August 9
UNITED KINGDOM/IRAQ:
UK to lobby Iraq on death penalty
The UK is to urge the interim Iraqi government to abolish the death
penalty which has just been reintroduced there.
Ann Clwyd, UK special representative on human rights in Iraq, said she was
"sorry" the penalty had returned.
"We will continue to lobby the government to abolish it as we do with
other states," she told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.
But she said she understood the interim government had a duty to bring the
security situation under control.
She had recently met Iraq's deputy prime minister who, she said, told her
there had been "a great deal of debate" and "soul searching" about the
death penalty's re-introduction.
Al-Jazeera
The interim government has brought back the death penalty, which was
suspended after the fall of Saddam Hussein, for crimes including murder,
kidnapping and drug dealing.
It is being seen as necessary to maintain law and order.
Ms Clwyd also said the decision to close down Arabic TV network al-Jazeera
for a month was " regrettable".
She understood there were concerns about the way the network operated and
claims that it breached basic "journalistic ethics", she said.
But action should be taken by independent regulation not government
censorship, she told Today.
Ms Clwyd also said she was surprised that arrest warrants had been issued
for two key Iraqi political figures, Salem Chalabi and his uncle Ahmed
Chalabi.
Ahmed Chalabi is wanted on counterfeiting charges, and his nephew Salem
Chalabi, the head of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein, is sought on
suspicion of murder.
Both men have denied the charges.
Salem Chalabi told Today the allegations against him were "ridiculous".
He denied ever meeting the man who he is alleged to have threatened to
kill.
"I plan on returning, I just want assurances I will not be killed in a
jail," Mr Chalabi added.
Ms Clwyd said both men would be ready to face the charges.
She warned they would be in danger if they were imprisoned in Iraq as so
many former members of the regime are held in its jails.
(source: BBC News)
INDIA:
Death-row convict falls sick
Dhananjoy Chatterjee, who is awaiting execution for raping and murdering a
teenage girl, has fallen sick and is receiving treatment.
According to sources at the Alipur central correctional home where he is
lodged, Chatterjee fell sick after refusing to eat for 2 days.
He was taken to a hospital under heavy security after his blood pressure
decreased and he complained of nausea.
The 39-year-old convict refused to have his food regularly after President
A P J Abdul Kalam turned down his 2nd appeal for mercy.
Now, the West Bengal government will decide on a date for his hanging.
Chatterjee seems to have come to the end of the road, but a faint hope
remains as his family prepares to appeal to the Supreme Court one last
time to commute his sentence to a life term because his execution has been
delayed for almost 14 years.
Chatterjee was first handed the death sentence by a lower court in Kolkata
in 1991, but his appeals in higher court and clemency pleas with the
President kept him from the gallows.
Chatterjee, who worked as a security guard at the same building where his
victim lived, was charged with raping and murdering 14-year-old Hetal
Parekh in Kolkata in December 1989.
Jail sources said Chatterjee wasn't taking his medicines and was being
administered saline.
(source: Rediff)
******************
Process of Dhananjoy's execution set in motion
West Bengal government on Monday said it had set in motion the process of
Dhananjoy Chatterjee's execution, even as fresh efforts were afoot to move
the apex Court as a last resort to save the death-row convict.
Jail Minister Biswanath Chowdhury held a high-level meeting with Law
minister Nisith Adhikary, Home Secretary AK Deb, Judicial Secretary SK
Chakraborty to discuss the process of execution of Chatterjee, but the
date was yet to be fixed.
The minister said that he had asked the jail department to set in motion
the process of hanging Chatterjee, convicted for the rape and murder of a
15-year-old school girl. The convict was in good health 'as of now', he
said.
"We have reviewed all aspects of execution of Dhananjoy Chatterjee and
examined concerned laws to infer that there is no legal obstacle in
hanging the convict," Chowdhury said.
He said as part of the process, a magistrate and a doctor would have to be
selected to be present at the time of execution, besides the convict's
family has to be informed of the date of hanging. The gallows also has to
be thoroughly checked.
He said that a mock execution was done during the day. but did not
elaborate.
The state government also had decided to give appointment to hangman Nata
Mullick's grandson Prabhat, the minister said.
"But the department for his appointment has not been decided yet, though
police verification has been completed," he added.
(source: Press Trust of India)
TAIWAN:
Following a prisoner's final steps----DEATH ROW: The government's decision
to open prisons to the public has focused attention not only on the
facilities, but the executions carried out there
The Ministry of Justice's decision to open prison facilities to the public
starting Aug. 1, has brought the issue of the death penalty and how it is
carried out to the center of public discussion at a time when the nation's
justice officials are working to eliminate the death penalty altogether.
According to the ministry's plan, as of this month, all its prisons,
detention houses, reform schools, rehabilitation centers and drug
treatment centers will be opened to the public at least once a month. It
is part of the ministry's plan to introduce the prison system to the
public.
On May 2, 2001, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan vowed to replace the
death penalty with life sentences during a press conference. Since his
promise was made, the total number of death row inmates has fallen.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng endorsed Chen's proposal, but said that
the death penalty should continue until a well-organized amendment to the
law is established and passed.
"We are moving to abolish executions and I agree it is the right thing to
do," Wang said. "But at this moment, we should be more sensitive and
careful; it does not mean we can give [the death penalty] up immediately."
Taiwan has 22 prisons, 18 detention houses, 18 detention facilities for
juveniles, 3 juvenile reform schools, 4 vocational training institutes and
17 treatment centers for drug addicts. Altogether, these facilities hold
55,476 inmates or detainees, according to figures updated by the ministry
last month.
While the ministry is opening prison doors to the public, execution
grounds will remain closed at this time.
"For security reasons, we are not planning to introduce execution grounds
to visitors," said Huang Fang-chin, deputy warden of the Kaohsiung Second
Prison. "Initially, we will invite inmates' families and friends as the
1st group of visitors this month, but families of those inmates who are
banned from having visitors will not be invited."
Huang said that most people think prisons are dark and dirty places where
inmates are not treated as human beings.
"This is incorrect. Come visit us and you will realize that what you see
in the movies should remain in the movies," Huang said.
2 Weeks to Death
Currently, for a death penalty to be carried out, an execution order from
the court where the final instance of the case was heard -- usually the
Supreme Court -- to the Ministry of Justice's Department of Prosecution is
required. After the department approves the order, it falls to the
minister of justice to make the final decision to carry out the execution.
Usually, the entire process takes no more than 2 weeks from when the
penalty is issued by a court. Once the minister of justice approves the
order, prosecutors must carry out the execution within 3 days.
According to statistics from the ministry, 157 inmates have been executed
since 1996. Most of these were for convictions on charges such as murder,
kidnapping, robbing, rape, blackmail and drug dealing. The same statistics
show that all 157 of the executed inmates were males, 64 % had criminal
records and 42 percent of them were aged between 30 and 40.
In Taiwan, executions are carried out by prison guards. The guards kill
the inmates by shooting, aiming at the inmate's heart. Executions usually
take place close to dawn. Guards rouse the prisoner who is to be executed
and take him to the "location."
According to Huang, much like the scene in the movie The Green Mile, it
usually takes only a few minutes for the inmate to walk the last steps of
his life, the "green mile," to the area where the execution will take
place, a few meters from the cells.
Before taking these last steps, the inmate ties a few thousand-dollar
bills to his shackles. Tradition says that this money, and the shackles of
the executed prisoner, will bring good luck to his fellow inmates on death
row. The shackles are therefore very popular among the rest of the
inmates, who believe that the restraints of their former prison mate will
help them win an appeal, offering a chance to escape death.
Once at the execution ground, the inmate is first identified by a
prosecutor. Then, the prosecutor will ask whether the inmate has a final
wish. Finally, a "last meal" -- usually a bottle of strong alcohol, a bowl
of rice and three dishes or so -- will be served.
Anesthetic Provided
After the meal, a forensic scientist will provide the option of an
anesthetic. When the inmate passes out completely, guards position the
prisoner on the ground, face down, and shoot him directly in the heart. An
exception may be made, however, if the inmate is an organ donor, in which
case the guards won't shoot for the heart.
After the shots have been fired, the law enforcement officials present
wait a few minutes to make sure the inmate is dead. If the person is still
alive, at that point the guards must fire a 2nd shot.
Sometimes, inmates may struggle after being shot; some have even regained
consciousness and stared at the guards. If that happens, the prosecutors
immediately assign another group of guards to continue the execution. This
is because execution ground tradition says that the ghost of an executed
prisoner will follow the man who shot him if he has looked the man in the
eye before dying.
Three or more armed guards usually carry out an execution. The warden will
give the guards a couple hundred NT dollars in red envelops as lucky
money. Traditionally, whoever receives the money must spend it all before
he walks home that day, or he will suffer bad luck.
Huang said the Kaohsiung Second Prison's execution ground was established
more than 20 years ago and that over 100 inmates have been executed at the
facility. No one has been executed there in the past 8 months, however,
because officials have become more cautious when it comes to the death
penalty, ever since the minister made his remarks 3 years ago.
The latest statistics show there have been no new death row inmates since
this January, a new record.
Notorious Criminals
On July 18, 2000, 7 death row inmates, all convicted for murders,
including Chen Chin-hsing, were executed at the same time at different
execution grounds.
Chen was a notorious criminal who had been involved in the kidnapping,
rape and murder of TV entertainer Pai Ping-ping's 17-year-old daughter
Pai, Hsiao-yen.
Huang said that another death row inmate, former Pingtung County Council
speaker Cheng Tai-ji, had impressed him before being executed.
"He did not faint or look scared [as he walked] the 'green mile.' Instead,
he said he would take responsibility for what he did, and that he was
sorry for the country, the victim's family members, as well as for his own
family members," Huang said.
Cheng was already a gangster on the "national hoodlum list" before he
began his political career in 1990 by winning a seat on the Pingtung
County Council.
However, on Dec. 13, 1994, he shot to death Chung Yuan-feng, the owner of
an illegal casino, in front of Chung's mother at the Chung residence
because he refused to succumb to blackmail. He shot Chung 19 times.
On July 14, 2000, the Supreme Court upheld the Taiwan High Court's verdict
and Cheng's death penalty. Cheng was executed within 2 weeks.
(source: Taipei Times)
