April 18
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
Wishful AG thinking about prison security
So long as hanging remains the ultimate penalty provided for murder, "Death
Row" must retain for convicts a chilling association with incarceration without
end.
For long, however, no convicted Trinidad and Tobago killers have suffered the
death penalty. Given today's criminal justice procedures, nearly no one expects
the hanging of a convicted killer on just any fateful morning in Port of Spain.
Still, the "Death Row" title for the housing of murderers should imply, if
nothing else, giving effect to the last word in lock-up arrangements.
Prisoners, entitled to no expectation of release, and committed to death at the
end of a rope, likely see themselves as having nothing to lose.
It must be such considerations that had moved Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi,
presumably possessed of troubling intelligence about do-or-die escape plans, to
undertake a personal tour of "Death Row".
The Attorney General's walkabout, with National Security Minister Edmund
Dillon, accompanied a search by prison officers, newly equipped with an
all-disclosing scanner.
Efforts at searching and scanning led officials to thousands of "contraband"
items. The searchers uncovered items of which prisoners had been debarred
possession and use.
Seizures included cocaine and marijuana; razors; ammunition; cellphones; and
Wi-Fi devices. In that top-security setting, however, Attorney General Al-Rawi
had also been privileged to witness finding of a 22-inch flat-screen television
set.
Who is in charge here? This question ministers must have asked, as they put
their fingers into the multiple wounds of prison security.
That a 22-inch flat-screen TV found its way into "Death Row" must be understood
eloquently to speak volumes.
Immediately called into question are the disciplines of watchful regard
expected of prison officers. Moreover, those officers are presumed to be
subject to rigorous oversight by others at progressively senior levels.
As escapes, even with deadly consequences, have shown, T&T prison security
appears shot full of holes.
Such a conclusion, however, Mr Al-Rawi sees himself not allowed to draw.
Rather, he emphasises the positive, presumably entailed in the electronic
frustration of 1.5 million illegal calls and text messages into and out of just
1 detention centre.
The equipment to accomplish all this and more, so the Attorney General
suggested, had somehow not been turned on during the People???s Partnership
time in office.
As yet, the T&T public awaits the endorsement by prison officers of Mr
Al-Rawi's upbeat assessment of the potential of the new equipment. The
interception of nearly 2 million calls and texts, the officers will have noted,
did not serve to forestall murders of their colleagues, "hits" presumably
inspired from behind bars thought to be safe.
(source: Trinidad Express)
UGANDA:
Army rejects move to abolish death penalty
The Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) has appealed to parliament not to
adopt the abolition of mandatory death penalty as provided for by the UPDF Act.
Section 128 of the UPDF Act 2005, provides for mandatory death penalty of Army
officers who disobey lawful orders, spread harmful information and propaganda,
those who disclose vital information to the enemies of the state and
indiscipline among other unlawful acts.
However clause 3 of the Law Revision (Penalties in Criminal Matters)
Miscellaneous Amendments Bill, 2015 which is currently before the parliament's
committee on legal and parliamentary affairs, for scrutiny, seeks to entirely
eliminate the death penalty from the UPDF Act.
The Bill instead proposes imprisonment for life as the maximum punishment that
may be imposed by the military courts in respect of the service offenses.
Appearing before the committee on Friday, Gen. Katumba Wamala, the chief of
defense forces, however opposed the abolition of death penalty saying the
proposal to entirely eliminate death penalty in the UPDF Act, shows lack of
appreciation on the part of the proponent of the Bill of the gravity of the
offences provided for in the provisions of the UPDF Act.
"We cannot run the Army, on the same platform as a labour Union. The Army
commands come with responsibility, if you fail to execute your duty there is no
reason as to why you shouldn't face maximum sentence," said Gen. Katumba
. Gen. Katumba noted that there is need for the Army to maintain death penalty
in the UPDF Act, to deal with indiscipline officers who indulge in offences
which relate to operations, security of the government installations and
military discipline.
The committee chaired by Kajara County MP Stephen Tashobya however differed
with Gen. Katumba saying death penalty denies people a chance to reform.
"Don't you think if somebody has committed a wrong and is not given a chance to
reform , it has an impact on their lives and family, Life is given by God and
the law you are quoting can take it away," said Tashobya.
Fox Odoi (West Budama North) added that; "In the East African Community, we
have countries like Rwanda, Burundi who don't subscribe to death penalty but do
you think UPDF is more disciplined than their Armies".
However Gen. Katumba who was accompanied by Brig Ramdhan Kyamulesire, the chief
of legal services UPDF, defended the penalty saying it only applies in
situations of great magnitude and danger to the country and the Army.
"It is not true that every offense one commits in the UPDF leads you to death
penalty. It depends on the magnitude," explained Katumba.
Explaining further, Brig Kyamulesire added that where an officer is not
satisfied with the death sentence, there is room for appeal through the martial
court and the Supreme Court.
He noted that the army also has other provisions such as life imprisonment and
dismissal from the Army for errant officers.
The Army stated that before the ruling of the Supreme Court in the Kigula case,
a sentence of death imposed by the field court martial would be carried out
immediately, however since the ruling of the Supreme Court that is no longer
the case.
Tabled before parliaments last year, the Bill seeks to amend a number of
sections in the panel code Act, Uganda People's Defense Forces Act, relating to
mandatory death penalty following the land mark Suzan Kigula case.
The private member's Bill by Serere woman MP Alice Alaso, also seeks to
restrict application of death penalty to the most serious crimes, by converting
the maximum penalties into imprisonment for life.
Article 22 of the constitution recognizes the sanctity of human life which can
only be taken away on execution of death sentence carried out after an
impartial and competent court.
(source: New Vision)
CHINA:
China clarifies criteria for capital punishment in graft cases
The maximum penalty for convicts found guilty of embezzling or accepting bribes
of 3 million yuan (about 460,000 U.S. dollars) or more in an "extremely serious
case" with "extremely vile impact" will be the death penalty, according to a
new judicial explanation issued on Monday.
The ruling was jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme
People's Procuratorate.
(source: Xinhua)
INDIA:
Kerala double murder: Man gets death sentence, double life term for woman
In the Attingal murder case, Kerala court on Monday has pronounced death
penalty for 1st accused Lino Mathew and life imprisonment for 2nd accused and
his lover Anu Shanthi, media reports.
On last Friday, the court had found Nino and his lover Anu Santhi - both
colleagues in a Technopark firm - guilty of murdering the latter's daughter
Swastika and mother-in-law Omana and attempting to murder her husband on April
16, 2014. Special public prosecutor on Friday made a plea to the court to
consider it as the rarest of rare cases.
According to the report, both accused have to remit Rs 50,00,000 each as fine.
From the fine amount of Rs10,000,000, Rs50,00,000 will go to Lijeesh and the
rest will be given to his father. The case was amongst the "rarest of the
rare," the court observed.
Anushanthi reportedly told the court that she did not conspire to kill her
daughter, according to a Malayala Manorama report. She reportedly said, "Don't
call me a mother who killed her own baby."
The murder took place at Attingal, on April 16, 2014, after Anu Shanthi's
husband Lijeesh objected to her extra marital affair with Nino Mathew. Lijeesh,
however, escaped the murder attempt and sustained injuries. Nino Mathew was
nabbed the same day and after he confessed to the crime, Anu Shanthi was also
arrested. After recording their arrests, the police recovered murder weapons
from his house- a matchete and a baseball bat, a towel that was used to wipe
the weapons clean and gold ornaments that he stole from the bodies to make it
look like a robbery attempt.
The duo has been charged of murder, conspiracy, attempt to destroy evidence and
theft. After the prosecution examined as many as 49 witnesses, 85 exhibits and
41 material objects, Judge V Shircy found Anu Shanthi equally guilty as she was
aware of Nino Mathew's plans.
A case of transmitting obscene material in electronic form was also charged
against the duo, after the police found self-shot videos of his sexual acts
with Anu Shanthi in his laptop and mobile phone that were recovered.
The crime was solved within 24 hours and charge sheet filed on the 83rd day of
the crime.
(source: Khaleej Times)
IRAN----executions
7 prisoners hanged en masse in Iran
According to reports from inside Iran, the mullahs' regime on Thursday hanged 5
men and 2 women in a prison in Birjand, north-east Iran.
2 of the victims were identified as Mohammad Niazi and Moheb Rahmati. The names
of the other prisoners were not given. They were accused of drugs-related
offences.
The hangings bring to at least 24 the number of people executed in Iran in the
past week alone, while European officials have been paying visits to Tehran. 3
of those executed were women.
Iran's fundamentalist regime on Saturday hanged 3 prisoners in a jail in Rasht,
northern Iran, as the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini
was in Tehran to build greater trade ties between the EU and the regime.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on
Wednesday that the increasing trend of executions "aimed at intensifying the
climate of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the
society, especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials,
demonstrates that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this
medieval regime."
Ms. Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy, arrived in Tehran on Saturday along with 7 EU commissioners
for discussions with the regime's officials on trade and other areas of
cooperation.
Her trip was strongly criticized by Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee of the NCRI who said: "This trip which takes place in
the midst of mass executions, brutal human rights violations and the regime's
unbridled warmongering in the region tramples on the values upon which the EU
has been founded and which Ms. Mogherini should be defending and propagating."
Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the
2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to
at least 743 the year before."
"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East
and North Africa, the human rights group said.
There have been more than 2,300 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as
President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation
in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was
greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the
executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that
belong to the people."
(source: NCR-Iran)
NIGERIA:
Death-row congestion
How long should a convict on death row wait for death? This question came up
again on April 13 when the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilayo
Atilade, paid a visit to the Kirikiri Prison in Lagos.
A report said that the Lagos State Controller of Prisons, Timothy Tinuoye,
asked Justice Atilade to "prevail on the government to do something" about the
171 condemned prisoners awaiting execution in the maximum security prison.
According to the report, Tinuoye observed that "governors had stopped signing
the execution warrants of such convicts following the controversy that trailed
Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole's approval of the execution of some
condemned criminals a few years ago".
Importantly, the prison chief suggested that the condemned prisoners be
relocated in order to decongest the prison. This death-row congestion is
inexcusable. As long as the death penalty is accommodated by the country's
justice system, there is no justification for keeping condemned convicts
waiting.
It is clear that the purpose of a death sentence is to facilitate death by
execution. It is counter-productive to have a condemned convict wait
indefinitely for the execution of a death sentence, particularly because of the
possibility that death may come during the waiting and consequently achieve
what the sentence didn't intend, which is death by causes other than execution.
If a condemned person does not die as a result of execution, it would mean that
the death sentence was foiled. What is the purpose of a death sentence that is
not put into effect, and which does not achieve death by execution?
Although there may be philosophical arguments against capital punishment, it is
complex enough to arrive at a death decision, and the complexity should not be
further complicated by last-minute indecision when it comes to executing the
decision. If judges are able to reach a death decision without the interference
of extra-judicial considerations, the authorities should be able to carry out
the decision without the hindrance of extra-legal thoughts.
The debate about the death penalty did not begin today and it is not about to
end. In the face of the emotionally charged controversy about the ultimate
penalty for the ultimate crime, it may well be that the structures of power
ought to take another look at the law. Hardball says: do something, instead of
doing nothing.
(source: The Nation)
***********
Oyo Governor Assents Death Penalty For Kidnapping
The Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has signed the new Kidnapping
(Prohibition) Bill 2016 into law.
Validating the bill at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor's Office,
Senator Ajimobi commended the lawmakers for the accelerated passage, saying
that it would help in curbing crime and criminal activities in the state.
He vowed to enforce the law to the latter, warning kidnappers to steer clear of
Oyo State in their own interest.
A former Attorney General of the State, Barrister Adebayo Ojo, expressed
satisfaction with the law, saying it was a welcome development.
On his part also, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Adeleye Oyebade,
promised that the new law would be implemented to the letter.
The bill had earlier been passed into law by the Oyo State House of Assembly,
following the submission of report by the Chairman, House Committee on
Judiciary and Justice, Honourable Olukayode Akande.
The Speaker of the House, Honourable Michael Adeyemo, and the Permanent
Secretary/Clerk of the House, Mr Paul Bankole, had earlier signed the bill
before the governor's assent.
Content Of The Law
As contained in the law, a convicted offender would be liable to life
imprisonment if the victim is released or rescued unhurt upon the payment of a
ransom while the kidnapper would be compelled to pay back the ransom.
Similar punishment awaits any person who procures, engages or gives information
culminating in the kidnapping of a victim, as the law considered the offence to
carry the same weight of kidnapping.
The law also stipulates imprisonment for any person who kidnaps or threatens to
kill, maim or cause bodily harm in order to compel another person, corporate
body or organisation to do or abstain from doing any act as a condition for the
release of the victim.
20 years imprisonment awaits anyone who makes an attempt to kidnap while
anybody who aids or abets kidnapping is liable to imprisonment for 15 years
upon conviction.
Besides, the law also stipulates 15 years imprisonment or any non-custodian
punishment that might be determined by the court for any person who puts
himself forward to be kidnapped for the purpose of extorting ransom from his
employer or any person.
According to the law, any property owner, who knowingly or willingly surrenders
his building over which he has control, to be used for the purpose of keeping,
is liable to 15 years imprisonment while such property would be forfeited to
the government.
Any person who willingly allows his or her electronics, equipment, instrument,
mechanical or movable item to be used for the purpose of kidnapping, aiding
kidnapping has also committed an offence and would be committed to prison for
10 years if convicted.
Similarly, any property, monies and other valuables owned or realised by
anybody convicted of the offence of kidnapping shall be forfeited to the
government for public use.
According to the law, any person who kidnaps another person by any other means
of instilling fear or tricks, with intent to demand ransom or compel another to
do anything against his will has committed an office.
It also declared as an offence, kidnapping in such manner as to prevent the
victim from disclosing to any other person, the place where he is being kept or
prevent anybody from having access to him with or without payment of a ransom
for his release.
(source: channelstv.com)
VIETNAM:
Society 2 Laos men caught smuggling 12 kg of heroin to Vietnam
Border guards in Nghe An Province in central Vietnam have arrested 2 Laos men
for smuggling nearly 12 kilograms of heroin into Vietnam.
The suspects, 40 and 45 years old, were caught on Sunday afternoon while
carrying the heroin and 15,000 ecstasy pills on a motorbike.
Officers said the batch was the biggest drug haul seized in the border province
this year.
Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws. The production or sale of
100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is punishable by
death.
Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or
more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine also face the death penalty.
(source: Thanh Nien News)
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