[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 1




PAKISTAN:

LHC dismisses plea against execution of disabled person


A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench Tuesday dismissed a petition against 
the execution of a disabled death row prisoner.

The division bench comprising Justice Anwaarul Haq and Justice Erum Sajad Gull 
heard the petition, which was filed by Nusrat Parveen against the execution of 
her disabled son, Abdul Basit.

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel submitted that Basit was paralysed 
from the waist down and used a wheelchair as a result of an illness, which he 
contracted in prison.

Basit's lawyer contended that he has already suffered unusual punishment, and 
to try to execute him now would be a form of "double punishment", prohibited 
under Pakistani law.

The counsel further submitted that jail manual gave no instructions on how to 
execute disabled prisoners and the court could intervene if law was ambiguous.

However, on behalf of the home department, a provincial law officer submitted 
that disabled person could be hanged under Sub-Section 2 of Sections 350 and 
356 of jail rules.

He pointed out that such a matter was raised before Lahore High Court and the 
Supreme Court but the execution was not stopped.

He said that a disabled person could be hanged by using their wheel chair.

The bench after hearing detailed arguments from both parties dismissed the 
petition.

It is pertinent to mention that the court had stayed the execution of Basit 
which was scheduled for last month, Abdul Basit (43), was convicted and 
sentenced to death for a murder in 2009.

(source: Pakistan Today)






INDIA:

Amnesty backs law panel's findings on death penalty


Amnesty International India on Tuesday urged the government to accept the 
findings of the Law Commission on death penalty and immediately abolish it for 
all crimes.

In a statement, it said the Centre "must heed the findings of a Law Commission 
report on the unfairness of the death penalty" and immediately abolish it for 
all crimes.

"The Law Commission points out that in nearly a quarter of the cases in which 
the Supreme Court has recently given the death penalty, it has done so in 
error," Aakar Patel, Executive Director of Amnesty International India, said 
adding the report is a "vital step" forward in the debate around the death 
penalty in India. He said the Commission debunks many of the "myths surrounding 
death penalty".

"Although the report stops short of recommending complete abolition, Parliament 
must seize this opportunity to show political leadership and abolish capital 
punishment for all crimes," he said.

"As the report says, the government has the power to lead public opinion, and 
indeed an obligation to do so on issues of human dignity and equality. India's 
gamble with this lethal lottery needs to stop now," he said.

The 20th Law Commission, in its report submitted on Monday, said the 
administration of the death penalty in India is "fallible, vulnerable to 
misapplication, and disproportionately" used against socially and economically 
marginalised people. The Commission recommended that the death penalty be 
abolished for all crimes other than terrorism-related offences and waging war 
and hoped that the movement towards absolute abolition will be "swift and 
irreversible".

(source: Deccan Herald)