[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 17



EUROPEAN UNION/SUDAN:

EU seeks dialogue with Sudan on death penalty


A delegation of European diplomats arrived in southern Sudan on Monday,
seeking Sudan's support for a European Union call for a moratorium on the
death penalty.

"There is a particular concern which is important for the European
Union... which is the issue of the death penalty and the call by the EU on
the moratorium on the execution of the death penalty," said French
ambassador to Sudan, Christine Robichon.

Robichon spoke on behalf of a nine-member delegation of EU diplomats,
including ambassadors from Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Spain, Sweden and representatives of the 27-nation bloc.

The interim constitution of semi-autonomous southern Sudan upholds the
death sentence for those who commit the most serious crimes, and who are
aged between 18 and 70, with pregnant women exempt.

In the north, dozens of people were this year sentenced to death by
special courts, for alleged involvement in a Darfur rebel attack on
Khartoum.

Amnesty International says Sudan is one of the leading nations that
sentences minors to death.

The three days of scheduled talks mark the 1st time that such a large
group of EU diplomats are holding dialogue in southern Sudan.

The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended two decades of
civil war in Sudan awarded the south semi-autonomy and a power-sharing
stake in government in Khartoum until a 2011 referendum on potential
independence.

"We will discuss different issues, of course, the CPA which is a strongly
supported by the EU and all issues related to democratic transformation,
human rights, and good governance," Robichon said.

The French ambassador noted a "political will" in the south to create a
democratic environment where civilians are protected, freedom of press
upheld, and where accountability and transparency prevail.

"So we really have sessions on these issues, on human rights," she said.

(source: EU Business)






JAMAICA:

Hung up on hanging


Off with their heads! Hang them from the highest tree! This hanging debate
in Parliament as regards the death penalty is an emotive issue, but we
cannot seem to find a consensus. Indeed, it is a hung jury.

A few weeks ago, men of the cloth jumped the gun and attempted
unsuccessfully to point to a biblical justification for killing in the
name of the State. Unlike the Church's stance on sexuality, this has
created a split in the middle and because of a few overzealous pastors,
there is no united front. But that is not where the honest discussion must
'lie.' As far as the teachings of the Bible are concerned, this is a
matter for the laws of man.

And what do the laws of man say? Laws must exist for particular purposes,
and they must make sense. In my own discipline, sociology, we recognise
that law is functional as it keeps society together. How-ever, in doing
so, each rule that governs our behaviour supports a function.

At different historical junctures, laws were enacted to fulfil certain
objectives. For example, between the late 1700s and early 1800s in
England, trade unions were illegal because they prevented factory owners
from exploiting their workers. Similarly, it was legislated that black
people in the Caribbean during that period, were not persons and had no
status in law. The logic of this is obvious.

Penalties for inducing strikes

As the Industrial Revolution gathered speed in the early 1800s, the
penalties for inducing a strike or factory sabotage could result in
permanent transportation to Australia, and in some cases, execution.
Interestingly, none of this prevented the myriad acts of machinery and
plant destruction by the workers and ultimately, Parliament had to relent
by passing the Trade Union Ordinance in 1871, legalising trade unions and
allowing for the expression of industrial grievances.

What is important is that during this epoch that strikes were illegal,
workers did not fear the penalties, rather, they feared being caught;
however, as long as there was a network of silence that kept their
activities hidden, there was no deterrent effect.

As we attempt to grapple with the burgeoning crime rate, including the
all- too 'freak-quent' kidnappings and rapes by the scum of the Earth,
there is the knee-jerk sadomasochistic debate among those whom we have
elected to run and serve out country. Although the Privy Council, European
Union and England say that we cannot execute, some feel that we should
give the finger to the mother country's opinion and pop necks.

Public safety, security

Nevertheless, let us be logical and ask: What should be the basis for
hanging? What is it intended to do? First must be the question of public
safety and security. If a murderer is caught and incarcerated, then he is
not likely to jump the prison walls and kill.

However, as member of parliament (MP) Patrick Harris states, hardened
criminals do remain key players in the criminal underground. In some
prisons in the United States, as many as two out of every 10 murder
convicts kill again within the prisons. Thus, if one wants to argue that
this is the basis for the State executing murderers for capital homicide,
then, so be it. But that is after the fact.

Despite the conclusions in some literature sent to me by a reader, there
is not enough evidence to support the deterrence effect here in Jamaica.
Seriously, in the emerging studies that are being conducted, what scares
criminals is the probability of being apprehended.

What is the point?

Furthermore, even if there were the likelihood of being executed, what are
the chances of being convicted? My informed estimate is that close to 70 %
of murder accused walk free after being brought to trial. So what is the
point?

What seems to be the motive for the yes vote by some, is that we want some
sort of collective revenge. Let us be honest here: we want retribution.
That is, the motivation is not about deterrence or punishment, but
vengeance. It is simply because an individual has wronged us either
individually or collectively, and we need to avenge this. If this is what
the argument is, then the parliamentarians who support it just need to say
so. Blood for blood! We are still that wild creature that ran around in
the jungle.

It is easy to empathise with the retribution perspective, especially being
an inner-city product myself. It is natural to want to kill those who have
murdered our loved ones. Indeed, given the spate of abductions and rapes,
capped by the awful act of sodomy and murder of the little boy in
Westmoreland, we all would like to see not only murders hanged or shot,
but even rapists feel the fire. But how would that help the crime rate?

One parliamentarian has made the unthinkable utterance that his colleagues
who do not support the death penalty are, in fact, legalising murder. If
ignorance is bliss, then he must be on cloud 9.

Positionless 'leaders'

Another set of positionless 'leaders' are leaving it in the hands of their
constituents and "will follow them because they are their leaders". If
they are so democratic, why not decriminalise marijuana? Most Jamaicans
feel we should.

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix. The only immediate solution has to
be via the police. If the public has better relations with and more
confidence in the police, then it will work. People who trust the police
will cough up the murderers. New York was able significantly to reduce its
homicide rate under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and it has no death penalty. What
he did was increase the capacity of the police and worked on good citizen
relationships.

Act we must, but sensibly.

Dr Orville Taylor, Contributor

(source: Jamaica Gleaner)






INDONESIA:

Bali trio on execution list despite forthcoming legal appeal


3 members of the Bali 9 have been placed on an Indonesian execution list,
with authorities insisting no mercy will be shown.

Convicted drug traffickers Andrew Chan, 24, Myuran Sukumaran, 27 and Scott
Rush, 22, are on a list of 92 death row convicts who the Indonesian
Attorney Generals Office insist will be put to death.

The trio are facing the death penalty for their roles in an ill-fated
attempt to smuggle 8kg of heroin from Bali to Australia in 2005.

The death sentences of the 92 convicts have been declared legally binding
and are pending administrative procedures (before they are carried out),
assistant attorney general Abdul Hakim Ritonga told the Jakarta Post.

"The 3 death-row inmates form the 'Bali 9' are a part of the 92 people now
awaiting execution.

"They are among the 38 prisoners whose cases are under legal review.

"However, such appeals in narcotic cases are seldom successful."

If their sentences are not reduced on appeal, the trios last resort will
be an appeal for clemency to Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, who is on record as saying he will show no mercy to those
convicted of narcotics offences.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith met with Indonesian Foreign
Minister Hassan Wirajuda in Canberra last week, confirming that the
Australian Government would seek clemency for Chan, Rush and Sukumaran if
all legal avenues were exhausted.

Mr Wirajuda said any plea for clemency would be considered.

However, he asked that Australians respect the Indonesian legal system,
and said his government could not interfere while legal cases were
ongoing.

"This is whats difficult, because it (the death penalty) is part of our
positive law," he said.

"For the Bali 9, their legal processes haven't finished yet, the Supreme
Court appeal, judicial review, clemency, are not finished yet.

"We as a government cannot interfere."

Despite opposing the death penalty, going so far as to co-sponsor a UN
resolution calling for a moratorium on capital punishment, the Australian
Government did not speak out against the executions of Bali bombers
Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra last week.

The three Australian members of the Bali 9 were said to have been badly
affected by the executions on Nusakambangan Island.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said last month that his Government would not
intervene to oppose executions on foreign soil unless Australians were
facing the death penalty.

Amnesty International has said the Government's failure to call for
clemency for the bombers had put the lives of Chan, Rush and Sukumaran at
risk.

2 Nigerian drug smugglers were executed at Nusakambangan in late June.
They were the first drug offenders to be put to death in Indonesia since
2004.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji has publicly put other death row drug
offenders on notice, saying they could expect their cases to be expedited
as the government seeks to make an example of them in its bid to crack
down on narcotics trafficking.

3 other members of the Bali 9 who were originally sentenced to death
Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen  had their sentences
commuted to life in March following a judicial review.

(source: AAP)






BRITAIN:

'Saved' death warrant on display


The only surviving copy of the death warrant of Mary Queen of Scots has
been unveiled at a museum near Aberdeen after being saved for the UK.

The document had faced being taken overseas by a private buyer but was
recently acquired by the library of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The 1st minister presented the paper to Blairs College, where the Mary
Queen of Scots Memorial Portrait is housed.

The Catholic Queen was executed on 8 February, 1587 at Fotheringhay
Castle.

Mr Salmond said: "I am delighted to present Blairs Museum with another
part of Mary Queen of Scots' story.

"Linlithgow Palace, in my West Lothian hometown, is where her story began.
Now this testament to her story's ending will add to the tangible
appreciation of Scotland's heritage.

"This copy of her death warrant will help bring the past to life."

Export ban

The warrant instructs Henry Grey, the sixth Earl of Kent, to oversee
arrangements for the execution.

Mary's cousin Queen Elizabeth I signed the warrant but later claimed she
had given no instruction for its enactment.

The original paper disappeared in the recriminations which followed.

The document was acquired by the library of the Archbishop of Canterbury
at Lambeth Palace for 72,485, with the help of heritage bodies' donations.

The purchase came after a temporary export ban was put in place last
November by the government after a private owner applied for a licence to
take it overseas.

The reviewing committee on the export of works of art and objects of
cultural interest, administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives
Council, (MLA), had recommended that the manuscript was "so closely
connected with our history and national life that its departure would be a
misfortune".

In April this year it was announced that following discussions between the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the 1st minister and Cardinal O'Brien, the
warrant would be coming to Scotland.

(source: BBC News)