[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 11



AFRICA:

Numbers of Africans Sentenced to Die Soars


More than 1,000 Nigerians languish on death row.

Governments in sub-Saharan Africa sentenced at least 1 083 people to death in 
2016 - more than double the 443 people condemned to die in 2015, according to a 
recent report by international human rights organisation Amnesty International.

The research shows that rising numbers of people sentenced to die in the region 
are largely driven by an upswing of such judgments in Nigeria, which handed 
down death sentences to almost 500 people in 2016.

Although the number of death sentences more than doubled, the region saw fewer 
actual executions - 22 people. The executions took place in 5 countries, the 
bulk of which were in Somalia. The other countries included Sudan and Botswana.

"Countries in sub-Saharan Africa that continue to hold on to the death penalty 
are showing utter disregard to the right to life of people and are on the wrong 
side of history as the world is moving away from the punishment," says Amnesty 
International's death penalty adviser Oluwatosin Popoola.

Amnesty's latest global survey on the use of the death penalty was released in 
April and shows that, globally, fewer countries are prescribing death 
sentences. It also argues that fewer people were executed in 2016 than in the 
previous year but cautions that reported rates of death sentences and 
executions are likely to be under-reported because many governments do not 
publish statistics on their use of the death penalty.

In Southern Africa, Botswana was the only country to execute anyone in 2016. It 
was that country's 1st state-mandated killing since 2013.

"Botswana's step backwards must not be replicated elsewhere in the region," 
Amnesty International's Southern Africa director Deprose Muchena warns in the 
report.

About 300 people across the Southern African region were sentenced to death by 
the end of 2016, the overwhelming majority of whom were in Zambia - 157 - 
followed by Zimbabwe - 97.

"African countries that still retain the death penalty can reduce this by 
abolishing mandatory death sentences, reducing the number of offences that 
provide for the death penalty and restricting the imposition of death sentences 
to the 'most serious crimes' as provided for by international human rights 
law," Popoola explains.

The report does not investigate the effects of capital punishment on the 
families of death-row prisoners, but says it can prolong the suffering of the 
victims' families and those condemned to die, says Popoola.

He says countries should ideally restrict the use of the death penalty with the 
aim of abolishing it in the future.

Popoola argues: "The death penalty diverts resources and energy that could be 
better used to work against violent crime and assist those affected by it.

"It is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it."

(source: allafrica.com)






INDIA:

India carried out no executions in 2016, Amnesty reveals in its annual death 
sentence report


India did not execute a single person last year despite the country imposing a 
total of 136 death sentences, which was significantly higher than the previous 
years, according to a report released on Tuesday by Amnesty International. 
"India recorded a total of 136 death sentences imposed in 2016, significantly 
higher than the previous years, whereas a significant decrease in the 
implementation of death sentences was recorded in Pakistan, by 73 %," Amnesty 
said its annual report on 'Death Sentences and Executions'.

India carried out no executions last year, but was among the few countries to 
hand out capital punishment for drug- related crimes and also amended its laws 
to introduce the death penalty for hijacking when it results into death, the 
Amnesty report said. "More than 400 people were believed to be under sentence 
of death at the end of the year. In May, the National Law University, Delhi, 
published an extensive study showing that most prisoners on death row were from 
economically vulnerable and socially disadvantaged groups," the report noted.

The human rights group recorded 1,032 executions in 2016, a 37 % drop 
worldwide, with China believed to have executed more than all countries 
combined but the figures remain a classified state secret. Despite the 
significant decrease world-wide, the overall number of executions in 2016 
remained higher than the average recorded for the previous decade, the Amnesty 
report said.

Of the total 1,032 executions, 87 % took place in just 4 countries - Iran, 
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan. Pakistan's execution rate dropped from 326 
recorded deaths in 2015 to at least 87 the following year. The high number 
reported in 2015 followed the lifting of a 7-year moratorium on executions in 
December 2014 in response to a deadly Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar. 
The country then created military courts to try civilians suspected of 
terrorism-related offences. In 2016, at least 4 of those executed in the 
country were convicted by the military courts.

"The death penalty was used in contravention of international law and 
standards, including on people with mental disabilities, for crimes that did 
not meet the threshold of the 'most serious crimes' to which the use of the 
death penalty must be restricted, such as 'blasphemy'; and in violation of the 
defendants' right to a fair trial," the report noted. However, the biggest 
rebuke is directed at China for its execution record and failure to disclose 
the true nature of capital punishments in the country.

A new in-depth investigation by Amnesty International claims that the Chinese 
authorities enforce an elaborate secrecy system to obscure the shocking scale 
of executions in the country, despite repeated claims it is making progress 
towards judicial transparency. For the 1st time since 2006, the US is not among 
the world's 5 biggest executioners and the number of executions (20) in 2016 
reached the lowest level recorded in any year since 1991.

Amnesty collects its statistics using official figures, media reports and 
information passed on from individuals sentenced to death and their families 
and representatives.

(source: firstpost.com)

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

Upholding majesty of international law----India's moving the International 
Court of Justice to seek justice for Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former naval officer 
who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court vindicates the majesty 
of international law. It also vindicates the need for India to take 
international law more seriously across the board as an instrument of state 
policy.


Upholding majesty of international law

India has made a deft move to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking 
justice for its national, Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former naval officer, who was 
sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court. This is the 1st such action 
by India as it had hitherto refrained from taking any bilateral issue to 
international forums or judicial bodies (courts and tribunals). This action has 
been triggered by the consistent denial by Pakistan of "consular access", a 
minimal courtesy exercised by all civilised states, to Jadhav as a national of 
India. India expressed determination to rescue Jadhav from the Pakistani 
custody as it viewed the case as stage-managed abduction, slapping of false 
espionage charges and secretive military trial leading to imposition of death 
penalty.

Notwithstanding lack of "compulsory" jurisdiction of ICJ, India sought to tap 
the legal remedy available under Article 36 (1) of the ICJ Statute (all matters 
provided for in treaties and conventions in force) and Article 1 of the 
Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes (1963) to 
the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963). The Optional Protocol 
provides that "unless some other form of settlement has been agreed upon by the 
parties...Disputes arising out of the interpretation or application of the 
Convention shall lie within the compulsory jurisdiction of the International 
Court of Justice and may accordingly be brought before the Court by an 
application made by any party to the dispute being a Party to the present 
Protocol". As of May 2016, the Protocol was ratified by 51 states and, 
amazingly, included both India and Pakistan!

This represents a growing trend, wherein a state party seeks to raise issue of 
breach of specific treaty obligation by another state. For instance, Ukraine 
has taken the Russian Federation to ICJ for breach of Convention for the 
Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the Convention on Elimination of 
all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

It is the 1st such resolute support provided by India to rescue a national, 
accused of violations of local law in another country. Due to the unusual 
situation prevailing in Pakistan as well as regular incidents of aiding and 
abetement of cross-border terror chain of pin-pricks, India has been forced to 
bypass time-tested rule of "exhaustion of local remedies" as they are in any 
case not available due to the current impasse.

The Indian action has been buttressed by turning down of more than 15 requests 
for consular action by the Pakistani authorities. In a petition filed in the 
registry of the ICJ in the Hague, India underscored the urgency of this 
situation. It referred to the provisions of Article 75 of the Rules of Court, 
asked the Court to indicate forthwith, and without holding any hearing, 
provisional measures proprio motu. As laid down by the ICJ in Vienna Convention 
on Consular Relations case (Paraguay v. USA case; April 9, 1998), the Court 
could order interim measures if there is possibility of "irreparable 
prejudice...to rights which are the subject of dispute ...". As a corollary, in 
a swift move, the President Rony Abraham issued an order to Pakistan to "act in 
such a way so as to enable the court to enforce any decision it takes on the 
Indian plea."

As a founding member of the United Nations, India has been forced to move to 
ICJ not for violations of sovereignty per se but breach of an international 
treaty obligation - the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963. India 
has otherwise consistently denied efforts of countries like Pakistan to drag 
her to ICJ on the basis of the "Commonwealth Clause" in declaration under 
Article 36 (2) of the Statute of ICJ. Pakistan's steadfast refusal to allow 
consular access to Jadhav has lent credence to Indian claim about "fixing" of 
Jadhav, circumstances of his alleged abduction and "sale" in early 2016 to 
elements in Pakistan and slapping of "espionage" case even though it was proved 
he was carrying an Indian passport. This, as India argued, "has prevented India 
from exercising its rights under the Convention and has deprived the Indian 
national from the protection accorded under the Convention". The issue at stake 
has been the nationality of Jadhav and the prevalent right of India to provide 
diplomatic/consular protection to Jadhav. The case has assumed grim proportions 
since efforts were stonewalled by Pakistan to allow consular access to him. 
Demarche issued to the Pakistan High Commissioner were ignored and all pleas at 
the highest level fell on deaf ears. It has placed bilateral relations in 
serious jeopardy.

The Indian contention in the Jadhav case is rooted in Article 36 (1) of the 
Vienna Convention that guarantees unimpeded consular communication, access and 
providing of legal representation by a 'sending state' to its nationals who are 
arrested or committed to prison pending trial or detained in any other manner. 
Pakistan's consistent and wilful denial of India's right to provide consular 
protection to Jadhav has led to the ICJ to underline sanctity of the Convention 
as well as efficacy of the remedy available under the Optional Protocol. Indian 
legal recourse is a cogent step to obtain judicial restraint of Pakistan's 
aberrant conduct resulting in not only gross violation of India's consular 
right but also basic human right of Jadhav under Article 6 of the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This provides every human being the 
inherent right to life.

Generally, the UN member states take matters to ICJ on issues concerning 
territorial integrity and sovereignty like delimitation of land and maritime 
borders or other violations. It is rare that states contend before ICJ issues 
concerning rights of a corporate entity (Interhandle case by Switzerland 
against USA) or individuals (Asylum case by Columbia against Peru). In 1980, 
the USA also had to ICJ against Iranian revolutionary guards' seizure of the US 
Embassy in Tehran. In the famous LaGrand case (1999), the ICJ upheld German 
contention that the USA violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by 
not advising its national Karl and Walter LaGrand on their right to consular 
access that prevented Germany from obtaining effective trial counsel for them. 
In spite of repeated German assertions Karl La Grand was executed in the state 
of Arizona on February 24, 1999. The ICJ did grant urgent provisional measures 
and stayed the execution of Walter LaGrand that was slated for March 3, 1999.

India had no choice amidst the groundswell of domestic public opinion as well 
as to counter Pakistan's compulsive "irritation" campaign to ward off 
international isolation. The decisions given by the ICJ are binding on the 
parties to the dispute. There are glaring cases of defiance in the past by 
countries such as USA (Nicaragua case) and Iran (Hostages case). Still Pakistan 
can defy ICJ only at its own peril and at the cost of irreversibly damaging 
India-Pakistan relations. In this grim scenario, Indian recourse to this 
international law remedy has brought about a glimmer of hope. It provides a 
robust message that it will work wonders if India takes this vital instrument 
more seriously in internal governance structure as well as in the conduct of 
external affairs and, in turn, for maintenance of international peace and 
security.

(source: Bharat H Desai is Chairman of Centre for International Legal Studies, 
JNU. Balraj K Sidhu is faculty member of RGSOIPL, Indian Institute of 
Technology-Kharagpur----tribuneindia.com)






PAKISTAN----executions

TTP terrorists convicted by military courts executed


4 more Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists convicted of "heinous" 
terror related offences by military courts have been executed today 
(Wednesday), the Pakistan Army announced.

The terrorists were involved in killing of innocent civilians, attacking a 
mosque, destruction of communication infrastructure, attacking Law Enforcement 
Agencies and Armed Forces.

All the 4 convicts including Qaider Khan, Muhammad Umar, Qari Zubair Muhammad 
and Aziz Khan were active members of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. They 
had admitteded their offences before the Magistrate and trial court, Pakistan 
army s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Military courts were restored in March for another 2 years after their initial 
2-year term expired in January. The courts were established after a 
constitutional amendment following a terrorist attack on Army Public School 
(APS) in Peshawar in December 2014 which left more than 150 people dead.

Pakistan has been fighting various extremist groups for over a decade. 
Terrorist attacks have killed tens of thousands of people. The military courts 
have handed down the death penalty to more than 160 terrorists.

(source: Dunya News)

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

International court halts Pakistan execution of Indian convicted of spying


The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Pakistan not to carry out 
the execution of an Indian man convicted of spying while his case is being 
considered.

Kulbushan Jadhav was arrested in March 2016 "for his involvement in espionage 
and sabotage activities against Pakistan," and sentenced to death last month. 
On May 8, India initiated proceedings at the Hague against its regional rival, 
accusing Islamabad of "egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on 
Consular Relations" in the sentencing of Jadhav, according to a statement 
released by the ICJ.

India requested the ICJ order Pakistan not to execute Jadhav until the court 
can issue a judgment based on India's claims.

The ICJ is the principle judicial arm of the United Nations and settles 
disputes between member states in accordance with international law.

'Premeditated murder'

India alleges Jadhav was "kidnapped" from Iran where he was on business after 
retiring from the Indian Navy. He was arrested by Pakistani authorities in 
Baluchistan on March 3 last year.

Indian authorities say they learned of his arrest through a press release 
nearly 3 weeks later and were refused consular access multiple times, in 
violation of the Vienna Convention.

A military court charged Jadhav on April 11 under the Pakistan Army Act 1952 
and the Official Secrets Act 1923, both of which provide for the death penalty. 
India described the sentencing as an act of "brazen defiance" of the Vienna 
Convention and warned executing Jadhav would be an act of "premeditated 
murder."

In a statement, Amnesty International said military courts, which were used in 
Jadhav's case, have been linked to coerced confessions and unfair trials.

(source: CNN)

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

HRCP recommends abolition of death penalty


The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has recommended reinstating 
moratorium on death penalty with an aim of abolition, as the country remained 
one of the highest executioners in the world in 2016.

HRCP while releasing a report 'State of Human Rights in 2016' said that while 
the pace of execution in Pakistan slowed significantly in 2016, the country 
remained one of the highest executioners in the world with 87 persons executed 
in 2016, most in the first 6 months of the year. According to the report, 426 
persons were awarded death penalty in 2016 while 496 in 2015. The report 
further said that the trials were often characterised by the lack of access to 
impartial legal counsel. The fate of the accused was sealed in the initial 
stages when they were given a state-appointed lawyer who was often 
poorly-trained and lacked competence, the report lamented.

According to the report, Punjab witnessed an increase in the cases of rape, 
gang-rape and abduction. Bank robberies, theft and snatching of motorcycles and 
mobile phones witnessed a sudden rise in 2016 in Karachi. 3 human rights 
defenders were killed. Punjab police said that they killed 340 criminals in at 
least 291 'encounters.' Sindh police said 248 robbers and other criminals, 96 
terrorists and 11 kidnappers were killed in encounters. Law enforcers claimed 
to have killed at least 229 suspected terrorists and kidnappers in different 
raids in Balochistan, 315 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), 40 in 
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 4 in Gilgit-Baltistan, the report said.

On the issue of military courts, the report said that 275 cases were referred 
to the military courts which convicted 274 of them. The fate of one remains 
unknown. The military courts awarded the death sentence to 161 prisoners while 
113 were imprisoned.

On enforced disappearances, it said that another 728 Pakistanis were added to 
the list of missing persons in 2016, the highest in at least six years, taking 
the toll to 1,219, according to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced 
Disappearances.

On the issue of 'Female Prisoners and Juveniles,' the commission quoted a 
report by the Ministry of Interior published in October, which stated that of 
the 939 women incarcerated in jails in Punjab at the time, 110 were accompanied 
by their children. Out of these 110 women, 60 were under-trial, 45 had been 
sentenced while 5 were facing the death penalty. HRCP recommended that efforts 
should be made for maintenance and protection of children of incarcerated 
mothers outside the prison once they are of school-going age. The report said 
that torture remained the foremost instrument of evidence collection in the 
criminal justice system of the country. It further stated that around 14,628 
Pakistani migrant workers were incarcerated abroad between 2005 and 2015.

The watchdog welcomed the enactment of new laws to protect women but decried an 
uptick in religiously motivated vigilantism.

"People have been given impunity if they kill in the name of religion, if they 
cheat in the name of religion, if they lie in the name of religion. The state 
has to end this," said Asma Jahangir, the commission's chairman while 
addressing a news conference. "It is doing no service to our religion."

Pakistan has never executed anyone convicted of blasphemy, but the mere 
accusation is enough to ignite mob violence and lynchings.

The report said that about 3 million cases were pending in the country's courts 
in 2016. It said 15 people, 10 Muslims and five non-Muslims, were booked for 
blasphemy. 2 Muslims and as many Christians were sentenced to death for 
blasphemy. 1 person charged with blasphemy who had been languishing in jail for 
4 years was acquitted by the Lahore High Court.

Freedom of speech also took a hit last year with threats of blasphemy charges 
levelled against those who challenged state authority, said the report. 6 
journalists and a blogger were killed last year. There has been a spike in the 
level of "intimidation of the media and increased levels of self-censorship by 
the media," it said.

"The year 2016 saw a disturbing rise in assaults on media houses, TV channel 
and newspaper offices as well as press clubs by militant, religious and 
political groups," the report said.

Asma Jahangir assailed intelligence and security agencies for unlawfully 
detaining people, including 5 bloggers who were held for several weeks before 
being freed earlier this year.

The report also criticized a new cyber law that allows the authorities to 
access a person's online accounts without a warrant.

Asma Jahangir also noted progress in Pakistan, saying that same lawmakers who 
once said killing a woman in the name of honour was "social tradition," enacted 
a law to try to end it.

Women are present in all walks of life in Pakistan, she said. "When I first 
began there were very few women lawyers but now there are so many bright young 
women out there, performing better than anyone," Asma said.

It further said that deaths linked to terrorism in Pakistan dropped by 45 % in 
2016 as compared to 2015. In Gilgit-Baltistan, out of the 23 murder cases 
registered in 2016, 13 were of honour killing. At least 187 women, 40 out of 
them in honour-related crimes, were murdered in the first 10 months of 2016 in 
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Punjab jails held 49,603 prisoners against a capacity of 23,617, Sindh 20,308 
against 12,245 and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 11,200 against 7,547. Of the total 1,497 
females in prisons, Punjab had 920 women, Sindh 249, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 309, 
Balochistan 18 and Gilgit-Baltistan had 1 woman in jail.

Out of the 4 Ahmadis targeted for murder during 2016, 3 were doctors. The 
country saw several incidents of violence against Christians. The Hindu 
community complained of land grabbing, attacks, kidnapping, forced conversions, 
temple desecrations, rape, and murder, according to the HRCP report. Killing of 
6 journalists and a blogger and the fallout of certain news reports escalated 
the environment of intimidation of the media and increased levels of 
self-censorship by the media.

The total number of sexual abuse cases including abduction, missing children 
and child marriage in 2016, stood at 4,139 bringing the number of abused 
children to 11 per day and showing an increase of 10 % from 2015.

The HRCP recommended the government to immediately reinstate the moratorium on 
death penalty with the aim of abolition. It asked the government to ratify the 
convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearances and 
also introduce a specific law against torture in line with the Convention 
against Torture obligations. The government has also been recommended to devise 
and implement policy to ensure speedy justice and construct new jails to 
counter overcrowding in prisons.

(source: The Nation)






EGYPT:

"Positive momentum" in Ibrahim Halawa case despite latest delay


Ibrahim Halawa yesterday had his trial in Egypt delayed for the 23rd time.

The 21 year old from Firhouse has been held in a prison in Cairo since 2013.

He is facing the death penalty on terrorism charges after he was arrested at a 
protest against the ousting of President Morsi. He has alleged that he has been 
tortured in prison.

However the Irish government are taking this latest postponement as a positive 
sign.

After it was postponed yesterday the new date given was May 17, which is the 
shortest time period between delayed trial dates so far.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan welcomed comments from the trial 
judge who said new methods would be used to accelerate the trial process.

He said his officials were in court and there was some sign of "positive 
momentum" in the case, with Ambassador Damien Cole meeting with Mr Halawa last 
Sunday to tell him the Government was continuing to do all it can to secure his 
release.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it follows up on all issues raised by 
Irish citizens with the appropriate authorities.

Amnesty International described the latest delay in the trial process as 
"beyond farcical" and said Mr Halawa's continued imprisonment was a serious 
violation of international and Egyptian law.

They also say Mr Halawa was sheltering in the Al Fath mosque at the time of his 
arrest and could not be guilty of the charges against him.

(source: intallaght.ie)






BOTSWANA:

Government must abolish death penalty to save taxpayers' millions----I have 
done several murder trials and have been fortunate enough not to have a client 
sentenced to hang by the neck until he or she dies. I am not looking forward to 
that day and neither do I wish any attorney to encounter such a sentence. I am 
for the abolition of capital punishment.


Lawyers have tried the Constitutional route before to challenge the death 
penalty and all have failed on account that the Court of Appeal is of the 
opinion that the death penalty has been sanctioned as a law by the Legislature 
and as such their lordships are not desirous of usurping the role of 
Parliament. As it is the only people who can abolish the death penalty are 
those at Parliament.

The Minister of Defence Honourable, Shaw Kgathi has explicitly stated that the 
debate on whether capital punishment must be abolished is a sensationalised 
debate as Batswana have not come forth to say the penalty must be abolished. 
Kgathi says "We are a democratic country, we are not a Government based on 
sensationalism.

We are not copycats and we do things in the interest of the people we are 
ruling. These laws were all made based on consultations with Batswana. Until 
the majority of Batswana believe that we should change our laws to something 
they may wish to see, we cannot re-think the law on capital punishment." The 
utterances by Rre Kgathi are a surprising shift of goal posts as we all know 
our Parliamentarians rarely consult on issues affecting us.

I offer Government an incentive to abolish the death penalty. In Botswana the 
right to legal representation is not absolute and an accused person has a right 
to legal representation of his own choice at his own cost. It is only where 
capital punishment maybe the penalty to be imposed that Government appoints a 
pro deo attorney for a murder accused and the State then pays the attorney for 
defending the murder accused. Dear reader, there are so many murder trials 
pending before the High Court and on each day Government pays a certain lawyer 
to represent such an accused person.

If Government abolished the death penalty, the incentive would be that it would 
be a cost saving measure. All those accused of murder will then have to foot 
their legal bills. That's the incentive.

>From a personal point of view and with the benefit of having been around murder 
accused persons I can vouch to Batswana that the notion that the death penalty 
is itself deterrence for any future killings is not a tenable proposition.

A lot of murder accused persons are from rustic, poor and uneducated 
backgrounds. The accused persons in most cases do not know the probable 
penalties and have never heard of capital punishment until they are arrested 
and have conversations with inmates.

Some murder cases occur in drinking spots and in most cases those emanate from 
stabbings caused by intoxication, exuberance of youth and sheer depression 
arising from abject poverty. All the above-mentioned class of murder accused 
persons and incidents are in most cases oblivious of the sanctions that may 
befall them and to that extent I aver that the death penalty is by no means a 
deterrent. If it was meant to be a deterrent, it is a failed deterrent as 
murder accused sometimes just do not know of it. In any event hangings are 
shrouded by secrecy such that only those with access to private print media 
usually know of the hangings. But then again we are not a reading nation. 
Further on the notion of deterrence is just wishful thinking as the perpetrator 
would be dead and as such he can no longer be deterred.

The death penalty has its inherent danger in that a Court of law may for 
various reasons convict a person who is actually innocent. The conviction may 
come as a result of the inadequacy of the defence team.

In some cases, the State with its massive resources tends to have an upper hand 
as when it comes to forensic examinations.The expertise lies solely at the 
State's doorstep and the accused only has to communicate to the findings of the 
State evidence. In the absence of a qualified expert to challenge the forensic 
findings, defence attorneys always find themselves challenged when trying to 
take the so-called experts heads-on as Attorneys are not qualified pathologists 
and forensic examiners.

In 2015, the Justice Department and the FBI formally acknowledged that nearly 
every examiner in an FBI forensic squad overstated forensic hair matches for 2 
decades before the year 2000.

Given the massive resources and the secrecy that surrounds investigations and 
coupled with the unlawful means with which some investigators acquire evidence 
against innocent accused persons, sometimes the competence of the defence 
attorney is a better predictor of whether or not someone will be sentenced to 
death than the facts of the crime.

(source: Own Nsala, mmegi.bw)






PHILIPPINES:

Death penalty not yet 'dead' in Senate


Despite being against the reimposition of death penalty, Sen. Francis Escudero 
on Thursday said that there is still a chance that a measure reviving it could 
still be passed.

"I don't believe the death penalty is already 'dead' in the Senate," Escudero 
said in a Kapihan press conference.

It may be recalled that Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon earlier said 
that in his view, the death penalty was "dead" at least in the current 17th 
Congress. The Senate is set to convene its 18th Congress in July.

Drilon also said that there are at least 13 senators who will block the passage 
of death penalty bill including 6 members of the minority group and 7 members 
of the majority block.

Members of the minority bloc include Drilon, Senators Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, 
Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan and Antonio Trillanes IV.

Also against death penalty are Senate Pres. Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto and Sen. 
Grace Poe. Not all senators have openly expressed their stand.

Meanwhile, at least 5 senators have openly expressed being for death penalty 
including Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, Senators Joseph Victor 
Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao.

Escudero said that European Union (EU) ambassadors have raised the possibility 
of halting the preferential tariff rates of the Philippines if death penalty is 
restored.

He, however, expressed hope that they would change their minds as even if the 
death penalty is revived in the current administration, there's no saying it 
will last until the next administration.

(source: Philippine News Agency)

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

Filipino bishops praise cross-country march against death penalty


The Catholic bishops of the Philippines have praised a cross-country march 
showing opposition to the restoration of the death penalty.

The bishops voiced their support of the "commendable" initiative in a recent 
statement addressed to the laity and all members of the civil group taking part 
in the march.

The march is "most deserving of support from all who want to make a clear 
unequivocal stand for life," Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of 
Lingayen-Dagupan, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the 
Philippines, said in a statement.

The 21-day march is being organized by Fr. Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary 
of the CBCP's committee for social action. It began last week in Cagayan de Oro 
City, and is expected to reach the Senate in Pasay City by May 24, the feast 
day of Our Lady, Help of Christians. The CBCP's Episcopal Commission for the 
Laity is among the organizers of the march.

It is the latest move in the majority-Catholic country that protests the 
revival of a harsh death penalty in the country.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty may be used 
"if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against 
the unjust aggressor." However, it adds, such cases today "are very rare, if 
not practically nonexistent." The 3 most recent Popes have been vocally opposed 
to the death penalty.

In 2006, under the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 
the Philippines repealed legislation that imposed the death penalty for certain 
"heinous" crimes.

But a bill seeking to revive the death penalty is 1 of the priorities of 
current President Rodrigo Duterte, who has frequently clashed with Church 
authorities over his violent and unrelenting war on drugs.

Despite opposition from the Church, to which more than 80 % of Filipinos 
belong, as well as the United Nations and other human rights groups, the House 
of Representatives approved a 3rd and final reading on the bill in March. 
However, the measure is not expected to do as well in the Senate.

Reviving death penalty laws is against international law, according to the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which the Philippines 
is a signatory.

The bishops of the country have been outspoken in their opposition to the death 
penalty revival for months.

In January, Archbishop Villegas said the bishops "unequivocally oppose 
proposals and moves to return the death penalty into the Philippine legal 
system." "We urge the government to champion life for all!" he said at the 
time.

The opposition march will pass various through the dioceses of Cebu, Palo, 
Caceres, Lipa, Legaspi, and Lucena, and will eventually lead to the Senate of 
the Philippines.

Throughout the march, the pilgrims are planning stops to raise awareness of 
their opposition to the bill, and to inform citizens of how the bill would 
further a culture of death.

The highlight of the pilgrimage is a gathering in the Rizal Park on May 19, 
which is expected to draw 30,000 anti-death penalty advocates, including 
students from Catholic universities.

(source: Catholic News Agency)






SCOTLAND:

More than 50 years on, this retired lawyer is still haunted by his client's 
execution in a Scottish prison


Most people, early in their careers, have a moment that shapes and defines the 
rest of their working life.

When Len Murray's moment came it wasn't so much a shaping, as a shaking to the 
core.

He was a 27-year-old lawyer in the Scottish city of Glasgow, and his 
19-year-old client had just been hanged.

"The young man in question was hanged on the 22nd of December 1960," Mr Murray 
said.

"He had never offended before, he came from a family to whom trouble of any 
sort was unknown.

"His parents were decent hardworking people and the punishment in fact was not 
a punishment of the boy, it was a punishment of his family."

The young man's name was Tony Miller.

Mr Murray was the junior defence lawyer, or to use the Scottish term, a 
pleader, on the Miller case.

Mr Murray said while there is little doubt Miller was guilty of killing a man, 
his punishment most certainly did not fit the circumstances of the crime.

The law of the time insisted the death penalty be imposed because the killing 
occurred during a robbery.

Miller's accomplice, who had masterminded the crime and then blamed his friend, 
was only 17 and ineligible for the death penalty.

Tens of thousands signed a plea for clemency, which authorities in London 
ignored.

"I had no particular view on the rights or wrongs of capital punishment but my 
experience in Tony Miller's case made me a pretty bitter abolitionist," he 
said.

"I'm not entirely sure if I have forgiven our society for having taken the life 
of that boy."

Time limits to speed up cases

The 19-year-old was the last man hanged in Glasgow, and the 2nd to last in 
Scotland.

The lasting effect on Mr Murray was to forge a lifelong, passionate advocacy of 
timely and fair justice.

That passion has brought the now-retired pleader to Adelaide to deliver the 
annual Bray Oration, named in honour of the late chief justice of SA, John 
Bray.

Mr Murray spoke about a particular feature of Scottish law: time limits in 
which criminal matters must be dealt with at trial.

"In the past half-dozen years new time limits have been brought in to speed up 
the disposal of criminal cases," Mr Murray said.

"For a person in custody [if the time limit isn't met] they are released with 
no further ado. In some cases failure to bring cases within that time limit may 
bring about the end of the prosecution all together."

Mr Murray said there were protections to ensure defence teams did not try to 
seek an advantage by purposely delaying a case.

"I can't imagine the circumstances in which that would happen, but in any 
event, time limits may almost always be moved along if a cause is shown," Mr 
Murray said.

Speeding up court processes has some resonance in South Australia, because the 
state's district court system has a 19-month backlog.

"I'm pretty horrified by that," Mr Murray said.

"It's the old saying justice delayed, is justice denied, and I'm not sure many 
of us would disagree."

Sharing a passion for words

Chief Justice Chris Kourakis has told the ABC that South Australia suffers 
unacceptable delays in the District Court, affecting the quality of criminal 
justice delivered in the state.

Mr Murray's Bray oration was not all prose and procedure though.

The pleader took time to dwell on his other favourite subject: poetry. 
Specifically the poetry, and other writings of Scotland's most famous literary 
figure, Robert Burns.

Mr Murray is dean of the guild of Robert Burns Speakers, delivering more than 
400 after dinner speeches on the subject.

"The contribution Robert Burns made to literature and society is enormous," Mr 
Murray said.

"When he was writing in the later part of the 18th century, he was expressing 
notions of the equality of man, these are ideas that led the Americans to 
independence and the French to revolution ... these ideas were anathema in 
Great Britain as it then was."

The poet and the lawyer have much in common. Both ply their trade through 
language, neither is of much use if they speak doggerel. So it is unsurprising 
a lawyer would love poetry.

It is fitting Mr Murray shares this particular passion with the man his oration 
commemorates. Chief justice Bray was known for both his elegant judgments and 
his poetry.

Outside the judge's former home in Adelaide's Hurtle Square, there is a plinth 
recording one of his poems.

It is a homage to the pigeons with whom the slightly irascible Bray shared the 
square and a slice of bread: a ritual that's continued to this day.

The last line reads, "so fly off bludging crew and don't shit on my shoe".

"It's not Burns, it doesn't quite rival him." Mr Murray observed of the poem.

"Nonetheless, I have great admiration for John Bray and I confess, I wish I had 
met him."

(source: abc.net.au)