[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 27



INDIA:

December 16 gangrape case: Supreme Court reserves order on plea challenging 
death penalty to convicts----The convicts in the case appealed against the 
Judgement of Delhi High Court which considered the crime committed by them 
'rarest of the rare' and awarded them the death penalty.


New Delhi, March 27: The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order in the 
Nirbhaya gangrape case on the petition filed challenging the death sentence to 
convicts. The matter is being heard by a three-judge bench including Justice 
Dipak Misra and Justices R. Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan. The convicts in the 
case appealed against the judgement of Delhi High Court which considered the 
crime committed by them 'rarest of the rare' and awarded them death penalty.

In an earlier development, the Supreme Court accepted the plea filed by amicus 
curiae Raju Ramachandran, which argued that the convicts were not given 
appropriate chances to represent their cases. He said that there was a 
violation of procedure with regard to the sentencing of the convicts - Akshay, 
Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh. The accused were asked to file their affidavits 
by February 23.

In December last year, amicus curiae Sanjay Hegde questioned the evidence 
produced by the prosecution in the gangrape case and came out with certain 
points putting a question on the merit of evidence. According to Hegde, 1 of 
the convicts, Mukesh, was not with the prime culprit Ram Singh when the offence 
was committed since their mobile locations were found to be different on that 
night.

The case also witnessed the suicide of the main accused Ram Singh in the Tihar 
jail. Similarly, another accused who was juvenile at the time of crime has 
already been convicted in August last year. The court awarded him a maximum 
sentence of 3 years in a reform house.

In December 2012, 6 people gang raped a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a 
moving bus in Delhi. The girl succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital 
on December 29, 2012.

The rape case also stormed the streets of Delhi with protesters demanding 
women's safety in the capital city. After a long deadlock, the central 
government agreed to form a committee which revisited the laws related to the 
rape in India. The committee led by Justice JS Verma recommended a new law for 
the country.

(source: india.com)






MALAYSIA:

Lam Thye suggests moratorium on death penalty cases


The Government should consider whether its review of the mandatory death 
penalty for drug trafficking should include making it retrospective on pending 
cases, said social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

Lee said the proposal for the review under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs 
Act was timely as this could help prevent a "travesty of justice".

Judges, he said, must be given the discretion to mete out suitable sentences on 
a case by case basis, especially for drug mules.

"While supporting the review of Section 39B, I also hope that the Government 
will address the issue raised by lawmakers and legal practitioners, including 
whether the move, if approved, could have a retrospective effect on pending 
death penalty cases," he said in a statement here yesterday.

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

More than 1,100 people have received death sentence in Malaysia


More than 1,100 people have been convicted and sentenced to death by the courts 
up to Feb 21 this year, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid 
Hamidi.

"Based on statistics from the Prison Department, as of Feb 21 this year, a 
total of 1,122 prisoners have been found guilty and sentenced to death by 
court," said Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minster in a written 
parliamentary reply.

His reply did not state from when these convictions took place.

He was responding to a question from Kasthuri Patto (DAP-Batu Kawan), who asked 
the Ministry to reveal the statistics of prisoners who have been sentenced to 
death according to background and cases as of Feb this year.

Ahmad Zahid said a total of 16 inmates - 14 Malaysian and two foreigners - had 
been executed between 2014 and Feb 21 this year.

"From the total, a total of 15 prisoners have been sentenced to death for 
murder while the other one was due to a crime involving firearms," said Dr 
Ahmad Zahid.

Last week, The Cabinet agreed to review the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 to allow 
judges to use their discretion in sentencing offenders instead of imposing the 
mandatory death sentence.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said 
the review will enable judges to mete suitable sentences in marginal cases 
where offenders could be given jail sentences.

(source for both: thestar.com.my)






TAIWAN:

New bill to remove statute of limitations on homicide----Taiwan's Ministry of 
Justice proposes to remove statute of limitations on homicide in new bill


In a landmark legal reform, Taiwan's Ministry of Justice recommended to 
eliminate the current maximum 30-year statute of limitations on homicide, 
enabling law enforcement to prosecute murderers indefinitely in the future.

Taiwan's Criminal Code has been around for 82 years and has been heavily 
criticized for its outdated regulations, which led the ministry to amend 21 
articles of the code.

Removing the statute of limitations for murder-related crimes is one of the 
most important amendments being made to the Criminal Code, and could help solve 
cold cases dating back 20 years when forensic science was less advanced.

Crimes in Taiwan have a statute of limitations ranging from a minimum of 5 
years for less serious crimes to a maximum of 20 to 30 years for serious crimes 
that might receive a death penalty or life imprisonment sentence under Article 
80 of the Criminal Code.

Several high-profile murder cases in Taiwan were left unsolved following the 
passing of the statute of limitations, including the execution-style murder of 
former Taoyuan Commissioner Liu Pang-yu on Nov. 21, 1996, and the murder of 
Peng Wan-ru, director of the Democratic Progressive Party Women's Affairs 
Department, on Nov. 30, 1996.

The statute of limitations for both cases expired in December 2016.

Killers in these cases as well as those of navy captain Yin Ching-feng in Dec. 
10, 1993 or the murder of former DPP Party Chairman Lin I-hsiung's mother and 
7-year-old twin daughters on Feb. 20, 1980, remain unidentified.

Many of these unsolved cases took place more than two decades ago when forensic 
science was still rudimentary, but the old Criminal Code capped the statute of 
limitations on murder at 20 years, meaning criminals could walk free once the 
time passed, even if law enforcement were able to track the killer down after 
the period, stated the ministry.

The ministry noted this was illogical and the recommended amendments to remove 
the statute of limitations on serious crimes were modeled on legal practices in 
Japan and Germany, where homicide does not have a statute of limitations.

The bill recommends that the sentence for those that take the life of their own 
kin under Article 272 should be the same as those that are homicide offenders 
under Article 271.

Under the current Article 272, criminals that murder family members or 
relatives are handed either the death sentence or life imprisonment, which is 
inflexible and offers no room for judges to base their decision on the 
circumstances of the murder.

The proposed amendment recommends judges should be able to double the length of 
prison sentences for those that murder their own family members in cold blood, 
but should take into consideration the circumstances of the murder.

For instance a more lenient sentence should be given to murderers of family 
members that endured long years of abuse from the victim, but a much heavier 
sentence should be issued to those that planned the murder of their family 
members over trifling issues.

The ministry also recommended to only charge mothers that kill their infants 
with criminal responsibility if the newborn was conceived through rape, had 
untreatable congenital disorders, or because the mother was unable to 
economically support the child. However, the court must prove she had "no other 
alternatives."

Under the current Article 274 of the Criminal Code, a mother who kills her 
newborn will be handed a minimum of six months to a maximum of five years in 
prison.

(source: Taiwan News)






SINGAPORE:

4 Kampar men charged with trafficking 14.6kg of meth


4 men, including 3 brothers, were today charged at the magistrate's court here 
with trafficking in 14.6kg of methamphetamine on March 13.

Kalitazan @ Nur Azan Abdullah, 44, B. Kalidass, 41, R. Elanggo, 30 and R. 
Vikneswari, 28, were accused of committing the offense at an abandoned hut in 
Jeram Mukim, Kampar Km1/2, Gua Tempurong here, at 2pm.

They could face the death penalty under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous 
Drugs Act 1952, if found guilty.

No plea was recorded, and no bail was offered.

Magistrate Nurul Asyifa Redzuan fixed May 8 for mention, pending a chemist 
report.

The men were represented by Sukhdabe Singh Kashmir Singh, while Deputy Public 
Prosecutor Nurul Azriah Said prosecuted.

(source: Yahoo News)






TRINIDAD:

Hanging won't stop criminals if detection rate stays low - Bishop


A member of the West Indian United Spiritual Baptist Sacred Order Inc in 
collaboration with The Baptist Community of T&T sing spiritual songs as she 
walks along Coffee Street San Fernando, during their annual "Baptist Liberation 
Rally and Peace march Against Violence", on Saturday

As Parliament moves to resume the execution of convicted murderers, Bishop of 
the United West Indian Baptist Sacred Order, Leon John, says this will not 
deter criminals as the crime detection rate is too low.

Giving his personal view on the death penalty during the annual baptist 
Liberation Rally in San Fernando on Saturday, John said if criminals believe 
they can commit crimes without being caught they will continue their crimes.

The success of the death penalty has long been debated in society, with many 
believing it does little to deter the murder rate.

With the murder rate spiralling once again, John said penalties, including a 
death penalty, would only work if you have someone to impose them on.

"In order you hang somebody you have to really find out who actually did the 
murder. The rate of detection of crime in Trinidad and Tobago is really low, so 
even if you increase penalties, if you don???t find persons who did the crime, 
hangings will not help much," John said.

"I believe that it would not make a difference with what is taking place with 
crime. I'm not in support of bringing back hangings as a deterrent to crime. If 
the criminals know that they will be caught, that will be a deterrent. If they 
know they can do crimes and get away, even if there is hanging as the final 
penalty, that would not be a deterrent."

During a post-Cabinet media briefing on March 16, Prime Minister Dr Keith 
Rowley said he was a firm believer in capital punishment and that those who 
have chosen crime as a way of life should pay the ultimate penalty. Rowley said 
he had communicated with former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, who 
had provided a pathway for the Office of the Attorney General to make sure the 
existing law can be used.

Maharaj is expected to host a media conference today to speak on Rowley's 
announcement.

It was during Maharaj's term as attorney general in 1999 that Dole Chadee and 
his gang were executed, after being convicted for the murders Hamilton 
Baboolal, his sister, Monica and their parents. 2 children, Osmond and Sumatee 
Baboolal, survived the attack. Osmond later turned to a life of drugs.

Giving an insight into what might come today, Lawrence said, "I'm basically 
dealing with the announcement made by the Prime Minister with respect to the 
submission of a plan for the implementation of the death penalty. I'll be 
talking about the questions and issues that have been raised following that 
announcement."

He said he will also be dealing with the laws to abolish preliminary inquiries 
and introduce judge alone trials which Government intends to introduce, as well 
as its fight against crime since coming into office.

(source: Trinidad Guardian)






GAMBIA:

Justice Minister wants death penalty abolished


The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Baboucarr Tambedou, has said he 
wants the death penalty abolished in The Gambia.

He said so on Thursday at a press conference held at the Justice ministry in 
Banjul.

Personally, he is an advocate for the abolition of death penalty in The Gambia, 
he added.

The Justice minister reiterated that the Justice ministry takes full 
responsibility for the error made in the process of amending the age limit in 
the constitution, carried out recently at the National Assembly.

"I was certainly aware, and I have taken full responsibility in terms of the 
error in the procedures, and I think we have closed that chapter. We are 
looking now to other interesting challenges in this country," he said in 
response to questions on the issue.

He added that no new cases on criminal charges will be handled by the Justice 
ministry, unless "they are thoroughly and comprehensively investigated and 
until the ministry of Justice is in a position to conduct this trials and only 
on the approval of the Cabinet."

He said they are preparing for victims under the former government, and when 
the truth and reconciliation commission is set up they will look at issues 
surrounding justice, "which will soon be done".

The ministry of Justice, in consultation with the Interior ministry, has 
established a 'criminal case' and detention review panel, to review ongoing 
criminal cases against current or former public officers or cases linked to 
political activities.

"The membership of the panel consists of lawyers from the Ministry of Justice, 
staff members from the Ministry of the Interior, a representative from the 
Gambia Police Force and the Gambia Prison Service. I have started receiving 
their recommendations on a rolling basis, and I will act based on this."

Foreign judges

Minister Tambedou also said The Gambia is not a xenophobic country, as Gambians 
do not hold anything against foreign judges.

However, after 52 years of Independence "the country has matured enough to be a 
country that is capable of producing its own judges to preside over its affairs 
in its own country."

He made it clear that where the country lacks capacity, expertise or experience 
in a particular area, "the country will be more than happy to welcome technical 
assistance from traditional friends and allies".

(source: The Point)