[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 2



GLOBAL:

Global cities light up at night to highlight the campaign to end the death 
penalty


The Colosseum in Rome and thousands of monuments around the world were 
illuminated at dusk on Monday as symbols of the campaign to stop the death 
penalty.

Cities for Life Day is held each year on the 30 November to commemorate the 1st 
abolition of the death penalty by a European state, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany 
in 1786.

This year, 2,031 cities expressed their support for the anti-capital punishment 
initiative and nearly 400 events were held worldwide.

In the UK, events were held in London, Sheffield and Swansea.

Rome's Colosseum, the epicentre of the Roman civilisations mass execution 
culture, was the 1st monument to be lit. The event's organisers, the Community 
of Sant'Egidio, in Nebraska were present.

Nebraska ended the use of the death penalty in May, becoming the 19th US state 
to abolish capital punishment. However, state residents gathered enough 
signatures to temporarily reinstate the death penalty until it can be voted on 
in a referendum in November 2016.

(source: thetablet.co.uk)

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State's attempt to abolish death penalty marked at Rome's Colosseum


Rome's Colosseum was lit in honor of the U.S. state of Nebraska's attempt to 
abolish the death penalty and as part of Cities for Life Day, a worldwide event 
that supports a global end to capital punishment.

The Rome-based lay Community of Sant'Egidio, which is active in a worldwide 
campaign to eliminate capital executions, sponsors the lighting event every 
Nov. 30 to highlight its cause. The Colosseum has been a symbol against the 
death penalty because of its history as a site for gladiatorial combat and 
executions.

Cities for Life Day is held every year to commemorate the 1st abolition of the 
death penalty by a European state - the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1786.

This year, 2,031 cities around the world expressed their support for the Cities 
for Life initiative, and nearly 400 special events were held worldwide.

Sant'Egidio invited to the event at the Colosseum Nebraska State Sens. Colby 
Coash and Mark Kolterman, who supported the state's repeal of the death 
penalty, and Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph and longtime opponent 
of capital punishment.

Also invited was Miriam Thimm Kelle from Nebraska who is active in the fight 
against the death penalty. Her brother, James Thimm, was murdered 30 years ago, 
and his killer was given the death penalty, which she has said has offered no 
opportunity for true healing for victim's families.

Nebraska ended the use of the death penalty in May, becoming the 19th U.S. 
state to abolish capital punishment. However, state residents gathered enough 
signatures to temporarily reinstate the death penalty until it can be voted on 
in a referendum in November 2016.

Meanwhile, bishops in Australia have been renewing their call for a worldwide 
ban on the death penalty.

While capital punishment has been prohibited in Australia since 2001, 
Archbishop Denis Hart, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference 
recently wrote to the federal parliament offering assistance in achieving a 
global moratorium.

Recalling the firm opposition of the church to the death penalty, the bishops' 
conference said in late October its members were available to work with the 
Holy See and other national bishops' conferences to influence governments on 
the issue.

In mid-November, Indonesia declared a temporary moratorium on the death 
penalty, saying the temporary ban was meant to help the country focus more on 
fixing the nation's economy.

The Indonesian bishops had been asking the country's president to reconsider 
the use of capital punishment, calling it an inhuman form of punishment that 
was not effective in deterring crime.

The death penalty is applied both in law and practice in about 37 nations, 
including the United States, Japan and China.

(source: Catholic News Service)






PHILIPPINES:

Former DOJ chief frowns at 'death'


Senatorial aspirant Leila de Lima yesterday said she is against any move to 
restore the death penalty.

"Restoring death penalty? That's absolutely no for me. As a human rights 
advocate, I can't allow that," de Lima said.

In a press conference in Cebu City, de Lima said that the death penalty will 
not eliminate crimes or deter criminals. She said that the real deterrent to 
crime is an effective justice system.

De Lima said that if elected into office, she will focus on promoting justice 
and rule of law, fighting corruption and championing human rights.

"Some people called for the restoration of the death penalty because they are 
frustrated by the continuous heinous crime incidents," she said.

Her statement runs counter to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is 
reportedly running for president.

De Lima, former justice secretary, admitted that the justice system may have 
erred in some cases, especially those involving persons who cannot afford good 
defense lawyers.

When she was with the Commission on Human Rights, de Lima said she received 
reports that Duterte allegedly got involved in the summary execution of 
criminals. She said that some Davao Death Squad hitmen confessed that the Davao 
City mayor was involved but the National Bureau of Investigation is still 
gathering evidence.

De Lima also described a statement cursing Pope Francis for causing traffic 
jams during a visit in the country, attributed to Duterte, as "unfortunate, 
disturbing and scandalous."

"We are a Catholic country and we hosted the Pope's visit this year, and you 
hear comment like that?" De Lima said.

The senatorial bet also commented on the decision of the Commission on Election 
(Comelec) Second Division disqualifying Senator Grace Poe from the presidential 
race. De Lima said that Poe can file an appeal before the Comelec Comelec en 
banc and the Supreme Court.

She said that the Supreme Court will have to come up with a final decision on 
the issue before the printing of official ballots.

(source: Sun Star)






ST LUCIA:

Activist vows to step up efforts against the death penalty


Human Rights Activist, Mary Francis, has vowed to step up efforts locally to 
get the death penalty scrapped.

Francis, who is an Attorney at Law, returned home recently from a Caribbean 
Regional Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty.

It was held in Guyana and sponsored by the European Union and the British High 
Commission.

Francis has observed that the Caribbean is one of the few remaining regions of 
the world where the Death Penalty is retained, despite the fact that a de facto 
moratorium on execution of persons convicted of murder presently exists.

"The message to Saint Lucia and other Caribbean Governments is that the right 
to life cannot be promoted by taking life and on this issue they must show 
leadership," she has asserted.

Among the conclusions of the Guyana conference was that the death penalty, 
which is irreversible, brings a risk of executing innocent people.

Participants also agreed that the death penalty is often used in a 
disproportional manner against the poor, minorities and members of racial, 
ethnic, political and religious groups.

In addition, they concluded that the death penalty is incompatible with human 
rights and human dignity.

(source: stluciatimes.com)






BERMUDA:

Group that shifted opinion on death penalty


The Bermuda family experienced one of its deepest crises on the weekend of 
December 2, 1977 - the violent conclusion to a 5-year period with 10 lives 
lost. Notwithstanding the tragedy, as documented in Jonathan Smith's latest 
book, Island Flames, if we reflect mindfully on that period, those "ashes" 
could nurture a better future for upcoming generations. It would likely require 
an inclusive, wide-ranging, reverential community conversation over many 
months.

Jonathan's book does a good job documenting the 5 days leading up to December 2 
- the mobilising of many. This, in contrast, is a first-hand account of how a 
small group of ordinary residents worked for 12 months before, gradually 
shifting a key local paradigm regarding commitment to every life - even the 
"guilty" and furnishing a foundation for wider community involvement during the 
apex of the crisis.

We are reminded about the potency of small groups, as yesterday was the 60th 
anniversary of Rosa Parks's spontaneous act of courage in Montgomery, Alabama. 
It was the foundational work of a small group of ordinary citizens - community 
activist E.D. Nixon and human rights campaigners Clifford and Virginia Durr, 
among others - that set the stage and, through collaboration with Parks, got 
the ball rolling for the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

The period of the Seventies in Bermuda was a complex one, dominated by our 
racial divide; a focus of Jonathan's book. Other dimensions include class 
division and our conservative culture, which shaped attitudes regarding the 
death penalty.

Amnesty International's latest Death Penalty Report notes a positive global 
trend, but expresses concern about the English-speaking Caribbean. While the 
region's latest hanging was in St Kitts in 2008, Amnesty found that these 12 
island governments remained pro-death penalty in United Nations discussions. 
Our links with those islands can explain something about local attitudes on 
capital punishment in the Seventies.

That context helps to explain why, after Erskine "Buck" Burrows and Larry 
Tacklyn had been sentenced to death and a free vote was held in the House in 
1975, MPs from both sides supported retention of hanging. These circumstances 
led me to start the petition against capital punishment in 1976. While 
Opposition leader Lois Browne-Evans championed abolition, our cultural norms 
made it something of a political hot potato. That said, the Progressive Labour 
Party adopted the campaign, while the reality was that the critical work was 
left entirely to a small group.

The few of us made slow progress engaging the community in those early months. 
In spring 1977, anxious to overcome resistance, we organised a rally supported 
by some musicians. We invited MPs and other leaders, save Tacklyn's lawyer, 
Dame Lois, but 2 days before the event, none had accepted. When contacting 
Julian Hall, a new United Bermuda Party member, who agreed immediately, others 
joined. The rally gave a boost, but the effort to foster transformation 
remained with the small group.

Cup Match 1977 became the petition's "last stand" for Eugene "Bobby" Durham 
(Hasan Durham's dad) and myself. We both planned to complete postgraduate 
studies that autumn. By late August, we compiled the petitions from our small 
group, including Lance Furbert and former Olympian Hazard Dill, among a few 
others. We were satisfied that our work had led to a shift and furnished Party 
leader Dame Lois with 6,000-odd signatures, which were presented to the 
Governor.

I took the originals with me to university in London in October, hoping to 
follow up with a few of Dame Lois's old friends in London, but her contact 
numbers failed. That added to my sense that we had done enough, leading to a 
false sense of security. I focused on my studies.

I was shocked when Phil Perinchief called on Friday, November 25 to report that 
the Premier, David Gibbons, had announced to Parliament that Burrows and 
Tacklyn would be executed on December 2. I was concerned that no 
parliamentarian made a response to this announcement at the time. Jonathan 
Smith was under the misunderstanding that a delegation of MPs from Bermuda had 
travelled to lobby the British Government after that announcement. I clarified 
that the work in London was done by a small group of us - 1 or 2 new-found 
friends and a couple of Bermudian students, including Larry Scott. After only 
two months' residence, our small network was able to get an article about the 
crisis in The Guardian newspaper; Larry and I visited the Foreign Office to 
express concerns and I received an urgent invitation while in class from a 
group of members of the House of Lords to discuss the crisis.

Subsequent to that discussion at Westminster, I received a message that the 
Parliamentary Labour Party - the caucus of the governing party - had voted 
against the impending hanging. This was a day or so before the planned 
execution - something Jonathan's research has not corroborated.

That said, there was an obvious positive momentum at the time and it is 
arguable that had we moved even days earlier that the efforts of our small 
group and actions on Island would have stayed the hangman.

The legacy of Rosa reminds us of the importance of small groups. The 
Progressive Group was a small group of ordinary residents that facilitated the 
transformation of Bermuda. Our small group was key in shifting the local 
paradigm on capital punishment.

I include a link to campaigner Peter Block offering some insights into small 
groups. Take a look at it for some ideas for you to make a difference. For a 
better Bermuda. For a better world.

(source: Glenn Fubler, The Royal Gazette)