[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 24




IRAN----executions

4 Prisoners Executed in Northwestern Iran



4 prisoners were executed at Urmia Central Prison on murder charges.

According to a close source, on the morning of Monday, April 23, 4 prisoners 
were executed at Urmia Central Prison.

The prisoners, who were sentenced to death on murder charges, were identified 
as Tayyeb Sheikhnejad Moukeri from ward 4-3, Qader Mohammad Hassan from the 
mental ward, Yadollah Samadi from ward 10, and Eslam Rashidi from ward 2-1.

The execution of these prisoners has not been announced by the state-run media 
so far.

According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the 
517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges.

There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results 
in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and 
intent.

(source: Iran Human Rights)

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

Prisoner Known as "the Fake Postman" Scheduled to Be Executed



At least 1 prisoner, named Seyyed Iman Hosseini Moqaddam, was transferred to 
solitary confinement. The prisoner, who was referred to as "the fake postman," 
was sentenced to death on the charge of rape. However, the prisoner and his 
family believe that there is a political and economic reason for this charge.

According to a close source, on the morning of Sunday, April 22, at least one 
prisoner, named Seyyed Iman Hosseini Moqaddam, was transferred to the solitary 
confinement.

The prisoner, who was referred to by the media as "the fake postman," was 
sentenced to death on the charge of corruption on earth.

Last November, the official media reported that Hosseini Moqaddam's execution 
sentence was approved. After the verdict was accepted, the prisoner publically 
denied the accusations.

The prisoner's lawyer, Esmayil Ashkbus, told IHR, "I have no information 
regarding this. I'm going to the court to see what the matter is."

It should be noted that Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a close ally of former 
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2013, was in 
a gathering held by the prisoner's family in front of the Judiciary on November 
27, 2017. The video of this gathering has been published by IHR.

An informed source said that about 6 prisoners have been transferred to 
solitary confinement, but IHR has not been able to verify this news.

Execution sentences are usually implemented on Wednesdays at Rajai Shahr 
Prison.

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

12 Prisoners at Imminent Danger of Execution



At least 12 death row prisoners have been transferred to solitary confinement 
in Rajai Shahr prison of Karaj in preparation for execution. It is believed 
that their sentence will be implemented on Wednesday, May 5.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) warns against a new wave of execution in Iran. IHR's 
spokesperson Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said:" Iranian authorities use the death 
penalty to spread fear and counteract the growing movement of civil 
disobedience in Iran".

According to reports by IHR at least 15 people have been executed during the 
last 5 days.

Close sources have reported that at least 12 death row prisoners were 
transferred to solitary confinement in the Rajaishahr prison during Sunday and 
Monday, the 2nd and 3rd of May.

Among these people, an Afghan prisoner, Amir Khalili, was transferred from 
Ghezelhasar Prison and another prisoner, Amir Ahmadi, from KhorinPrison of 
Varamin (near Tehran).

Other names given to IHR include Jawad Sohrabi, Iman Hosseini Moghaddam, Ali 
Masoumi, Ahmad Fateh-Ahmadi, Amrullah Ajdar, Mohammad Reza Kharratha, all of 
whom from Rajaishahr Prison.

Except for Iman Hossein Moghaddam, who was sentenced to death on charges of 
corruption on earth due to sexual assault, a charge which he has denied, the 
death sentences for the remaining prisoners were issued on charges of murder.

As the executions in the Rajaishahr prison are carried out mostly on 
Wednesdays, there is a danger that the prisoners' death sentences will be 
carried out on Wednesday, April 25.

(source for both: Iran Human Rights)








VIETNAM:

Vietnam arrests Lao drug smuggler



Vietnam's border guards have recently detained a 62-year-old Lao man for 
smuggling and transporting 40 kg of methamphetamine, 120,000 pills of lab-made 
drugs and 2 cakes of heroin totaling some 885,000 U.S. dollars.

The man was detained at a Vietnam-Laos border area late last week, when he was 
preparing to transfer the drugs to a Vietnamese drug dealer, according to 
border guards of Vietnam's northern Son La province on Monday.

Increasingly bigger amounts of methamphetamine are being smuggled into Vietnam, 
because such kind of drug is being made in bigger volumes in the Golden 
Triangle at the borders of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar at lower prices, 
according to local border guards and police forces.

Selling prices of methamphetamine at the Golden Triangle currently stand at 
200-250 million Vietnamese dong (8,800-11,000 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, 
posting a 3-fold decrease against some years ago.

According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of 
heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making 
or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces 
death penalty.

(source: xinhuanet.com)








INDIA:

Reject Ordinance on Death Penalty for Rape----Death Penalty Is Cruel Populism; 
Instead, Reform Justice System, Ensure Protections



The Indian parliament should not adopt into law an ordinance which introduces 
capital punishment for those convicted of raping a girl under 12 years of age, 
Human Rights Watch said today. India should instead work towards abolishing the 
death penalty which is inherently cruel and irreversible, with little evidence 
that it serves as a deterrent.

The government passed the ordinance on April 21 following widespread protests 
after attempts by some leaders and supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata 
Party (BJP) to defend Hindu perpetrators of the abduction, ill-treatment, rape, 
and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim child in Jammu and Kashmir state. In Uttar 
Pradesh state, authorities not only failed to arrest a BJP legislator accused 
of raping a 17-year-old girl, but also allegedly beat her father to death in 
police custody.

"With this populist call for hangings, the government wants to cover up the 
fact that its supporters may have engaged in a hate crime," said Meenakshi 
Ganguly, South Asia director. "If the government is serious about dealing with 
violence against women and children, it will have to do the hard work of 
reforming the criminal justice system and ensure that perpetrators are not 
protected from prosecution by political patronage."

2 BJP ministers in Jammu and Kashmir state government joined an affiliated 
group called the Hindu Ekta Manch to protest the arrest of the accused in the 
horrific case in the state. The accused include a former government official 
and four police personnel. The ministers have since resigned.

Following the 2012 gang rape and death of Jyoti Singh Pandey, a medical student 
in Delhi, the Indian government enacted legal reforms to respond to sexual 
assault and rape. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, added new categories 
of offenses regarding violence against women and girls and made punishment more 
stringent, including death penalty for repeat offenders. Similarly, the 
Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act, 2012, established 
guidelines for the police and courts to deal with victims sensitively and 
provided for the setting up of specialist child courts.

"There was hope that these measures would encourage more victims and their 
families to step forward, and result in more successful prosecutions," Ganguly 
said.

While the number of rape cases reported in 2016 increased by 56 % over 2012, 
there remains much to be done to change the way the justice system responds to 
victims.

In a November 2017 report, "Everyone Blames Me," Human Rights Watch found that 
survivors, particularly among marginalized communities, still find it difficult 
to register police complaints. They often suffer humiliation at police stations 
and hospitals, are still subjected to degrading tests by medical professionals, 
and feel intimidated and scared when the case reaches the courts. They face 
significant barriers when trying to obtain critical support services such as 
health care, counseling, and legal aid.

Although Indian law makes it mandatory for police officials to register rape 
complaints, Human Rights Watch found that police sometimes press the victim's 
family to "settle" or "compromise."

In cases of children, not only has the government not established effective 
oversight mechanisms that could help prevent child sexual abuse, but existing 
measures remain poorly implemented.

For women and girls with disabilities, who face a higher risk of sexual 
violence, the challenges are even greater, Human Rights Watch has found.

However, instead of fixing these structural barriers, the Indian government has 
expanded the use of capital punishment for rape. Now the parliament should 
ensure that this ordinance does not become part of permanent legislation.

The government's ordinance comes despite the fact that both a high-level 
government committee and India's Law Commission came out against the death 
penalty. Human Rights Watch opposes the use of the death penalty in all cases.

The new ordinance also increases minimum punishment for rape of girls and 
women. While the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act covers 
sexual abuse against both girls and boys, the ordinance does not cover rape of 
boys.

For rape of women above 16 years of age, minimum punishment is increased from 7 
years to 10 years in prison;

For rape of girls between 12 to 16 years of age, minimum punishment is now 20 
years which may extend to life in prison;

For gang rape of girls between 12 to 16 years of age, minimum punishment is 
life in prison;

For rape of girls under 12 years of age, minimum punishment is 20 years in 
prison which may extend to life in prison or death penalty;

For gang rape of girls under 12 years of age, minimum punishment is life in 
prison or death penalty.

In India, according to the 2016 government data, out of 38,947 cases of rape 
reported by children and women, the accused was known to the victim in 94.6 % 
of the cases. In 630 cases, the accused was the victim's father, brother, 
grandfather, or son; in 1,087 cases, the accused was a close family member; in 
2,174 cases the accused was a relative; and in 10,520 cases, the accused was a 
neighbor.

Rape is already underreported in India largely because of social stigma, 
victim-blaming, poor response by the criminal justice system, and lack of any 
national victim and witness protection law making them highly vulnerable to 
pressure from the accused as well as the police. Children are even more 
vulnerable due to pressure from family and society.

With this background, an increase in punishment, including the death penalty, 
may, in fact, lead to a decrease in reporting of such crimes.

"The Indian government has repeatedly said that it is committed to dealing with 
violence against women and children. But actions speak louder than words," 
Ganguly said. "The new amendments are ill-conceived and hasty. Protecting 
children requires a far more thoughtful approach and politicians need to summon 
the political will to deliver it."

(source: Human Rights Watch)

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

India's death penalty for rapists of young girls could push them to kill



On Saturday India's government approved the death penalty for convicted rapists 
of girls under the age of 12, amid a groundswell of public outrage following 
the gang-rape and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim girl in Jammu and Kashmir 
state.

The shocking case involved a girl from the Bakarwal nomadic tribe, who was out 
grazing her horses when she was abducted, drugged and murdered after a week of 
torture and repeated rape. It led to a nationwide outcry for swifter justice.

However, the hastily issued executive order is facing criticism from activists 
and politicians, who say the death penalty, usually meted out for severe crimes 
in India, will not be a deterrent to child rapists without an overhaul of the 
criminal justice system.

"I am afraid this [executive order] has very little credibility because what is 
required is certainty of punishment," the leader of Communist Party of India 
(Marxist), Brinda Karat, told reporters.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau data from 2016, in 94.6% of 
cases, the perpetrator is known to the victim - usually a brother, father or 
someone from the family's social circle. Reporting rape in India's patriarchal 
family structure is often fraught with victim shaming and further alienation.

Child rights activists fear the introduction of the death penalty will make 
families more likely to cover up sexual crimes, and that rapists might kill 
their victims to avoid detection.

Critics are also concerned that the order, which was approved by Prime Minister 
Narendra Modi's cabinet on Saturday, makes no mention of boys. In a country 
where male children often grow up in an atmosphere that discourages them from 
showing vulnerability, experts say such a discriminatory legal provision will 
fail boys who have been sexually assaulted.

Unlike the current Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) 
2012, which is gender-neutral and defines any person under 18 as a child, the 
new ordinance will stop boys who have been sexually abused from seeking the 
same justice accorded to a girl of their age, says gay rights activist Harish 
Iyer.

"I principally stand against the death penalty. This discriminatory legislation 
implies what boys are taught growing up - that they have to be the protector 
and not the protected. Children are vulnerable to sexual assault, irrespective 
of gender," Iyer said.

A nationwide survey of crimes against children conducted by the ministry of 
women and child development in 2007 found that 1/2 of India's children had been 
sexually abused.

Iyer said the new executive order was a shortcut for an overhaul of a criminal 
justice system that often discriminates against the poor. "This is sexism of a 
different nature, it favours one gender. What about protection of intersex 
children? Unless the crime is female foeticide, which is specifically 
gender-oriented, this is a shortcut for real measures."

He said the government should prioritise fast-track courts, child-friendly 
police stations, and a national registry of sex offenders. The new law proposes 
stricter punishment for convicted rapists of children under 16 years of age. 
Its definition of the victims and proposed age limit has triggered a debate 
about categorising victims of the same crime.

"What's the explanation for death penalty for 'gang rape of children below 12 
years'? The state is a man. Why else would the reproductive age of a girl be 
the determining factor for the kind of punishment meted out to the rapists?" 
journalist Kota Neelima wrote in a Facebook post.

In 2016 India recorded an alarmingly low conviction rate (18.9%) for crimes 
against women. In that year, of all the child rape cases that came before the 
courts under the Pocso, less than 3% ended in convictions.

An issue of such a grave nature should have had a public discourse with 
participation from civil society stakeholders. By its nature, an executive 
order can be announced by the president of India on recommendation from the 
federal cabinet and does not require consultation.

After the gang rape of Jyoti Singh in Delhi in 2012, India introduced tougher 
rape laws and launched fast-track courts, but the measures have not deterred 
violent sexual crimes.

In addition, homelessness and poverty increase the vulnerability of children to 
sexual predators as parents have to leave them on their own to go to work, 
making them easy targets.

In an election year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to be seen 
as proactive in taking strong steps to make India safer for women. However, it 
is implementation, the real challenge in India, that will determine its true 
intention.

(source: The Guardian)

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

Hanging is the safest way of execution, Centre tells Supreme Court----Centre's 
statement came in reply to a Supreme Court direction which had asked it to find 
alternate ways to hanging for execution of death sentence.



Hanging is the safest way of executing a death sentence on a convict, Centre 
has told Supreme Court of India. Centre???s statement came in reply to a 
Supreme Court direction which had asked it to find alternate ways to hanging 
for execution of death sentence. The Centre also said that death by injection 
or shooting squad can be more barbaric. It also said capital punishment is 
awarded in rarest of rare cases and any attempt to make execution easier will 
dilute its effect as a deterrent.

After the reply, the apex court adjourned hearing in the plea seeking abolition 
of executing a death row convict by hanging. The bench of Justices AM 
Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said court can't say what should be the mode of 
carrying out a death sentence.

The top court's observation came in response to a Public Interest Litigation 
filed by Rishi Malhotra, a Supreme Court lawyer. In his plea, Malhotra had 
sought abolition of Section 354(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states 
that when a person is sentenced to death, he shall be hanged by the neck till 
he is dead.

There has been only 2 execution by hanging in past 5 years - of Afzal Guru, the 
convict in 2001 Parliament attack, and Azmal Kasab, one of the 10 terrorists 
who executed 26/11 attack in Mumbai.

Earlier, an SC bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices A M 
Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud had sought response within 3 weeks on the PIL. 
It had said that legislature could think of changing the law so that a convict, 
facing a death penalty, dies "in peace and not in pain".

Representing the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand said that 
government was still working on alternate methods. Anand told the Supreme Court 
that government had tested lethal injections, but it was not workable. "Lethal 
injections are not workable as there are instances of it failing," she said.

Earlier, Malhotra had argued that removal of the present mode of execution was 
also mentioned in 187th Report of the Law Commission. Referred to Article 21 
(Right to Life), Malhotra said it also included the right of a condemned 
prisoner to have a dignified mode of execution.

Malhotra had mentioned lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber 
as alternatives to hanging.

(source: financialexpress.com)

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

Activists, parents of minor rape victims come out against death penalty, urge 
government to strengthen judiciary



Not just child right activists, even parents of minor victims today came out 
against the Union government's ordinance providing the death penalty to child 
rapists, saying it could lead to victims being killed by perpetrators.

At a programme in New Delhi, 3 parents, whose children were raped, urged the 
central government to instead strengthen the judicial mechanism to support the 
children, who have to deal with the crimes and struggle in their aftermath.

"My child was 3.5 years old when she was raped in her playschool days after the 
2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case. She was still breast-feeding," a father, whose 
testimonial moved those present at the programme to tears, said.

"We sat in the police station with her from 9am to 9:30pm to register an FIR 
and she was asked where she was touched and how much pain she experienced. She 
was made to repeat her statement again and again for months. I want to ask 
everyone if I was wrong to ask for justice for my daughter," he said.

The Union Cabinet, two days ago, cleared the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 
2018, which proposes stringent punishments, ranging from a minimum of 20 years 
to life term or death, for raping girls below the age of 12.

President Ram Nath Kovind has approved the ordinance.

The ordinance was brought after a nationwide outrage over cases of sexual 
assault and killing of minors in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, in Gujarat's 
Surat, and the rape of a girl in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

Child rights groups reiterated that the real deterrent in such cases is the 
implementation of the laws and the certainty of punishment, rather than the 
death penalty.

They said the ordinance was "reactionary, impractical in terms of procedural 
changes brought in and disproportionate with regards to sentencing.

"The move to bring in the ordinance was based on brutality and not on any 
understanding of the dynamics of incest and child abuse, which is of epidemic 
proportions in India and is taking place in our homes as a matter of daily 
routine," said Anuja Gupta of RAHI foundation, a centre for women survivors of 
incest and child sexual abuse.

She said in her 20 years of working with rape survivors, she realised they do 
not want to take the burden of punishment to the abuser, especially if the 
abuser is a family member.

In 94 % of cases the perpetrator is known to the victim and introducing the 
death penalty will further decrease reportage of these cases to the 
authorities, she feared.

A mother, whose child was raped by her husband - the child's father, said she 
does "not want him to be hanged".

"I want him to be alive, I want him to compensate us monetarily for the rest of 
his life so that I can bring up my children. Why should he hang and be free of 
his responsibilities? "I fear if the death penalty is introduced, children like 
mine would be raped and then killed, so that there remains no evidence.

As a mother, I appeal to the cops to be more sensitive, judges to be more 
patient and - above everything else - don't make us feel bad about seeking 
justice for our children," she said.

In 2017, activists said, a Women and Child Development Ministry report on child 
abuse said that 53.2 % of children admitted to having faced some form of sexual 
abuse. Yet this has not translated into FIRs and remains heavily unreported, 
they said.

Justice A P Shah, former Delhi High Court chief justice and former chairman of 
the Law Commission of India, said the remedy offered appears to be based on a 
wrong diagnosis.

"Not only is the enhancement of the punishment to include the death penalty 
futile, but will have disastrous consequences for children. I urge everyone to 
reject the ordinance and focus on reforming the criminal justice system," he 
said.

Advocate Vrinda Grover termed the ordinance "legal populism" and said the 
government should instead address why the conviction rates are low in cases of 
sexual violence against children.

The activists said while the ordinance spoke about special courts, special 
prosecutors, India has one judge for every million of its population.

The pendancy in Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases 
is 89 % and the conviction rate is around 28 %, they said.

Bharti Ali of HAQ centre for Child Rights said children are often exposed to 
the accused and aggressive questioning of the victims persist in courts and 
these are the aspects - along with plugging the gaps in the judiciary - that 
should be the focus of the government.

"For months we had to sleep without a fan in the blistering heat of Delhi 
because our daughter feared it. She feared she would be hanged from it. She 
cried everytime she saw a fan. While being raped, she had been threatened of 
being hung from a fan if she said anything. Will hanging her accused bring her 
justice," the father asked.

(source: The New Indian Express)

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

Reject death penalty ordinance: activists----Slam populism over systemic reform



Jurists, social activists and families of child rape survivors have urged 
parliamentarians to reject the ordinance on death penalty for rape of girls 
below 12 years and condemned it as a "populist move" which will prove 
"disastrous" for the safety of children.

Pointing out that the punishment prescribed for rape of children below 12 years 
under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences 
(POCSO) Act is "stringent, sufficient and proportionate", they said the focus 
should be on reform of the criminal justice system so that trials can be 
completed in a time-bound manner and perpetrators do not walk free.

President Ram Nath Kovind promulgated the Ordinance on Sunday, which will have 
to be ratified by Parliament within 6 weeks.

'Diverts attention'

"Death penalty diverts attention from problems ailing the criminal justice 
system such as poor investigation, lack of crime prevention and abuse of rights 
of victims," said former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A.P. Shah at a press 
conference on Monday.

He referred to the poor conviction rate of 24% for cases under the POCSO Act 
and a high pendency of 89.6% and said there was a need to address these flaws.

"I appeal to all MPs to reject this law as it will cause a considerable harm to 
children. It is more of a political decision rather than a step to fight the 
menace of sexual violence against children," Justice Shah said.

Lawyer Vrinda Grover said the provision of fast track courts in the Ordinance 
is misleading as there are not enough judges. Without investing in more judges 
it will be impossible to finish trials in two months, as laid down in the 
Ordinance, she said.

(source: The Hindu)

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

Was there scientific assessment that death penalty is deterrent to rape, HC 
asks Centre----Under the new Ordinance, minimum punishment in case of rape of 
women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to 10 years, 
extendable to life imprisonment.



The Delhi High Court asked the Centre on Monday if it had done any research or 
scientific assessment before coming out with an Ordinance to award death 
penalty for rape of girls below the age of 12.

The high court was dealing with an old PIL that challenged the Criminal Law 
(Amendment) Act of 2013, in which a penal provision - minimum of 7 years of 
jail term - for a rape convict was included and the court's discretion to award 
less than that was taken away.

"Did you carry out any study, any scientific assessment that death penalty is a 
deterrent to rape? Have you thought of the consequences to the victim? How many 
offenders would allow their victims to survive now that rape and murder have 
the same punishment," a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C 
Hari Shankar asked the government.

The Union Cabinet, 2 days ago, cleared the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 
2018, which proposes stringent punishments, ranging from a minimum of 20 years 
to life term or death, for rape of girls under the age of 12 years.

If the victim is less than 16 years and more than 12 years, the ordinance has 
increased the minimum punishment from 10 years to 20 years and the maximum has 
been set at imprisonment for the rest of the convict's life.

The Centre's decision came in the wake of a nationwide outrage over cases of 
sexual assault and murder of minors in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and Surat in 
Gujarat, and the rape of a girl in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

The high court today said the government was "not even looking at the root 
cause" or "educating people" as the offenders are often found to be below the 
age of 18 years and in majority of the cases, the perpetrator is someone from 
the family or known to them.

It further questioned whether any victims were asked what they want before 
coming out with the Ordinance.

The observations came after the Bench was informed about the recent Ordinance 
during the hearing of a PIL which seeks to strike down the amendments made in 
the rape law after the December 16, 2012, gangrape of a 23-year-old woman in 
the National Capital.

The plea by academician Madhu Purnima Kishwar has claimed that the amendments 
to the law related to sexual offences is being abused in practice.

Under the new Ordinance, minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been 
increased from rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to 10 years, extendable to life 
imprisonment.

President Ram Nath Kovind has approved the ordinance for changes in the Indian 
Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and 
the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

(source: tribuneindia.com)








THAILAND:

iPhone killers' death sentences commuted to life



The Appeal Court on Tuesday sentenced 2 men to life in prison, reducing the 
Criminal Court's death penalty, for killing a man to steal his 26,000-baht 
iPhone in Lat Phrao district, Bangkok, early last year.

Kittikorn Wikaha, 27, of Sa Kaeo province, and Supatchai Charnsri, 26, of Uthai 
Thani province, were convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Wasin 
Luengjaem, 26, and theft of his iPhone 6 on Sukhonthasawat Road on the night of 
Jan 4 last year.

The Appeal Court ruled that the two men had consistently confessed during 
police interrogation and their court trial, and also admitted to their crime 
when speaking to news reporters. That showed their repentance, which justified 
the commuted sentences.

Niraporn Luengjaem, the victim's mother, said she had recovered from the loss 
and held no more grudges. She asked the authorities to take good care of the 2 
inmates so they could improve themselves and not repeat their crime. She would 
not appeal the sentences to the Supreme Court.

In May last year the Criminal Court handed them both the death sentence, 
reasoning they had no option but to confess because a surveillance camera had 
caught them in the act.

The court also said it was unlikely the 2 men would reform their behaviour, 
because they had committed numerous crimes in the past.

The men were charged with theft causing death, carrying a weapon in a public 
place, and murder to conceal a crime.

The security camera footage showed Wasin being attacked by the 2 men, who 
approached him on a motorcycle while he was on the footpath and using his 
phone.

(source: Bangkok Post)