[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 14




BAHAMAS:

A Life in Crime


For the past 6 month Dr Mike Neville, a renowned and experienced forensic 
psychiatrist, has been examining the root causes of serious crime, a current 
scourge on society in the Bahamas.

He set out to inform an evidence-based national debate on how to solve the 
rising levels of serious crime here and invited the public to contribute.

During the series, his son became one of the 80 murder victims in the country 
so far this year. These are his conclusions.

By DR MIKE NEVILLE


The Life of Crime series has traced issues that impact on our crime rate from 
the cradle to the grave; now we have reached the "burial" of the series and it 
is time for a few reflections.

"I thought it would be a simple enough journey. After all, I have worked in 
prisons, mental hospitals and the criminal justice system for all of my working 
life. "Then, seven weeks into the series, our son Sean was murdered; theory 
becomes reality and our lives were changed forever. We came face-to-face with 
that segment of society which is content to blame the victim - "it can't be me" 
- rather than deal with the reality that it can be anyone of us in this 
out-of-control crime situation in The Bahamas.

I had hoped to create a multi-platform discussion on crime, the causes and 
solutions. This hope only flickered along with some response to The Tribune's 
web page, a few callers to the live KissFM radio show and even fewer emails. A 
regular website contributor, "banker", reminded me it was the economy and, of 
course, he is correct; the latest figures from the Inter-American Development 
Bank show unemployment at 30.08 % in the 15 to 24 age group.

It is likely it is worse but the fact that close to 1/3 of the youth of The 
Bahamas have no work spells a national catastrophe with more crime in the 
future. This horrendous rate of crime may easily drive the cruise ships to 
other ports - like almost crime-free Havana, Cuba - to avoid the dangers here. 
This would cause The Bahamas to collapse into anarchy: in simple terms, unless 
the economy improves, advice is not likely to work.

Inaccuracies in my Biblical knowledge were pointed out and I was taken to task 
for not being scientific enough in topics like Paedophilia; all true but I was 
searching for a discussion. All of us have limited knowledge in some areas, but 
we still must tackle crime with a societal consensus. I did not wish to be 
another pontificating professor!

The answers, though, lie in the series where the repetitive theme is that 
things must happen at each stage of our development; there must be multiple 
interventions at different phases across all our age groups - but they all need 
to begin now.

The economy can be helped by one of the early crime fighting tools, family 
planning. This must be taken seriously: the country does not have nearly enough 
jobs for any stability and, as each year passes and more children leave school, 
the unemployment figures continue to rise creating the atmosphere for crime.

Ante-natal care is already provided for in the public sector, but is in need of 
aggressive new programmes as the present birth rate in The Bahamas is not 
economically sustainable. It is during pregnancy and the early part of life 
that good care helps prevent damage to the frontal lobe which is associated 
with aggression, judgment and - later - criminality. The nurse programmes which 
help at-risk mothers have shown remarkable results and are well worth the 
investment.

As the Ministries of Health and Social Services lead the 1st wave of 
prevention, the Ministry of Education must provide early learning centres for 
all at-risk children. These programmes have shown conclusively how these 
educational efforts have reduced crime years later.

As our children enter primary school, all efforts should be in full swing; the 
correlations between physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and the 
neglect of children are clear and accepted internationally. We know child abuse 
is wrong and yet it is on the increase: all evidence-based efforts to lessen 
child abuse must be encouraged and supported.

Teacher-student ratios remain high and there are still limited opportunities 
for special educational assistance. We need organised youth activities to help 
these young boys and girls; we need a countrywide youth club organisation run 
by "qualified staff". There is a desperate need for new life in the Boy Scouts, 
Girl Guides and Boys Brigade. The departments of Educational Psychology and the 
Child and Adolescent mental health teams must be strengthened to help teachers 
cope with at-risk children so they can welcome children as challenges, not as 
problems.

"These efforts must seamlessly run throughout the school system, with health, 
social services and the churches interacting with our educators at every stage. 
Numerous interventions locally and internationally have been shown to work; the 
research is easily accessed so why is the "Shock Tactics" programme displayed 
as the Bahamas' centrepiece in crime prevention when, in 2011, 2 Justice 
Department officials wrote in the Baltimore Sun that not only are these "Scared 
Straight" programmes ineffective but also potentially harmful. There has also 
been a meta analysis in 2002 that found that these programmes actively 
increased crime rates. It is essential that The Bahamas follows evidence-based 
information, not emotion.

Violence begets violence and yet the evidence is ignored with corporal 
punishment still the favoured method of correction. This has been linked to 
later domestic violence in many studies. The efforts to convince society as a 
whole that physical and sexual violence against your spouse - or, in fact, 
against anybody - remains a serious problem that must be overcome.

The whole criminal justice system is failing society. The police, the courts 
and the prison have lost the trust of many, especially the economically 
deprived. A total examination of the problems is required with major changes 
where necessary. A good start would be a website where serious crime could be 
tracked.

"What are the real figures?

"How many offenders have been arrested and charged?

"How long does it take for the case to be finished in court and what is the 
conviction rate?

"This will require outside help - investigators, prosecutors, planners ... in 
fact, help at whatever stage it is needed. This problem is too serious to 
ignore.

"The removal of juries should be discussed. The system may be better served by 
using the South African system of judges with no jury. The greater acceptance 
of plea bargains will lessen time in court and by removing the death penalty 
from the penal code the whole Supreme Court system can be streamlined. Revenge 
sounds fine but in our present system convictions are so low most victims would 
at least get some peace of mind to know that the perpetrators have been 
convicted and will be off the streets for a considerable period of time.

It would be remiss of me not to thank all who helped during this 24-part, 
weekly series. The Tribune Media Group for this opportunity to talk about 
crime; my sponsors, SuperValue, Lowes Wholesale and Dairy Queen, for taking a 
risk on this concept and all of their support. Jamaal Rolle, who caught 
glimpses of my mind and produced enlightened illustrations. On the radio, I 
enjoyed working with "Big Guy": he enriched the show and I suspect he took a 
risk on the concept as well.

And, of course, my family. We have been struggling down this painful pathway 
and they have all been extremely encouraging, reading, listening and giving 
ideas. Finally, our departed son, Sean, who never missed the series while he 
was alive. We miss his humorous input.

May he rest in peace.

(source: tribune242.com)






UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Al Reem Island killer's execution sends strong message


UAE deserves to be 'first in rule of law' in region, experts say

Legal, security and human rights experts in the capital are in unanimous 
agreement that the UAE's execution of convicted killer Ala'a Al Hashemi sends a 
strong message to terrorist organisations.

Political analyst and former political science professor in UAE University, Dr 
Abdul Khaliq Abdullah, told Gulf News that capital punishment sentences are 
very rare in the UAE and that while most are issued, few are ever carried out.

"The verdict was issued on June 29 and quickly performed soon after and this is 
evidence that the UAE is very serious in moving forward in combating terrorism 
with all its resources," he said.

Dr Abdullah said that cultural norms have often prevented women from getting 
the death penalty in the past - but that this case is different.

"Our culture has an unwritten rule that women do not get executed for the sake 
of tradition but this incident is completely different from all others and, 
therefore, norms and cultural influences had no role to play in the outcome of 
the sentence," he added.

The head of the Emirates Human Rights Association, Mohammad Salem Al Kaabi, 
said that the swift execution of justice displays the UAE's firm and unwavering 
reaction to crimes that undermine its social peace.

"The fact that the execution was also carried out against one of the UAE's own 
citizens also reveals that the UAE is a country of law and that it really is 
the 'First in the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index in the Mena Region' 
as it was dubbed just yesterday," he said.

"This act of justice also tells the world that terrorism has no place in the 
UAE, and that this country will deal with any individual who dares to intervene 
in public safety with an iron fist. The procedures taken during Ala'a's trial 
were fair, clear and in accordance with the law," he added.

The human rights experts also confirmed that Ala'a was given her civil rights 
in defending herself and that all evidence was presented without tampering.

"The trial itself, which lasted for months on end, is another indicator of the 
UAE's fairness for all defendants," he added.

Echoing Al Kaabi's response, Abu Dhabi-based lawyer Ali Al Abbadi reiterated 
the UAE's readiness to combat terrorist acts and said that a prominent attorney 
was appointed to defend Ala'a.

"The execution is evidence that the UAE is a country of law and that it does 
not falter in carrying out verdicts against criminals as well as providing them 
with an opportunity to defend themselves as was done for Ala'a Al Hashemi. Her 
case was also given to one of the most renowned lawyers to defend her and all 
procedures were followed. Additionally, these crimes capitalise on planting 
fear in people's hearts and they deserve equally grave punishments," he said.

He also highlighted the fact that the Supreme Court verdict cannot be appealed 
which further proves the UAE's firmness in carrying out the law.

"The verdict issued by the Federal Supreme Court cannot be appealed and Ala'a 
was prosecuted under Federal Law number 7 of 2014 pertaining to combating 
terrorism. This is a clear message to all terrorist organisations that the UAE 
shows no leniency when it comes to these matters. It is also an even clearer 
message that we will not rest from the dark forces of terrorism without the use 
of strictness and firmness. This is because terrorism is an ugly deed that does 
not differentiate between citizens and residents."

(source: Gulf News)






INDIA:

SC to weigh life sentence for Nithari convict Koli


The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine the UP government's petition 
challenging the Allahabad high court judgment commuting the death sentence of 
Nithari serial rape-cum-murder convict Surinder Koli to life term on the ground 
that his mercy petition was decided after a delay of 3 years and 3 months.

Appearing for the state government, senior advocate L N Rao said the decision 
on Koli's mercy petition got delayed because the convict kept filing petitions 
in the Supreme Court seeking review of the decision to uphold death penalty. 
"He cannot be allowed to take advantage of the litigation he indulged in. 
Moreover, it is a gory case," he said.

The state government drew support from the Centre. Solicitor general Ranjit 
Kumar said the Centre will file a separate petition challenging the Allahabad 
HC decision.

A bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy 
issued notice to Koli seeking his response to the UP government's petition. The 
state said in its September 11, 2009 judgment, the HC had held, "The killings 
by appellant Surinder Koli are horrifying and barbaric. He used a definite 
methodology in committing these murders. He would see small girls passing by 
the house and taking advantage of their weakness, lure them inside House No. 
D-5, Sector-31, Nithari village, Noida, and there he would strangulate them."

The state government gave details of the appeals and revision petitions filed 
by Koli and said during pendency of these petitions, he had simultaneously 
appealed for mercy to the governor. It said the mercy plea was referred to the 
President on February 21, 2014. Three days later, Koli's review petition was 
dismissed by the SC. In September last year, the high court entertained Koli's 
petition for commutation of death sentence on the ground that his mercy plea 
was disposed of after 'unusual' delay of 3 years and 3 months. On January 28, 
2015, the HC commuted his death sentence to life term on the ground on delay.

"The alleged delay was a result of persistent filing of petitions by Koli and 
as such, the so-called delay was caused due to action on his behalf," the state 
said.

(source: The Times of India)






PHILIPPINE/MALAYSIA:

Govt seeks pardon for Pinoy couple sentenced to death in Malaysia


The Philippine government has repeatedly appealed to Malaysian authorities to 
release on humanitarian grounds a Pinoy couple sentenced to death in Sabah for 
drug smuggling, the embassy said Tuesday.

Timhar and Nurie Ong were arrested in August 2005 after authorities found 
333.66 grams of methamphetamines hidden in a shoebox during a raid in the hotel 
in Kota Kinabalu where they were staying.

Sabah and Sarawak's High Court convicted the couple of drug smuggling and 
sentenced them to life imprisonment in November 2006 but raised the sentence to 
death penalty in October 2009.

According to the couple, the prohibited drugs were left with them by a Filipina 
they met at the airport.

The embassy said the appeal was contained in 2 letters, 1 of them, dated 
September 2010, by President Benigno Aquino III addressed to Agong (Malaysian 
King) and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

A follow-up letter, this time by Ambassador Eduardo J. Malaya and addressed to 
the Governor of Sabah, was sent in 2012, the embassy said.

"Those appeals are currently under consideration by the Sabah Pardon Board, 
which is chaired by the Governor of Sabah," the embassy said in a statement. 
"The grant of clemency or pardon is purely discretionary on the part of the 
Pardon Board, and in most cases, given only after lengthy imprisonment." it 
added.

The embassy issued the statement after the Ong family called for government 
assistance on the case.

In its statement, the embassy noted that "there has been reluctance by local 
authorities to carry out the death penalty or undertake execution in recent 
years, particularly for drug trafficking offenders."

"There are no indications at this time that the death penalty will be carried 
out against the couple Ong anytime soon," the embassy said.

It also said that embassy officials last visited the couple on June 17.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), meanwhile, is reiterating its appeal 
to Filipinos to be aware of modus operandi of drug trafficking syndicates 
anywhere in the world, and to not fall victim to them, as it carries the death 
penalty in many countries, including in Malaysia.

(source: gmanetwork.com)