[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 31



DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO:

Death penalty for soldier charged with killing poll officials


A military tribunal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's northeastern
district of Ituri sentenced a soldier to death on Tuesday for killing two
polling clerks.

Sergeant Innocent Mamale on Sunday shot dead the 2 clerks from the
Independent Electoral Commission in Fataki, 90 kilometres from Bunia, the
largest town in Ituri.

"In addition, he [Mamale] will have to pay an equivalent of US $30,000 in
Congolese Francs as compensation to each of the families of the victims,"
said Maj Innocent Mayembe, the presiding judge of the military tribunal.

The tribunal also condemned Mamale to 3 years imprisonment for abandoning
his post and fined him 15,000 Congolese francs.

Mamale originally shot at 5 electoral commission agents in Fataki.

"I saw as if someone left the electoral office then I opened fire," Mamale
told the tribunal. "I do not know what happened to me and it is for the
1st time in my life."

Separate reports say eight agents were injured in the incident.

The dead polling clerks were locals, with 1 woman (unnamed) coming from an
area under the control of militia leader Peter Karim. Karim, who was
appointed a colonel in the army in October, is the leader of the Front des
Nationalistes Intgrationnistes (FNI).

To avenge the deaths, the victims' families ransacked and burnt electoral
offices in Fataki. "37 of the 85 offices in Fataki were ransacked," said
John Ukunya, the head of the electoral office in Bunia.

According to the Djugu territory Member of Parliament, Bura Pulunyo,
elections should be repeated in Fataki. However, the electoral commission
which has the sole mandate to decide on this, has not yet responded.

Vote counting is continuing after Sunday's poll.

The elections presented a special challenge for the government in Ituri as
the area has remained an active militia zone since 1999.

Spanning 65,000 square kilometres, the district has had 7 militia leaders.
They include Thomas Lubanga, the leader of L'Union des patriotes
congolais, who has since been arrested by the International Criminal Court
based in the Hague, and Kahwa Panga Mandro of the Parti pour l'Unit et la
Sauvegarde de l'Intgrit congolaise, who is imprisoned in Bunia.

At least 15,000 militiamen have been disarmed in the Congo since April
2004 according to the United Nations Mission in the Congo, MONUC, the
national army, the UN Children's Fund and the militia groups themselves.

In June, with the militias remaining active, and 1 month to the 1st round
of the presidential elections, the government appointed the Ituri zone
commander, Gen Mbuayama Nsiona, to ensure security during the elections. 6
military brigades were also deployed for this mission.

So far, Karim, the FNI leader, is still active in the region of Nioka, 120
kilometres northeast of Bunia; along with Matthieu Ngujolo, the leader of
the Mouvements Rvolutionnaires congolais, and Cobra Matata of the Fronts
des Resistants Patriotiques en Ituri.

(source: IRIN)






SOUTH AFRICA:

STAGE REVIEWS ----Songs of Hangings and Redemptions; Of bandits and
ballads


Director: Megan Choritz

Cast: Graham Weir, Pitchie Rommellaere, Simon Fuzzy Ratcliffe

Venue: Kalk Bay Theatre till November 25


Don't be surprised if you find yourself tenderly rubbing the back of your
neck as you leave the theatre after this short, sharp, well-executed show.

Your involvement won't end when Graham Weir has finished his last song of
the bandits, outlaws and sinners of Western folklore.

Stirred by his words about the relish of public hangings, fear of the
gallows and horror of lynchings, you'll be glad we've moved on. Yet you'll
be left wondering if capital punishment isn't a better way of stopping the
unstoppable violence than the often protracted and unsatisfactory trials
of today.

Weir, with his offbeat sense of humour and willingness to tackle the
unusual (he was the chief songwriter for the cult a cappella show Not the
Midnight Mass) trawled extensively through Irish, Scottish and American
folk music to track down the vocal material for this show.

Bleak the subject matter may be, but the intensity of his deliveries, the
variety of stories and superb backing from musicians Pitchie Rommellaere
and Simon Fuzzy Ratcliffe, keep the audience both entertained and
involved.

Between them they play an astonishing variety of instruments. Five
guitars, including an unusual slide guitar, concertina, double bass,
clarinet, flute, diminutive pennywhistle and various things which are
shaken and struck.

This backing is always subtle and complementary, enhancing the old world
atmosphere of the saloon as vividly as do the 4 large black and white
photographs of old-timers, (one with a huge spade-length black beard), on
the wall behind the trio.

Weir, who is off everything and into yoga these days, looks younger and
crisper than ever . He leads from the front, standing, sitting, singing
well and reading aloud on two occasions as he brings to life some of the
characters and their stories of those who lived in fear of "the hangman's
rope thick and strong."

Those sheriffs of old certainly didn't hang about. If you were arrested on
Monday, you'd be tried on Tuesday, "hanged in the morning and cut down at
night". Burial would be at right angles to everyone else to show that you
were an outlaw.

It's not all gloom and doom, though. One lucky guy was saved because his
friend was prepared to pay his fine "rather than see you hang all day on
the gallows line".

Another convicted Scotsman had a fiddle everyone wanted. Dog-in-the-manger
to the end, he was determined to break it rather than leave it behind.

A moving rendition of Amazing Grace, as a redemptive song, provided a
welcome contrast in this collection of anonymous vocals which inspired
icons of the blues like Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen.

Director Megan Choritz has produced a neatly packaged show, long enough to
hit home but short enough to avoid being depressing. However, it could do
with one strong final number rather than peter out.

Perhaps move the Ballad of Tom Dooley to the end. Everyone knows the song
and the true story of the young confederate soldier found guilty of
murdering his former sweetheart Laura.

Legend has it that he rode in a wagon through the streets of Statesville
to the gallows sitting on top of his coffin with his banjo on his knee.
When the rope was placed around his neck he joked with the sheriff that he
would have washed his neck if he had known he was going to use such a nice
clean new rope.

(source: Tonight)






PAKISTAN/BRITAIN:

Death is never justice


It is 42 years since the last execution took place in Britain and 37 years
since capital punishment for murder was permanently abolished. Some of us
may have slipped complacently into thinking of the death penalty as an
antiquated relic of the past like witch burning, slavery and the stocks.
In fact, 22 countries use capital punishment regularly, employing a
variety of methods including lethal injection, firing squads, mobile
execution chambers, beheading and hanging. In addition, an estimated half
dozen British people are currently on death row around the world including
Mirza Tahir Hussain in Pakistan.

Amnesty International published a global report on the death penalty
earlier this year that revealed that at least 2,148 people were executed
last year - the majority of these in China (1,770), Iran (94), Saudi
Arabia (86), the USA (60) and Pakistan (31). More than 20,000 people are
estimated to be on death row around the world, waiting for their
state-appointed day of death. There are vigorous abolition campaigns in
most of these countries, but the state continues to systematically murder
on a regular basis.

Mr Hussain has been on death row in Pakistan since 1989 when he was
convicted of murdering a taxi driver. He has already endured four
execution dates and 4 temporary stays of execution, the most recent of
these after the Prince of Wales appealed for clemency.

Mr Hussain is living a nightmare, as it seems he most likely did not
commit the crime he has been convicted of. In 1988, he visited Pakistan
and took a taxi to his familys village of Bhubar. He says that when the
taxi driver tried to assault him, a scuffle ensued and a gun that was
already in the car went off, fatally injuring the taxi driver. There are
serious concerns about the lack of witnesses, about the standard of police
evidence and about the charge Mr Hussain has been convicted on, but
nevertheless Pakistans Supreme Court has upheld the sentence.

The only hope for Mr Hussain now is that President Musharraf commutes the
sentence, something you would think any head of state would do when there
was a clear possibility of executing an innocent man and threatening the
very credibility of the criminal justice system.

The possibility of executing an innocent person must surely be the
strongest argument against the death penalty. It was the execution of
Derek Bentley in 1953 that turned the tide of the abolition campaign in
Britain. Ted Heath, arguing in the Commons for abolition, said that the
true test of a commitment to capital punishment was not a willingness to
act as the executioner, but a preparedness to be executed by mistake.
Since the death penalty was reintroduced in the USA in 1973, 122 people
have been released from death row when evidence exonerating them came to
light. Justice is always fallible; this is why an irrevocable penalty is
unacceptable.

Supporters of the death penalty commonly argue that it is a strong
deterrent to crime. The US, as a country where 38 states have reintroduced
the death penalty after a period of abolition, provides an interesting
case study. There, executions and high murder rates go hand in hand.
Texas, which uses lethal injection about once a fortnight, has some of
Americas highest murder rates.

Criminologists who have looked at the effect of executions on the public
consciousness have concluded that, in fact, violence may breed more
violence  the example of state-sanctioned killing appears to lead to a
lowering of the threshold of general respect for life.

When you add to these concerns the fact that, again and again, around the
world, the death penalty is found to be used hugely disproportionately
against racial minorities, the poor and the mentally ill, we must agree
that it is a penalty that no credible criminal justice system can afford.

Abolitionists around the world are making these arguments and making
change as we speak. The number of countries carrying out executions in the
last 20 years has halved. Mexico, Liberia and the Philippines have
recently abolished the death penalty. International support for these
campaigns is essential, which is why Im a member of Amnesty, and why I
participated recently in the Secret Policemans Ball (to be broadcast on
Channel 4 tonight)

The international campaign to abolish the slave trade will have its
bicentenary next year. If more of us get involved in campaigns like the
one to save Mirza Tahir Hussain we can maybe save some innocent lives and
bring another great abolition closer.

(source: Comment, Jeremy Irons, The Times)