to 25 
years, in addition to a travel ban.

The charges against the convicts included kidnapping and killing a foreigner, 
armed confrontation with the security forces, embracing deviant ideology, 
joining Al Qaeda, disobedience of the ruler, making explosives and receiving 
training in the use of weapons.

The convicts can appeal the verdict within 30 days.

On Sunday, the court sentenced 4 people to death on terror-related charges.

(source: IANS)






PHILIPPINES:

Senate revives death penalty debate----Senator Aquilino Pimentel III says he 
will conduct a nationwide hearing on the proposal of Senator Tito Sotto to 
revive death penalty in the Philippines


Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Wednesday, September 23, delivered a 
privilege speech to call for the revival of the death penalty because of what 
he described as the Philippines' worsening crime situation.

"Let me ask my colleagues, especially Senator Koko Pimentel who is my good 
friend, to revisit the issue of death penalty. There are now compelling reasons 
to do so. The next crime may be nearer to our homes if not yet there," Sotto 
said in his speech.

Pimentel, chairman of the Senate committee on justice, said he would conduct a 
"nationwide hearing" to get public sentiment on the matter.

Sotto already filed in January 2015 Senate Bill 2080 titled "An Act Imposing 
Death Penalty in the Philippines." It has since been pending in the committee 
on constitutional amendments and revision of laws. The bill seeks to repeal 
Republic Act 9346, the 2006 law that prohibits death penalty in the 
Philippines.

Sotto revived the issue following the death of the mother of actress Cherry Pie 
Picache, saying the perpetrators must have been under the influence of illegal 
drugs. Sotto is himself a former entertainer.

In June 2014, the Philippine National Police reported a surge in crime - an 
increase in total crime volume in the first 5 months of the year compared to 
the same period in 2013.

"The law of revenge in the hands of each one of us was given to the government. 
We in government must yield that power now or else we will regret its absence 
in our future," Sotto said.

Earlier, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) warned 
against "attempts by advocacy groups to lobby the legislature for the 
restoration of the death penalty."

In a statement on July 2, CBCP president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates 
Villegas also said the "imperfection of our judicial system" could lead to 
injustice if the Philippines restores the death penalty.

Villegas said: "There is something terribly self-contradictory about the death 
penalty, for it is inflicted precisely in social retaliation to the violence 
unlawfully wielded by offenders. But in carrying out the death penalty, the 
state assumes the very posture of violence that it condemns!"

President Benigno Aquino III and Justice Secretary Leila De Lima also earlier 
said they are reluctant to consider it.

(source: rappler.com)

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

PNoy still against death penalty


President Aquino remains cold to proposals to reimpose death penalty amid 
efforts in the Senate to start the debates on the issue.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Aquino continues to have 
reservations against death penalty because of his concerns on the judicial 
system.

"During the campaign, he (Aquino) mentioned that death penalty assumes that our 
judicial system is good. But we know for a fact that in our judicial system, in 
our judicial framework, sometimes those with weak legal representation are 
prejudiced," Lacierda said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

"To the best of my knowledge, that position remains the same. There were no 
discussions after that," he added.

Lacierda noted that any wrong judgment on a case involving death penalty would 
be irreversible.

"He's looking at the entire judicial framework, how we can improve judicial 
framework ensuring that the judgment that would be made will be right, fair, 
and just," he said.

Earlier, Sen. Vicente Sotto III reiterated the need to restore the death 
penalty following the killing of the mother of actress Cherry Pie Picache in 
Quezon City last week. Senate President Franklin Drilon said the debates on the 
death penalty should start to determine if it can solve criminality in the 
country.

The death penalty was abolished in 1987 during the time of President Corazon 
Aquino, but it was revived in 1993 under the administration of President Fidel 
Ramos.

Among the crimes that were punishable by death were murder, rape, kidnapping 
and drug trafficking.

In 2001, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo imposed a moratorium on death 
penalty but lifted it 2 years following a series of murders and kidnappings.

She, however, did not sign any execution order and commuted all death sentences 
to life imprisonment.

In 2006, Arroyo signed a law abolishing death penalty, believing that state 
resources should be used in controlling crime instead of taking the lives of 
criminals.

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

Group seeks death by firing squad vs. men in uniform


Anti-crime group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption on Wednesday called on 
the government to reinstate the death penalty for the personnel of the 
Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and other law 
enforcement agencies who would be found guilty of heinous crimes.

Boy Evangelista, one of the Board of Trustees of VACC, said the position of the 
group is to reimpose the death penalty against erring policemen and military 
personnel who are involved in major crimes as a deterrent.

"Nobody's safe ngayun sa crime situation sa atin. Kaya ang position namin ay 
death penalty for men in uniform who commit heinous or major crimes dahil 
inaabuso nila ang kanilang authority or power," Evangelista said in a media 
forum in Greenhills, San Juan City on Wednesday.

Evangelista said the group came out with the position paper 2 weeks ago after 
several policemen were caught on camera stopping a private car. The cops later 
reportedly extorted money from the occupants of the vehicle. "Naging divine 
intervention na rin yung nangyari sa hulidap dyan sa EDSA dahil maraming 
nabuksang anomalya ng mga implementing agencies," he said.

He added that the VACC supports the reinstatement of the death penalty proposal 
of Senator Vicente Sotto III, but not by lethal injection.

"We want the death penalty be carried out via firing [squad] in public to have 
a chilling effect," said Evangelista, whose son, Venson, was brutally murdered 
by members of car thieves in January 2011.

Aside from the reimposition of the death penalty, Evangelista said the VACC has 
also submitted to Malacanang proposals such as review and reform in the 
recruitment process of new policemen and the National Police Commission - 
Internal Affairs Service.

"Dapat baguhin ang recruitment process kasi dun nag uumpisa then integrate and 
civilian sa military training para may check and balance," he said.

(source for both: Philippine Star)






IRELAND:

46% back death penalty for child rape


The death penalty should be introduced for the crime of raping a child, 
according to a national opinion poll.

The Irish Examiner/ICMSA survey found that 46% of farmers felt the ultimate 
sanction should be introduced for child rape. The Rape Crisis Network of 
Ireland said it was encouraging that the problem of sexual violence in Ireland 
was being taken seriously by all sectors of society.

Men are more in favour of bringing in the death penalty for the offence - with 
some 48% in favour of the provision as opposed to 39% of women.

The findings come as farmers show increasing concern about law and order. The 
survey found more than a third of farmers (34%) now cite crime, law and order, 
and vandalism as key concerns that are likely to influence how they vote at the 
next general election - up from 22% last year

Last year's survey also found that more than 80% of farmers said they should be 
allowed to own a gun to protect themselves and their property. In terms of 
introducing the death penalty for child rape, farmers over the age of 65 were 
most in favour (55%). Farmers aged between 45 and 64 were the least supportive 
of such a measure.

Tillage, livestock, and dairy farmers were most supportive of introducing the 
death penalty for the rape of a child, with 58% in favour, followed by those in 
livestock and dairy at 46%.

There was a large degree of variation in terms of support for the death penalty 
in terms of geography.

Farmers surveyed in Cappamore in Limerick felt most strongly about the 
introduction of the sanction, with 69% of those surveyed saying it should be 
introduced for the crime of raping a minor. It was followed by farmers in 
Athenry (56%); those surveyed at the National Open Day in Leitrim (46%), and 
those in Tullamore in Offaly (44%).

However, farmers in other areas were far less enthusiastic about the 
introduction of such a harsh form of punishment. For example, in Tinahely in 
Wicklow, just over a quarter of farmers supported the measure, while 37% in 
Carbery in Cork did.

A spokeswoman for the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland said it was encouraging 
that sexual violence was a key concern among all sectors of Irish society, 
including rural Ireland.

"It's important the issue of sexual violence is taken seriously by all sectors 
of Irish society," she said. "In terms of getting justice for survivors and 
what form that should take, the important thing is that it always starts with 
the community taking the issue seriously."

President of the ICMSA John Comer said it was unlikely that the findings would 
be any different for any other sector of Irish society.

"I can't imagine that this kind of a breakdown would be radically different in 
any other sector of Irish society," said Mr Comer. ":There was a marked 
increase in support for the ultimate sanction among those surveyed older than 
65 and, again, I don't think that's particularly remarkable: older people tend 
to have harder stances on law and order issues."

Mr Comer said that he was not personally in favour of the introduction of the 
death penalty as punishment for any crime, but acknowledged that, given the 
"heinous" nature of child rape, it was not surprising that many would call for 
the death penalty as punishment.

"Any kind of crime against a child is heinous and society deservedly reserves 
its worst condemnation for those guilty of this most atrocious and unforgivable 
act," he said. "I cannot say that I support the death penalty in any 
circumstances but, in common with everyone, I would consider any measure that 
effectively deters crimes against children or minors."

Over-65s 'more reactionary' over crimes against minors

Almost 1/2 of farmers think the death penalty should be introduced for those 
found guilty of raping a child.

The Irish Examiner/ICMSA survey on farming attitudes found that farmers were 
virtually evenly divided on whether the most extreme sanction should be 
introduced for those guilty of raping a minor.

The survey found that 46% of farmers either agreed or strongly agreed that the 
death penalty should be introduced for committing such a crime, with 44% 
disagreeing.

Older farmers, aged 65 and over, were by some distance the most reactionary, 
with 55% feeling that a death sentence was the requisite punishment for the 
crime of child rape. Farmers aged between 45 and 64 were the least supportive 
of such a measure.

Those farmers working in sectors other than tillage, livestock and dairy were - 
at 58% - most supportive of introducing the death penalty for such a crime, 
followed by those in livestock and dairy at 46%.

Farmers working in the tillage sector were least supportive of introducing such 
a harsh form of punishment, with just 39% in favour of bringing in the death 
penalty for such a crime.

Geographically, there was a large difference of opinion on the matter.

Farmers surveyed in Cappamore in Limerick felt most strongly about the 
introduction of the death penalty, with 69% of those surveyed saying it should 
be introduced for the crime of raping a minor. It was followed by farmers in 
Athenry (56%); those surveyed at the National Open Day in Leitrim (46%); and 
those in Tullamore in Offaly (44%). However, farmers in other areas were very 
much against the introduction of such a measure. For example, in Tinahely in 
Wicklow, just over a quarter of farmers supported the measure, followed by just 
33% in Tinahely in Wicklow and 37% in Carbery in Cork. Commenting on the 
findings, president of the ICMSA John Comer said: "I can't imagine that this 
kind of a breakdown would be radically different in any other sector of Irish 
society. There was a marked increase in support for the ultimate sanction 
amongst those surveyed older than 65 and, again, I don't think that's 
particularly remarkable: older people tend to [have] harder stances on law and 
order issues," he said.

Mr Comer said although he was not in favour of the death penalty personally, 
given that the rape of a minor was such an unforgivable act, it was not 
surprising that so many people were.

"But, in common with everyone, I would consider any measure that effectively 
deters crimes against children or minors," he said.

(source: Irish Examiner)






SINGAPORE:

Indian-origin man sentenced to death for drug trafficking


A 27-year-old Indian-origin man has been sentenced to death by a court here for 
trying to smuggle diamorphine, a pure form of heroin, into Singapore, media 
reports said on Tuesday.

Prabagaran a/l Srivijayan, a Malaysian national, was arrested in April 2012 at 
the woodlands Checkpoint with 2 bundles of diamorphine weighing 22.24g.

The drug was wrapped in black masking tape hidden in the armrest console of the 
car he was driving into the country from the southern Malaysian city of Johor 
Bahru.

Prabagaran had said he was unaware the 2 bundles were in his car and claimed 
trial on the charges of drug trafficking.

Trafficking more than 15g of heroin into Singapore carries the death penalty.

He was convicted in the High Court on July 22, reported Today newspaper.

Court documents said Prabagaran had borrowed the car from a friend to enter 
Singapore on that day because he could not use his motorcycle.

He had been behind in paying his monthly instalment and he was afraid that the 
motorcycle would be repossessed in Malaysia.

Prabagaran, who worked as a shop assistant at a petrol pump station in 
Malaysia, had come into Singapore that day in order to return his work permit 
and gate pass to a former employer here.

During the trial, the prosecution had argued that Prabagaran was an untruthful 
witness and that his testimony was "unconvincing, riddled with inconsistencies 
and cannot be believed".

"If the accused (Prabagaran) had truly intended to return his work permit and 
the gate pass to his former employer, he has not offered any satisfactory 
explanation why he had to do so several hours before his work shift began," 
argued the prosecution.

Prabagaran's lawyer N Kanagavijayan told the court that his client would be 
filing an appeal against the conviction.

(source: Indian Express)