Nov. 30
TRINIDAD:
Death sentence for Toco killer
A Cumana man was yesterday sentenced to hang after he was found guilty of
the murders of a mother of 3 and her 6-year-old son. After 1 hour and
thirty minutes of deliberation the jury found Neil "Redman" Hernandez, of
Moraldo Trace, Guayama Village, Cumana guilty of killing Christine and
Phillip Henry. As the sentence was being read in the Port-of-Spain Fourth
Criminal Court by Justice Malcolm Holdip, Hernandez slowly shook his head.
The States case was that around 10 am on May 2, 2000, Christine and her 3
children, all of Moraldo Trace, left to go to the beach, while her
common-law husband Everton "Breddo" Williams, a caretaker at a nearby
estate, left for work. Approximately 30 minutes later, Williams was given
some disturbing news and when he ran to the beach he found Phillip lying
on his back motionless, with chop wounds to his head.
Christine lay some distance away with chop wounds to her neck, hand and
behind her ear. She was taken to the Cumana Health Centre and later to the
Sangre Grande Hospital, where she died on May 6. Before she died, she
identified "Redman" as the man who had chopped her and her son. Hernandez
was arrested and taken to the Toco Police Station, where he gave a
statement on May 4. In the statement, he had admitted chopping the two,
following an argument with Christine. However, he said, he had only meant
to "planass" them. He was charged with the double murder on May 8, by Cpl
Wight. The judge thanked the 12-member panel for a job well done, adding
that based on the evidence presented by the State, the court was in
concurrence with the verdict.
(source: Newsday)
KOREA:
Death of capital punishment?
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is an issue that
polarizes members of society. There are groups that are vociferous in
support and in criticism of capital punishment, both in Korea and in other
countries where the death penalty exists, such as the United States.
Recently a blow has been struck by the opponents of capital punishment in
Korea.
Last week, a bill to abolish the death penalty was introduced to the
National Assembly by Uri Party Representative Yoo In-tae. It has been
reported that 151 bipartisan lawmakers support the measure to ban the
death penalty, and with such support, Representative Yoo stated that the
bill would likely pass the National Assembly.
There have been previous unsuccessful efforts to ban the death penalty,
with a similar bill presented to the National Assembly in 1999, and again
in 2001, that time with the support of 155 legislators, which was a slight
majority at the time.
These two attempts were thwarted by the judiciary committee of the
National Assembly, and the bills never made it to a vote.
However, it could be likely that the bill will survive the judiciary
committee, as most of the committee members are lawyers who are part of a
group supporting reform.
The proposed bill would scrap the death penalty now in place with a
punishment of life in prison, with no parole or pardon possible.
In the United States, unlike in Korea where the criminal law is a national
law, criminal laws are put in place by each state and by the federal
government (for federal crimes), and it is up to each state to decide
whether to enact a death penalty. Currently, 38 states, as well as the
U.S. government and military have the death penalty.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the death penalty in Furman vs. Gerogia
(1972), saying it was arbitrary and discriminatory, but later ruled in
Gregg vs. Gerogia (1976) that the new death penalty statutes were
constitutional.
Opponents of the death penalty argue, among other things, that innocent
people are being sentenced to death, that defendants often were not
adequately represented by legal counsel, that race often plays a factor in
determining whether capital punishment is imposed, that the location of
the trial often determines whether capital punishment is sought rather
than the nature of the crime itself, and that juvenile offenders are being
sentenced to death.
Often opponents cite that enforcement of capital punishment is more
expensive than cases involving life in prison and that the death penalty
is not an effective deterrent. Proponents argue that the death penalty is
involved in a small percentage of murder cases and these are for specific
crimes.
Others would argue that the punishment should fit the crime, especially in
specific and extreme murder cases. A recent U.S. poll put public support
of the death penalty at 64 % in favor and 32 % opposed.
Whatever the result of the newly proposed law, there will certainly be
further debate over this sensitive issue.
(source: Commentary, Tom Chung, who is is from Hwang Mok Park. HMP is one
of Korea's leading law firms; The Korea Herald)
CHINA:
Tibetans play music to protest leaders execution
The increasing anxiety of Tibetans regarding the impending execution of
their religious leader Tulku Tenzin Delek, manifested into a novel and
creative method of protest on late Sunday evening.
While the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) has already launched a campaign at
McLeodganj, including a relay hunger strike, a group of youth belonging to
different Tibetan NGOs brought together a large gathering of people at the
abode of the Dalai Lama to protest Chinas death sentence in a different
stylethough a music concert.
Brainchild of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of Dharamsala, Friends of
Tibet (India), and Students For A Free Tibet (India), about 25 singers and
musicians too lend support to the cause, drawing local people as well as
foreign tourists.
The official Tibetan music band of Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts
(TIPA) broke the ice with a scintillating song dedicated to the life and
sacrifice of Tulku. Besides local bands like JJI Exile Brothers, there
were musicians from Denmark and Scotland. Local Indian band Badal too
joined enthusiastically to stand up with their Tibetan guests.
After the music it was time for poetry reading and story telling about the
prison life of ex-political prisoners who had escaped from Tibet recently.
"We have to devise new ways to keep the struggle alive," said a young
Tibetan.
One of the organisers, a youth leader and writer Tenzin Tsundue said, "The
power of music brings people together and there has been a strong
tradition of protesting through music all over the world."
All in all, a big crowd hustled together on a late chilly evening, making
a strong case for the release of Tulku, but in an ingenious way.
(source: Hindustan Times)
*********************
Death sentence looms for Japanese drug smuggler in China
A Japanese man being tried on drug charges in a Chinese court pleaded
guilty when his trial opened on Tuesday, saying he does not care if he
receives the death sentence.
The accused, Teruo Takeda, 61, was earlier placed on an international
wanted list in 5 prefectures in Japan on suspicion of leading a robbery
gang that included Chinese nationals. He is suspected of playing a key
role in several drug smuggling incidents in China that led to the arrest
of Japanese nationals. It is likely a conviction would lead to the death
sentence.
The trial against Takeda, which is taking place in the Dalian Intermediate
People's Court in China's Liaoning Province, was held in conjunction with
the trial of a 38-year-old Japanese man from Osaka who is accused of
buying drugs from Takeda.
According to the charges against him, Takeda sold 5 kilograms of drugs to
5 people, including the 38-year-old man. One of the 5, Katsuo Mori, 61, of
Fukushima Prefecture, was arrested by Chinese authorities for trying to
smuggle 1.25 kilograms of drugs out of China and was handed the death
penalty in a Chinese court in February this year.
During Tuesday's hearing, Takeda admitted to the allegations against him
and said, "I've done a very serious thing, and I don't care if I get the
death sentence."
During questioning, it emerged that Takeda illicitly sold drugs at the
request of an illicit drug sales group in Japan.
Takeda is suspected of spearheading a robbery ring of about 30 members,
and committing 17 robberies in nine prefectures in Japan from about July
2002 that cost victims a total of 600 million yen. He left Nagoya Airport
for China in November 2002. He was arrested in June this year with 2
Chinese suspects for possession of 3.1 kilograms of stimulants.
(source: Mainichi Shimbun)
SINGAPORE:
SA man faces death penalty
Police have arrested a South African and a Nigerian on suspicion of
trafficking more than 1 200g of heroin worth US$1.3m through the
city-state's airport. If convicted, the pair face the death penalty.
Airport police stopped and searched the 19-year-old Nigerian man in the
airport's transit lounge on Sunday and found "numerous capsules of white
substances", according to a statement posted on the central narcotics
bureau's website.
The Nigerian, who was not named, said the packets contained African herbal
medicine. But preliminary tests on the powder indicated he was carrying 1
247g of heroin, the CNB said.
Under Singapore law, anyone possessing more than 15g of heroin is presumed
to be trafficking and faces death if found guilty.
Later on Sunday, police arrested a 33-year-old South African man, also
unnamed, who was described as the Nigerian's friend, and was alleged to be
due to take possession of the drugs, the online statement said.
Death penalty
The Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday that the haul was not
intended for sale locally, citing CNB acting deputy director Yang Lye
Hock. Yang said the South African had been intending to board a flight to
Medan, an Indonesian city in North Sumatra.
Police were not immediately available for comment.
Singapore, a wealthy and tightly controlled island nation of 4 million in
Southeast Asia, has some of the toughest drug laws worldwide, which police
and customs officers enforce vigorously.
In December 2002, police arrested an Australian, Nguyen Tuong Van, at
Changi airport for carrying 2 packets of heroin totalling 396.2g. Nguyen
was convicted of trafficking in March this year and now faces the death
penalty.
(source: News24)
