[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 29



TURKEY:

Different voices from inside Turkey's ruling party


Deputy Prime Minister Tugrul Turkes is known to be against the death penalty. 
In the cabinet meeting presided by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Oct. 31, 
he expressed his views outright.

"Even if the capital punishment is reintroduced, you cannot hang Ocalan and 
Gulen," Turkes said, referring to the Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the 
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed for the July 
15 coup. When Erdogan looked at him with questioning eyes, Turkes went on, 
"This is because, since Magna Carta, penalties are not retroactive." While the 
entire cabinet and the president were listening with heightened interest, he 
said, "In this case, we would bring back the death penalty but we would not be 
able to practice it. Reinstalling death penalty would disrupt our image. They 
would immediately expel us from the Council of Europe and NATO.?

Upon these words of Turkes, Erdogan said, "How can they remove us from NATO? 
There is capital punishment in the U.S." Turkes elaborated, "This has been like 
this from the beginning in the U.S. There was capital punishment before NATO 
was formed; they did not change it afterward. They have a separate law. But we 
have been subject to the continental Europe law from the beginning."

On the other hand, a cabinet minister known for his notable proclamations on 
the EU, in his meeting with the deputy chair of the AK Party, bluntly said, "If 
capital punishment is brought in, I will vote negatively."

We have seen during the sexual abuse criminalization debates that the public in 
Turkey, since opposition remains inadequate, expects the members of the ruling 
AK Party to warn the government.

In this process, there are certain people the president and the prime minister 
have consulted in the struggle against FETO, capital punishment and the 
presidential system. For this reason, I would like to reflect the shared 
thoughts of President Erdogan and PM Binali Yildirim. These names which are 
only a handful but have huge respectability, I think, and represent certain 
sensitivity within the AK Party.

At the top of the matters is the capital punishment. "Death sentence cannot be 
retroactive. For this reason, it is not possible to execute Fethullah Gulen and 
Ocalan. It can only be practiced as of the date it is processed. It is also 
questionable what deterrence this would have for future acts."

There are wrongs and rights in the fight against the Fethullahist Terrorist 
Organization (FETO). Here is a broader analysis:

"Our president categorized the FETO structuring to 3 levels as the top being 
betrayal, the middle commerce and the bottom worship. The betrayal attempted a 
coup in July 15. This has military and civilian connections. They have 
connections in military, police, the national intelligence organization. They 
have brothers, sisters and imams in civilian life. We should fight these.

"The commercial middle class, though, is a structure financially supporting 
them. In fighting these, we should determine a commercial capacity. We should 
target those that have a certain commercial capacity; however, we should not 
spread it to the street grocery store level.

"There is also the believer, the worshipper dimension. We should make them see 
the truth.

"Out of those who have been caught in July 15, 90 % are in the betrayal group. 
The judgement should start from there. Each institute should not have its own 
measures. There should be penalty criteria of 4 or 5 clauses. The process 
should function accordingly. But this is not being done. The fight is conducted 
irregularly. Social wounds are opened. The civilian leg has reached hundreds of 
thousands but the military leg has not yet reached 10,000. The fight against 
FETO business should not be considered as a score."

On the subject of conducting the presidential system together with the 
opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), there is a "be careful" warning. 
"As a result of the presidential system, there will be a bi-party system. The 
MHP will erode. Why should MHP leader Devlet Bah???eli want a system where the 
MHP will lose? Where does this appetite for the presidential system come from 
for Bahceli? Will the MHP crash us to the wall?"

We are walking step by step to the "President of the Republic" system. It looks 
as if the constitutional amendment will pass in the parliament and it will be 
acknowledged with a significant vote rate in the referendum. Nevertheless, I 
still wanted to reflect different evaluations within the AK Party.

(source: Hurriyet Daily News)






BAHAMAS:

Death Penalty Sought For Double Murder In Andros


A judge was asked yesterday to impose the death penalty on 2 men convicted of 
the murder and kidnapping of a Department of Immigration officer and his 
girlfriend in Andros.

Zintworn Duncombe, 28, and James Johnson, 22, appeared before Justice Indra 
Charles for the continuation of the penalty phase of their trial for their 
respective roles in the murder and kidnapping of Shane Gardiner and his 
girlfriend, Tishka Braynen, in 2013.

Gardiner and Braynen were allegedly killed after a failed plot to take $8,000 
in gambling winnings from the immigration officer. Braynen, of Cargill Creek, 
and Gardiner, who lived in Love Hill, both in Central Andros, were reported 
missing around 1.45pm on November 24, 2013. Gardiner had recently been assigned 
to the island. On December 21, 2013, police in Andros discovered the remains of 
a man with "items related to a female."

Duncombe, Johnson, Daniel Coakley, 28, and Cordero Saunders, 26, were 
unanimously convicted of double kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery 
and attempted armed robbery.

The Crown is seeking the death penalty for Duncombe and Johnson.

Darnell Dorsett, Crown prosecutor, made submissions on behalf of the Crown's 
request that the case met the "worst of the worst" threshold set out in law for 
the discretionary death penalty to be imposed.

The 2011 amendment to the Penal Code notes that only certain types of 
aggravated murder are currently punishable by death: murder of a law 
enforcement officer such as a police officer or a prison guard; murder of a 
judicial officer, including judges, registrars and prosecutors; murder of a 
witness or juror; murder of more than one person; murder committed by a 
defendant who has a prior murder conviction; and murder in exchange for value.

The only 2 possible sentences are either death or life without parole. Any 
other type of murder carries a term of imprisonment of 30 to 60 years.

The amendment further provides that any murder committed in the course of/or in 
furtherance of a robbery, rape, kidnapping, terrorist act, or any other felony 
is punishable by death, with no explicit requirement of intent to cause death.

A felony is defined as any offence that is punishable by at least 3 years' 
imprisonment.

"This is a fitting case for the imposing of the death penalty," Ms Dorsett said 
yesterday.

The prosecutor noted that Duncombe and Johnson were convicted of all of the 
offences brought against them.

She said the victims, based on the testimony of Terrel Mackey, were taken to 
Newbold Farms where Duncombe and Johnson, armed with handguns, demanded money 
from Gardiner.

"Duncombe shot Shane Gardiner in the head when Gardiner maintained that he had 
no money. Braynen started screaming and Duncombe shot her to the head execution 
style," the prosecutor added.

Ms Dorsett reminded the judge that the pathologist said that based on 
Gardiner's wound, his death was not immediate and so there was evidence of 
suffering.

Relying on the case authorities of Forrester Bowe vs the Crown and Ernest 
Lockhart vs the Queen, the prosecutor said the court has the discretion to 
impose the death penalty in the most extreme and exceptional cases.

"We say that the heinous murder of the senior immigration officer and his 
girlfriend falls within the 'worst of the worst' threshold when we compare 
other murders like the case of Simeon Bain," Ms Dorsett argued.

In the case of Bain, the 44-year-old had his life sentence reduced to 55 years 
by the Court of Appeal for the throat-slashing murder of former Burger King 
restaurant manager Rashad Morris after a failed plot to obtain money from the 
victim.

"In this case, in the middle of the night, a young neighbour heard a gunshot 
from Shane Gardiner's house. We ask the court to infer that Shane Gardiner 
(was) home in a relaxed state. They were taken in the dead of night to a very 
eerie place of Newbold Farms. There's no lighting at all in that area. We urge 
the court to take into consideration these 2 contributing members of society 
were taken hostage and 1 month later, hog hunters happened upon their remains. 
But for the grace of God, their remains may have not been found, leaving the 
affected families without closure," the prosecutor said.

She said the court also had to consider whether there was a prospect of reform 
for the convicts.

She stressed that there has been no expression of remorse from either Duncombe 
or Johnson which, according to psychiatrist Dr John Dillard, is the first step 
to rehabilitation.

"We say that because they've expressed no remorse, they still pose a 
significant danger to society," Ms Dorsett added.

Jerone Roberts, Duncombe's 2nd lawyer, countered that this case did not warrant 
the imposition of the death penalty as it did not fall within the "worst of the 
worst" threshold set out in prior rulings by the Privy Council.

Mr Roberts stressed that the psychiatrist could not definitively say that the 2 
convicts were beyond reform, which is a hurdle the Crown must get over in order 
for their application to succeed.

"This is a case which unfortunately occurs often not only in the Bahamas but 
around the world," Mr Roberts said, adding that even terrorist bombings have 
become daily occurrences.

Duncombe, Saunders, Johnson and Coakley, who all maintain their innocence, were 
each represented by lawyers Ian Cargill, Moses Bain, Donna Major and Terrel 
Butler.

Mrs Dorsett and Patrick Sweeting prosecuted the case.

A decision is expected to be handed down on December 12.

(source: tribune242.com)






PHILIPPINES:

House panel OKs bill reviving death penalty


The House of Representatives sub-committee on judicial reforms endorsed 
yesterday a bill seeking to reimpose the death penalty for all heinous crimes, 
including violations of the anti-drug trafficking law, under House Bill 1.

6 lawmakers voted for HB 1 while 5 wanted a substitute bill limiting capital 
punishment to drug-related crimes, arson and carjacking.

2 other members abstained out of their pro-life advocacies during the 
deliberations.

But opposition congressmen led by Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay immediately 
denounced the panel's "railroading" of the House leaders' bill.

"There was no report produced before the vote was taken. Members were not given 
sufficient notice of the scheduled voting," Lagman told a news conference.

HB 1 was authored principally by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Majority Leader 
Rodolfo Farinas and Minority Leader Danilo Suarez.

Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso heads the subcommittee. He is among officials of the 
province who have been linked to illegal drugs, but confessed drug lord Kerwin 
Espinosa of Albuera town, Leyte cleared him.

The justice committee led by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali will tackle 
HB 1 and the substitute bill, and fierce debates among the pro- and anti-death 
penalty camps are expected.

The imposition of the death penalty has been suspended since 2006 with the 
enactment of Republic Act 9346, or "An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death 
Penalty in the Philippines."

According to Alvarez, they intend to approve HB 1 before Congress takes its 
Christmas break on Dec. 16.

President Duterte has been pushing for the revival of the death penalty and 
Alvarez said this was among the issues that the Chief Executive discussed with 
them when he met senators and congressmen during a recent Legislative Executive 
Development Advisory Council meeting in Malacanang.

(source: Philippine Star)

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

Death penalty bill done by Christmas


Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Tuesday said the House of Representatives was 
hopeful of passing the proposal seeking to reimpose death penalty on heinous 
crimes before Congress would have its Yuletide break on December 16.

Alvarez made the statement as the House subcommittee on judicial reforms, 
chaired by Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, approved the measure contained in a 
consolidated version, including House Bill 1 authored by Alvarez himself.

But Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, one of the oppositors to the death penalty bill, 
denounced its approval.

The approved version of the measure will then be submitted to the House 
committee on justice, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, for 
consideration.

"The railroading has started," Lagman said, questioning the absence of a 
committee report prior to the approval of the measure.

Alvarez filed HB 1 which seeks to reimpose death penalty on heinous crimes, 
like 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.

"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," 
Alvarez said in his HB No. 1.

"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," the bill 
stated.

Republic Act 7659 or the Death Penalty Law was abolished in 1986 during the 
term of then President Corazon Aquino.

It was restored by president Fidel V. Ramos in 1993, and was suspended again in 
2006 by then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

President Rodrigo Duterte said he would want the capital punishment by hanging 
reimposed, vowing to carry out at least 50 executions a month to serve as a 
strong deterrent against criminality.

Alvarez lamented that the rise of criminality in the country had reached an 
"alarming proportion" and the government must do an "all-out offensive against 
all forms of felonious acts."

(source: Manila Standard)