[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----NIGER., S. ARAB., BAHR., UGAN., PHILIP., IRAN, TRIN.

[Rick Halperin]

March 24



NIGERIA:

Cynthia Osokogu's Killers Get Death Penalty


A Lagos State High Court in Igbosere on Thursday ordered the hanging of Okwumo 
Nwabufo and Olisaeloka Ezike who were charged with the murder of a 
post-graduate student of Nasarawa State University, Ms. Cynthia Osokogu.

The judge said the convicts should be hung by the neck until they are dead.

Osokogu had been lured from Abuja to Lagos on July 21, 2012 by Nwabufo, whom 
she had met and befriended on Facebook.

Nwabufo had paid for the deceased's flight ticket from Abuja and lodged her in 
Room C1 at Cosmilla Hotel, Lake View Estate, Festac Town, Lagos, where he 
later, in collusion with Ezike, murdered her on July 22, 2012.

In the hotel room, the convicts had drugged Cynthia, who was 25 years old, by 
putting Rohypnol in her Ribena drink after which they chained her hands to her 
back and secured same with a padlock.

Rohypnol is legally prescribed for medical use in more than 50 foreign 
countries for the treatment of insomnia and as a pre-anesthetic. It may cause 
drowsiness, confusion, impaired motor skills, dizziness, disorientation, 
dis-inhibition, impaired judgment, and reduced levels of consciousness.

The deceased's legs were also chained while her mouth was stuffed with a 
handkerchief and part of the weave-on that she had on her head.

A tape was thereafter fastened across her mouth to secure the materials stuffed 
in her mouth.

The convicts then made away with her 2 Blackberry mobile phones, jewelry, a sex 
toy vibrator, her international passport, and a pair of shoes.

After the murder and their apprehension, the Lagos State Government on February 
8, 2013 arraigned Nwabufo and Ezike on 6 counts of conspiracy, murder and 
stealing, contrary to Sections 231, 221 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 
State, 2011.

Arraigned along with them was a pharmacist, Orji Osita, who was accused of 
dispensing Rohypnol to the convicts without a doctor's prescription.

Also arraigned was the second defendant's brother, Nonso, who was accused of 
being in possession of the 2 stolen Blackberry mobile phones.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, almost 5 years after the crime, Justice 
Olabisi Akinlade convicted Nwabufo and Ezike as charged by the state.

She, however, discharged and acquitted Osita and Nonso on the grounds that the 
state did not prove the charges of recklessness and negligence pressed against 
them beyond reasonable doubt.

In convicting Nwabufo and Ezike, the judge relied on the oral evidence of 10 
witnesses and the 17 exhibits tendered by the prosecution, as well as the 
confessional statements of the accused persons.

Among the witnesses were two receptionists at Cosmilla Hotel, who booked the 
convicts into the hotel on the night of July 21, 2012. Also called was the 
hotel manager and a pathologist, who gave the cause of Cynthia's death as 
asphyxia, and the policemen who investigated the case.

In her judgment, Justice Akinlade held that though there was no direct 
eyewitness, the circumstantial evidence placed before the court by the state 
were "cogent, complete, unequivocal, compelling and leads to the irresistible 
conclusion that the accused persons and no one else committed the crime".

"The 1st and 2nd defendants were positioned at the scene of the crime at 
Cosmilla Hotel. The circumstantial evidence against the 1st and 2nd defendants 
is compelling and cogent and leaves no doubt in anyone's mind that they killed 
the deceased.

"It is on record that the first and second defendants made a confessional 
statement describing how they caused the death of the deceased," the judge 
held.

After pronouncing them guilty, she sentenced them to 14 years imprisonment for 
conspiracy, 3 years imprisonment for stealing, and imposed the death sentence 
by hanging for the offence of murder.

Before handing down the sentences, the judge asked the defendants if they had 
anything to say.

Counsel for the convicts, Mr. Victor Opara and S. Eze, urged the judge to 
temper justice with mercy.

Opara said Nwabufo was a 1st-time offender, adding that the convict was a young 
man who had "tremendous energy to do something worthwhile with his life".

"I urge this court to grant him a reformative sentence," Opara pleaded.

But in her response, Justice Akinlade said: "I have listened passionately to 
the allocutus of counsel. Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State says 
clearly that a person who commits murder shall be sentenced to death.

"In judgment, justice is required not only for the victim, but also for the 
society.

"In their attempt to steal Cynthia's property, they stole her life. They were 
not even remorseful.

"But for the efforts of the police and the Ministry of Justice, we wouldn't 
have been able to do anything. This court cannot change the law."

Concluding her ruling, the judge said: "I pronounce the judgment of this court 
upon you, Okwumo Nwabufo and Olisaeloka Ezike, that both of you be hung by the 
neck, until you are dead. May God have mercy on you."

(source: This Day)






SAUDI ARABIA----executions

Pakistani among 2 drug dealers executed by Saudi Arabia


Saudi Arabia executed 2 convicted drug traffickers on Thursday, bringing the 
number of prisoners killed in the kingdom to 20 so far this year.

The state-run SPA news agency named the 2 men as Saudi Arabian national Nasser 
Harshan and Pakistani national Namtallah Khasta Qul.

Both were put to death on Thursday after being convicted of drug trafficking in 
the kingdom.

SPA said Harshan was a repeat offender found guilty of dealing hashish. Qul was 
found guilty of dealing heroin.

More than 150 people were executed last year in Saudi Arabia, according to 
London-based rights group Amnesty International.

Amnesty reported 158 death penalties in the country for 2015, the highest 
annual rate in the past 2 decades.

Among those executed last year was Shia cleric Nimr al Nimr, a high-profile 
figure behind a string of Shia protests in 2011 demanding reform in the 
kingdom.

(source: Geo News)






BAHRAIN:

3 get death penalty on terror charges


A Bahrain court sentenced 3 people to death and 14 others to lengthy prison 
terms on charges they established a terrorist cell with the intent of killing 
policemen.

In addition to the 3 people sentenced to death Thursday, Bahrain's criminal 
court sentenced four others to life in prison in the same case.

8 more defendants in the case were handed 15-year sentences and 2 were 
sentenced to 10 years. The group was charged with forming a cell that made 
explosives used against security forces.

Bahrain was rocked by Arab Spring-inspired protests in 2011 led by the 
country's Shiite majority. The Sunni monarchy crushed the uprising with the aid 
of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The tiny Gulf nation is home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet and an 
under-construction British naval base.

(source: Associated Press)






UGANDA:

CSO want death penalty limited to murder


Among offenses on Uganda's law books that attract the death penalty include 
murder, treason, aggravated robbery, aggravated defilement and rape.

Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) and a motley group of Civil 
Society Organizations (CSOs) want the death penalty in Uganda to be limited to 
murder.

The CSOs contend the other 27 offenses on Uganda's law books that attract the 
death penalty are not serious enough to warrant the ultimate punishment.

"That is the standard set in many international protocols that are being 
followed by a number of countries," FHRI's Executive Director, Dr. Livingstone 
Ssewanyana told lawmakers sitting on the legal and parliamentary affairs 
committee of parliament.

Ssewanyana was at parliament to proffer CSO's views on The Law Revision 
(Penalties in Criminal Matters) Miscellaneous Amendments Bill, 2015.

The piece of legislation, a private member's bill that was introduced in the 
Ninth Parliament by then Serere woman MP, Alice Alaso, seeks to amend various 
provisions in a number of legislations that provide for death penalty as a 
mandatory or discretional sentence in certain offences.

The bill also seeks to abolish the discretionary death penalty and substitute 
it with life imprisonment in other cases.

By abolishing the mandatory death penalty, the bill seeks to bring Uganda's 
legal regime on the death penalty in sync with the Susan Kigula Supreme Court 
ruling a decade ago which declared mandatory death penalty as being 
unconstitutional on account of fettering judicial discretion.

Following the Kigula Supreme Court decision, then Chief Justice, Benjamin 
Odoki, issued sentencing guidelines which reserved the death penalty for "the 
rarest of the rare" offenses.

Among offenses on Uganda's law books that attract the death penalty include 
murder, treason, aggravated robbery, aggravated defilement and rape.

(source: newvision.co.ug)




PHILIPPINES:

Duterte threatens EU with hanging over death penalty pressure


Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday warned the European Union to 
stop pressuring South-East Asian countries over the death penalty, threatening 
to "hang all of you."

Duterte noted that most member countries of the Association of South-East Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) have capital punishment and their leaders were being pressured 
by the European Union on the issue.

"You fools, you sons of bitches, stop interfering with us," Duterte said at an 
early morning press conference after returning to Manila from visits to Myanmar 
and Thailand. "No one will tell you, so I will tell you, you are all fools."

"I will just be happy to hang you. If I have the preference, I'll hang all of 
you," he added. "You are putting us down. You are exerting pressure in every 
country with the death penalty."

It was not clear exactly whom he was addressing with the remarks, but he was 
quoted earlier this week railing against European parliamentarains, who passed 
a resolution last week urging the Philippines not to reintroduce the death 
penalty.

Among ASEAN's 10 member-countries, only Cambodia and the Philippines have 
abolished the death penalty, but Manila has taken steps to reinstate capital 
punishment under Duterte's administration.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have carried out executions of convicts in 
recent years, while Thailand, Brunei, Laos and Burma have had no executions in 
decades. Vietnam's statistics on the death penalty are secret.

Duterte alleged that Europeans were against the death penalty out of guilt over 
the deaths of millions of people during World War I.

He said "genetics" were to blame for Europeans interfering with other countries 
on the death penalty.

"Your guilt, your conscience is almost genetics. It is passed on from 
generation to generation," he said.

(source: europeonline-magazine.com)

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

GMA's vote on death-penalty bill a sensitive choice


The 216 - 54 and one abstention voting that marked the March 7, 2017 approval 
by the House of Representatives of House Bill 4727 (a measure that seeks to 
reimpose the death penalty on drug-related crimes) on final reading is, on a 
personal note, a most welcome development.

Like House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, the principal author of HB 4727 and the 
millions of Filipinos who believe in President Duterte's campaign against 
illegal drugs, I agree that reimposing the death penalty on drug-related crimes 
will be a strong deterrent to the country's worsening illegal drugs problem, a 
plague that now affects almost all barangays and all sectors of society.

While the illegal-drugs trade and drug-abuse remain to be among the country's 
long-standing social ills, the discovery of the magnitude of the problem by the 
Duterte administration and the President's ironclad antidrugs campaign have 
further divided the nation. There are those who believe that the country's 
antidrug-abuse laws must be given more teeth with the reimposition of the death 
penalty. While there are those who believe that drug suspects and convicts must 
be given a chance to live and change, and that execution is immoral.

The Church is strongly opposing the restoration of the death penalty, just like 
the 54 representatives who voted against the passage of House Bill (HB) 4727 at 
the House of Representatives. And among those who opposed the bill was former 
President and now Pampanga Rep. and House Deputy Speaker Gloria 
Macapagal-Arroyo.

Arroyo was just being consistent with her position on death penalty when she 
signed the law abolishing it in 2006 as the 14th president of the Republic of 
the Philippines. Like the 53 other representatives who voted against HB 4727, 
Arroyo has her reason for continuing to oppose the restoration of capital 
punishment.

The Philippines has a long history of imposing and abolishing the death 
penalty. During the era of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, 35 people 
were executed for savage crimes marked by "senseless depravity" or "extreme 
criminal perversity". When President Corazon C. Aquino took power after the 
People Power Revolution, the death penalty was abolished, unless for compelling 
reasons involving heinous crimes, by virtue of the 1987 Constitution. In 1993 
the death penalty was reimposed through Republic Act (RA) 7569, or the 
death-penalty law. Under RA 7569, crimes punishable by death included murder, 
rape, big-time drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, treason, piracy, 
qualified bribery, parricide, infanticide, plunder, kidnapping and serious 
illegal detention, robbery with violence or intimidation, qualified vehicle 
theft and arson.

In 1996 the death-penalty law was amended prescribing death by lethal injection 
for offenders convicted of heinous crimes. During the presidency of Joseph E. 
Estrada, 7 convicts were put to death through lethal injection. And in 2006, 
then-President Arroyo signed a law abolishing the death penalty.

This makes Arroyo's no vote to HB 4727 a highly sensitive choice. Unlike the 
other representatives who also voted "no" to HB 4727, the former President's 
vote to the bill would have local and internatonal implications. A "yes" vote 
for her on a law she had abolished during her presidency would have placed the 
former President in an awkward and very embarrassing position.

Arroyo's signing of the law that abolished death penalty during her presidency 
echoed not only in the hallowed halls of the Vatican, but in the enclaves of 
millions of pro-life communities in the world, as well. As President, she could 
have vetoed the law. But she did not. She stood by her belief about life, and 
continues to hang on to that same belief today when she voted no to HB 4727. 
And for that, I salute the former President for standing by her belief, even at 
the expense of losing a most coveted position at the House.

And for House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, he must look at the complexity of 
Arroyo's vote to HB 4727 and spare her from his plan to remove all those who 
voted no to HB 4727 from their House committee chairmanships.

As the late Russian military engineer Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky said 
about respect, "Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself 
and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the 
truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for 
others. And having no respect he ceases to love." Definitely, Arroyo did not 
lie to herself and to the world when she voted no to HB 4727.

(source: Business Mirror)






IRAN----execution

Unidentified Prisoner Hanged on Drug Charges


An unidentified prisoner was reportedly hanged at Semnan Prison (northern Iran) 
on drug related charges.

According to a report by the Iranian state-run news agency, Rokna, the 
execution was carried out on the morning of Thursday March 16 for the charge of 
trafficking 897 grams of crystal meth. The report claims the prisoner was 21 
years old, but does not specify whether this was the age of the prisoner at the 
time of arrest or execution.

(source: iranhr.net)

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

Death Sentence Continued to Be Used for Arbitrary and Political Charges


A man and woman joined the ranks of those that are being executed or sentenced 
to death by the Iranian regime for a variety of charges, many of which are 
arbitrary or fall under the guise of immorality or sinning against God. 
According to the Tehran prosecutor, "The convicts were a man and woman who ran 
a sect and attracted people with sexually related content." Their case is now 
pending before the Supreme Court, but both have been sentenced to death for 
'corruption on earth'.

Another man and woman were charged with providing drinks, encouraging 
corruption and prostitution at a private party. The man is an Iranian American 
citizen. No judgement for these 2 had been made as of mid-March.

Excutions

4 men were charged with armed robbery in Tehran and sentenced to death for 
'waging war with God'. "The police will follow up on these dossiers decisively 
and the culprits will be dealt with," said the Tehran Chief of Police, 
according to an Iranian state run news agency.

Many of these individuals have been denied legal representation and face 
torture and ill-treatment during their prison terms prior to their execution 
being carried out. Political prisoners are not exempt from these harsh 
sentences.

Marjan Davari, a 50-year-old researcher and translator, was sentenced by Judge 
Salavati to death. Her charge was the spreading of corruption on earth. She was 
kept in solitary confinement and interrogated without access to a lawyer or 
legal advice. Her work included translations of a number books on such topics 
as spirituality and metaphysics.

Excutions women

Human rights activists have also been targeted, according to the Human Rights 
Watch's report on Iran in 2016. Reports continue to surface about various 
activists who are being detained, even in early 2017.

In May 2016, a revolutionary court sentenced prominent Iranian human rights 
activist Narges Mohammadi, who had been detained for a year to a total of 16 
years in prison. Her charges included 'membership in the banned campaign, Step 
by Step to Stop the Death Penalty'.

Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur in Human Rights in Iran criticized 
Iran for its lack of freedom of speech, which led to the targeting of human 
rights activists, as well as journalists and bloggers.

"My concerns are that when people are arrested and threatened, they don't talk 
and when they don't enjoy freedom of speech, this is the result. Then we see 
they get sent to jail," said Jahangir during an interview with the VOA. She 
also noted that actions taken against political prisoners is meant to send the 
message that if you don't agree with the regime, you will also receive this 
type of treatment.

Even those who do receive legal assistance, often find their lawyers are 
prevented from doing their work. Lawyers who defend political prisoners or 
prisoners of conscience are imprisoned afterwards.

(source: The Media Express)

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

Women are Being Arrested, Tortured, and Executed under Rouhani's Watch


All dictators are known to oppress their opponents, lie to society about their 
policies, and resort to any crime necessary to remain in power. Hitler believed 
a lie should be preposterous to make it believable.

As the world marks International Women's Day on March 8th, Iranian regime 
President Hassan Rouhani has recently been making remarks about women's rights 
(!) in an attempt to cloak his portion of the Iranian regime's misogynist 
report card. Shahriar Kia wrote in 'American Thinker' on March 7, 2017, and the 
article continues as follows:

In his own memoirs, from page 571 to 573, Rouhani explains in detail how in 
1980 he began enforcing mandatory hijab regulations as the mullahs began their 
historical campaign against Iranian women.

On a more general scale, Rouhani is known for his preposterous remarks. During 
the 2013 presidential campaign he once said, "Not only do I believe we should 
not have any political prisoners, but I believe we shouldn't have any prisoners 
at all."

This same Rouhani, in 1980 when he was a member of parliament, provided a 
theory on how to establish security across the country: "Conspirators must be 
hanged in public before the people during Friday prayers to have more 
influence," he said, according to the official Sharq website.

Rouhani's tenure has also been the hallmark home of systematic oppression 
against women, workers, college students, writers, journalists, dissident 
bloggers; imposing poverty and unemployment on a majority of Iranians; 
continuous threats made against the media; punishment of political prisoners 
have increased significantly even in comparison to the years of Iran's 
firebrand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. During Rouhani's human rights violations-stained 
tenure, an average of 2 to 3 people have been executed on a daily basis.

Iranian women are known for their high rate of college education. But Iranian 
women have a lesser chance of entering the workforce in comparison to their 
counterparts in war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq. This despite the fact that 
Rouhani had pledged to set aside all barriers before women and provide them a 
larger share in politics and economics.

Statistics from the period of March 2015 to March 2016 show unemployment 
amongst young Iranians reached over 26%, and that 42% of young women were out 
of work.

"Based on numbers, around 300,000 women were working and enjoying social 
security insurance. However, these numbers have diminished to 100,000," said 
Soheila Jelodarzadeh, advisor to Rouhani's Minister of Industry, Mines and 
Trade to the official ILNA news agency.

On the salary gap between men and women working in factories, this advisor 
added in many cases women receive less than a third of the set minimum wage.

Rouhani had also pledged to establish a Ministry of Women's Affairs. Not only 
has no such ministry ever been formed, Rouhani's cabinet lacks even a single 
female minister.

During his 4 years in office, Rouhani has presided over the establishment of 
gender-segregated universities and women being restricted from many university 
courses. Many educational books have been changed to the detriment of women, 
and many fields are only allocated for men.

Perhaps the most atrocious of all crimes has been the phenomenon of regime 
hoodlums splashing acid on women. Not one individual was arrested after around 
15 women were attacked with acid in the city of Isfahan.

Due to the nature of the mullahs' regime, there are no specific numbers of how 
many women have been arrested, tortured, and executed under Rouhani's watch. 
Yet rest assured, such statistics would be very troubling, to say the least.

On January 27th, 2016, coinciding with Rouhani's visit to France, the country's 
Members of the National Assembly issued an open letter to President Francoise 
Hollande published in Le Figaro:

"...the new version of Iran's Islamic Penal Code continues to legalize stoning 
to death. Generally, women are under the pressure of legalized discrimination 
in regards to marriage, divorce, parenting children and inheritance. Women, 
continued to be considered minors, are not permitted to work and cannot travel 
without their husband's consent. A 2013 bill was ratified in Iran's parliament 
allowing men to marry their adopted daughters once they reach the age of 13. 
This is tantamount to legalizing sexual harassment of children..."

This short slate of facts shows that despite all his claims of being a 
"moderate" or "reformist," Rouhani's report card, especially on women's rights, 
proves he is nothing but another mullahs' regime loyalist striving to maintain 
the establishment intact.

Despite Iran being one of the most ruthless regimes in respect to women's 
rights, it is believed that the women of Iran can bring about change if not 
suppressed.

(source: ncr-iran.org)






TRINIDAD:

Trinidad moves to resume hangings


Authorities on both political sides are so fed up with the number of murders in 
Trinidad that they are moving to make the oil and gas-rich nation among the 
first of the Caribbean Community countries to resume hangings of criminals 
convicted of heinous crimes.

In recent days, the administration of Prime Minister Keith Rowley has retained 
the services of a former attorney general and prominent local lawyer to help 
clear the path for the country to resume hanging convicts by the neck until 
death.

Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj was the attorney general back in 1999, when authorities 
hanged nine convicted drug warlords in two days for a string of murders, 
putting a dent in violent crime and killings at the time.

The month of March has not even concluded as yet but the twin-island nation 
with Tobago has already recorded more than 100 killings to go along with the 
more than 450 murders police were forced to investigate last year.

Authorities appear to have snapped into action after the recent murder of 
police constable Nyasha Joseph in the city. 2 people are to be charged this 
week.

Most if not all of the 15 countries in the bloc of nations have in recent 
decades put the death penalty on hold or have succumbed to the lengthy process 
of appeals involving the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice, the British 
Privy Council, for countries that still subscribe to that court, or the Inter 
American Human Rights Commission. Others also take appeals to the U.N.'s human 
rights division.

These processes usually take approximately 12 years, frustrating enforcement 
officials and effectively stymieing any hopes of the death penalty being 
implemented. Critics think that the delays have helped to embolden c riminals.

But Maharaj told local journalists that he plans to use some of the tactics of 
the past to get around the various levels of appeals available to convicts. 
These tactics included making personal appearances to various courts, 
contending that government had a right to have its case heard.

Rowley has made it clear that he is "a firm believer" in the death penalty and 
his administration has every intention of resuming it as a deterrent to the 
increasing number of senseless murders.

The moves come just days after parliament had approved a bill giving accused 
persons the option to choosing a judge to hear a case or to stick with the old 
judge and jury system. Preliminary inquiries have also been outlawed, 
effectively reducing the time for the conclusion of cases.

Meanwhile, Faris Al-Rawi, the current attorney general, said the process will 
be resumed in a responsible manner. The country has 33 inmates on death row, 
but the sentences of 11 of them have been commuted to life because they have 
long passed the 5-year time period to complete all processes and hang the 
person.

"If there is consequence and it is swiftly delivered it will occur to those who 
want to commit crime that maybe they should not. My job is to apply the law and 
ensure it moves faster, as we are making everything work sharper and faster," 
Al-Rawi told the local Express Newspaper.

Some Western nations have tried to tie aid to the abolition of the death 
penalty, but many regional nations in the bloc have pushed back against this 
attempt.

(source: amsterdamnews.com)

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

'Hanging won't stop drugs or murders'


Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Harris, who last week submitted his 
resignation to Pope Francis on approaching the age of retirement, said 
yesterday calls to revive capital punishment reflected the will of a small 
group of "loud-mouthed" people in Trinidad and Tobago.

Harris spoke out against the reinstatement of the death penalty in a Facebook 
Live interview with CNC3, broadcast by the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, during 
which he confirmed the submission of his resignation to Rome, as is the custom 
on attaining the age of 75.

The Archbishop said he turned 75 last Sunday and sent his resignation to the 
Nuncio a few days before. However, the Pope is not obligated to accept and 
Harris said he is awaiting a response.

The 1983 Code of Canon Law and the 1990 Code of Canons state most bishops must 
submit resignations at the age of 75 and, once the Pope accepts, the bishop 
automatically ceases to hold any fixed-term office held on a national level.

Harris said he hoped he had impacted people's lives during his time, noting his 
support for improved conditions in the prison remand yard, his condemnation of 
child marriage, and his emphasis on missionary life.

Harris addressed the current debate over the Government's expression of 
interest in reviving the death penalty, which is law in T&T, as soon as is 
legally possible.

Last week, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley stated his own support for the death 
penalty as punishment for the crime of murder, and revealed he had enlisted the 
aid of former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj to navigate the judicial 
system to meet the standards of the Pratt and Morgan ruling, while allowing 
hangings to resume as soon as ???possible.

Harris said there had been "a pall" over the land in the aftermath of those 2 
days when convicted murderer Dole Chadee and members of his gang were hanged in 
1999 and that the root causes of crime are what need to be addressed.

'Who brings in the drugs?'

"If the death penalty is reinstated, at the end of it, having hanged 2 people 
or 3 people, what does that do to the nation?" Harris asked.

He said he recalled that after the hangings of Chadee and his gang, a lot of 
people wrote to say it felt "awful" and "barbaric" to hang 9 ???people in 2 
days.

The act of hanging those men neither brightened the soul of the people nor had 
a lasting effect on crime, Harris said. "That may be the law of the land, but 
when we admit and want to reinstate hanging, we put ourselves in the company of 
a bunch of nations I don't want to be associated with," Harris said. He also 
questioned whether the Government and those calling for capital punishment were 
reflecting on that. "I think it reflects the will of a group of people who are 
rather loud-mouthed," he said, having been asked whether he did not believe the 
call for the reinstatement of the death penalty reflected the will of the 
people.

Harris also said: "Hanging will not stop drugs from coming into the country, 
hanging will not stop people fighting for turf. And so the murders will 
continue, the murders will continue.

"And you ask yourself, who brings in the drugs and who brings in the guns? It's 
not the poor boys from Laventille and Sea Lots and where else in Trinidad. They 
don't have the money to do that."

The Archbishop said there must be change in the education system and promised 
the church would do its part to address those concerns.

He said the education system "creates criminals" and nothing is being done 
about it.

The system does not take into account various learning styles and produces 
failures, he said, setting a situation where there is no hope but tremendous 
anger, the Archbishop said.

(source: trinidadexpress.com)