[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 29




THE MALDIVES:

Branson urges Maldives boycott if government resumes executions for the 1st 
time in 60 years



Sir Richard Branson has described the reported decision by Maldivian President 
Abdulla Yameen to revive executions as "an awful political move that will send 
the country back to the Dark Ages of human rights."

In a blog post, the creator of the Virgin brand implicitly threatened to remove 
his money and business from the Maldives and urged other tour operators, 
governments and businesses to follow suit if the executions went ahead.

"I care about where my money is spent and how I conduct my business. President 
Yameen can still back away from the damaging path he has chosen for his 
country. If not, I hope the international community - governments...

(source: telegraph.co.uk)








BAHAMAS:

'Death Penalty Is The Wrong Way To Tackle Rising Crime'



The Grand Bahama Human Rights Association yesterday urged the Minnis 
administration to reconsider its intention to push for the death penalty to be 
enforced to ensure criminals are punished to the full extent of the law.

In a statement released on Thursday, the GBHRA commended the FNM for its stated 
commitment to reversing the upward trend in violent crime, but further warned 
"capital punishment is simply not the way to do it."

The statement came 2 days after National Security Minister Marvin Dames, in an 
interview with The Tribune on Tuesday, said his party would use everything on 
the law books, including capital punishment, to make The Bahamas safe for 
"law-abiding citizens".

However, to debunk the perceived connection between increased capital 
punishment and decreased crime, the GBHRA contended 90 % of criminologists have 
agreed that capital punishment is "a totally pointless exercise from the 
perspective of reducing violent crime".

The association said many of the most violent countries in the world are those 
which have the death penalty on their law books.

"This is because, as studies show, the death penalty contributes significantly 
to the brutalisation of individuals and society as a whole, which in turn leads 
to higher rates of murder and violence," the GBHRA noted.

"In the US, states that retain the death penalty have higher murder rates than 
those that have abolished it. Capital punishment has also been linked to higher 
rates of violence against police and officers and increased anti-social 
behaviour generally.

"In addition, it is an inescapable fact that sooner or later, societies that 
engage in capital punishment will execute an innocent person. No system of 
justice is perfect, court witnesses make mistakes and jurors do not always vote 
according to evidence."<

The GBHRA asserted the execution of an individual is an "irreversible act of 
state violence" that can never be taken back or atoned for if it is later 
realised that it was wrongfully applied.

"According to Amnesty International, 130 people sentenced to death in the 
United States have been found innocent since 1973 and released from death row. 
Many others were found to have been wrongfully convicted when it was already 
too late.

"Such practical considerations aside, there is also a strong moral objection to 
capital punishment. As a nation founded on an abiding respect for Christian 
values and the rights of the individual, The Bahamas must always be seen to 
affirm the maxim that all life is sacred.

"Everyone has a sacred and inalienable right to life, even those who commit 
murder. Sentencing a person to death and executing them clearly violates this 
right," the group added.

The GBHRA said the government should consider that trends in criminality and 
anti-social behaviour cannot be meaningfully reversed unless the underlying 
causes are addressed.

The group added that the government, while doing all it can to protect 
law-abiding citizens, it should look to combat poverty, child neglect, domestic 
violence, drug addiction and the other social ills, all of which, GBHRA said, 
have been "repeatedly proven" to drive vulnerable young people toward a life of 
crime.

To this end, GBHRA said returning The Bahamas to a "sense of peace, safety and 
property," will take nothing short of a total commitment by government, civil 
society and ordinary citizens to breaking the cycle of social degeneration 
that, it argued, has given rise to crime.

In conclusion, the group urged the government to lead the way in restoring a 
sense of decency and civility to the nation and to resist taking the country 
down the road toward further violence, retribution and brutality.

A 2006 decision by the London-based Privy Council, The Bahamas' highest court 
of appeal, quashed the country's mandatory death penalty for murder convicts, 
which it said was unconstitutional.

In 2011, the Privy Council also said the death penalty should only be given in 
cases where the offence falls into the category of the "worst of the worst".

That same year, the Ingraham administration made changes to the Penal Code to 
set out the criteria for the types of murders that would attract a 
discretionary death penalty after conviction.

The last person to be executed by the state was David Mitchell in January 2000.

(source: tribune242.com)








PHILIPPINES:

LP expresses victory over exclusion of death penalty in Congress priority list



The once ruling Liberal Party (LP) on Friday said Congress' decision not to 
include the death penalty bill from the list of priority measures "is a small 
but substantial victory."

"The discussions do not end here, but this delay provides more time for our 
lawmakers and fellow Filipinos to delve further into the issues surrounding 
capital punishment and the risks it poses should it ever pass into law," the LP 
said in a statement.

"We believe in a Philippines that offers justice without killing. Ours is a 
country of life and vitality. Let us always remember it," it added.

The bill restoring the imposition of death penalty was passed on third reading 
at the House of Representatives. It is also one of the measures pushed by 
President Rodrigo Duterte during his 2nd state of the nation address last 
Monday.

However, this was not included in the priority list of Congress' common 
legislative agenda.

The Congress, instead, intend to prioritize bills on tax reforms, traffic 
emergency powers and the end of "endo," or contractualization, before the end 
of 2017, as well as to revise the 1987 Constitution and approve the proposed 
Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)








MALAYSIA:

Woman accused of killing Kim Jong Un's half-brother had "no guilty 
intention"----The women face a possible death penalty if convicted



A chemist's report that shows the banned VX nerve agent was used to kill the 
half brother of North Korea's leader needs further scrutiny, a lawyer for 1 of 
the 2 women accused of poisoning the man said Friday as he examined evidence 
ahead of a trial set for October.

High Court Judge Azmi Ariffin set an Oct. 2 trial date for Indonesian Siti 
Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, who are accused of smearing Kim Jong 
Nam's face with banned VX nerve agent at a crowded airport terminal in Kuala 
Lumpur on Feb. 13. He died about 20 minutes later.

The women, who face a possible death penalty if convicted, say they were duped 
into thinking they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden-camera TV show.

Prosecutor Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad said he plans to call up to 40 witnesses, 
including 10 experts and a few foreigners.

The women appeared in court wearing traditional Malay dresses, smiling at their 
lawyers and embassy officials. They were handcuffed as they were led to the 
dock.

But after the judge left the room, Aisyah was in tears as her lawyer debriefed 
her.

The 2 women are the only suspects in custody in a killing that South Korea's 
spy agency said was part of a 5-year plot by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to 
kill a brother he reportedly never met. Malaysian police have said 4 North 
Korean suspects fled the country the same day Kim Jong Nam was killed.

Gooi Soon Seng, Aisyah's lawyer, told reporters that "traces of precursors of 
VX and degrading products of VX" were found on Kim's face and the women's 
clothing based on government documents. He said the defense has to engage 
expert opinion to establish if this meant that the poison used was VX or some 
other chemical.

VX is supposed to be very potent and even 0.1 milliliters is enough to kill a 
person. "But we can say that there were no side effects on the 2 women," Gooi 
said.

"We have doubts over the accuracy of the report. We are seeking evidence that 
VX is used. The burden of proof is on the prosecution," Gooi said.

Whether VX or not, Gooi said their core defense was that Aisyah didn't know she 
had poison on her hand at the time.

"A crime constitutes an act and a guilty intention. There was no guilty 
intention on her part. She didn't know what she was applying," he added.

Earlier, prosecutors provided airport camera footage to the defense. Gooi said 
it included a video of a prank played by Aisyah on someone else at the airport. 
He didn't give further details. North Korea has a history of ordering killings 
of people it views as threats to its regime. While Kim Jong Nam was not thought 
to be seeking influence, his status as eldest son in the current generation of 
North Korea's founding family could have made him appear to be a danger to his 
half brother's rule.

Pyongyang has denied any role in the killing and has not even acknowledged that 
the dead man was Kim Jong Nam.

(source: Associated Press)








PAKISTAN:

Death penalty in murder cases



A court awarded death sentence to 2 men in separate murder cases in Faisalabad 
on Friday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka awarded death 
sentence on 3 counts to a man convicted in triple murder case within Dijkot 
police station precincts. The prosecution told the court that accused Shahbaz, 
his father Hashmat Ali and his brother Nawaz had gunned down rivals Muhammad 
Hanif, Tahir Mehmood and Mudassar over water dispute in 2015.

Man gets death penalty over blasphemy on social media

After hearing the witnesses, the court awarded death sentence to Salah Muhammad 
and 40 years jail imprisonment to Shahbaz with a collective fine of Rs1.5 
million which would be paid as compensation to the heirs of the deceased. 
Meanwhile, the court acquitted Hashmat and Nawaz over lack of evidence.

In yet another case, the judge awarded death penalty to Saifullah for killing 
Roshan Masih in 2011. The court also imposed a fine of Rs0.5 million on the 
convict.

Pakistan concerned over EU resolution blocking death penalty

Earlier, Additional District and Sessions Judge Farzana Shahzad awarded death 
sentence and 40 year jail term to 2 accused involved in a dual murder case 
within Terkhanawala police station. Convicts Salah Muhammad, Muhammad Asif and 
their father Ashraf had murdered their 2 uncles Ghulam Raza and Asif over a 
family dispute.

After hearing the witnesses, the court awarded death sentence to Salah Muhammad 
and 40 years jail imprisonment to Muhammad Asif. Meanwhile, the judge acquitted 
Ashraf over lack of evidence.

(source: The Express Tribune)