[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 21



SRI LANKA:

Death fast to enforce death penalty


A father of 3 from Hettigedara, Kurunegala is on a fast requesting to enforce 
the death penalty against child abusers. G.O. Roshan Navaratne, 32, said he was 
ready to take up the position of the hangman. Navaratne said he requests 
President Maithripala Sirisena to enforce the death penalty as the number of 
child abuse cases are rising in the country. "I have no permanent place to 
live. I have 3 children and I am afraid about their lives. If there is no one 
to take the place of the hangman I am ready to take that responsibility without 
even a salary," he said.

(source: dailynews.lk)






INDIA:

7/11 Hearing: Defence cites '93 case, argues against death----Need to 
differentiate between 'beyond reasonable doubt' and 'absolute certainty', says 
defence.

Stressing that the focus should shift from "crime to criminal" in cases that 
attract the death penalty, the defence in the 7/11 Mumbai serial blasts case 
argued against death penalty, and drew parallels with the 1993 blasts case. The 
defence cited the example of the Supreme Court commuting to life term the 
sentence of 10 of the 11 awarded capital punishment in the case.

Defence counsel Dr Yug Mohit Chaudhry also cited the Law Commission's latest 
report, which has SC data that shows "trial courts erroneously imposed death 
penalty in 95.7 % of the cases". While dealing with cases that attract death 
penalty, the evidence should be higher than the "beyond the reasonable doubt" 
argument, said Chaudhry.

After they were found guilty of crimes against the country, each of the 12 
convicted in the case pleaded for a minimum sentence. They are facing a maximum 
punishment of death penalty and a minimum of life term.

Chaudhry, arguing on the quantum of punishment, said there is a difference 
between "beyond reasonable doubt" and "absolute certainty" that needs to be 
kept in mind while awarding death penalty. The defense argued the possibility 
of reform of the convicts as a mitigating circumstance. "Emphasis is on the 
criminal at this stage. Crime takes a backseat. When your lordship convicts, it 
is for the crime; sentencing is for the criminal," said the lawyer. The SC, he 
argued, upheld death penalty in only those cases of the "rarest of rare" 
nature. Relying on landmark judgments of the apex court, Chaudhry argued that 
only when the alternative - life sentence - is "unquestionably foreclosed" 
should capital punishment be awarded.

The human rights lawyer pointed out that there was a 'misconception' among 
people that life term meant 14 years. "Life term means life. But this is 
subject to remission, which is in turn is subject to the state government's 
discretion," he said. Chaudhry argued that in Maharashtra, a convict has to 
serve a minimum of 40 years to 60 years in jail before being considered for 
remission, in serious cases relating to POTA, TADA, MCOCA and terror.

Two probabilities, Chaudhry argued, gain significance. One is probability of 
the accused continuing to be a threat to society, and the second is his 
reformation that needs to be examined before death is awarded. Further arguing 
against death, he said if someone is behind bars for 40 years, 'how can he be a 
threat to society?'. He added that the accused in the present case were 
reformed.

Chaudhry also quoted Irish writer Jonathan Swift, who had remarked, "Laws are 
like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but lets wasps and hornets break 
through." The lawyer's reference was to the mastermind behind the 7/11 blasts, 
Azam Cheema.

"These accused were delivery boys at best as the entire diabolical enterprise 
was of Azam Cheema and the ISI," he stressed and said, "Law is meant to 
preserve life; not take life, except in the rarest of rare case."

(source: The Indian Express)






PAKISTAN:

Pakistani court refuses to halt execution of paraplegic man


Pakistan's highest court on Monday refused to halt the execution of the 
country's first known paraplegic death-row convict, a decision handed down one 
day before he's scheduled to be hanged at a high-security prison, according to 
a lawyer and an international rights group.

Abdul Basit, 43, has been paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair 
since contracting meningitis in prison in 2010, said Sara Belal, a lawyer at 
the Justice Project Pakistan legal aid group. He has been on death row since 
2009 after being convicted of murdering a man in a financial dispute in Punjab 
province.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected a plea to grant a stay of execution for 
Basit, according to Belal and the human rights group Reprieve. Court officials 
could not be reached for comment after hours Monday.

Basit's mother Nusrat Perveen told The Associated Press they met with him for 
the final time on Monday at a jail in the city of Faisalabad and said their 
last hope was a pardon from President Mamnoon Hussain.

"I beg to the president to pardon my son," she said. "My son was a healthy man 
but he became disabled in jail."

Perveen said jail officials told her they will hang Basit before dawn Tuesday.

Basit's lawyers had previously filed a petition arguing that hanging him would 
constitute cruel and inhuman punishment.

Amnesty International urged Pakistan to halt Basit's execution and called for a 
moratorium on all executions in the country.

"Instead of debating the logistics of how to put a man in a wheelchair to 
death, the authorities in Pakistan should grant reprieve to Abdul Basit," 
Sultana Noon, Amnesty International's Pakistan researcher, said in a statement. 
"This case has once again drawn widespread attention to the cruelty of the 
relentless conveyer belt of executions in Pakistan."

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, authorities have hanged 
236 people after lifting a 2008 moratorium on executions in December after a 
deadly Taliban attack on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed 
150 people, mostly children.

But only 1 in 10 of the 236 prisoners executed since December were convicted of 
a terror attack.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's military in a statement Monday that military courts had 
handed down death sentences to nine "hard core terrorists" who had killed 
civilians and security officials.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Calls for stay of execution for paralyzed Pakistani man----Rights groups, 
church official deplore 'cruel' decision


A rights group has called on Pakistan's president to stop the imminent 
execution of a paraplegic man, while Catholic officials in the country are also 
urging mercy.

Abdul Basit, 43, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 22. Basit, who is paralyzed 
from the waist down, was sentenced to death in 2009 after he was convicted of 
killing a man. He maintains his innocence but a petition calling for a stay of 
execution was dismissed by a court in Lahore in August.

In a statement Sept. 21, the Lahore-based Human Rights Commission of Pakistan 
expressed "shock" to learn that authorities planned to proceed with Basit's 
execution.

The group noted that international human rights principles call for special 
considerations for people with physical disabilities, while Basit's petition to 
the president is also still pending.

"In these circumstances, the execution of Abdul Basit will offend ... all norms 
of civilized justice, raise awkward questions about the Pakistan justice 
system's insensitivity to humanitarian imperatives, and indict the Pakistan 
state and society as brutal entities," the statement said.

Father Aftab James Paul of the Diocesan Commission for Interreligious Dialogue 
in Faisalabad deplored the planned execution.

"The government should change his death sentence to life imprisonment if it 
doesn't want to free him. But hanging a paraplegic inmate will be a cruel 
decision," he said.

"Today, the world is marking the International Day of Peace. We can contribute 
to peace by sparing the life of Abdul Basit," he added.

Pakistan lifted a 6-year moratorium on capital punishment in December after a 
deadly Taliban assault on a school in Peshawar resulted in the deaths of 132 
children.

The government initially reinstated executions for terror convicts, but later 
resumed hanging for all death row inmates. Since December, 236 people have been 
hanged in Pakistan despite strong opposition from rights groups and the 
international community.

(source: ucanews.com)

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

Halt execution of paralysed man due to take place tomorrow


Pakistan must halt tomorrow's scheduled hanging of a paraplegic man who 
developed tubercular (TB) meningitis while on death row, and immediately impose 
a moratorium on all executions, Amnesty International said.

Abdul Basit, who is paralysed from the waist down, was convicted of murder six 
years ago but has always maintained his innocence.

His execution was originally due to be carried out on 29 July 2015, but the 
Lahore High Court stayed his execution at the 11th hour after a petition was 
filed by his lawyers arguing his hanging would constitute cruel and inhuman 
punishment. The Court rejected the petition and gave the prison authorities a 
green light for the hanging to go ahead on 22 September.

"Instead of debating the logistics of how to put a man in a wheelchair to 
death, the authorities in Pakistan should grant reprieve to Abdul Basit," said 
Sultana Noon, Amnesty International???s Pakistan Researcher.

"This case has once again drawn widespread attention to the cruelty of the 
relentless conveyer belt of executions in Pakistan. At least 240 people have 
been put to death since December 2014 - a staggeringly high number that makes 
it 1 of the top 3 executing countries in the world. Pakistan should immediately 
impose a moratorium on executions with a view to the full abolition of the 
death penalty."

Abdul Basit became paralysed in 2010 due to the inhumane conditions in which he 
was kept in Central Jail Faisalabad, and was not given sufficient healthcare 
after being diagnosed with TB meningitis, leading to severe spinal cord damage.

Background

In December 2014, Pakistan resumed executions after a 6 year pause with the 
government claiming that this was necessary to fight terrorism. Since then 
Amnesty International has recorded 240 executions, many of which have been 
carried out in violation of Pakistan's commitment to international law, making 
Pakistan one of the most prolific executioners in the world in 2015. Around 
8,000 prisoners are currently on death row.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called for an immediate halt to executions 
as a 1st step towards the eventual repeal of the death penalty in Pakistan.

(source: Amnesty International)

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

Pakistan confirms death sentences for 9 militants linked to terrorist attacks


Pakistan's army Monday announced the death penalty for 9 hardline militants 
linked to a series of terrorist attacks across the country.

The men were convicted by military courts established as part of a crackdown on 
militancy following a massacre at a school in the north-west city of Peshawar 
on Dec 16 last year, in which more than 150 people, mostly children, were 
killed.

Parliament approved the use of the courts for the next 2 years, and the Supreme 
Court endorsed the move last month, rejecting claims it was unconstitutional.

"The army chief confirms death sentence of 9 hard core terrorists involved in 
killing civilians/law enforcement agencies personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 
province and sectarian killings," in south-western Baluchistan province, 
military spokesman Major-General Asim Bajwa said in a brief tweet.

The militants were also involved in several other incidents including attacks 
on senior army officials and a mosque in the northwestern city of Nowshera.

"One terrorist(was)awarded life imprisonment," Maj-Gen Bajwa said but did not 
disclose the convicted person's name or other details.

The army announced the first verdicts and sentences from the new courts in 
April when 6 militants were condemned to death and another jailed for life, all 
on terrorism charges.

On Aug 13, it announced death sentences for 7 more militants for their 
involvement in the Peshawar school massacre and an attack on a bus carrying 
members of the minority Shi'ite Ismaili community.

(source: Agence France-Presse)



SAUDI ARABIA----impending juvenile execution

Social media users call for freeing a Saudi teen ordered to death by 
crucifixion


In 2012, then-17-year-old Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested on questionable 
charges of illegal protesting and gun possession, the International Business 
Times reported. It was part of the kingdom's crackdown on anti-government 
protests in the Qatif province, though it's unclear how involved al-Nimr was in 
the demonstrations.

There was never any evidence to support the gun charge, let alone the 
accusations of "waging war on God." Two years later he was sentenced to "death 
by crucifixion."

Britan-based legal aid group Reprieve said the teen was tortured to force a 
confession, and it's likely he was targeted solely because of who his uncle is. 
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr is a well-known critic of the Saudi government.

"No one should have to go through the ordeal Ali has suffered - torture, forced 
'confession' and an unfair, secret trial process, resulting in a sentence of 
death by 'crucifixion,'" Reprieve Director Maya Foa said in a statement.

So when word spread about al-Nimr last week, social media users organized a 
Twitter storm to bring his case to the forefront.

(source: albawaba.com)






PHILIPPINES:

The alternative


What do the violent deaths of a 2-year-old girl from Minglanilla, a young 
lawyer from Mandaue, and a university coed from Lapu-Lapu City remind us?

That no one is safe anymore, wherever the place, whatever the time.

Lawyer Amelie Ocanada-Alegre was headed home, probably looking forward to a 
restful evening. But criminals declared no one should feel safe even with 
others around. They pumped bullets into her face and other parts of the body.

Ritsanlyn Donaire was left at home with stepfather Nicodemo Deloy, a 
construction worker. He commanded her to sleep, but the little girl was sick 
and restless.

Annoyed, he reportedly punched the 2-year-old and hit her head on the wall, 
driving sleep only farther away.

Coed Karen Kaye Montebon felt safe in her house. But the criminals declared no 
family home was private or sacred. So, at the very young age of 17, Karen Kaye 
breathed her last.

Ritsanlyn's stepfather reportedly said he was remorseful, but no tear was shed. 
Better that than crocodile tears.

Neighbors said he and the toddler's mother used illegal drugs. Also, that prior 
to Ritsanlyn's mauling, Deloy was irritable and worried about the late arrival 
of his wife.

As if any explanation is ever enough to justify cruelty to a child.

Having a 6-year-old grandson who is my constant source of joy, I share the 
mother's feeling of irreparable loss. But that does not stop me from asking why 
she continued to expose her child to danger at the hands of her live-in 
partner.

Neighbors were quick to share that they had known past instances of abuse on 
the little girl. What happened to a mother's ferocious instinct to protect her 
child?

Amelie's and Karen's perpetrators are still at large. To date, the motives for 
their killings are still big unknowns. And the hands that snuffed their lives 
cannot even be called suspects, just "persons of interest."

Very visible on the freedom wall set up for Karen were writings of :Kill all 
the criminals!," "Nigara na ang mga criminal!," "We need you, Duterte!" and 
"Yes to death penalty! Yes to death penalty!"

All with exclamation points, shouting out feelings of anger, pain, 
helplessness, frustration, hopelessness, desperation, depression.

I see where they're coming from. Would that the victims were still in 
hospitals, being cared for and nurtured to recovery! Even if connected to 
tubes, far from flat-lining, doctors and nurses consulting each other...these 
could give us hope.

I can see the fascination with (Rodrigo) Duterte and with the death penalty. 
Abolished in 1987, reintroduced in 1993, and abolished again in 2006. How about 
resurrecting it once again?

A knee-jerk reaction, really. Even in the U.S., having the death penalty did 
not make much difference. Its 31 states without death penalty consistently 
showed lower murder rates, than the 19 states with death penalty.

In rejecting calls for reviving the death penalty, anti-apartheid revolutionary 
and South African president Nelson Mandela puts it succinctly, "That type of 
vengeance does not help us, to kill people merely because they have killed 
others."

So instead, can our law enforcers, investigators and crime fighters go faster 
and smarter, please?

(source: Opinion, Lelani Echaves; Philippine Sn Star)






GREAT BRITAIN:

Hangmen, Royal Court, theatre review: Play about the last public executioners 
in Britain is a flawless treat


True, you might want to think twice before declaring that this play about the 
last public hangmen in Britain is "drop-dead hilarious" or "perfectly 
executed". But that's a pretty exact description both of the blackly comic 
brilliance of Martin McDonagh's writing in the piece (which marks his 
long-awaited return to the Royal Court) and of the sterling virtues of Matthew 
Dunster's consummately well-cast and performed production.

The American musical Fields of Ambrosia ("where everyone knows ya") has gone 
down in the annals of infamy for the unintentionally killing mirth that it 
aroused with its portrait of an intinerant executioner and his portable 
electric chair. Set in 1963 and then in 1965 on the very day that the death 
penalty was scrapped in this country, McDonagh's play, by contrast, adds up to 
a stinging indictment of capital punishment but never can the case against it 
have been mounted with such blissfully disreputable humour in a work that 
refuses, to put it mildly, to wear its heart on its sleeve.

We start in a brick prison cell where the hanging of a young man veers into 
grotesque farce. The hangmen are all three-piece-suits and dicky-bows and 
standing-on-their dignity, even correcting the youth's grammar ("hanged" not 
"hung") as he frantically resists He's told that it will be easier for him if 
he relaxes: "It won't be easier for me. I'll be dead". Belying the front of 
pernickety professionalism, the episode is fraught with bad-joke bungling. The 
whole set then lifts (the ace design is by Anna Fleischle) to reveal the cosy, 
nicotine-coloured bar of the pub in Oldham where David Morrisey's sublimely 
tinpot-but-touchy Harry, the last hangman, is now mine host, surrounded by a 
collection of goon-like sychophants who laugh like drains at his bumptious 
remarks and really get off on their proximity to the dealer in death.

The Northern-ness is in deliciously dour inverted commas. "You wanna watch 
yourself, lad. We're not all friendly up north"; the figure thus addressed is 
Johnny Flynn's disquietingly charismatic Mooney, who, it turns out, has been 
hired to be a "vaguely menacing" but is more Pete'n'Dud than Pinter. Why is he 
chatting up Harry's shy, moping adolescent daughter Shirley (gorgeously played 
by Bronwyn James). A quoter of Nietzsche, Mooney also gets to deliver one of 
the more bottomlessly banal sentences in world drama: "I'm slow with nuts".

The immaculate ingenuity and off-beam symmetry of the plotting is a thing of 
wonder. I won't spoil it for you, except to say that, on this day of abolition, 
we have not seen the last of nooses or possible miscarriages of justice. Reece 
Shearsmith is spot-on conveying the hapless, pervy resentment as the assistant 
still smarting that the priggish Harry sacked him for tittering at the enormous 
penis on the corpse of one of their victims. And John Hodgkinson is wonderfully 
imposing at the real-life Pierrepoint, Harry's rival who arrives at a massively 
inconvenient moment and proceeds to anatomise his cowardice and his feeble 
dependence on his dubious status. A flawless treat.

(source: The Independent)