[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 10




CHINA:

Man gets death penalty in balcony murder case



A man convicted of throwing a woman he had pursued for 8 years from a high-rise 
apartment building has been sentenced to receive the death penalty, Qianjiang 
Evening News reported.

The Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Thursday found the 27-year-old man 
surnamed Xue guilty of intentional homicide for the March 21 slaying of the 
victim, surnamed Wang.

Xue had thrown Wang from the balcony of a 19th-story apartment that they shared 
together with another friend in a fit of jealousy, the court found.

The case has stirred controversy online ever since details of the case were 
released in August.

While some netizens called for Xue to be punished, many had condemned Wang 
because she had rebuffed Xue's numerous romantic advances while accepting 
expensive gifts from him.

Wang and Xue had attended the same high school. During their friendship, Xue 
had expressed on many occasions he wanted to become romantically involved, but 
Wang refused.

The two kept in contact after Xue left to study in the US. During that time, 
Xue sent Wang a number of luxury gifts, such as handbags and jewelry.

He returned to China early this year in order to be closer to Wang. Soon after, 
he convinced Wang and her coworker to share an apartment with him in Hangzhou.

According to media reports, Xue became furious after discovering Wang had a 
boyfriend.

On March 21, Xue found her talking on the phone in the apartment with her 
boyfriend.

"It only took 5 seconds to push her from the room to the balcony. She didn't 
try to fight back because she didn't know what I was going to do," Xue told 
prosecutors during his trial.

The crime occurred 40 days after Xue's return from the US.

Xue's counsel had sought a reduced sentence for his cooperation in the case.

(source: Global Times)








MAURITANIA:

Mauritanian blogger who faced death penalty for apostasy to be freed



A Mauritanian blogger condemned to death in 2014 for apostasy in a Facebook 
post about Islam will be freed because an appeals court on Thursday overturned 
his sentence, his lawyer said.

Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir has spent nearly four years in jail after a 
high-profile case surrounding a post in which he criticized the use of religion 
to justify social discrimination.

The case has highlighted tempestuous social divisions in the desert West 
African country, often based on ethnicity. Thousands protested in the capital 
Nouakchott and other cities during the trial demanding Mkhaitir be put to 
death.

Mauritania has not carried out a death penalty sentence since 1987, but last 
year a group of influential Muslim clerics urged authorities to apply the 
harshest punishment.

The court reduced Mkhaitir's sentence to 2 years in prison and a fine of 60,000 
ouguiyas ($170). He will be allowed to go free because of time already served 
in prison, his lawyer Me Mohamed Ould Moine told Reuters.

"This is a great victory for Mauritanian justice," Moine said after the appeal 
hearing in the northern city of Nouadhibou. "The judges respected Mauritanian 
law taking into account his regrets and repentance."

The streets of Nouakchott were calm immediately after the hearing, though there 
was extra security in place there and in Nouadhibou. His lawyer and rights 
groups have expressed concerns about Mkhaitir's safety following death threats 
to him and his friends.

(source: Reuters)