Dec. 12
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
T&T Priest urges reinstatement of death penalty
Disgusted by the daily bloodshed and lawlessness sweeping the country, Roman
Catholic priest Father Ian Taylor is calling for the death penalty to be
swiftly reinstated.
In delivering the sermon during Mass on Saturday night at the St Charles RC
Church in Tunapuna, Taylor said the country may never come to terms with last
week's killing of bank employee Shannon Banfield.
Saying that the "country was in a state," Taylor demanded that Banfield's
killers from "top to bottom" face the hangman within the soonest possible time,
as he prayed for justice to be delivered to the young woman's family.
"Don't think that criminals are sorry. These men have become hardened
criminals. We should feel sorry for the victims and you should be sorry for the
victims' families," he told the congregation.
"If you take someone's life then you will pay the penalty of your life."
He explained that this was the right of the State, which the Roman Catholic
Church had previously asked the State not to carry out in a show of mercy to
criminals. However, said while he himself would like to see the death penalty
reinstated due to the current level of lawlessness, the Church cannot demand
that the State hang criminals.
"If the State needs the death penalty to protect its citizenry then let it
(State) do so and let it exercise it knowing that God has given the State the
right to take life if you murder," Taylor said. "We need to pray that the laws
in this country are implemented and let it be done so that criminals will take
heed. The country has gone lawless and people need to be punished for breaking
the laws and that includes people in high places because they are the real
criminals. Corrupt men must be brought to justice."
Banfield, 20 of Mc Carthy Street, Cantaro Village, Santa Cruz, was last seen
leaving her work place - RBL's Independence Square branch - around 4 pm last
Monday. She had told her mother, Sherry-Ann Lopez, via phone she was leaving
work to purchase items at IAM and company.
Her decomposing body was found last Thursday in a storeroom of the 3rd floor of
the building located at Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain.
Taylor said criminals had become so brazen that they were unafraid of the
police and of being locked up, adding that jail had become "a nice thing where
there were cellphones and even a flat screen TV."
The priest also lambasted the Police Service for its poor response when his own
church was recently robbed. He said he had given the police footage from CCTV
cameras showing a man pretending to be a member of the congregation before
stealing the offering and calmly walking out of the church.
"After I put everything on a flash drive and give it to the police, the
policeman turn and ask me, 'Well father, what you want to do?' Imagine that. I
should have told him show me where the man is so I could run after him myself,"
Taylor said.
He called for prayers to be offered up to the Police Service, which he said
desperately needed to weed out its rogue cops.
On the case where a murder accused was allowed to conduct business at a bank
unsupervised by police, Taylor said, "That is how we operating now. Somebody
smoking something."
He called on the congregation and the wider community to join forces to combat
the crime scourge, firstly by taking communities back from criminal elements.
He said discussions were being held to have activities within the parish so
that peace could be restored.
Taylor's sermon was not the only case in which citizens showed their disgust
over Banfield and other people's murders over the weekend. There were 2 public
events in memory of Banfield yesterday in Port-of-Spain, while the families of
those murdered over the weekend also spoke openly about the crime scourge and
the police and Government's inability to get a handle on it.
Asked after the Mass whether the death penalty would be a deterrent, Taylor
said no one, not even criminals, wanted to die, adding, however, that the death
penalty must be exercised frequently. He said personally he did not hold the
position that the death penalty should be abolished.
"Secondly, it must be a form of retribution. There must be a form of punishment
to suit the crime. When you commit murder the penalty is your life and that is
what the scripture says," he said.
"And the State also has the duty to protect its citizens, because when a
person's life is gone they cannot repeat crimes but when a person gets 15 years
and they come out they can repeat what has happened."
On whether he was worried there may backlash regarding his statements, Taylor
said, "I think for myself."
(source: Trinidad Guardian)
TANZANIA:
Geita Resident Escapes Death Penalty
Procedural irregularities have saved a resident of Geita Region, Sabasaba
Enosi, from being hanged to death for allegedly killing 2 family members, Obedi
Ntendele, alias Katole and Joseph Kubona, over an unknown motive.
This follows a decision of the Court of Appeal ordered to nullify the
proceedings, conviction and the death sentence imposed on Enosi, the appellant,
by the High Court on February 25, last year.
Justices Edward Rutakangwa, Salum Massati and Stella Mugasha ordered re-hearing
of the murder trial instead.
They noted some irregularities in the proceedings of the trial court, including
the trial being conducted by two judges at different stages without the
successor judge assigning reasons why he had taken over the conduct of the
matter and there were changes of set of court assessors.
The justices pointed out that section 299 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Act
outlines the procedure to be followed where a judge who commenced the trial is
unable to continue with the trial having recorded the whole or part of the
evidence.
They said that the successor judge may proceed to pronounce judgment on
evidence recorded by his predecessor, supplemented by evidence recorded by
himself or he may in his discretion re-summon and rehear any of witnesses
already heard by his predecessor if he deems necessary for interest of justice.
(source: allafrica.com)
IRAN----executions
10 Prisoners Executed at Rajai Shahr Prison
10 prisoners were reportedly hanged at Rajai Shahr Prison (Alborz province,
northern Iran) on murder charges. According to close sources, the exeutions
were carried out by Iranian authorities on Sunday December 11.
Close sources have identified the names of two of the prisoners as Ali Jafari
and Abdollah Ghaffari. The names of the other 8 prisoners are not known at this
time. The 10 prisoners were reportedly transferred to solitary confinement on
Saturday December 10 in preparation for their executions.
Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the media, have been
silent about these 10 executions.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
*************
Execution of 10 prisoners to coincide with International Human Rights Day
The mullahs' anti-human regime on International Human Rights Day transferred 11
prisoners in Gohardasht prison to solitary confinement for execution and at
dawn on Sunday December 11 hanged 10 of them.
At least 52 prisoners were executed in Iran in November. Among them, Shaban
Ranjbar, after 20 years imprisonment in Rasht Central Prison and Gholam Hossein
Beigi, after 18 years imprisonment in Khomein, were hanged on November 23 and
26 respectively.
Kazem Gharib Abadi, deputy head of the so-called international human rights
unit of the regime, in support of this barbaric punishment said: "In some
issues, Westerners want to impose their statements. For instance they do not
accept the execution of drug dealers and say because we don't have execution,
others should not have it either. Is our situation of human rights worse than
other countries that they put this much pressure? Our principled position on
Country Special Rapporteur on Iran is that to reject the rapporteur". (State
run Mehr news agency December 11).
Ignoring the catastrophic situation of human rights in Iran by the
international community and silence about mass and arbitrary executions has
emboldened the religious fascism ruling Iran to continue its crimes. Any deal
with this illegitimate regime must be contingent upon a halt to executions.
(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)
INDONESIA:
Indian facing the gallows may not be pardoned, says Indonesian President
An Indian national facing the death sentence in Indonesia on charges of drug
smuggling may not be pardoned, President Joko Widodo has indicated, by saying
that the capital penalty is handed down only to individuals who have carried
out serious crimes and is not based on nationality.
Ahead of his state visit to India, Widodo said, "My duty as President is to
uphold the law and Indonesia's sovereignty. This will be applied in all cases,
including those involving capital punishment".
Asked if he would pardon Indian national Gurdip Singh, who is facing death
sentence in Indonesia on drug charges since 2004, the president told PTI "The
death penalty is imposed only on individuals who have carried out serious
crimes, and is not based on nationality."
Indonesia has 1.2 million people addicted to drugs, 40 to 50 of them die daily
due to drug abuse and 4.5 million are undergoing rehabilitation, he said.
Singh, 48, was arrested at the Soekarno Hatta airport in 2004 for smuggling 300
grams of heroin. His execution by firing squad was deferred on July 29 this
year.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at that time had said that India was
exploring all legal options to prevent his execution.
Appealing to the Indonesian government for mercy to Singh, his wife Kulwinder
Kaur had said he has spent 14 years in jail which was enough penance for his
crime if he was guilty and he should be sent back.
Widodo, however, said, "Drugs are a serious threat to Indonesia, and in
particular for the country's younger generation. Indonesia is now facing an
emergency situation due to illicit drug trafficking and abuse."
Indonesia continues to act decisively to address this drug problems through law
enforcement and international cooperation, he said.
"We also run a variety of programmes to increase public awareness of the
dangers of drugs," the president said adding that death penalty remains a part
of Indonesian law.
(source: Hindustan Times)
PHILIPPINES:
Thousands join march against death penalty
Thousands of Catholic church parishioners, students and officials in Pangasinan
joined Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President and
Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocess Bishop Socrates Villegas on Monday afternoon in a
prayer rally against the passage of the death penalty bill and the drug-related
killings.
The rally, organized by Catholic leaders, was also joined by seminarians, nuns
and former and incumbent politicians from the different towns of the province
at about 3:45 p.m.
The protesters walked along the streets of this city holding placards and
streamers bearing their grievances against the passage of the death penalty.
In a homily before the start of the rally, Villegas said the government,
particularly members of both Congress, are pro-death and pro-poor, which is in
violation of the gospel of the lord and the No.5 of the 10 commandments - "Thou
shall not kill."
He urged Catholic lawmakers to withhold support from any attempt to restore the
penalty, as well as the Catholic jurists to study the issue and to oppose
through proper proceedings, the reintroduction of the capital punishment.
According to Villegas, the government pushes for the reimposition of the death
punishment to justify the rampant extra-judicial killings in the country
allegedly perpetrated by law enforcers.
He urged the participants to join them in other big ralliesto be staged in the
provinces of Visayas, Mindanao and other parts of Luzon to convince the
politicians not to pursue their plans to again impose the death penalty.
"Look at our surroundings now. There are a lot of killings even without the
death penalty and if it will be reimposed, I am sure it will double the number
of those killed whose victims are mostly indigents," the bishop said.
Former Pangasinan Vice Gov. Oscar Lambino, who also joined the protest march,
saying the reimposition of the death penalty is not necessary to address the
rampant criminality in the country especially the government's campaign against
illegal drugs.
(source: The Manila Times)
***************
Bacolod set to hold prayer rally against death penalty
A Catholic Church-led "Prayer Rally for Life" is set in Bacolod on Monday
afternoon to fight against the proposed revival of death penalty.
The prayer rally will open with a procession at the Sacred Heart Seminary
Shrine, and will proceed to the Bacolod Public Plaza, where Bacolod Bishop
Patricio Buzon will be celebrating Mass.
The prayer rally, to be held on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, hailed as
patroness of the unborn and defenders of human rights, is to express their
opposition to the "culture of death" and uphold the "culture of life."
In August, Buzon said that bringing back the death penalty is ironic since the
church and society have already become mature in respecting life.
"Bringing back death penalty is like moving backward," Buzon added.
Recently, the House of Representatives justice committee approved the bill to
against enact the death penalty, opening the doors for plenary debates.
The bill was approved by 12 senators with 6 disapproving while 1 abstained from
voting.
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines President Archbishop Socrates
Villegas also voiced his opinion on death penalty, saying it is cruel and
inhumane in view of the "terrible anxiety and psychological distress" of a
person.
"It has been rightly said that the anticipation of impending death is more
terrible a torture than suffering death itself," Villegas said, adding that
justice does not demand the death penalty.
"There is something terribly self-contradictory about the death penalty, for it
is inflicted precisely in social retaliation to the violence unlawfully wielded
by offenders. But in carrying out the death penalty, the state assumes the very
posture of violence that it condemns," Villegas said.
Human rights advocate Phelim Kine of New York-based Human Rights Watch,
meanwhile, said that death penalty has been disproven in numerous studies to
deter crime.
He told Philstar.com that the supposed effect of capital punishment on
wrongdoing is about the same as the effect of life imprisonment in terms of
crime deterrence.
(source: Philippine Star)
**************
Death eyed for plunderers, illegal recruiters
One of the authors of the death penalty bill in the House of Representatives
wants four more crimes to be punishable by death: plunder, human trafficking,
economic sabotage and illegal recruitment.
Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro of Capiz made the push after Speaker Pantaleon
Alvarez, Jr. of Davao del Norte took back his pronouncement that the death
penalty measure would be approved by Christmas. Debates on the revival of
capital punishment have been moved to January 2017.
The bill seeks the death penalty on 21 crimes including drug trafficking,
murder, rape, robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, bribery, parricide, infanticide,
destructive arson, piracy, and treason among others.
"This number is still too low for me. Our nation is fed up with investigations
being done left and right. We are always on discourse, debates, but nothing has
changed. We should look at adding illegal recruitment, human trafficking,
economic sabotage...plunder," Castro, a lawyer, said in an interview.
"Look at illegal recruitment alone. It destroys the lives of families. Imagine
all your properties and assets that you worked hard for and yet you end up
hungry and poor because of illegal recruitment," he added.
Castro said human traffickers also deserve the death penalty because they abet
prostitution and child slavery, among others.
"Crimes which victimize a lot of people should be punishable by death. Without
penalty, these criminals will just enjoy life as if nothing happened. For one,
those who swindle people have expensive cars. We should teach them a lesson,"
the lawmaker said.
Castro, however, was mum on whether the House has enough numbers to pass the
measure into law. The Catholic Church has vowed to oppose the bill.
"It is just a matter of preparing for the debate. I would really stand up in
the plenary for this. We are also preparing to go against the brilliant
interpellators in the Senate," Castro said.
Speaker Alvarez said last week that the death penalty bill, a priority measure
of the Duterte administration, could face an uphill climb in the Senate because
at least 9 Liberal Party senators were against it.
'Obstruction of justice'
For Rep. Jose "Lito" Atienza of the pro-life Buhay party-list, restoring the
death penalty will obstruct the delivery of justice as it will force crime
suspects to flee the country.
"Once Congress restores the death penalty, we could lose the ability to bring
home and prosecute drug lords, plunderers, embezzlers and even murderers who
have slipped out of the country," Atienza said.
Atienza cited the case of China, which imposes the death penalty, and where
authorities have been unable to put on trial corrupt officials who have escaped
to Europe, Australia, Canada and other places.
"There are countries that consider it their duty to protect the right to life
of every human being. Their governments won't expose people, regardless of
citizenship or race, to the threat of potential death verdicts," Atienza added.
(source: The Manila Times)
*******************
Death penalty debate set early 2017
House Deputy Speaker Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro yesterday said the discussions
on the bill to reinstate death penalty, a priority legislative measure of
President Duterte, will be moved to early next year, so that congressmen would
have a thorough plenary debate.
In a radio interview, Castro said he was responsible for moving back the bill's
discussion on the floor because he wanted to prepare to defend it at the
plenary.
Castro is one of the principal authors of House Bill No. 1, which seeks to
reimpose capital punishment for heinous crimes after it was abolished by then
President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
"We have to let people know, make them understand and study this measure
because at first glance, you could say you don't want this bill because life
should be respected. This is a reason that is based on one's belief in God and
what they call human rights," Castro said in Filipino.
"It's funny because our people might again be misled. This is why I myself said
I want to prepare for the debate because I will be the one to stand at the
plenary. I will be the one to fight for this bill...there would be very good
interpellators who are now saying they have not made up their mind whether or
not they would support this bill," Castro said.
He said the measure could be passed in the Lower House if there would be daily
plenary debates on it.
Castro also said he informed House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Floor
Leader Rodolfo Farinas, his coauthors, that the proposal should not single out
drug dealing and drug use.
Castro said if he had his way, he would add more crimes that are as heinous as
the use and sale of illegal drugs to be punishable by death - crimes such as
illegal recruitment, plunder, economic sabotage and human trafficking,
including the ones conducted via cyberspace.
There are 21 heinous crimes proposed to be punishable by death in the bill
approved by the House justice committee - a number which Castro still considers
"too small."
Among the "heinous crimes" included in House Bill No. 1 are treason, qualified
piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, murder, infanticide, rape, kidnapping and
serious illegal detention, robbery with violence, destructive arson, plunder.
It also includes dangerous drug importation, sale and trading, manufacture,
possession, cultivation and unlawful prescription, misappropriating confiscated
illegal drugs and planting of evidence by public officers, and car theft.
(source: newsinfo.inquirer.net)
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