[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 3



GLOBAL:

Reversing Catholic Doctrine, Pope Francis Declares Death Penalty 'Inadmissable' 
in All Cases----"I eagerly await the new, forceful, and reversed positions on 
the death penalty from all the Catholic politicians who regularly explain their 
anti-abortion stance as 'the teaching of my church.'"


Reversing long-held church doctrine and aligning himself with progressive 
Catholic advocates, Pope Francis said Thursday that the death penalty is 
"inadmissable" in all cases.

Announcing a change to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the pope said 
capital punishment is "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the 
person," and vowed that the church will work to abolish the death penalty 
worldwide.

Previously, the church has supported the death penalty for "certain crimes" in 
the belief that it is sometimes necessary to put a convicted criminal to death 
"to defend the lives of human beings effectively against the aggressor."

This policy is incongruous with Catholic teachings regarding the dignity of 
human life, the pope proclaimed.

In his reversal of the church's stance, Pope Francis noted that convicted 
criminals can be incarcerated with the potential for rehabilitation.

"More effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due 
protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the 
guilty of the possibility of redemption," the Pope said.

The church's reversal comes amid increased support for the death penalty in the 
United States, with President Donald Trump calling for drug dealers. Before his 
2016 presidential run, he also tweeted that so-called "perverts" should be 
executed by the state.

Amnesty International reports that 993 worldwide executions were recorded in 
2017, with the U.S. submitting 23 people to capital punishment.

A recent Pew poll found that 54 % of Americans back the death penalty for 
people convicted of murder. 53 % of American Catholics also support capital 
punishment.

According to a 2011 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, "Fully 79 
% of 'pro-life' Republicans and 85 % of 'pro-life' Tea Party identifiers who 
say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases also support the death 
penalty."

On Twitter, some political observers noted the obvious disconnect within the 
right-wing anti-choice movement in the United States, and remarked on the 
likelihood that conservative Catholic politicians will now reverse their stance 
on the death penalty.

(source: commondreams.org)

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

Pope Francis goes all-in against the death penalty.


The Vatican announced on Thursday that the pontiff revised the Catechism of the 
Catholic Church, the church's written summarization of its teachings, to 
categorically oppose capital punishment in all circumstances. The revision is a 
significant shift in Catholic teachings, albeit one that largely takes existing 
doctrine on capital punishment to its logical conclusion.

The church's previous articulation of its teachings indicated that the death 
penalty could be acceptable if "this is the only possible way of effectively 
defending human lives against the unjust aggressor." The new version recognizes 
that executions are far from the only effective way to protect human life, 
citing "an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even 
after the commission of very serious crimes," as well as "more effective 
systems of detention' that protect safety and leave open "the possibility of 
redemption."

Papal opposition to the death penalty itself is hardly novel. That opposition 
is most often directed at its use in the United States, which is one of the few 
remaining countries with a large Catholic population that still regularly 
executes prisoners. Francis called for the "global abolition" of capital 
punishment during his address to the U.S. Congress in 2015, echoing similar 
remarks made by Pope John Paul II throughout his 26-year papacy. In 1999, John 
Paul II successfully persuaded Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, who was not a 
Catholic, to commute a death-row prisoner's sentence during a papal visit to 
the state.

Thursday's announcement also drew scorn from conservative American Catholics, 
some of who have grown increasingly critical of Francis's leadership of the 
church. In a series of Twitter posts, National Review's Michael Brendan 
Dougherty described the new death-penalty teaching as "religious Calvinball" 
and wrote that the church "is now a political party with a platform that 
changes with leadership."

(source: newrepublic.com)






PHILIPINES:

Sotto to reconsider death penalty push after Pope Francis declares it 
'inadmissible'


Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said he would have to "think over" 
his push for the reimposition of death penalty in the predominantly Catholic 
Philippines, following Pope Francis' declaration that capital punishment is 
"inadmissible" in all circumstances.

"Let me think it over. I'll try to find some kind of compromise," Sotto said 
Friday (August 3) in a text message.

Senators continue to reject death penalty, with Sotto admitting that it faces 
an "uphill climb" in the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon told reporters a death penalty bill 
"will die if put to a vote today," while former Senate President Aquilino 
"Koko" Pimentel Jr. said, "We will not reimpose it."

A possible compromise, Sotto said, is his Senate Bill No. 1, which seeks to 
create a "highly secured" Anti-Drug Penal Institution "located in an 
uninhabited place" for high-level drug traffickers.

Pope Francis approved a change in Catholic catechism on death penalty in May, 
saying it is "inadmissible."

The new draft of the catechism, released by the Congregation for the Doctrine 
of the Faith, reads, "The Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that 'the 
death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and 
dignity of the person,' and she (the Church) works with determination for its 
abolition worldwide."

Before this, the Church taught that death penalty is permissible in cases of 
"absolute necessity."

Now, the Church says it recognizes that "the dignity of the person is not lost 
even after the commission of very serious crimes."

Sotto, a Catholic, authored 1 of 8 bills pending in a Senate committee seeking 
to reimpose death penalty, which was abolished in the Philippines in 2006.

He filed Senate Bill No. 4 in 2016 which seeks to reinstate death penalty by 
lethal injection for heinous crimes, including treason, murder, robbery with 
violence or intimidation, rape and plunder.

However, after he was elected as Senate President in May, he said he is only 
pushing for capital punishment for high-level drug traffickers.

In an interview on ANC Thursday (August 2), Sotto said he wants death penalty 
for drug lords to keep them from continuing with their trade even behind bars. 
He also defended his proposal against critics who say it is anti-poor.

"My question is mayroon bang drug lord na mahirap? Wala. So my death penalty 
for high-level trafficking is not anti-poor," Sotto said.

Aside from Sotto, Senators Manny Pacquiao, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, Sherwin "Win" 
Gatchalian and Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito have filed bills seeking to either 
fully reimpose death penalty or impose it for selected crimes only.

Even after a key change in Catholic catechism, the Malacanang said it is still 
pushing for death penalty to be restored, but is leaving the Senate to pass a 
law for it.

Opposition leader Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said his fellow senators 
from the Liberal Party would oppose the reimposition of the death penalty, 
which they "do not see as a deterrent to crime."

Sotto also admitted in his interview on ANC that he had been "convinced" by 
former colleagues in past Congresses "that death penalty is not really that 
much of a deterrent."

President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies in Congress have been pushing for the 
death penalty to be restored, with the House passing a capital punishment bill 
in March 2017.

(source: politics.com.ph)






ABKHAZIA:

Abkhaz drug dealers to face death penalty----But, many in Abkhazia think that 
the government should better learn to implement the already existing 
punishments more effectively, instead of introducing new, harsher, ones


The Abkhaz parliament is discussing draft amendments to the criminal code, 
which, if adopted, will mean that people caught to have been selling large 
quantities of drugs will face a death sentence or life imprisonment.

The bill has only passed its first reading so far, but few doubt that all the 
parliament chambers will ultimately vote for it.

Drug use is a major problem in the Abkhaz society. Abkhazia is due to hold the 
next presidential election in a year, and whoever will run in it will be sure 
to call for tougher drug laws as part of their election program.

Introducing harsher punishments for drug dealers and drunk drivers was one of 
the issues the parliament discussed at a session on 26 July.

"These sanctions [life imprisonment or death penalty] will only apply to those 
who are found to have been trafficking in large quantities of drugs," said 
Dmitri Dbar, the MP who proposed the bill to the parliament. "In no case will 
it apply to those who use drugs. This only concerns drug dealers."

His colleague, Valery Agrba, thinks the prospect of getting a tougher sentence 
should curb or even stop drugs being sold in Abkhazia.

However, in reality, drug dealers are not going to be punished by death. It has 
been more than fifteen years since Abkhazia adopted a moratorium on capital 
punishment.

n the meantime, the parliament's intentions have come in for a lot of heated 
discussion on social media, with many commenters saying they don???t believe 
such a law would work. Typical comments were:

"Toughening the punishment won't make fighting with crimes any more successful. 
The drug penalties are severe enough already. The real problem is that they 
can't, or don't want to, catch criminals."

"Drug dealers should feel jittery, but instead they feel very comfortable here. 
Even if they get caught, they will find a way to bail out. It's always a 
win-win lottery for them."

"In the medieval England, thieves would be executed at public squares. Still, 
it was during these executions that the biggest number of thefts took place. 
This is a classic example of how even the most severe measures do not scare 
criminals away."

"This is pure populism. There is no need to toughen up punishments. We should 
just learn how to applythe already existing penalties to all drug dealers, not 
only to their insignificant henchmen".

(source: jam-news.net)






PAKISTAN:

Pak court stays execution of Sufi Singer Amjad Sabri's Killer----In April, 
Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had approved death penalty for 10 
terrorists including those who shot dead Sabri.


A court in Pakistan today stayed the execution of an accused and suspended the 
death penalty given to him by a military court in the assassination of Amjad 
Sabri, one of the country's finest Sufi Qawwals.

Sabri, 45, was travelling in a car in Karachi's congested Liquatabad 10 area 
when two motorcycle-borne gunmen shot him in the head in a targeted terror 
attack on June 22, 2016.

In April, Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had approved death penalty 
for 10 terrorists including those who shot dead Sabri.

Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Waqar Ahmed Seth suspended the death 
sentence of Arish, who was convicted by the military court for killing Sabri.

The convict's counsel Azizuddin Kakakhel told the court that his client was 
deprived of the right to defence, saying he was sentenced to death without any 
witness and evidence.

The court suspended the death sentence and adjourned the hearing till September 
9.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Hakimullah Masood group had claimed responsibility for 
the attack on Sabri. The killing had sparked countrywide protests.

Some of the most memorable and famous qawwalis of the Sabris were 'Bhar Do 
Jholi Meri', 'Tajdar-i-Haram' and 'Mera Koi Nahin Hai Teray Siwa'.

(source: devdiscourse.com)