[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 28 SAUDI ARABIA: UN experts urge Saudi regime to halt execution of 15 Shia Muslims for alleged charges UN experts showed their concern over the imminent execution threat of the Shia detainee Abbas Al Hassan after allegedly being charged of spying for Iran, financing terrorism and spreading the Shia faith. The UN experts also called upon the Saudi regime to annul the death penalty. 7 United Nations rapporteurs issued a statement and called upon Saudi Arabia to halt executions that threaten the lives of Shia Muslims Abbas Hassan and others individuals accused of alleged espionage for Iran in Saudi Arabia. The 7 UN rapporteurs who participated in issuing the statement are: the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions (Ms. Agnes Callamard), the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel treatment (Mr. Nils Melzer), the Special Rapporteur on promotion and protecting of human rights while countering terrorism (Mrs. Fionnuala D. Ni Aolain), the Special Rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers (Mr. Diego Garcia - Sayan), the current Chair- Rapporteur of the working Group on Arbitrary Detention (Mr. Jose Antonio Guevara Bermude), the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief (Mr. Ahmed Shaheed), the Special Rapporteur on the right to health (Mr. DainiusPuras) The rapporteurs called upon Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of others 14 individuals who also wrongly accused of spying for Iran. The statement declared that the Specialized Criminal Court has sentenced Abbas AlHassan and other 14 prisoners to death in December 2016, and confirmed the verdict in July & December 2017. Furthermore, the rapporteurs noted that the case is currently in the Presidency of State Security and waiting for the King's ratification. The rapporteurs expressed their concern over the individuals from being subjected to torture during their investigation to obtain confessions, and the death sentences were based on evidences that extracted under torture. The statement also noted the concern of the experts about the physical safety and mental health of the individuals, after being torture and the subsequent deprivation of adequate medical care by prison authorities. In addition, the rapporteurs pointed out that the 15 individuals were held in incommunicado for up to three months, and their lawyers were denied access to the evidence and did not have enough time to prepare an adequate defense. They also indicated that the death sentences were unrelated to the "most serious crimes" which contradicts the international law in concerning crimes on which the death sentences are based. Moreover, the rapporteurs confirmed that the individuals should be retried under the conditions of fair trial and judicial guarantees. The rapporteurs also called upon the Saudi government to impose moratorium on capital punishment and consider its full abolition. (source: AhlulBayt News Agency) PAKISTAN: She's Standing Up for Pakistani Prisoners Sentenced to DieBecause even the worst criminals deserve someone in their corner. In a country where 491 executions have taken place since December 2014, when the death penalty moratorium was lifted in response to the Army Public School terrorist attack in Peshawar, one organization, the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), offers hope for the country's 8,200 prisoners on death row. Sarah Belal, a 39-year-old human-rights lawyer, founded JPP in 2009 to try to change Pakistan's standing as the world's "5th most prolific executioner," after China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. As executive director, she leads a small team providing free legal assistance to underprivileged prisoners battling mental illness, victims of police brutality or the war on terror and Pakistani migrant workers incarcerated overseas. On a Friday afternoon during prayer break, Belal, who received the inaugural Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law in 2016, greets me at the JPP's headquarters in a picturesque neighborhood in Lahore. Dressed in a sleeveless summer blouse and pants, she has a pixie haircut that complements her petite frame. Belal, born to a family steeped in business and academics, studied law at Oxford University and then branched out into human-rights work after completing a postgraduate program in 2007. "[I knew] death penalty work was never going to be happy work," she says plainly. "I think you have to have something that connects you to the cause; otherwise you can't really do it - why would you?" For her, that connection was Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Khan, an employee of the Pakistan Navy convicted in 1998 for killing two men - allegedly in self-defense. After reading an urgent letter of appeal from Khan in a local English newspaper in 2009, Belal worked the channels until she was put in touch with Khan's brother. But the young lawyer had just graduated and the case was exceedingly complex;
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., OHIO, KY., OKLA., CALIF., WASH.
March 28 TEXASexecution Lubbock group protests death penalty on night of Rodriguez's execution "God of compassion," read the vigil program. "You let rain fall on the just and the unjust. Expand and deepen our hearts so that we may love as you love, even those among us who have caused the greatest pain by taking life." The rain stopped just long enough for the Friends of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty group to hold signs with messages against execution in front of St. John's United Methodist Church Tuesday night on University Avenue as 38-year-old Rosendo Rodriguez was set to by executed in Huntsville. Minutes before he died, Rodriguez espoused the same message as the vigil group, calling for the end of the death penalty. Rodriguez was sentenced to death for the 2005 rape and killing of 29-year-old Summer Baldwin. He also admitted to killing 16-year-old Joanna Rogers. Both women were from Lubbock. The 4 solemn participants said they had different reasons for attending the vigil. Beth Pressley, organizer of the group, said they meet for prayer and sign holding from 5:45-6:15 p.m. each time there is an execution in Texas. Pressley wore a T-shirt that read "pro life," and said that is the message of the group. "We don't like the state killing people in our name. We don't think it's necessary," Pressley said. "There was a time that you maybe had to worry about violent criminals getting out (of prison), but that's not really the case anymore. People have the chance to repent." Pressley said because this was a local case, she has followed the crime since the beginning. "It was frightening. It was sad. I remember being very glad that they finally caught the guy and got him off the street," Pressley said. "But now we have 3 families who are hurting. Killing somebody isn't going to make those daughters come back." Participants prayed for peace for all involved people: the victims' families, Rodriguez's family, the court system, prison employees and all others on death row. Phoenix Lundstrom had a more personal connection with Rodriguez. During the prayer portion of the vigil, Lundstrom read a letter she recently received from Rodriguez that indicated faith was on his mind in his last few weeks. Lundstrom said her son Mitchell Wachholtz met Rodriguez around 10 years ago when they were in neighboring prison cells. Wachholtz is serving a 99-year sentence at the Darrington Unit in Rosharon. He was convicted of murder in the 2007 death of Chase Pendleton. Lundstrom said her son has found his calling in life, in part because of Rodriguez. "Rosendo started talking to my son about Jesus. Now my son is in his 3rd year of seminary school at Darrington," Lundstrom said. "Rosendo was one of the key people in bringing my son from a street-wise punk to a real man of God." The group dispersed around 6:20 p.m. Rodriguez was pronounced dead at 6:46 p.m. (source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) * 'Suitcase killer' at execution: 'I'm ready to join my father' A San Antonio man who became known as the "suitcase killer" was executed Tuesday evening in Texas for the slaying of a 29-year-old Lubbock woman whose battered, naked body was stuffed into a new piece of luggage and tossed in the trash. Rosendo Rodriguez III had also confessed to killing a 16-year-old Lubbock girl and similarly disposing of her body in the trash in a suitcase. Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Rodriguez spoke defiantly for 7 minutes and never apologized to relatives of his victims watching through a window. "The state may have my body but they never had my soul," Rodriguez said. He also urged people to boycott Texas businesses to pressure the state into ending the death penalty and reiterated issues raised in late appeals that were rejected by the courts. "I've fought the good fight, I have run the good race," he said. "Warden, I'm ready to join my father." Rodriguez, who turned 38 Monday, received a lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital, injected by Texas prison officials. 22 minutes later, at 6:46 p.m. CT, he was pronounced dead. The execution was the 4th this year in Texas and 7th nationally. The U.S. Supreme Court, less than 30 minutes before Rodriguez was taken to the death chamber, rejected an appeal to block his punishment. Rodriguez's lawyers told the justices lower courts improperly turned down appeals that focused on the medical examiner's testimony at Rodriguez's trial for the September 2005 slaying of Summer Baldwin. State lawyers said the high court appeal was improper, untimely and meritless, and "nothing more than a last-ditch effort," according to Texas Assistant Attorney General Tomee Heining. Workers at the Lubbock city landfill spotted a new suitcase in the trash, opened it and discovered the body of Baldwin, who was 10 weeks pregnant. Detectives used a barcode label sewn to
