[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 1



IRAN----execution

1 Prisoner Executed in Public in Southern Iran


1 prisoner on death row who was allegedly charged with kidnapping, armed 
robbery and rape was executed in public in the city of Bandar Abbas. According 
to the Press Department of Hormozgan's Judiciary, the prisoner's initials are 
"A.Gh."

The report mentions the prisoner's brothers, identified as "V.Gh." and "A.Gh.", 
for allegedly assisting in the crime, but did not mention whether they are on 
death row.

(source: Iran Human Rights)






TAIWAN:

Court acquits man after controversial death penalty case


A defendant in a controversial death penalty case was declared innocent after 
his 9th appeal yesterday, exactly 20 years after his alleged crime.

Hsu Tzu-chiang is 1 of 3 men sentenced to death in 2000 for the murder of a 
real estate businessman on Sept. 1, 1995.

Activists and Hsu's lawyers criticized the ruling on grounds that the sentence 
had been based on the confessions of his co-defendants.

The Taiwan High Court yesterday overturned Hsu's seven death sentences and two 
life sentences, declaring him not guilty.

The case had already gone through 8 appeals on repeated retrials.

Hsu, in disbelief, turned to a nearby friend after the announcement and asked, 
"Is it not guilty?" Upon confirming the verdict, the defendant embraced his 
tearful mother.

"I have waited for 20 years," he said to a crowd of supporters waiting outside 
the high court. The sentence can still be appealed.

Hsu and 2 other men were sentenced to death for the alleged murder of 
real-estate businessman Huang Chun-shu in 1995.

The victim was kidnapped outside his home; after his murder, his disfigured 
body was abandoned in New Taipei City, and then Taipei County.

During the trial, defendants Huang Chun-chi and Chen Yi-lung were sentenced 
based on forensic evidence, while Hsu was convicted based on their testimony.

A 4th defendant had escaped to Thailand, where he died.

Activists have criticized Hsu's sentence and said that there was security 
footage proving he was elsewhere during the events.

The Judicial Reform Foundation has called the case deeply flawed, saying it 
demonstrates the need to implement a jury system in Taiwan to reduce judicial 
bias.

After the initial sentencing, 1 of the 2 defendants said he had accused Hsu as 
a way of getting revenge and that Hsu was innocent.

In 2001, Taiwan's Control Yuan released a report on Hsu's conviction that 
condemned the sentencing.

Hsu's case is one of the longest-running murder cases in Taiwan's history, and 
his acquittal falls exactly 20 years after the alleged murder. Huang Chun-chi 
and Chen Yi-lung remain on death row.

(source: The China Post)






INDIA:

Tamil Nadu political parties demand abolition of death penalty


A day after the Law Commission suggested abolition of death penalty for crimes 
other than terrorism and waging war, political parties in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday 
urged the Centre to adopt the recommendations.

In a statement, DMK chief M Karunanidhi said a survey by CSDS had confirmed the 
popular view of people that death penalty should be abolished. "Life sentence 
in which a person spends the entire life in prison is more cruel than death 
penalty. If a person is involved in a murder case and is sentenced to life, he 
will be thinking about it throughout his life and it is worse than death 
penalty," he said.

The DMK chief wanted the Centre to adopt the law panel's recommendations and 
come to a conclusion that all crimes should not be given death sentence. The 
government should announce the decision at the earliest, he said.

Incidentally, DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi had presented a representation to 
the panel echoing the party's views on death penalty.

PMK chief S Ramadoss also urged the Centre to abolish death penalty. "Nearly 
150 countries have abolished death penalty, some have stopped it without giving 
administrative sanction, and some have reserved this for hardcore crimes. Only 
36 countries, including India and the Gulf countries, are still practising it," 
he said.

(source: The Times of India)

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

Mercy Pleas of 306 Death Row Convicts Accepted by Presidents


Death sentence of 306 convicts has been commuted by successive presidents so 
far out of total 437 such mercy petitions.

This was disclosed by the Law Commission, which has given a chart of mercy 
petitions disposed of by successive Presidents since January 26, 1950 till 
today in its report released on Tuesday on death penalty.

The analysis of the chart suggests that a death-row convict's "fate in matters 
of life and death may not only depend on the ideology and views of the 
government of the day but also on the personal views and belief systems of the 
President", the Commission said.

The report, which recommended abolition of death sentence except in cases of 
terrorism and waging war against country, said from January 26, 1950 till 
today, out of a total of 437 mercy pleas, 306 were accepted - death sentence 
commuted to life in jail - and 131 rejected.

It said during 1950-1982, which saw 6 Presidents, only 1 mercy petition was 
rejected as against 262 commutations of death sentence to life imprisonment.

Quoting available records, it said President Rajendra Prasad commuted the death 
sentences in 180 out of the 181 mercy petitions he decided, rejecting only 1.

President S Radhakrishnan commuted the death sentences in all the 57 mercy 
petitions decided by him. President Zakir Hussain and President VV Giri 
commuted the death sentence in all the petitions decided by them, while 
President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and President N Sanjeeva Reddy did not get to 
deal with any mercy petitions in their tenure.

"In contrast to the 1st phase (1950-1982), between 1982 and 1997, 3 Presidents 
rejected, between them, 93 mercy petitions and commuted 7 death sentences. 
President Zail Singh rejected 30 of the 32 mercy petitions he decided, and 
President R Venkataraman rejected 45 of the 50 mercy petitions decided by him.

"Subsequently, President Shankar Dayal Sharma rejected all the 18 mercy 
petitions put up before him," the report said.

(source: NDTV)