[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 17



NIGERIA:

Appeal for death penalty to halt abductions


The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) has called for the death sentence 
to be imposed on kidnappers. This comes amid a spate of abductions that has 
rocked the country.

"It has become very clear that the piecemeal legal approaches by the different 
states within the federation of Nigeria to tackle armed criminality of 
kidnapping hasn't worked therefore demanding that a national mechanism be put 
in place to make kidnapping a grave offence only punishable with the death 
penalty," said HURIWA's National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the 
National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf.

The officials urged President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute a team to probe 
the spate of kidnappings.

"We urge the Nigerian Government to constitute an action team made up of few 
but versatile legal scholars to work in partnership with the hierarchies of the 
Legislature and the judiciary to articulate actionable positions on strategies 
for amending all relevant criminal laws relating to kidnapping with a view to 
make kidnapping a capital offence punishable by death."

The rights group likened the abductions to the reign of terror by the Boko 
Haram sect.

"Kidnappers are as bad as terrorists and therefore the harsher the punishment 
meted out to them the better."

(source: news24nigeria)

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'NLC, TUC Call for Death Penalty On Corrupt Govt Officials Ridiculous'


Former Commissioner of Police, Chief Ikechukwu Aduba (retd), has described as 
bizarre and unrefined the call by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade 
Union Congress, TUC, for death penalty on treasury looters to check official 
corruption.

Aduba, who noted that some Nigerians often disparage well-meaning citizens for 
making forthright appraisal, said capital punishment has not tamed corruption 
in countries as China and India referred to by the unions, maintaining that 
what were required were practical and precautionary measures.

He asserted, "It is truism that Nigerians' expertise in corruption is 
unparalleled the world over and corruption has destroyed every fabric of the 
Nigerian society... However, in my view, the call for death penalty by NLC and 
TUC is empirically absurd."

"Emotions aside, they ought to call for immediate reform of the court system 
for a speedy conviction of the corrupt, strengthening of the apparatus of 
detection and investigation for quick arraignment of the corrupt and 
restructuring of the prison system to aid timely justice delivery in corruption 
cases.

"These would serve as more effective deterrence than imposition of death 
penalty. Without touching these critical areas, death penalty for corruption 
would not have a salutary effect, it would hardly check corruption just as it 
has been ineffective in checking armed robbery and lately kidnapping," the 
ex-commissioner said.

Aduba stated, "Globally, advance economies had been able to combat official 
corruption through other proactive and preventable measures. None had used the 
medium of death penalty, which in itself is reactive to and already consummated 
action."

He said that China, currently acclaimed universally as having the stiffest 
punishment for official corruption "cannot match decent countries such as 
Sweden, Switzerland and Namibia in the corruption index," adding, "These other 
countries used other proactive tools and preventive measures to achieve 
milestones and not death penalty."

His words, "In conclusion, I wish to state equivocally that deterrence, 
retribution (restitution) and reformation are the 3 essence of punishment. 
Death penalty as a form of punishment was initially thought to achieve 
deterrence, NLC should note that these were in primordial crude society, yet 
that goal was never achieved as savagery still characterized those societies."

(source: Vanguard)






INDIA:

Amroha murders: Guv rejects mercy plea of Shabnam & Saleem


The office of the governer have also sent the copy of the mercy plea rejection 
order to the President of India. The governor has rejected the couple`s mercy 
petition. The other mercy petition that was sent to the President is pending.

Uttar Pradesh Governer Ram Naik has rejected the mercy petitions of Shabnam and 
her lover Saleem, convicted of murdering 7 people of the woman's family, 
including a 10-month-old infant, at Bahman Garhi in Amroha on April 2008 to 
remove the hurdles to their relationship. In May 2015, the Supreme Court had 
dismissed the appeals of Shabnam and Saleem and upheld the death penalty 
imposed on them by a sessions court, which was confirmed by the Allahabad High 
Court. The office of the governer have also sent the copy of the mercy plea 
rejection order to the President of India. Speaking to TOI, B D Panday, jailor 
of Moradabad prison, said, "Shabnam and Saleem had filed the mercy petitions 
through the jail authorities before the governer of the state and the President 
of India simultaneously soon after their death penalty was upheld by the 
Supreme Court on May 15. The governor has rejected the couple's mercy petition. 
The other mercy petition that was sent to the President is pending.

(source: nyoooz.com)