[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-------N.H., N.Y., FLA., GA., ORE., VA., USA
March 29 NEW HAMPSHIRE: A fit punishment: The death penalty survives HOUSE MEMBERS are to be commended for rejecting a bill that would have ended the death penalty in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the vote was so close that the attempt to end this just punishment is guaranteed to return. The House voted 185-173 in favor of a committee recommendation to kill House Bill 607, introduced by Rep. Jim Splaine, D-Portsmouth, which would have replaced the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility for parole. The argument for abolishing the death penalty in New Hampshire is weak. To start, New Hampshire has executed no one since 1939. This is not a state gung-ho to dispense the most permanent of punishments. In this state, the ultimate penalty is meted out fairly and with due reservation and caution. But that is not enough for those who want to abolish it. Of murderers, Splaine said, Each day waking up, he or she sees the bars of the cell, hears the sounds of the cell block, smells the odors of jail. Every day until death. That is a punishment worse than death, he said. Yet if that were true, we'd see defense lawyers working the legal system to get their clients put ON death row. They don't do that. They do everything they can to avoid the death sentence, and if it is given they do everything they can to overturn it. The murderers know there is no punishment worse than death. Punishments ought to fit the crime, and the death penalty is fit punishment for capital murder. House members were right to keep it. Amazingly, 173 members of the House voted against keeping the death penalty. That is particularly disturbing after the slaying of Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs. Innocent victims like Michael Briggs deserve justice. That is what the death penalty delivers. We hope that more House members see that truth when a version of this bill comes along in a future session. (source: The Union Leader) NEW YORKfederal death penalty trial Sentencing in death penalty case When the federal court building in Downtown Brooklyn opens Thursday morning, 60-year-old Clare Hogenauer will be sitting outside in a lawn chair with about a dozen hand-lettered signs condemning the death penalty. But for today, anyway, her sentiments are for a lost cause. Ronell Wilson, the Staten Island man convicted in December for killing 2 undercover detectives in 2003, will be formally sentenced to the death penalty for the murders by Judge Nicholas Garaufis. The case, the first federal death penalty levied in the city since 1954, will be called at 2:30 p.m. In January, the jury that had convicted Wilson voted for capital punishment for him for the slaughter of detectives James Nemorin, 36, of Baldwin Harbor, and Rodney Andrews, 34, of Middle Village in March 2003 during an abortive gun purchase. Thursday's proceedings make the death sentence official. Wilson has the right to speak, although it was unclear if he would. Defense attorney Ephraim Savitt said Wednesday that he will speak on his client's behalf and tell Garaufis that imposing the death penalty -- which the court must do now -- doesn't accomplish anything constructive. I will say if you look at the goals of sentencing, none of them are satisfied by the death sentence, Savitt said in an interview with Newsday. The only thing the death penalty does is satisfy the need for retribution, said Savitt. But for Michael Palladino, head of the Detectives Endowment Association, death by lethal injection, the method used in the federal system, is a fitting punishment for Wilson. This will probably be one of the most gratifying days in my law enforcement career, if I hear Judge Garaufis give the death penalty, said Palladino. It has been a long, 4-year ordeal for the families and the union, and tomorrow the ordeal ends. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn said late Wednesday that it wasn't clear if the widows of the slain detectives or any other relatives would speak. Palladino said some of the former police partners of the dead men might address the court. Once he is sentenced, Wilson will be sent to the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., where death row inmates are kept. Wilson has been kept at a federal detention center in Brooklyn. He has been denied visits with his family since he smashed a glass partition during an outburst in January. Hogenauer plans to attend the court proceeding. She has no illusion that her signs and outdoor protest will affect Wilson's case. But she will continue speaking out against capital punishment. I am not giving up, said Hogenauer, who has been protesting the death penalty for years. If I got rid of it [death penalty] in New York State, I can get rid of it in the federal government. (source: Newsday) ** Killings in First Quarter Drop to One a Day, Lowest Rate in Decades The recent fatal shootings of two auxiliary police officers and a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide
March 29 CENTRAL ASIA: Central Asia Nearing Abolition The vast region of Central Asia is moving closer to becoming death-penalty-free and hopes are high that legislation banning all executions will be adopted in all countries in the near future. But other human rights challenges remain. There's a lot of expectation in the air. We've seen some very positive steps in the last couple of years, Maria Luisa Bascur, regional project director based in Brussels with the International Helsinki Federation of Human Rights, told IPS. I think in a couple of years the region will be death penalty free. And we are pressing for that. The resource-rich, strategically important region is comprised of five countries which gained independence after the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Their combined population is around 61 million. Kazakhstan, the size of Western Europe, has vast untapped oil reserves. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are rich in minerals and potential hydroelectric energy. Uzbekistan has big natural gas reserves and is also the world's third largest exporter of cotton. Turkmenistan has large gas reserves. Only Uzbekistan is still executing people, Bascur said, adding that Turkmenistan had already abolished the death penalty in 1999. We estimate from our sources that Uzbekistan is executing about 100 people a year. There are no reports from there because it's a state secret. The president (Islam Karimov) actually signed a decree in 2005 saying he would abolish the death penalty in 2008. But a spokesperson from Amnesty International, campaigning for a death-penalty-free zone in the region, told IPS that secrecy remains an issue in all the countries. Turkmen author Sapargul Mamedova, writing in the March 2007 issue of the Internet magazine Oasis, said she had received reports that three prominent people have died in Turkmenistan prisons since the declared abolition of the death penalty there. They included journalist Ogulsapar Muradova who allegedly died after being tortured late last year. The two others -- the former head of the Turkmen security service Mukhammed Nazarov, and chairman of the Turkmen parliament, Taghandurdy Khallyev -- had been accused of abuse of power. Bascur confirmed that extra-judicial killings had taken place in Turkmenistan. Last December Kyrgyzstan took what was interpreted as a genuine lead in the region by abolishing the death penalty through a constitutional amendment that guarantees the inherent right to life to everyone. Lawmakers were then expected to agree to revisions in the country's criminal code to bring it in line with the constitutional changes -- a task to be completed within six months. But this has been delayed by building pressure from the opposition -- led by former prime minister Felix Kulov -- for President Bakiev to step down. There have been reports that Kyrgyz judges have been handing down death sentences despite the constitutional changes. This was due to ignorance, Justice Minister Marat Kayipov reportedly responded, adding that they clearly had not read the constitution. Yet more constitutional changes are expected in Kyrgyzstan shortly, sources here say. Bakiev has agreed to set up a joint working group to re-write the new constitution. Human rights activists and politicians expect this will also contain a ban on executions. This was confirmed to IPS by Nurbolot Kurmanov, head of the justice department in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. Kyrgyzstan's abolition of the death penalty will have repercussions for the entire region, Bascur said. She predicted that Kazakhstan would quickly follow suit. It might not happen right away. But the ground is fertile with civil society pushing for it. Kazakhstan is listening to its neighbours and the international community. Next in line for abolishing the death penalty would be Tajikistan, Bascur speculated. They've already converted all death sentences to a fixed-term sentence, so in a sense they have done the main work. The big question for rights activists is whether Uzbekistan will honour its pledge to abolish the death penalty on Jan. 1, 2008. Uzbekistan is the more extreme case, Bascur agreed. The non-governmental organisations are suffering constant persecution there. If you do work, you risk not only fines but going to prison. No one was allowed to monitor the number of executions. Not even the relatives of the people executed were informed of the execution date or where they were buried, she said. Experts here agree that Uzbekistan will be the last country in the region to abolish the death penalty. There is little hope that Karimov will follow the way of Kyrgyzstan, Nur Omarov, professor of politics at the Kyrgyz-Russian University, one of the leading universities in the country, told IPS. Karimov's top concern was maintaining political stability and there would be no softening in his stance towards political dissent. But there was
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, N.C., ILL., N.J., VA.
March 29 TEXASimpending execution 2nd execution in 2 days set for Texas Convicted killer Roy Lee Pippin readily acknowledges smuggling illegal drugs and transporting and laundering millions of dollars in drug money through his Houston air conditioning business. But the 51-year-old Pippin insists he wasn't responsible when two Florida men were shot and killed almost 13 years ago in a warehouse he rented after some $2 million in drug proceeds turned up missing. I was involved, Pippin said recently from death row. I admitted to loading trucks with cocaine and moving money over the border. I didn't kill anybody. Harris County jurors who heard his story didn't believe him, convicted him of killing the two men and decided he should die. His execution was set for Thursday evening. The lethal injection would be the 11th this year in Texas, the nation's busiest death penalty state, and the 2nd in 2 nights. On Wednesday, Vincent Gutierrez was executed for the shooting death of an Air Force captain, Jose Cobo, during a carjacking 10 years ago in San Antonio. Gutierrez said he was sorry about the situation that happened, and that everybody is here because of what happened, but it was unclear in his brief final comments if he was apologizing for the slaying. Where's a stunt double when you need one? Gutierrez asked, laughing just before the lethal drugs were administered. Pippin, who wrote lengthy articles about his case for friends to post on the Internet, had refused legal help, criticizing his lawyers for failing to act timely on his behalf and legal groups opposed to the death penalty for giving up on him. Instead, he filed many of his own appeals, typing them in his cell and sending them to courts through the mail. The odds are astronomical, he acknowledged in a recent death row interview. If I get action, it's going to make them look like idiots. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late last week, however, denied his appeal challenging the Texas lethal injection method as unconstitutionally cruel and refused to stop the punishment. It will be murder, he said of his execution. An attorney on Pippin's behalf filed a late appeal challenging the Texas sentencing law. Pippin was convicted of the abduction and shooting deaths of Elmer Buitrago, 34, and his cousin, Fabio Buitrago, 55, both of Miami. Evidence showed the two were held captive at a Houston motel for about a week, then before dawn on May 4, 1994, were taken to a warehouse where each was shot 4 times. Elmer Buitrago, however, didn't die immediately. He stumbled outside and began screaming and breaking windows at a nearby apartment complex. Residents called police. Buitrago told an officer Pippin was the gunman. A dying declaration, Julian Ramirez, a Harris County assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, said last week. It doesn't get any better than that. Pippin, who claimed to have moved as much as $600 million in drug proceeds, blamed the slayings on others in what he said was a Colombian drug operation. I was under duress, Pippin said. They said they were going to kill my family. He's got critical words for everybody, Ramirez said. Among witnesses who testified against him was a man who had been tortured at the warehouse and managed to flee. Authorities said another man believed held at the warehouse was found dead in nearby Fort Bend County. Pippin was not charged with that slaying. I'm not afraid of dying, Pippin said. It'll be an escape. He vowed to not go willingly to the death chamber. I'm going to fight, literally, he said. Pippin went without food for about 6 weeks to protest the lethal injection method and conditions on death row. Despite promises he wouldn't eat again, he broke his hunger strike Monday with a piece of carrot cake and a sandwich a friend bought for him from a vending machine in the prison visiting area. 3 more convicted killers are to die in Texas in April, starting with James Clark, 38, who has an April 11 execution date for the 1993 robbery, rape and fatal shooting of Catherine Crews, a 17-year-old high school student from Denton. On the Net: Texas Department of Criminal Justice execution schedule http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/scheduledexecutions.htm Roy Lee Pippin http://www.roypippin.net NORTH CAROLINA: N.C. execution doctor didn't measure inmates' consciousness The doctor who's attended at least 18 of North Carolina's last 20 executions says he never monitored the condemned man's level of consciousness. Dr. Obi Umesi says he wouldn't have done that even if prison officials had asked. Umsei tells The News and Observer of Raleigh that he wouldn't participate in an execution and that he wouldn't voluntarily take a life. But in a 188-page deposition released by the state Attorney General's Office, Umesi says he viewed the readings during those executions on the brain-wave monitor. Umesi was in a small observation room during the state's last 2 executions. In
[Deathpenalty] FW: TO UK IRAN:Invoke 1899 Hague Convention for Pacific Settlement of International Disputes!
Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (Voice) 217-244-1478 (Fax) (personal comments only) From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 9:49 AM To: 'Abolition Caucus List Serve' Subject: TO UK IRAN:Invoke 1899 Hague Convention for Pacific Settlement of International Disputes! Both Iran and the United Kingdom are contracting parties to the 1899 Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.Title III of the 1899 Convention created a procedure for the formation of international commissions of inquiry to investigate, ascertain and report on international differences involving neither honor nor vital interests, and arising from disputed points of fact that could not be settled by means of diplomacy (article 9). An International Commission of Inquiry is precisely what is called for here to resolve their dispute over the Sailors. Hence I would encourage everyone to pressure the Governments of both Iran and the United Kingdom to publicly invoke the 1899 Convention and request the immediate organization of such a Commission to de-escalate this crisis that could readily precipitate World War III. For more details on these Commissions with further references, see my book Foundations of World Order (Duke University Press:1999). Professor Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (Voice) 217-244-1478 (Fax) (personal comments only)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, ILL., PENN.
March 29 TEXASimpending execution Houston inmate fighting tonight's death date Death row inmate Roy Lee Pippin admits he's sold drugs, smuggled drug money, even helped dump a dead body. But he insists he's no killer. Pippin, a former member of a Colombian drug ring, smuggled millions of dollars inside modified gas tanks of his air conditioning service trucks and in A/C units into Mexico. The 51-year-old Houston man knew drug agents could swoop down on his southwest Houston warehouse, but he blithely carried on, indulging in drugs, booze and women. In 1994, the high-flying lifestyle he had known for about 3 years came to a swift end when he took part in the kidnapping of 4 men suspected of pocketing almost $2 million from the operation. But Pippin insists he wasn't the triggerman behind the murders of 2 of those held captive, cousins Elmer and Fabio Buitrago. One captive was able to escape; Pippin admits he helped dispose of the body of the other man, Javier Riasco, who was discovered later. I wasn't the boss, Pippin said recently from death row. I didn't orchestrate these murders. I didn't have the power to kill these men. If his numerous last-minute court filings fail, Pippin will be put to death tonight, becoming the 97th Harris County inmate to be executed in Texas since 1982. During his trial, the state produced a witness, who pinned the murders on Pippin, and presented evidence that one of the victims, just before he died, had named Pippin as the killer. Among the issues raised in his appeals include the belated discovery during his trial that 2 guns were used in the murders. The finding contradicted earlier testimony in which Pippin was said to have shot the victims with one gun. Defense attorneys were caught unaware and argued that the prosecution purposely hid the information. Prosecutor Julian Ramirez said he learned about the use of two guns the day a firearms expert testified. He said the use of 2 guns still does not exonerate Pippin. The jury had that information when they convicted Pippin of capital murder, Ramirez said. The claim that we somehow hid evidence, which I consider to be a red herring, was not only raised in front of the jury, but on direct appeal and at every level of state and federal appeals and each time it has been rejected. The firearms examiner, C.E. Anderson of the Houston Police Department, testified that bullets from Fabio Buitrago's body and 2 bullets removed from his cousin's body were from the same gun. On cross-examination by the defense, however, Anderson testified that another gun had been used. He acknowledged this fact was not in his reports to the prosecution and defense, but he said he discussed the issue with Ramirez before he testified. Joan Campbell, one of Pippin's defense attorneys and now a state district judge, claimed the omission was intentional and punched holes in the state's star witnesses' testimony. I don't think the case would have been tried for the death penalty if there had been evidence of two guns, Campbell stated in a 2004 deposition. They would have a hard time getting the death penalty when there's more than one person involved. Jani Maselli, one of Pippin's former appellate attorneys, said Pippin deserves another trial. The gun evidence permeates throughout the entire trial, Maselli said. Every strategic choice was based upon one gun being used. Pippin also filed an appeal in which he claims lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment because the procedure may cause unnecessary and excruciating pain. The issue was denied. On Monday, Pippin gave up his more than monthlong hunger strike. He was protesting what he called deplorable conditions on death row. He lost more than 20 pounds. Pippin, in his interview with the Houston Chronicle, said that although he could not bear to spend much more time on death row, his son and daughter compelled him to continue to fight to clear his name. For more than a year, Pippin has worked on his case himself and has become known as a legal eagle on death row. This is absolute torture in this place, he said. If they kill me it's going to be a blessing. (source: Associated Press) State Representative: Let's Hang the Artist! Rep. Borris Miles, D-Houston, was walking through the Capitol with his two young children when he saw 2 works of art in a public corridor he didn't like. He liked them so little that he took them down off the wall and hid them in his office. On March 12, freshman state Rep. Borris Miles, D-Houston, was walking through the Capitol with his 2 young children when he saw 2 works of art in a public corridor he didn't like. He liked them so little that he took them down off the wall and hid them in his office. Now no one knows where they are. Miles took down two paintings depicting executions because, he says, he found them offensive. Scott Cobb, president of the anti-death-penalty group Texas Moratorium Network, which
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA, WYO. OHIO, CALIF.
March 29 USA: Alberto Gonzales and the death penalty: A time for candor. A time for fairness. 2 years ago, as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced confirmation hearings, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty stressed that the nation's chief law enforcement officer must demonstrate the highest commitment to fairness, due process and equal protection under the law. We based our opposition to Gonzales' confirmation on our belief that his track record on death penalty cases in Texas failed to meet this challenge. Time and again the legal analysis he provided to then-Gov. George W. Bush on the eve of executions failed to include any discussion of the most salient issues, including severe mental retardation and mental illness, abysmally poor legal representation and, in more than a handful of cases, even credible claims of innocence. With the recent revelations that differences regarding the death penalty played a role in the dismissal of at least three U.S. attorneys, our fears, sadly, have been justified. Then, as now, Mr. Gonzales placed Bush's political agenda above honesty, integrity , and commitment to fairness. In Texas this took the form of cursory review - and then denial in every single case but one - of clemency applications as President Bush parlayed his tough-on-crime persona into a successful run for the Republican presidential nomination. Today, Mr. Gonzales' failed priorities have contributed to a politicized federal death penalty system instead of one based on fairness and integrity. Consider: * At least 3 U.S. attorneys - Paul Charlton of Arizona, Margaret Chiara of Michigan, and Kevin Ryan of California - were dismissed after clashing with the Justice Department over death penalty policy. Although the final decision has always rested with the U.S. Attorney General, a U.S. attorney's recommendation that death should not be sought has traditionally been given great deference - until recently. * During the 6 years that President Bush has been in office (a span of time marked by Mr. Gonzales and his predecessor, former Attorney General John Ashcroft) the federal death penalty was sought 95 times, or about 16 times a year. That's twice as often as the 55 times it was sought during the 8 years of the Clinton Administration, roughly seven times a year. * Ominously, the Bush Department of Justice has sought the federal death penalty in states where voters, through their elected representatives, have rejected capital punishment. These jurisdictions include Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, and Vermont, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. (New York, a state without a functioning state death penalty, has a stunning 51 potential federal death penalty cases in the works.) Perhaps the most telling statistic: The size of federal death row has tripled since Bush took office, while state death sentences and executions are down sharply from their historic highs in the late 1990s. 3 federal death row inmates already have been executed under the Bush administration; another 4 federal death row inmates are nearing the end of their appeals. What does it say that the federal death penalty under Gonzales is inconsistent with state trends, which show capital punishment is on the wane? It says, simply, that the Bush Administration has chosen to politicize the death penalty. That is wrong. Both death penalty proponents and opponents agree on this: Fairness and integrity must be present at the highest levels of our criminal justice system, especially when a person's life is in the balance. That is why, increasingly, groups such as murder victims' family members, religious groups, and leaders in the law enforcement community are calling for fairness. Mr. Gonzales promised fairness in 2005 when he faced confirmation hearings. He was not candid about his record on the death penalty then and he is not candid today. It is past time for General Gonzales to tender his resignation, for the President to nominate, and for the Senate to confirm an Attorney General who will demonstrate the highest commitment to fairness, due process and equal protection under the law. (source: NCADP; Rust-Tierney is executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty) ** Prosecutors and the Death Penalty As the scandal over the US Attorney purge intensifies, each day brings stark revelations. From intimidating phone calls made to prosecutors' homes to incriminating e-mails from the office of former White House counsel Harriet Miers, to the lurking shadow of Karl Rove, it's a political firestorm that threatens to reduce the career of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to ashes. But long before this controversy shed light on the political maneuvering between the White House and the Justice Department, two of the fired attorneys were engaged in a largely invisible internal struggle with the Justice Department over its aggressive pursuit of the death
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, WASH., ILL., IDAHO, ALA., IND. TENN.
March 29 TEXASexecution Texas inmate executed for 2 1994 slayings Hours after setting a fire in his cell to protest his punishment, a Houston air conditioning contractor was executed tonight for the deaths of 2 Florida men gunned down in a dispute over missing drug money. Roy Lee Pippin, 51, had vowed to fight his execution and be uncooperative with corrections officers, but he walked to the death chamber and caused no additional disturbances. I charge the people of the jury, the trial judge, the prosecutor that cheated to get this conviction, I charge each and every one of you with the murder of an innocent man, Pippen said defiantly from the gurney. In a blanket statement meant for all the courts that heard his case, he added, You will answer to your maker when God has found out that you have executed an innocent man. May God have mercy on your souls. Pippen expressed love to family members and then asked for forgiveness from all the people of the United States for all the poison I brought into the country I love. Please forgive me for my sins. If my murder makes it easier for everyone else, let the forgiveness be part of the healing. He ended his final statement by telling the warden, Go ahead warden, murder me. Take me home Jesus. He was pronounced dead at 6:42 p.m., 8 minutes after the lethal drugs began to flow. Pippin set a fire inside his cell at the Walls Unit this morning, hours before he was executed for 2 1994 slayings. Pippin piled trash near his cell door, connected a copper coil to an electric outlet and ignited the fire at 10:45 a.m. Minutes later, officers put out the fire, which created lots of smoke, but didn't cause any damage or injury, a prison spokeswoman said. Pippen had been on a 6-week hunger strike until Monday and the fire was apparently another form of protest, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. When he arrived at the Huntsville Unit, about 45 miles away, he repeated his intention to not cooperate with officers. I promise you, my oath, I won't try to hurt any guards, he said. Prison officials credited talks he had throughout the afternoon with a prison chaplain with calming him before the execution. Pippin acknowledged involvement in a Colombian drug operation that used his business to transport drugs and launder cash but insisted he wasn't the triggerman who killed cousins Elmer and Fabio Buitrago almost 13 years ago. The 2 Miami men were taken to a warehouse rented by Pippin and fatally shot because $2 million in drug proceeds was missing. Pippin was the 11th convicted killer executed this year in Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state, and the 2nd in as many nights. A San Antonio man, Vincent Gutierrez, received lethal injection Wednesday night for shooting an Air Force captain 10 years ago during a carjacking. Pippin becomes the 391st condemned inmate to be put to death since Texas resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. He becomes the 151st condemned inmate to be put to death since Rick Perry became Governor of Texas in 2001; a record 152 condemned inmates were put to death during the tenure of then-Governor George W. Bush. The next 2 executions in Texas are set for April 11 (James Clark) and April 18 (Cathy Henderson). Pippin becomes the 12th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1069th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Associated Press Rick Halperin) WASHINGTON: Review of state death penalty warranted Working its way through the state legislative hopper is a bill that would create a task force to review the state's death penalty statutes. The task force would examine: 1) The uniformity of decisions made by prosecuting attorneys across the state when they decide to charge a person with committing a capital (i.e., punishable by death) offense. 2) The impact that race, gender, ethnicity or economic status might have on decisions to seek the death penalty. 3) Whether the death penalty in this state is applied randomly or capriciously. 4) The financial costs of trials and appeals when the death penalty is involved. Each issue warrants extensive probing. Race and costs are usually matters that attract the greatest amount of interest and receive the most scrutiny. None of the four, however, may be of greater importance -- and less likely to get the attention it deserves -- than the first: how do the decisions of prosecutors across the state stack up when it comes to determining who will be charged with committing a capital offense? It is common knowledge that not everyone who commits murder faces the prospect, if convicted, of the death penalty. As two high-profile serial murder cases in our state dramatized a few years ago, a number of factors affect the decision. A matter of pivotal importance is the choice made by the prosecuting attorney whether to seek the penalty of death in a given case. If asked why
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 30 PAKISTAN: Blasphemer given death sentence An additional sessions judge from Kasur held the trial of an alleged blasphemer at the Kot Lakhpat Jail and awarded him death sentence on Thursday. According to the prosecution, the accused, Abdul Hameed (45) of Bhai Phairu, had erected a model of the Kaba in his house and had claimed to be a prophet. Bhai Phairu police registered a case against Hameed under sections 295 A and C of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on March 3, 2006, on the complaint of Ghulam Mustafa Zia, a prayer leader of the area. Witnesses in the case said Hameed had claimed that his Kaba was the original one and people should visit it for pilgrimage instead of going to Saudi Arabia. Hameed's counsel Pervez Aslam Chaudhry said that the court had not considered some legal aspects of the case. He said that according to the law, a 'blasphemy' case was required to be investigated by an official not lower than the rank of a superintendent of Police. He added that in this case a sub-inspector had investigated the case in just 2 days. He added that he would appeal against the decision in the Lahore High Court within a week. (source: Daily Times)
