[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 26



TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:

Confronting the death penalty


ON July 28, 1999, Anthony Briggs, formerly of Pinto Road, Arima, was
hanged. He had been sentenced to death for the murder of a taxi driver in
Arima sometime in August, 1992. Briggs went to his death a peaceful man,
one of his sisters reporting that he had told her 2 days before that he
had accept Jesus Christ as his personal lord and saviour, and all was well
with his soul. That sister was confident at the time, however, that her
brother was the wrong man sent to the gallows, but she had no hard
feelings against the state. So she said.

Her brother also told her that he hoped he was the last person to suffer
this fate. At the time of his death, there were 63 other persons on Death
Row. But only 13 of them were at the point where one of them could have
been called next. They were the ones who had had all their appeals
exhausted and had no constitutional or human rights motions pending.

6 years and 3 months later, murders have increased dramatically from what
they were in 1999, and more people have been sentenced to death, but the
hangman has not had a day's work since. In the face, that is, of the
strident calls from the general population for implementation of the death
penalty.

"Shame and scandal in the T&T family," wailed a front page Sunday Express
headline on October 15, when the murder rate for the year hit 301. It got
there with triple murders on Friday night before, in separate incidents.
The very next weekend three more men were shot to death, this time in a
single incident at a nightclub in Arima, by a group of angry young men who
wouldn't accept the management's right to refuse their admission. In fact,
they had been inside and were thrown out because of their behaviour. They
returned only to nihilistically mash up the place.

The murder rate stood at 315 yesterday, but with the weekend approaching,
who knows what will be the Monday morning headlines! There are raging
arguments about the projections being made by the Minister of National
Security, and about the figures he is using in a series of media
advertisements, the value of which remains unclear.

Application of the death penalty has been held by many as the best
antidote against homicides, and we made headlines with it in 1999, Briggs
being the tenth person sent to the gallows that year. Remember the nine
hangings, three a day between a Thursday and a Saturday, of Dole Chadee
and company? Every public opinion poll conducted comes back firmly for
retention of the death penalty, and every government professes its undying
commitment to upholding it as the law.

The UNC was the party in power in 1999 and while it clearly remains a
question for scrutiny whether or not its application of capital punishment
was highly selective and suspect, that many pay-days for the hangman was
an achievement, for those inclined to be impressed by such numbers.

In almost five years, and with the insistence that it has not again
abandoned the death penalty, the current Government has not managed to
create a single day's work in this category. An attempt was made in June
2005, against the life of Lester Pitman, who had been sentenced to death
for the triple murders of John Cropper, his mother-in-law and
sister-in-law in July 2001. This was stopped as lawyers on Pitman's behalf
successfully argued that he had been in the process of filing an appeal
with the Privy Council.

At the end of 1999, after the 10 hangings that year, the murder rate
closed out at 93. The next year it went to 118. In 2003, the 2nd full year
of a new PNM administration, the rate rose to 229. It climbed to 260 in
2004 and shot to 386 last year.

A version of the Minister's "report on homicide statistics" appearing in
yesterday's Express has the figure for the year still at 306, however.

On the face of these figures, the arguments that hangings make a
difference can be flattened.

Whether or not hangings are useful as a deterrent to those who will commit
murder, this Government seems determined to press ahead.

It has been stymied all the way to the gallows, however, by a combination
of commitments to the Privy Council and a host of other international
human rights bodies, treaties and conventions to which we are signatory.

They are enough to cause the policy decision makers to consider again the
force of an assertion by the current Attorney General that it is extremely
difficult, if not virtually to apply the death penalty any more in
Trinidad and Tobago.

Mr Jeremie's statement, as an elaborate response to a query this week for
a status report on the death penalty, is encouraging reading for those in
favour of its abolition. For those of the contrary opinion, it is an easy
invitation to anarchy.

(Continuing next week).

(source: Trinidad Express)






TANZANIA:

Appellate court quashes Lindi death sentence


The Court of Appeal has acquitted a resident of Kilwa in Lindi Region,
Hassan Mohamed Mtepeka, who was sentenced to death by hanging for
allegedly raping his 10-year-old stepdaughter to death.

Justices Augustino Ramadhani, Eusebia Munuo and Harold Nsekela ruled in
favour of Mtepeka last week after allowing an appeal that he had filed
against an earlier judgment by High Court Judge Salome Kaganda on February
11, 2004.

Mtepeka was convicted by the High Court at Lindi of killing his
stepdaughter, Salima Hamis Ngaima, on April 16, 2001, at Kililima Mingumbi
Village in Kilwa District.

Judge Kaganda had found him guilty of murder after considering
circumstantial evidence produced by the prosecution. None of the
prosecution witnesses saw Mtepeka killing Salima.

The justices ruled, however, that the High Court Judge did not address her
mind properly as circumstantial evidence adduced against Mtepeka did not
irresistibly point to his guilt.

"Had the trial judge considered all factors, she would have arrived at a
different conclusion. We accordingly quash the conviction and set aside
the sentence imposed on the appellant (Mtepeka)," they ruled.

On the fateful day, it was claimed, the deceased's mother, Asia Abdallah,
went to a well to fetch water and left Salima with her young sister to
guard their paddy farm, situated near their home, against birds.

On her way back, Mtepeka, who was her spouse, summoned and ordered her to
put the bucket of water on the ground. Mtepeka kicked the bucket, pouring
the water, an act that fuelled a quarrel between them.

Asia then took to her heels with Mtepeka in hot pursuit. He failed to
catch her though. While running, Asia met her relatives, identified only
as Mshamu and Bakari, on the way.

She asked them to accompany her home to collect her children and deliver
them to her mother-in-law. On reaching her home, Mshamu found Mtepeka, who
gave them only 1 child, claiming that Salima could have left with her
mother.

Later on, Mshamu learnt from the police that Salima was found dead under a
tree, with her body covered with grass. A postmortem report produced
during the trial showed that Salima died violently from brutal physical
and sexual assault. Police arrested Mtepeka and charged him with the
murder of Salima.

(source: The Daily News)






EUROPE:

Persuasion Needed for Abolition in Europe Too


Some Europeans still need persuading about arguments for abolishing the
death penalty -- even though the continent is now virtually a "death
penalty-free zone", says the Council of Europe's Secretary General Terry
Davis.

"It is not enough to abolish the death penalty in law. We need to convince
people about the reasons. That aspect has been neglected in the past," he
said.

In a wide-ranging interview with IPS, the native Briton spoke of his wish
to encourage member Russia to formally abolish the death penalty and to
continue educating the broader public on why capital punishment is wrong
so that countries, notably Poland, do not reverse their stance.

The Council of Europe -- and also the European Union -- now insist on a
death penalty ban before allowing in any new members. Only one current
member, Russia, has yet to formally abolish capital punishment. Europe's
most populous country has had a moratorium on capital punishment since
1990. It joined the Council of Europe in 1996.

Russia is still expected to come into line and translate its moratorium
into law.

"We always have a very clear line: you promised to do it, keep your
promise. We have waited ten years," Davis said.

The principle of the ban remains an uncompromising condition of membership
to the Council of Europe, Davis added, and the doors to the group will
stay firmly shut on the republic of Belarus, now the only country in
Europe still holding on to the death penalty.

"They have applied to join," said Davis. "We have frozen their application
because of this and their standard of human rights generally. It is not
high enough."

Moreover, any country in Europe which slips back and reintroduces the
death penalty would be thrown out of the council, Davis warned. The
secretary general was referring to Poland.

In July, Polish President Lech Kaczynski expressed his support for capital
punishment and called for a debate on its restoration in Europe. The
League of Polish Families, a junior partner in the government, then
announced it would collect half a million signatures demanding the death
penalty for paedophile murderers.

Past public opinion polls in Poland have put support for the death penalty
as high as 70 percent. But Davis played down the possibility of Poland
ever reversing its abolition.

"I do not think they will do anything about it," Davis said. "If they did
they would leave the Council of Europe. Every country which has joined the
Council of Europe over the last 15 years has promised to abolish the death
penalty."

Still, he added, the council has the power to expel members who do not
comply. Greece came close to being ousted when a military junta came to
power in the 1960s. The country withdrew its membership swiftly and
voluntarily to escape the "indignity" of being thrown out, Davis said.

"They jumped before they were pushed," he said.

While Davis appeared tough on member Poland, he took a milder position
with the United States and Japan. Both countries actively execute
citizens, yet both states enjoy observer status in the Council of Europe.

"It is not a requirement of observer status, though most of our observers
have (abolished the death penalty). It is important to distinguish that
the death penalty does not apply in some parts of the United States. In
both those countries there are very strong campaigns to abolish the death
penalty, especially Japan," Davis said.

The United States executed 60 people last year. Around 3,400 prisoners are
under sentence of death in that country, according to Amnesty
International.

On the other hand, Davis was outspoken in his condemnation of China. The
secretary general said he was horrified by long-standing allegations that
the middle kingdom has made a lucrative trade by selling harvesting organs
from Chinese death-row inmates without their consent.

"I think it's an accepted fact that organs are being removed from bodies
of people executed. It's deplorable. It's to be condemned. I do not regard
that as civilised," Davis said.

The Chinese authorities denied last month this was happening, even after a
BBC undercover investigation exposed the practice.

Amnesty International estimates 1,770 people were executed in China last
year, but one Chinese expert believes the true figure could be more than 4
times higher.

Davis was in Berlin to award the Prix Europa's Television Programme of the
Year 2006 prize to the BBC documentary, "How to Plan a Revolution," about
the attempt of two young activists to stage another "Orange revolution" in
Azerbaijan.

In his address he criticised the European media for failing to bring back
pictures of the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. The public was "largely
indifferent because there are no pictures," he said.

A total of 129 countries have abolished the death penalty or are
abolitionist in practice, according to Amnesty International. Sixty-eight
still have the death penalty in force -- a number too high for Davis.

"The death penalty is morally wrong and barbaric. Killing people is wrong,
whether it is the state or the individual who does it," Davis said.

Too often, Davis added, errors occur and an execution becomes an
"irretrievable tragedy."

"There have been several cases in a number of countries in Europe, notably
in the United Kingdom, where people have been convicted of murders and
subsequently found not to have committed those murders and released from
prison."

He cited as examples 2 IRA bombings in Birmingham and Guildford in 1974 in
England. Ten innocent people were falsely convicted for the 2 bombings.

"If there had been the death penalty then, these people would have been
executed," he said.

Moreover, there is no evidence that fear of a death sentence acts as a
deterrent to crime.

"It is ineffective," he argued. "We know that from statistical evidence
comparing different states in the United States of America where some
states have it and some do not."

Last year at least 2,148 people were executed worldwide. Human rights
groups estimate that currently around 20,000 people are condemned to
death.

(source: IPS)






INDIA:

Capital punishment: A question left hanging?


Is death penalty akin to murder at the hands of the state? Is hanging the
most inhuman way to end a criminal's life?

The hangman's noose... is meant only for crimes most heinous. In fact, a
crime that must be abominable enough to make the state a murderer, or is
just fair justice being meted out? Does capital punishment have a place in
a modern, democratic society? As India battles these questions again with
respect to Afzal Guru, an accused in the Parliament attack case, there are
many who want a dispassionate and a humanitarian look at this vehicle of
justice. TR Andhyarujina, former solicitor general, says, "While the
tenets say a death sentence should only be given in the rarest of rare
cases, it doesn't work that way. What are the standards set in this
regard? None. Statistically also, it has been proved that hanging doesn't
act as a deterrent. Also, it is one of the most inhuman ways to kill
prisoners."

Former law minister and senior advocate Shanti Bhushan seconds this,
"Capital punishment needs to be abolished immediately. For this, we need
the collective will of Parliament to bring in this change, for the courts
have time and again upheld the death penalty. And till that happens, at
least we can give prisoners dignity in death using means that are
comparatively painless, for instance, lethal injections. There is no place
for the spectacle of hanging in a civilised society."

But there are vociferous demands from the other side too. Former joint CP,
Delhi Police, Maxwell Periera feels that demands asking for the abolition
of capital punishment are negating law enforcement. "Despite the fact that
nobody wants death penalty, it is very much there in statuette books. The
condition of the country's justice deliverance system is such that its
removal will have repercussions on the country's law and order process.
That is the reason why the courts not only uphold it but are also
enhancing it. However, the mode of execution should be painless and
dignified."

But objectivity is hard to achieve, given the circumstances of the present
case. With vocal protests from both sides of the divide, will justice be
able to prevail? Activist Madhu Kishwar puts it in perspective when she
says, "While personally I am not in favour of a death sentence, at the
same time, if you can kill others for your rights, others can exercise the
same right on you too. But yes, in such cases, the trials should be
extremely fair."

And fairness of the trial is what senior advocate Ram Jethmalani is
raising a finger at. 'The question is whether this man has been found
guilty and if it conforms to the standard of fairness regarded by a
civilised judicial system. And the answer is no," he has said. Only there
are no retakes in death penalty. Yet another reason why it needs a
re-look?

(source: Times of India)






KENYA:

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Popular ---- Somali pirates face death
penalty in Kenya


10 Somali pirates face the death penalty after being convicted of
hijacking an Indian-based ship by a Kenyan court on Thursday.

The pirates, who were captured by the U.S. Navy after seizing the vessel,
the Safina Al Bisaarat, will be sentenced next Wednesday, said Magistrate
Beatrice Jaden.

"I have no doubt that the suspects committed the offense of piracy," she
said.

None of the men, who insisted during their trial that they were stranded
fishermen, showed any emotion as they were found guilty at the main
courthouse in the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa.

"The only sentence that befits these suspects is death," prosecutor
Vincent Monda told the magistrate after her verdict. "This offense is
capital and the punishment should be severe."

Hassan Abdi, the defense lawyer, said Kenya had no jurisdiction over the
case and would be challenging the verdict at the country's high court in
the capital, Nairobi.

U.S. sailors, who are part of an anti-terrorism task force based in
Djibouti, detained the pirates on January 22 in an operation involving
U.S. military helicopters and a warship that fired several warning shots.
They were handed over to Kenyan authorities on January 29.

The U.S. Navy had been responding to a hijacking report from the
International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur. They began tracking the
Safina and captive crew members displayed signs indicating a radio
frequency they would use to communicate.

Another sign had the word "help" written on it.

The ship's Indian captain told the U.S. sailors that his vessel had been
hijacked two days after leaving the Somali port of Kismayo en route to
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The pirates were armed with pistols, assault
rifles and rocket propelled grenades.

Capt. Akbar Ali Suleiman told the trial, which began in February, that
they had tried to outrun two speedboats used by the pirates. He said once
the pirates boarded the vessel they beat up sailors and demanded money.
They were held captive for 6 days before being rescued.

U.S. sailors who searched the ship found an AK-47 assault rifle but the
pirates threw most of their weapons into the sea when they spotted a U.S.
Navy ship.

The American troops had also planned to search a skiff the vessel was
towing, but called it off when they discovered cylindrical objects they
believed were explosives.

Days earlier the pirates tried to seize the MV Delta Ranger, a bulk
carrier sailing under the flag of the Bahamas, 200 miles [320 kilometers]
off the eastern coast of Somalia.

Piracy is rampant off the coast of Somalia, which has no effective
government of its own to respond. The Horn of African nation has been in
chaos since opposition leaders ousted a dictatorship in 1991 and then
turned on each other.

(source: Associated Press)