[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 14



AUSTRALIA:

How the hanging of Queensland's doomed lovers changed our history



A doomed love affair that ended with twin hangings and burials in unmarked 
graves charts the horrid, bloody story to end capital punishment in the British 
Commonwealth.

The fatal relationship began on a farm near Mossman, in far north Queensland, 
where an Irish woman met a British Navy deserter and fell in love.

Ellen Thomson was the only woman ever hanged in a Queensland prison, despite a 
last-minute confession from her lover, John Harrison, who on the night before 
their execution told authorities she had nothing to do with shooting her 
husband.

In April 1887, Thomson was 41 and Harrison 25 when they were convicted of 
murdering the woman's second husband, 66-year-old William Thomson.

They were both hanged 1 months later in Boggo Road Gaol at Dutton Park, in 
Brisbane's south, 35 years before Queensland led the nation in abolishing 
capital punishment.

The 66-year-old owned a farm on the Mossman River and Ellen Thomson left her 
work as a washerwoman on the Cooktown goldfields to become his housekeeper, and 
eventually his wife in November 1880.

Historian Chris Dawson said life was hard on Cooktown's goldfields for the 
young woman, who shifted from New South Wales to Queensland in search of the 
precious metal.

The widowed then mother-of-5's 1st husband, William Wood, had died near 
Cooktown in the mid-1860s.

"For her this was a chance to settle down with her family," Mr Dawson said.

"...It seemed to have been a marriage of convenience for both of them.

"She could look after him and she had a house - and she had a daughter (young 
Ellen) with him."

But in 1886, Thomson's new man drove away the eldest children from her first 
marriage and was "frequently mean" to her, Mr Dawson said.

Harrison was "on the run" after deserting the English Royal Navy, working on 
farms around Port Douglas and Mossman.

"He obviously caught her eye and they had an affair," Mr Dawson said.

William Thomson was shot dead on October 1886. By April 1887 the lovers were 
both tried and convicted of his murder and by May they were locked up at Boggo 
Road.

Early in the morning of Monday June 13, 1887, Thomson was hanged at Boggo Road 
Gaol.

The night before the hanging, Harrison confessed to shooting William Thomson 
and said Ellen had nothing to do with the shooting, to no avail.

He was hanged immediately after his lover and both were buried in unmarked 
graves in the huge South Brisbane Cemetery, just down the road from the prison.

The Brisbane Telegraph reported her final words: "Goodbye everybody. I forgive 
everybody. I never shot my husband. I never did anybody any harm. I will die 
like an injured angel."

The death was an ugly sight. The rope had severed Ellen Thomson's jugular vein.

"Blood trickling down her body and patterning in large drops on the hard cement 
floor. It increases in quantity and (soon) the whole floor is covered with a 
woman's blood," the newspaper reported.

Mr Dawson said the horrible image of Thomson's death began a social push to end 
hangings.

"There was a real feeling that hanging a woman was morally wrong, by the 
sensitivities of the time," he said.

"It was a particularly barbaric thing to hang a woman."

By 1899, a powerful community mood had grown to abolish capital punishment and 
by 1922 Queensland became the 1st place in the British Commonwealth to end the 
practice.

Tracey Olivieri is the president of Friends of South Brisbane Cemetery, where 
the unmarked graves of the 42 prisoners executed at Boggo Road Gaol sit down by 
the Brisbane River.

She said few people realised the sunshine state was the 1st colony to scrap 
capital punishment.

"I think it's a great thing for Queensland," she said.

"It really was the 1st place to stop executions.

"A lot of people will probably think differently, but hanging back then was a 
horrid way to kill people."

In May 2005, the Boggo Road Historical Society placed a plaque in Portion 6B to 
recognise the executed convicts.

"So it doesn't mark a physical grave, but it marks the area - the portion - 
where the executed prisoners are buried," Ms Olivieri said.

On the plaque you can read: "Ellen Thomson, Ireland" and directly below "John 
Harrison, England".

(source: Sydney Morning Herald)








MALAYSIA:

Malaysia Set to Execute More People for Drug Offenses----The United Nations 
opposes the use of the death penalty for drug law violations,but too many 
countries won't listen.



Last month, 6 people were sentenced to death for drug trafficking by a 
Malaysian court. 2 are Malaysian and the rest are Indian nationals - another 
country that maintains the death penalty for drug offenses. While Malaysia has 
taken steps to make the death penalty for certain drug offenses non-mandatory, 
slow implementation of the law and the retention of the death penalty means 
that many more will executed in the name of the war on drugs.

The 6 people are among hundreds facing capital punishment for drug law 
violations in Malaysia. And among hundreds more in the region. Less than 2 
months ago, China executed seven people for drug offenses, in front of 
thousands of onlookers. And just a few years ago, Indonesia executed 8 people 
for drug offenses, despite repeated pleas for mercy from family members, 
citizens, human rights organizations, the United Nations and governments from 
around the world.

Even here in the U.S., where the death penalty isn't applied for drug offenses, 
the current opioid overdose crisis has led to more criminalization of people 
who sell drugs. The Governor of the state of Florida recently signed a bill 
which would expand the definition of 1st degree murder - a crime for which the 
death penalty can be applied in the state - to include selling a lethal dose of 
the opioid, fentanyl.

The United Nations opposes the use of the death penalty for drug law 
violations, and has repeatedly upheld that using the death penalty to enforce 
drug laws violates international law. International law limits the application 
of the death penalty to the "most serious crimes" which does not include drug 
use, sales, or trafficking.

Despite this, 33 countries still use this ineffective and draconian measure to 
deal with drug offenses. In some countries, there have been signs of reform. 
Iran, which has sentenced thousands to death for drugs, recently amended its 
penal code, indicating that even countries that have long relied on capital 
punishment for drug offenses are realizing how ineffective it is.

While the death penalty represents an extreme example of the perverse ways in 
which governments punish people suspected of involvement with illegal drugs, 
many more countries around the world of are also guilty of heinous crimes in 
this misguided global drug war.

(source: alternet.org)








INDIA:

Chouhan urges HM to pass bill on capital punishment for accused in minor rape 
cases



Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday met Prime 
Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.

Earlier, the chief minister also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh requesting him 
to pass pending bills sent by the state government, especially taking in accord 
death penalty for those who are accused in rape cases of girls below 12 years 
of age.

Earlier in the day, Chouhan also met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here and 
demanded Rs. 2,800 crores of the drought relief amount pending with the Centre.

Chouhan also discussed National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development 
(NABARD) refinance with Jaitley.

This comes after Chouhan on Sunday announced that farmers will be given 
compensation for the losses incurred by them in wake of the hail storm, which 
recently hit many parts of the state.

(source: ANI news)

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

Maliwal launches 'Rape Roko' movement, calls for death penalty for child 
rapists



Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal on Tuesday launched 
a 'Rape Roko' movement against sexual violence and announced holding of mass 
demonstrations across the country on March 8 -- the day marked as International 
Women's Day.

She led a march from Vishwavidyalaya Metro station to the Delhi University Arts 
Faculty where she addressed a gathering of students and exhorted them to 
express outrage on crimes against women and infants.

The Commission, she said, will send 100,000 letters containing commission's 
demands signed by one lakh individuals to the prime minister and work towards 
turning the 'Rape Roko' into a true people's movement.

"I can't tell you how horrified, how terrified, how troubled I am... there's no 
conversation, there's no public anger, there's no outrage," she said on the 
rape of an 8-month-old some days ago.

"We've done whatever we could. We have gone to courts, spoken to leaders, tried 
writing letters to the government but it has not worked till now," she added.

That's why, she said, the Rape Roko movement had been launched. "I really want 
that this movement should become a people's movement, and I feel that people 
will come down on the streets and they will express their anger in a peaceful 
manner," she said.

As a means of deterrence to such crimes against infants, Maliwal advocated the 
death penalty within 6 months of the crime for the perpetrator.

She also said trials of crimes against women should also be completed within 6 
months.

"There's a lack of deterrence. And that is what we are targeting," she said.

"On March 8, people of India will throng the streets of Delhi as well as other 
cities and we are hoping that the government will then listen. We will be 
reaching out to everyone," she said.

(source: business-standard.com)








MYANMAR:

Yangon women demand death penalty for rapists



A group of women protested outside the North Dagon Township court on Feb. 8 to 
demand the death penalty for anyone convicted of rape in Myanmar, including 
those who were convicted in the past.

The protest was organized by the Myanmar Women's Safeguarding Team to coincide 
with the second court appearance of taxi driver Myo Zaw Oo, who is suspected of 
raping and murdering 26-year-old Food and Drug Administration staffer Shwe Yee 
Win on Jan. 20.

The case has raised security concerns among Yangon women and rights groups, who 
say the city needs more police patrols, CCTV systems, street lights, and 
relocations of bus stops.

In addition to these deterrence schemes, some women going a few steps further, 
saying rapists must die.

"We aim to enact a new law giving death sentences to rapists instead of prison 
punishment. We request the government gives the death sentence to any rapists 
without granting amnesty," Myanmar Women's Safeguarding Team secretary Khin 
Thandar told Eleven.

"There is no rule of law in our country, and there is no safety for the women. 
All Myanmar women want to give the death sentence to rapists. We request the 
government gives the death sentence to rapists, including those previously 
convicted," she added.

During the hearing, protesters distributed pamphlets titled "Any rape case must 
be given the death sentence" to passersby.

Under Myanmar's current law (Penal Code, Section 376), men who are convicted of 
rape can be sentenced to at least 10 years in prison, unless the victim is his 
wife, in which case the prison sentence cannot be longer than 2 years.

Shwe Yee Win was declared missing on Jan. 20 after she failed to return from 
Hledan Center to her parents' home in Dagon Township by 8pm. Her body was 
discovered near the Ngamoyake Creek Bridge in North Dagon Township the 
following day.

Police arrested Myo Zaw Oo after a phone services shop reported that he had 
come in with the victim's phone. During an interrogation, the suspect said he 
had picked up Shwe Yee Win near Hledan Center before quarrelling over the taxi 
fare near her home. He then allegedly stopped the car, strangled her until she 
passed out, stabbed her in the neck with a screwdriver, drove to North Dagon 
Township, and raped her while she was unconscious.

A police photo of the suspect shows him posing with Shwe Yee Win's belongings, 
including jewelry, a purse, and a phone.

Shwe Yee Win was buried during a well-attended funeral on Jan. 23 at Yangon's 
Yay Way Cemetery.

Rape is believed to be on the rise in Yangon, as it has accounted for accounted 
for 229 of 469 major crimes recorded in 2016 and for 270 of 478 major crimes in 
2017.

One online petition is calling on Myanmar authorities to ensure justice for 
Shwe Yee Win by imposing harsher punishments for convicted rapists, but it does 
not mention the death penalty.

(soruce: coconuts.co)



SOUTH SUDAN:

James Dak's death penality is absolute miscarriage of justice



The death sentence and 20 years life imprisonment against James Gatdet Dak is 
illegal and politically motivated. The Transitional Constitution of South Sudan 
(TCSS), 2011 is the supreme law of the land and the guiding principle of 
distinct laws that exist in South Sudan. The general principle of the common 
law is that, "any law that is inconsistent with the constitution is habitually 
considered null and void." On that note, article 3 (1) (2) (3) of the 
transitional constitution of South Sudan, 2011 stipulated that, the 
constitution derives its authority from the will of the people and shall be the 
supreme law of the land. It shall have a binding force on all persons, 
institutions, organs and agencies of government throughout the country. (2) The 
authority of government at all levels shall derive from the constitution and 
the law. (3) The States' constitutions and all laws shall conform to the 
constitution.

Nonetheless, James Gatdet was charged with treason and sentenced to death and 
20 years life imprisonment according to section 64 read together with sections 
75 and 76 of the South Sudan Penal code, 2008.

However, these provisions of the Penal Code, 2008 contradicts the provisions of 
the supreme law of the land under article 21 (1) of the Transitional 
Constitution of South Sudan, 2011. This article restricted death penalty and 
stated that "No death penalty shall be imposed, save as punishment for 
extremely serious offences in accordance with the law."

On top of that, according to article 11 of the TCSS, 2011, "every person has 
the inherent right to life, dignity and the integrity of his or her person 
which shall be protected by law; no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or 
her life."

On a separate note, an accused person is presumed innocent until his or her 
guilt is proved according to the law. Therefore, if the court proved beyond 
reasonable doubt that Gatdet was perhaps guilty of treason, then he should 
solely be charged of 20 years life imprisonment, but not death penalty, owing 
to the fact that, death penalty is prohibited by the supreme law of the land 
(transitional constitution of South Sudan, 2011).

Ultimately, it's incontrovertible that I am a staunch die-hard supporter of the 
Transitional Government of National Unity (TGONU), but truth must be told, with 
the view that, no one is above the law and as a concerned citizen of South 
Sudan, it is my constitutional right and an obligation to defend the 
constitution as provided for under article 4 (3) of the transitional 
constitution of South Sudan, 2011.

This is my sincere appeal on behalf of Cde. James Gatdet Dak.

Deng Gai Gatluak is a law lecturer at Starford International University (SIU), 
(teaching constitution and administrative law). he is also a member of National 
Dialogue Steering Committee (Secretariat).

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

Quash death sentence, Amnesty International tells S. Sudan



The campaign group, Amnesty International on Tuesday called or the immediate 
squashing of the death penalty against former rebel spokesperson, James Gatdet 
Dak.

A South Sudan court on Monday sentenced the former spokesman of the rebel 
leader, Riek Machar to death, citing multiple provisions in the constitution as 
the basis upon which the verdict was reached.

Dak was facing several charges, including accusations of treason.

The lead-defence lawyer in the case, Monyluak Alor Kuol described the verdict 
as a political decision

"Gatdet's sentence is completely unacceptable and must be quashed immediately. 
The death penalty is an abhorrent punishment and should never be used in any 
circumstances," said Sarah Jackon, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional 
Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

She described the sentence as "completely unacceptable" and must be quashed 
immediately by the South Sudanese government.

"Gatdet received his death sentence at a time when he had had no legal 
representation for more than a month. In any case, the death penalty has no 
place in the modern era," Jackon further stated.

"Instead of sentencing people to death, the South Sudanese government should 
immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to 
abolishing this cruel and inhuman penalty, as have 105 other countries around 
the globe," she added.

The campaign group said it opposes the death penalty in all cases without 
exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the 
offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner, describing 
death penalty as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, 
inhuman and degrading punishment.

Dak was unlawfully transferred from Kenya to South Sudan in November 2016. He 
spent over 7 months in solitary confinement before finally being charged with 
abetment, treason, publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to 
South Sudan, and undermining the authority of or insulting President Salva 
Kiir.

(source for both: Sudan Tribune)

NIGERIA:

Rivers House of Assembly to relax death penalty in anti-cultism, 
anti-kidnapping bills



The Rivers State House of Assembly may relax death penalty in the anti-cultism 
and anti-kidnapping bills.This is sequel to the outcome of reports of the 
ad-hoc committee on three different bills currently being considered by the 
House.The plan came after a public hearing was held last weekend with 
recommendations to relax some of the penalties.

The bills: the Rivers State Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) 
Amendment No. 1 Bill, 2018; Rivers State Kidnap (Prohibition) Amendment No. 2 
Bill, 2018 and the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Bill, 2018, are all 
executive bills.

Chairman of the ad-hoc committee and Majority Leader, Martin Amaewhule, while 
presenting report on the outcome of the public hearing for the 3 bills during 
plenary yesterday, said that there were divergent views on the proposed 
penalties both for the anti-cultism and anti-kinapping bills.

He said after due consideration, the committee recommends that the death 
penalty should be relaxed in the anti-cultism and anti-kidnapping bills.On the 
Neighbourhood Safety Corps Bill, Amaewhule stated that there was no provision 
for secretary to the board in the bill, adding that the committee recommended a 
secretary with 3-year tenure.

Also, on corporate bodies found to be sponsoring cult activities, he said the 
proposed N50 million penalty remains, adding that the committee also recommends 
that state government will confiscate any property where cult activities are 
being carried out with the knowledge of the owner instead of demolishing.

Amaewhule, who stated that the committee adopted the provisions of the Nigerian 
Civil Defence Corps Law on the issue of pre-action notice, disclosed that the 
stakeholders hailed the state government for coming up with such amendments and 
a bill that will help improve security of lives and property in the state. The 
House later deferred debate on the 3 bills and adjourned to Monday, February 
19, 2018. The Speaker, Ikunyi Owaji-Ibani, said the deferment is to allow 
members study the reports and debate adequately.

(source: guardian.ng)








UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Abu Dhabi boy rape-murder case: Court to hear appeal on March 7



The 33-year-old man was sentenced to death last November after he was found 
guilty of rape and murder.

The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal will reconvene for the second time to consider 
the appeal of the death penalty verdict issued last year to a 33-year-old 
Pakistani man.

The 33-year-old man was sentenced to death last November after he was found 
guilty of rape and murder. A defence lawyer will be appointed for his case 
which will be heard on March 7.

The child's parents attended the hearing which lasted all of 2 minutes, 
reported Al Ittihad.

A defence lawyer was not present at the first hearing and the state had not 
appointed one for the suspect.

The law requires that all capital offenders be represented by a lawyer for a 
fair hearing.

The murder happened last Ramadan when the body of the 11-year-old Pakistani 
child was found on the terrace of the building where he lived with his father 
and stepmother.

The child had gone out to a nearby mosque to pray when he went missing and was 
found the next morning on the rooftop with signs of strangulation and abuse on 
his body.

The Juvenile and Family Prosecution division at Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution 
launched an investigation to ascertain the identity of the attacker.

A photographic examination was conducted at the scene of the crime.

The suspect was confronted with the evidence that had been gathered, including 
the forensic report confirming the appearance of bruises and injuries on the 
child's body.

The Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance had issued a death sentence to the 
33-year-old Pakistani man for the rape and premeditated murder of the child.

He was also charged with paying Dh200,000 in blood money to the heirs, 
crossdressing, and violating a traffic law.

(source: Khaleej Times)








IRAN:

MP Speaks Out Against Scholar's Death Sentence



Iranian MP Mahmoud Sadeghi has said that an Iranian scholar from Sweden who was 
sentenced to death was denied sufficient opportunity to defend himself during 
his trial.

Ahmadreza Jalali (or Djalali), a resident of Sweden since 2009, is a physician 
and researcher affiliated with the Karolinska Institute near Stockholm. While 
on an official academic visit hosted by Tehran University, Jalali was accused 
of collaboration with a hostile government and arrested in April 2016.

Since then, he has received the death penalty and his request for an appeal has 
been denied.

Sadeghi tweeted on February 14 that he had received a complaint from Jalali and 
his initial review shows the convicted scholar was not given sufficient 
opportunity to defend himself throughout the various phases of the trial.

An Iranian Revolutionary Court, headed by the notorious judge Abolqassem 
Salavati, condemned Jalali to death in October 2017 on charges of spying for 
Israel. The authorities also extracted a confession from Jalali on national 
television that he had spied for Israel.

In his tweet, Sadeghi also wrote that in the complaint he received Jalali says 
he confessed under duress.

In the past, Jalali had rejected all accusations, saying it was his 
unwillingness to spy for Iran that had landed him in jail.

Sweden, the United Nations, international human rights organizations, and 
several European universities have asked Iran to rescind the death sentence and 
review Jalali's case.

(source: radiofarda.com)