[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide
Jan. 15
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 15 IRAQ: AMNESTY INTERNATIONALPRESS RELEASE AI Index: MDE 14/002/2007 (Public)News Service No: 008 15 January 2007 Iraq: Execution of Saddam Hussein aides is a further slide into errors of the past Amnesty International today condemned the executions of Saddam Hussein's half-brother and the former head of Iraq's revolutionary court as a brutal violation of the right to life and a further lost opportunity for Iraqis to properly hold to account those responsible for the crimes committed under Saddam Hussein's rule. Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam Husseins half-brother and former head of the Iraqi Mukhabarat (Intelligence Service), and Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-Sadun, former head of the Revolutionary Court, were hanged earlier today. Along with former president Saddam Hussein, they had been sentenced to death on 5 November 2006 after an unfair trial before the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (SICT). This verdict was confirmed by the Iraqi Appeals court on 26 December. Saddam Hussein and his aides should certainly have been held to account for the horrific human rights crimes committed by his government but this should have been through a fair trial process and without recourse to the death penalty. Reports that Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti had his head severed during the hanging only emphasis the brutality of this already cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. Amnesty International is also concerned that another former government official is at risk of execution. Taha Yassin Ramadhan, the former vice-president, was sentenced to life imprisonment on 5 November 2006. However, on 26 December the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal referred his case back to the same tribunal requesting a higher sentence, suggesting that he is at risk of being sentenced to death and executed. The trial before the SICT failed to satisfy international fair trial standards. Political interference undermined the independence and impartiality of the court, causing the first presiding judge to resign and blocking the appointment of another, and the court failed to take adequate measures to ensure the protection of witnesses and defence lawyers, 3 of whom were assassinated during the course of the trial. Saddam Hussain was also denied access to legal counsel for the first year after his arrest, and complaints by his lawyers throughout the trial relating to the proceedings do not appear to have been adequately answered by the tribunal. The appeal process was obviously conducted in haste and failed to rectify any of the flaws of the first trial. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases on the grounds that it is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. There has been a sharp rise in the use of the death penalty since its reintroduction in August 2004 in Iraq. In 2006 at least 65 people were executed, many of them after unfair trials. (source: Amnesty International) ** Saddam aides hanged, film shows brother beheaded 2 of Saddam Hussein's aides were hanged before dawn on Monday, the Iraqi government said. But despite its efforts to avoid the uproar that marred the execution of the former president 2 weeks ago, news that the noose ripped the head from Saddam's cancer-stricken half-brother as he plunged from the gallows appalled international critics of the process and fuelled fury among Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs. On the defensive after Shi'ite sectarian taunts were heard in illicit film of Saddam's execution, a spokesman for the Shi'ite-led government insisted there was no violation of procedure during the executions of his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and former judge Awad Hamed al-Bander. But defence lawyers and politicians from the once dominant Sunni Arab minority expressed anger at the fate of Barzan, Saddam's once feared intelligence chief, and there was also scepticism and condemnation of Iraq's Shi'ite-dominated leadership across the mostly Sunni-ruled Arab world. Government officials showed journalists film of the two men standing side by side in orange jumpsuits on the scaffold, looking fearful before they were hooded and the nooses placed around their necks. There was no disturbance in the execution chamber -- apparently the same one where Saddam died on Dec. 30. Bander muttered the prayer: There is no god but God. Barzan, 55, a vocal presence during the year-long trial for crimes against humanity, appeared to tremble quietly. As the bodies plunged through the traps, Barzan's hooded head flew off and came to rest beside his body in a pool of blood below the empty noose under the gallows. Bander swung dead on his rope. Officials said they would not release the film publicly. Government adviser Bassam al-Husseini said the damage to the body was an act of God. During
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.Y., OHIO, ILL.
Jan. 15 TEXAS: Texas will consider death penalty for repeat sexual predators Texas lawmakers are talking tough about cracking down on sexual predators who prey on children. Some propose the death penalty for repeat offenders, potentially creating hundreds more death row inmates in a state that already executes more than any other. Other ideas include mandatory long sentences for 1st-time offenders or eliminating probation. But opposition is flaring from unexpected sources: prosecutors and victim advocates. They fear some of the proposals would make it harder to get convictions and, perhaps, put children in even more danger by giving molesters incentive to kill the only potential witness to their crimes. And there's the question of whether the death penalty in sex offenses is even constitutional. We support the intent, said Torie Camp of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault. We're concerned about the unintended consequences. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a Republican who won a 2nd 4-year term, has led the charge for tougher penalties for child molesters, calling for a 25-year minimum sentence after the 1st conviction when a victim is less than 14 and the death penalty option for repeat offenders. The idea is to prevent these kinds of crimes, said Dewhurst spokesman Rich Parsons. It sends a clear signal and maybe these monsters will think twice before committing a crime. Gov. Rick Perry, also a Republican, said Texas is a tough on crime state and he's open to tougher penalties, including the death penalty. A recent case in West Texas will likely fan the debate. Dwayne Dale Billings, 21, a registered sex offender, was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a 9-year-old autistic girl who went missing in Odessa earlier this month. She was found alive in his home. Dozens of sex offender bills have already been filed for the 140-day legislative session that began Jan. 9. Proponents want Texas to join states cracking down with tough Jessica's Laws, named after a girl who was abducted and killed in Florida, and become one of a handful that could put some repeat offenders to death. Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said Texas is already tough on sex offenders. Most already serve their entire sentence without parole and are subject to civil commitment if experts deem them dangerous upon release. We are tough (on sex offenders.) Tougher than hell. We lead the nation in tough. Whitmire said. But you've got to be careful. Crime victim advocates worry the death penalty may lead to more murder victims. Child sex cases often have no witness other than the victim. If the punishment for raping a child and raping and killing are exactly the same, Camp said, the rapist may kill so that witness is no longer there. In family cases, a child molested by a parent or grandparent may be pressured not to testify if the perpetrator faces a long prison sentence or the death penalty, Camp said. The death penalty raises a key constitutional issue. In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a death sentence for a Georgia man convicted of raping a woman, calling it an excessive penalty for the rapist, who as such, does not take human life. Even so, Florida, Montana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina have already passed new death penalty laws for sex offenses against children, said Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Resource Center in Washington, D.C. It is a trend. It's a strong, symbolic gesture Dieter said. But I don't see it being used very much. No one has been executed under the laws, but one Louisiana inmate is on death row for the rape of an 8-year-old girl. That case is still being reviewed by state and federal appeals courts, Dieter said. Dieter and legal experts say it is unclear whether the Supreme Court would make a distinction between an adult or child victim when considering the death penalty in a sex case. Parsons said Dewhurst's office believes a state law could be tailored specifically to deal with child victims and survive court challenges. Many prosecutors are wary of tinkering with the state's death penalty system. Change can bring unintended consequences which may not look like anything until some smart lawyer picks up on it, said Shannon Edmonds, spokesman for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Change a comma and it's going to be the basis for an appeal, Edmonds said. All it takes is one little problem to grind the whole system to a halt. Whitmire said if the death penalty proposals being considered today were already in the law, 2,900 current prison inmates could be facing the death sentence. Texas already has nearly 400 inmates on death row. We'd have to build a lot of execution chambers, Whitmire said. Prosecutors and victims groups instead want lawmakers to expand limits on witness testimony in sex cases and make it easier to prosecute ongoing abuse. The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.J., USA, CALIF., UTAH
Jan. 15 NEW JERSEY: Appealed to Death A RECENT report by the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission has recommended that the state abolish the death penalty and replace it with a life sentence in a maximum security prison, with no possibility of parole. Although I might not agree with all of the commissions reasoning I dont, for example, interpret public sentiments as leaning against capital punishment to the extent that the commission does I concur in its recommendation. That was not always my view. As state attorney general, I supported the death penalty and worked to enforce it. Later, as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court, I voted to affirm and overturn death sentences when legal standards required either result. But from a policy perspective, I now believe that the current capital punishment system, which has spawned elaborate litigation that includes several layers of appeal, is ineffective. Because death is an irreversible penalty, the state Supreme Court has construed the judicial role in capital cases as requiring heightened and exact scrutiny. The legal process has grown into a complex, lengthy undertaking that consumes enormous energy and resources. For instance, each death penalty case typically entails not one but several hearings before lower and appellate courts. And its not only state courts; federal courts also evaluate the cases. Given that trial judges, jurors, prosecutors and defense lawyers are, like everyone else, prone to error, some have wondered whether any capital case ultimately can survive such unstinting review. But the judiciary has not been alone in its caution. 2 of the last 6 elected governors Brendan Byrne, who is also a former prosecutor and judge, and Jon Corzine, the current governor have opposed the death penalty. Moreover, while the death penalty study commission was conducting its review, the Legislature imposed a moratorium on capital punishment apparently because of policy concerns, including the possibility of mistakes. Although the chance of executing an innocent person under our judicial process is minuscule, the role of DNA in overturning convictions has increased doubts. The result is that New Jersey has not carried out any executions since it reinstated capital punishment in 1982. The last execution here was in 1963. And no death sentence is likely to be carried out in the near future. Other states, like New York, are in a similar position. New Yorks highest court found a constitutional defect in the states death penalty system in 2004, and legislators in Albany have so far not corrected it. Why not fix the flaws that have prevented the use of capital punishment rather than eliminate it altogether? Heres the problem. Narrowing the scope of the death penalty statute or tightening its provisions, as some have proposed, would invite a fresh wave of litigation and open new avenues for legal challenge. In a decent society where death should be imposed only after careful judicial examination, those appeals would continue for years. Even renewed attempts at limiting the review process itself would spur additional lawsuits. For instance, when New Jersey lawmakers sought in 1992 to curb the manner in which the judiciary conducts reviews to ensure that juries do not apply death sentences arbitrarily, the state Supreme Court eventually decided that it should not be so restricted. If similar reforms were tried once more, its likely that another 2 decades would pass with no executions, and we would be having the same debate as we are today. Indeed, since 1985, the Legislature has amended the death penalty statute 15 times. Tellingly, rather than expedite the process, some of those amendments have echoed judicial or constitutional concerns by strengthening legal safeguards, underscoring how all 3 branches have proceeded carefully in this field. Instead of revising the system yet again, we should accept the conclusion that New Jersey simply lacks the collective will to carry out capital punishment. Whether its fear of an erroneous execution, as DNA evidence has shown is possible in other states, or a combination of other factors, the elected branches appear ready to alter course. In that context, substituting a sentence of life without parole for the death penalty makes sense. In the absence of executions, such sentences essentially already exist. I cannot fathom the pain felt by the families of murder victims. I can only assume that their grief and sense of loss are perpetual. Understandably for some, a feeling of justice will result only from the execution of the persons responsible for such unspeakable crimes. Still, as a practical matter, New Jerseys death penalty exists merely on paper. Despite the law on the books, this state has never really embraced capital punishment. We should acknowledge that reality and replace the death penalty with a punishment that is real. (source: Op-Ed, New York Times; Peter G. Verniero, a lawyer, is a
[Deathpenalty] URGENT Action Needed for Taha Yassin Ramadhan, a Former Vice-President of Iraq (first update to UA 2/07)
URGENT ACTION APPEAL -- Note: Please write on behalf of these persons even though you may not have received the original UA when issued on January 4, 2007. Thanks! 15 January 2007 Further Information on UA 02/07 (04 January 2007) Imminent execution/possible death sentence IRAQ Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti (m) ] executed 'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-Sa'dun (m) ] executed Taha Yassin Ramadhan (m) Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and 'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al- Sa'dun were executed by hanging in the early hours of 15 January. The two had been sentenced to death on 5 November 2006, after an unfair trial before the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (SICT). They were sentenced in connection with the killing of 148 people from the village of al- Dujail, north of Baghdad, after a failed attempt to assassinate former president Saddam Hussain in 1982. Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti is Saddam Hussain's half-brother, and was the head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the Mukhabarat, from 1979 to 1983. 'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al- Sa'dun was the head of the Revolutionary Court. Saddam Hussain was executed by hanging on 30 December 2006. There is still no new information about former vice- president, Taha Yassin Ramadhan, who received a life sentence. However, he remains at risk of execution after the SICT's Appeals Chamber referred the case back to the court on 26 December 2006, requesting a more stringent sentence. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Amnesty International welcomed the decision to bring Saddam Hussain to justice for the human rights violations committed by his government, but this should have been through a fair trial process and without recourse to the death penalty. In the event, the trial, which opened in October 2005 in Baghdad, was unfair. It was marked by political interference and was widely criticized for failing to satisfy international standards for fair trial. No adequate measures were taken to ensure the protection of witnesses and defense lawyers, three of whom were assassinated during the course of the trial. Amnesty International raised its concerns about the trial of Saddam Hussain and others before the SICT on several occasions. Since the reintroduction of the death penalty in Iraq in August 2004, scores of people have been sentenced to death and there has been a rapid rise in the number of executions, with at least 65 people put to death in 2006 alone, many of them after trials which may have been unfair. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - deploring the execution of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and 'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al-Sa'dun; - expressing concern that the trial of Barzan Ibrahim al- Tikriti, Taha Yassin Ramadhan and 'Awad Hamad al-Bandar al- Sa'dun before the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal failed to meet international fair trial standards; - expressing concern that the Appeals Chamber has rejected Taha Yassin Ramadhan's sentence of life imprisonment and apparently requested that he be sentenced to death; - recognizing the right of governments to bring to justice those responsible for serious crimes but insisting that this be done through fair trial and without resort to the death penalty; - calling on the authorities to commute all death sentences and take steps to abolish the death penalty in law and practice. APPEALS TO: Fax numbers and e-mail addresses for the Iraqi authorities are not available. Please send appeals via the Iraqi embassy or diplomatic representative in your country, asking them to forward your appeals to: President: Jalal Talabani Salutation: Your Excellency Prime Minister: Nuri Kamil al-Maliki E-mail: iraqigov at yahoo.com Salutation: Your Excellency Minister of Justice: Hashim al-Shibli E-mail: minister at iraqi-justice.org head-minister at iraqi-justice.org deputy at iraqi-justice.org Salutation: Your Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs: Hoshyar Zebari E-mail: press at iraqmofa.net Salutation: Your Excellency COPIES TO: Ask the Iraqi embassy or diplomatic representative to send copies to the Human Rights Minister, Wajdan Mikhail. His Excellency Samir Sumaida'ie Ambassador to the United States Embassy of the Republic of Iraq 1801 P Street Washington DC 20036 email: amboffice at iraqiembassy.org fax: 1 202 462 5066 phone: 1 202 483 7500 PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after 26 February 2007. Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that promotes and defends human rights. This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal. Urgent Action Network Amnesty International USA 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl Washington DC 20003 Email: uan at aiusa.org http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/ Phone: 202.544.0200 Fax: 202.675.8566
