[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 20


MEXICO:

Men in 'immediate' danger of execution


Mexico urged the United Nations' primary court to act quickly Thursday and
block the imminent executions of 5 of its citizens in Texas.

If not, the men - including two sentenced to die for crimes committed in
Hidalgo County - could be put to death before the International Court of
Justice comes back with a decision on their case, advocates for Mexico
argued.

"All of their requests for review were denied," said Sandra Babcock,
clinical director for the Center for International Human Rights at
Northwestern University in Chicago. "As a result, they are in immediate
danger of being scheduled for execution."

Babcock and others who argued on behalf of Mexico on Thursday said the
United States had breached its international obligations by disregarding a
previous ruling by the international court.

In 2003, the body ordered states to grant reviews for more than 50 Mexican
nationals who were not advised that they could communicate with the
nearest consulate after their arrests - a right stipulated in the 1963
Vienna Convention.

As a result, men such as Roberto Moreno Ramos, who in 1992 clubbed his
wife and two children over the head with a hammer in Progreso, and Ruben
Ramirez Cardenas, who kidnapped, raped and killed an Edinburg teenager in
1997, were not granted every opportunity to defend themselves, Mexico's
Foreign Ministry has argued. Consular officials have previously helped
uncover mitigating evidence gathered in Mexico in other death penalty
cases.

But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that current federal law did not
require individual states to adhere to the treaty or the international
court's decisions.

Since then, Texas has scheduled 1 of the men for execution Aug. 5. Dates
for 4 others, including Moreno and Ramirez, could be set within 90 days,
Babcock said Thursday.

"(The) Mexican nationals have no greater chance of receiving stays of
execution and meaningful review and reconsideration than they did before
(the international court) issued its historic judgment," she said.

The United States was also scheduled to present arguments before the
international judges Thursday. As of late evening, though, transcripts of
those proceedings were not available.

Critics of Mexico's efforts have previously maintained that any decision
the court makes is unlikely to further delay the executions.

Moreno and Ramirez remain housed in Texas prisons, but so far local
authorities have not moved to set dates for their deaths.

(source: Brownsville Herald)

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

Hearing to block executions begins


The U.N.'s highest court began emergency hearings on Mexico's appeal to
block the execution of its citizens on U.S. death rows. Mexico contends
the United States is defying a 2004 order by the International Court of
Justice, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, to review the cases of
51 condemned Mexican prisoners. After the 2004 ruling, President Bush
issued a directive to the state courts to abide by the decision. He asked
Texas specifically to review the case of Jose Medellin, who is scheduled
to die Aug. 5. Texas refused, and in March the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that Bush lacked the authority to compel state courts to comply with the
court's ruling. But Mexico argued that international law applies not only
to the U.S. but also to its individual states. On Tuesday, Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and Attorney General Michael Mukasey jointly wrote
to Gov. Rick Perry, urging him to review Medellin's case.

(source: Austin American-Statesman)






JAPAN:

Tokyo knife attacker faces murder charge


JAPANESE police are seeking murder charges against a man over a stabbing
frenzy in Tokyo that left 7 people dead, increasing the likelihood he
could face the death penalty.

It is ultimately up to prosecutors whether to charge disgruntled
25-year-old auto worker Tomohiro Kato, who remains in custody after being
arrested at the scene of the June 8 massacre.

Mr Kato rammed a rented two-tonne truck into a crowd of pedestrians and
slashed shoppers at random with a dagger in the high-tech and alternative
culture district of Akihabara.

Police had earlier arrested Mr Kato on charges of attempted murder
resulting in death.

But investigators have gathered enough evidence to prove that Mr Kato held
clear "intention to kill," leading police to press full murder charges as
they served a new arrest warrant, a police spokesman said.

"Mr Kato has told police that the charges were correct," the spokesman
said.

Mr Kato had sent dozens of phone messages outlining his plans as he drove
the truck to the scene of the crime.

He reportedly told police that he was lonely in real life and on the
internet.

"I wanted to get people's attention," domestic news reports quoted him as
telling police.

If convicted of murder charges, Mr Kato could face the death penalty.

(source: News.com.au)

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

Japan minister livid at 'Grim Reaper' jibe over executions


Japan's justice minister lashed out Friday at a newspaper that dubbed him
the "Grim Reaper" for signing orders for a record pace of executions.

The Asahi Shimbun, an influential liberal daily, ran a satirical poem
about Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama on its front page after he gave the
green light to hang three prisoners on Tuesday.

"Were they taken by the Grim Reaper? No, they weren't, were they?" an
angry Hatoyama asked a news conference.

"My mind isn't at ease about imposing the extreme penalty of ending a
person's life, but I made the orders out of a sense of social justice,"
Hatoyama said.

A justice ministry spokesman said there were no immediate plans to make an
official protest to the newspaper, which has Japan's second highest
circulation.

The satirical poem read: "Justice Minister Hatoyama, the permanent
executioner / Proud of his responsibility, he has achieved a new record by
giving the go-ahead every two months / Also known as the Grim Reaper."

Thirteen people have been hanged since Hatoyama took office in August, the
highest for a given period since Japan lifted a de facto moratorium on
executions in 1993.

There are still 102 people on death row after Tuesday's hangings.

One of those executed Tuesday was notorious serial killer Tsutomu
Miyazaki, a fetishist convicted of murdering 4 young girls and eating
parts of their bodies.

Japan is the only major industrialised nation other than the United States
to apply the death penalty.

"Despite a global trend towards abolition of the death penalty, Japan has
has gone against the tide by increasing the rate of execution," said Sam
Zarifi, the Asia-Pacific head of Amnesty International, which opposes the
death penalty.

(source: Agence France Presse)