[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 18



SINGAPORE----executions

Nigerian drug trafficker executed after last-minute appeal rejected


A 38-year-old Nigerian was executed on Friday (Nov 18) at Changi Prison after 
his 11th-hour appeal was rejected by the apex court.

Chijioke Stephen Obioha was convicted of trafficking in 2.6kg of cannabis - 
more than 5 times the capital limit of 500g - and sentenced to death in 2008.

He appealed against his conviction and sentence, but it was dismissed by the 
Court of Appeal in 2010. After death penalty laws were amended in 2013, Obioha 
was asked if he wanted to be considered for resentencing but declined, the 
Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said.

But before he was scheduled to hang in May this year, Obioha changed his mind 
and decided he wanted to submit new evidence and be considered for 
resentencing. The Court of Appeal rejected his request but ordered a stay of 
execution to allow him time to file an application for resentencing.

However, Obioha withdrew his resentencing application 3 months later. The court 
subsequently lifted the stay of execution.

On Wednesday, 2 days before his execution, Obioha again submitted an appeal for 
a stay of execution and to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment. The 
appeal was heard and dismissed by the court on Thursday.

CNB said in a news release on Friday that Obioha "had been accorded full due 
process under the law". 2 petitions to the President for clemency filed by him 
and by the High Commission of Nigeria had also been turned down, CNB said.

Another convicted drug trafficker was also executed on Friday after his 
11th-hour appeal was dismissed by the court.

Malaysian Devendran Supramaniam, 31, was convicted of importing 83.36g of 
diamorphine into Singapore - more than 5 times the capital limit of 15g - and 
sentenced to death in 2014.

(source: channelnewsasia.com)

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The Noose for Drug Offences: Humanity's Failure


This morning, at 6am, the execution of Chijioke Stephen Obioha took place. I am 
not even sure if his family from Nigeria were able to attend. Soon it will be 
all forgotten together with Chijioke's name, but for the many of us who fight 
and campaign to eradicate this barbaric practice of death by hanging, and for 
those of us who challenge the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking in 
Singapore, our work will go on. And it must.

Violations to Humanity

In Singapore, when drug possession and trafficking is presumed, the burden of 
proof shifts to the defendant. This is an abhorrent violation of fair trial 
rights, specifically the presumption of innocence. International law also 
requires that the use of the death penalty be restricted to the "most serious 
crimes". The UN Human Rights Committee has on numerous occasions found that 
drug-related offences do not meet the criterion of "most serious crimes".

Siding with the Traffickers?

I have written, spoken and fought against the death penalty for drug-related 
crimes for several years now. In this time, I have been confronted with several 
questions from the other side of the camp.

Some queried my determined obsession to defend these accused persons. "They are 
just drug traffickers, scums of the earth who bring vile filth to our country." 
"Drug traffickers deserve the noose, not mercy." "They knew the law, they chose 
to break it." "Innocent people can be hurt or killed by the drugs." "Do you 
have a soft spot for traffickers?" "By siding with the accused, you generate 
false hope."

Let me be absolutely clear that I wish all drug traffickers are caught and 
brought to justice - drugs should never enter this island I call home. There is 
no doubt that all those who are behind the trafficking of drugs should be 
caught and brought to justice - not just the mules/couriers, but also the drug 
lords.

But justice cannot be gained by the taking away of another person's life. "An 
eye for an eye" or "lex talionis" is believed by many to be poetic justice, but 
for many like me, it is barbaric, unethical and amoral. Many feel that 
retributive justice is the best response to a crime, but to me, the death 
penalty attains nothing, deters nothing and solves nothing.

Right to Punish v The Right to Kill

The debate on death penalty is complex because it isn't shaped by just logic 
and ideology but is rigged with emotions and personal experience. A provocative 
topic, it serves no purpose in a modern society and efforts should be refocused 
to address the core issues which result in the crime in the first place. There 
is consensus that criminal offending is a symptom of greater societal problems. 
Using violence to address these symptoms does not abate the problem - in fact, 
the act of execution as a punishment only further endorses the use of violence.

There are several pertinent reasons why I hope the government resists the 
temptation to simply look tough on crime by preserving the mandatory death 
penalty. Below are some:

An argument that many make in support of death penalty is that it 'acts as 
deterrence'. But if we were to believe in the studies carried out by many 
organisations including human rights watch groups like Amnesty International, 
we can easily conclude that this is untrue. Well-planned crimes like terrorist 
activities and pre-meditated murders are carried out with the knowledge of the 
consequences because they don't really care about the punishment.

I fail to see how death penalty is a deterrent to the drug lords and underworld 
dons when the trafficking is carried out mainly by youths who are incredibly 
marginalised, vulnerable to exploitation, manipulation, and coercion. I 
remember reading somewhere a description that with death penalty, the "mailman 
dies and the drug lord laughs". I doubt the message of deterrence is even 
audible to the originators in the crime chain.

Death penalty therefore fails miserably in reducing crime. There is a risk that 
it creates irreversible mistakes for people who are being framed or being 
"sacrificed" in the event that the perpetration does not proceed as planned.

Another reason for challenging death penalty is that we can never be sure that 
we will never execute the wrong person. Some people fall victims to the death 
penalty even when they are innocent because the criminal justice system is 
functioned by humans (whether judges, investigating officers or lawyers) who 
are fallible.

They can make mistakes or bear discrimination and history is littered with 
examples of people on death row who had their innocence proven only at the very 
last moment. As a society, we shouldn't wait for a wrongful execution to happen 
before we call for its abolition. Miscarriages of justice cannot be remedied 
and are irreversible by nature.

Proponents of the death penalty believe that through execution, the perpetrator 
never returns back to the society to cause it harm again. Yes, true, but so 
does life sentence without the possibility of parole as it exists in Singapore, 
and it is done so in a more humane fashion. Anyone who feels that a criminal 
would enjoy his stay in jail for the rest of his life and be eternally thankful 
is mistaken. Jails are horrific places.

Finally, but not lastly, I strongly believe that there has to be some limit on 
punishment - this limit is certainly crossed when we decide to take the life of 
a person. Yes, we have the right to punish, but humanity fails in dire 
proportions when it starts believing that it also has the right to kill.

Facts from Amnesty International: In July 2014, Singapore carried out its first 
2 executions since 2012, when 2 men were hanged after they had been convicted 
and mandatorily sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Their executions ended 
a moratorium on death penalty established in July 2012 to allow Parliament time 
to review the country's laws. Since then, there have been 5 other executions, 
including 3 for drug trafficking. At least 5 new mandatory death sentences were 
imposed in 2015, 4 for drug trafficking and 1 for murder. At least 23 people 
remained on death row at the end of 2015. As of today, 140 countries have 
abolished the death penalty in law or practice; in the Asia Pacific region, 19 
countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and a further 8 are 
abolitionist in practice.

"With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the 
death penalty in all form. I do not believe any civilized society should be at 
the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the Angel 
of Death." - Holocaust Survivor, Elie Wiesel, 1986 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

(source: M Ravi / Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign; The Independent)






THAILAND:

Death penalty 'too harsh' for political-post buying CDC backs 'extreme' measure 
for offenders


A proposal to impose a maximum penalty of death against politicians involved in 
selling and buying political positions under the draft organic law on political 
parties has been opposed by a National Legislative Assembly (NLA) deputy 
chairman.

Peerasak Porjit voiced his disagreement with the Constitution Drafting 
Committee's (CDC) proposal, while at the same time some academics threw their 
full support behind the proposal, saying the death penalty "will keep corrupt 
individuals out of politics".

(source: Bangkok Post)






PHILIPPINES:

House sees bills for death penalty, lower age of criminal responsibility within 
the year


The House of Representatives will approve the bill restoring death penalty for 
heinous crimes and the bill lowering the age of criminal responsibility within 
the year, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Thursday.

Alvarez said President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated his wish to have the measures 
in place during their recent meeting in Malacanang.

"As far as we are concerned, at the House of Representatives, our plan is to 
pass them before our Christmas break," he said in an interview late Wednesday 
in a gathering of PDP-Laban members. Congress will go on Christmas recess 
starting December 16 and will return to session on January 15 next year.

It also needs to pass the budget for the President's signing next month.

Both bills to restore death penalty and to lower the age of criminal liability 
are in the committee level, and facing tough opposition from several lawmakers 
and various groups.

Alvarez is the main author of both measures. House Bill No. 01 seeks death for 
the following offenses: human trafficking, illegal recruitment, plunder, 
treason, parricide, infanticide, rape, qualified piracy and bribery, kidnapping 
and illegal detention, robbery with violence against or intimidation of 
persons, car theft, destructive arson, terrorism and drug-related cases, among 
others.

"There is evidently a need to reinvigorate the war against criminality by 
reviving a proven deterrent coupled by its consistent, persistent and 
determined implementation, and this need is as compelling and critical as any," 
HB No. 01 said

"The imposition of the death penalty for heinous crimes and the mode of its 
implementation, both subjects of repealed laws, are crucial components of an 
effective dispensation of both reformative and retributive justice," it added.

House Bill No. 2 sought to revert the minimum age of criminal liability from 
the current 15 years old to as young as 9 years old.

The bill, titled "Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility Act," seeks to amend 
the "Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006" or Republic Act 9344, which set 
the minimum age for criminal liability at 15 years old.

(source: interaksyon.com)