[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

July 20



PHILIPPINES/KUWAIT:

Ambassador vows to resolve all cases of Filipinos on death row -- Number
of domestic workers requesting Embassy assistance declines sharply


Ambassador of the Philippines to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya on Saturday assured
all Filipino nationals living in Kuwait that no executions of Filipinos on
death row will take place during his tenure.

Speaking at a thanksgiving mass held for Marilou Ranario and May Vecina
whose sentences have been commuted to life imprisonment, Endaya said: "We
will move heaven and hell to make sure that no Filipinos are executed in
Kuwait."

In an exclusive interview with Al Watan Daily, Endaya explained that the
embassy will exhaust all of its resources to ensure that the remaining
Filipino nationals on death row will also have their sentences commuted
and possibly also be pardoned.

Minerva Tayag, Jakatia Pawa and Bienvenido Espino are the three Filipino
nationals who are still on death row. Endaya said that the embassy was
able to ensure the commutation of Vecina and Ranario''s sentences despite
several members of the diplomatic community in Kuwait mocking him and
never believing that he would be able to resolve such cases because of the
gravity of the crimes committed.

"I was terrified when I saw the execution structure being built in the
jail and I kept my faith that I will be able to find ways and means to
save our Filipinos from being executed. I guess we need to be pushed
sometimes to the limit to appreciate victory. If I have to travel
repeatedly to Jordan and Lourdes and perform pilgrimages to pray for these
lives to be saved, I will," stated Endaya, who performed two consecutive
pilgrimages to pray for Vecina and Ranario''s cases.

Monsignor John, officiating priest during the mass, praised Endaya for all
his hard work. Endaya also received a standing ovation from the Filipinos
present at the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Labor Attache at the embassy Leopoldo De Jesus has announced
that the number of run?away domestic helpers appealing to the embassy for
help has declined substantially from five per day to almost three in a
week. He added that the total number of wards being housed in the OWWA
center will drop to sixty?one next week as a huge number of cases have
been resolved and the nationals will be repatriated to the Philippines as
soon as the necessary paperwork has been completed.

Vice Consul Rea Oreta added that eleven unregistered children will also be
repatriated soon. Some will be returning home with their parents, while
those who have been abandoned will be accompanied by an embassy staff
member who will hand them over to the Department of Social Welfare in the
Philippines.

(source: Al Watan Daily)






JAMAICA:

Capital punishment as unchristian?


THE EDITOR, Sir:

Human-rights advocates and some liberal clergymen continue to inveigh
against capital punishment. While I can sympathise with our human-rights
friends, I cannot see from a purely social context how they make sense.

It is those churchmen who claim to speak for God and with biblical
authority who worry me. If, indeed, as professed by many, we accept the
Bible as final authority in matters of doctrine and practice, then where
is the theological basis for rejecting capital punishment as unchristian?

A common argument advanced by those opposed to capital punishment is that
it is not a deterrent to murder, despite the fact that no one is coming up
with the empirical evidence to prove that theory. The fallacy of that
argument, however, is that the primary purpose of capital punishment is
not deterrence. Old Testament codes call for restitution in the case of
most crimes, but Genesis 9:6 reminds us that God made human beings in His
own image.

Death penalty

There is nothing as precious as a human life, and there is no price great
enough to balance the scales when a murder is committed. By calling for
the death penalty, we affirm the significance of human life, reminding
everyone that nothing can make up for the taking of another life.

At the funeral of a prominent and hard-working Jamaican citizen, brutally
destroyed by the wanton and unmitigated violence sweeping across the
country, the clergyman in his sermon tells the vast audience, frightened
and benumbed by the particularly vicious nature of the crime, that it is
time we rise up and fight back. He then proceeded to trot out the
foolishness that capital punish-ment is state violence and should not be
considered. I was dis-appointed, to say the least, especially because for
the next 15 minutes, he went on without offering a clue as to how we might
fight back.

Misunderstanding

There seems to be a funda-mental misunderstanding (bibli-cally) of killing
and murder. Genesis 9:6 clearly states that a person who kills should in
turn be killed. The command in Exodus 20:13 states: "Thou shalt not kill".
2 different words in both passages help us to resolve the supposed
inconsistency.

Genesis 9:6 refers to pre-meditated violent killings of others (murder).
The Fifth Commandment, (Exodus 20:13), however, is not a blanket
commandment of all killings. In fact, Genesis 9:6 holds the properly
constituted govern-ment responsible to take the life of the person who
murders another:

" ... if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the
sword in vain." (Romans 13:4)

This is a New Testament confirmation of the Old Testament teaching on this
particular subject.

I am, etc.,

LLOYD SPENCER (Rev)

Faith United Brethren in Christ Church<>P> 4 1/2 Harwood Drive, Washington
Gardens

Kingston 20

(source: Letter to the Editor, Jamaica Gleaner)






INDONESIA:

Mother and son executed as Indonesia ramps up death penalty


Indonesia has executed 3 convicted murderers, including a mother and son,
the latest in a spate of executions bucking a downward trend in the death
penalty globally.

Human rights groups speculated that by ramping up killings, the Government
was trying to demonstrate its authority over its 220 million people after
10 years of often chaotic democratic rule.

A firing squad executed the mother and son early yesterday in Surabaya on
Java. They were convicted of murdering 5 members of a family 20 years ago
in a dispute over money. Also on Java, a man was executed on Friday in
Banten province for murdering 8 people in a series of ritual slayings.
Indonesia resumed executions in June after a 14-month hiatus. Authorities
are preparing to execute 3 Islamic militants for their role in the 2002
Bali bombings.

(source: The Age)