[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide
April 2 SAUDI ARABIAexecution Policemen executed for murder and robberies Saudi Arabia executed 2 policemen yesterday for murdering a Bangladeshi taxi driver, raising to at least 25 the number of people put to death in the kingdom this year. Abdul Rahman Al Qah' tani and Mohammad Al Ghamidi were found guilty of murder and complicity in murdering Abdusattar Ali after they robbed him, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. They were also found guilty of several armed robbery and attack charges against other taxi drivers, it added. 34 executed last year The sentence was carried out in Riyadh. Another policeman, Turki Al Tuweirqi, was executed last Sunday for sexually abusing 2 teenage boys. Convicted murderers, rapists and drug traffickers are subject to the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, usually by public beheading. The kingdom executed 34 people in 2006, 36 in 2005 and 86 in 2004. (source: Reuters) UNITED EMIRATES: Court reviews killer's death sentence The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi is reviewing the case of a man who faces death penalty for the brutal murder of his uncle. Gh.M.M, 27, stabbed M.A.A, in his 60s, to death and then buried him in the sand in the Al Liyah area in Sharjah, court officials said. The Sharia court condemned the accused to death, but he appealed. The Appeal Court upheld the sentence, and the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi is now reviewing the death sentence. Gh.M.M, a Pakistani, came to work in the UAE after his uncle M.A.A. obtained a visa for him. He used to work and live with his uncle in the same house in Al Khan. Gh.M.M would flirt with women and bring them to his uncle's house. M.A.A., a religious man, disliked his nephew's behaviour and quarrelled with him day and night. On the day of the crime, the uncle fought with Gh.M.M and wanted to call police, but the nephew tried to prevent him from doing so. He pushed him in the room and slashed his uncle's neck from left to right and then wrapped the body with clothes. The accused took the body in a cart to a nearby empty courtyard and buried him. The next day Gh.M.M washed the knife and kept it in its place. He took the cart to his neighbour's house and covered the blood stains with a prayer mat. Convict's version Several days after M.A.A's disappearance, another nephew contacted the family in Pakistan. A relative came to the UAE to search for him. When the man came to M.A.A's house he saw the accused with a woman. He informed police who arrested the accused. Gh.M.M, admitted the crime and told police where he had buried his uncle. The accused told the court he killed his uncle because he (the uncle) tried to make him spy on his (M.A.A.'s) wife who lives in Pakistan because he was suspicious of her. Gh.M.M was found guilty by the court and handed the death sentence. (source: Gulf News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NORTH CAROLINA
April 1 NORTH CAROLINA: Hardly open & shut The death penalty discriminates against the poor, the uneducated and minorities, a Durham defense attorney told a group of more than 150 people gathered at First Baptist Church on Broadhurst Road Thursday evening. "I've seen it firsthand the injustice throughout North Carolina in capital litigation," said attorney Jay Ferguson, who is also a member of the People of Faith Against the Death Penalty. "I am opposed to it on religious, moral and practical grounds." Ferguson presented the people who attended the information session with a slew of statistics that support his opposition to capital punishment. 60 % of the 166 people sitting on North Carolina's death row represent minorities, and 98 percent of those people were defended by court-appointed counsel because they couldn't afford to pay an attorney, Ferguson said. "The race of your victim influences if you end up on death row," Ferguson said. "80 % of the people on death row had victims who were white yet in the past 10 years only 42 % of homicide victims were white. ... If there was no racial disparity, there would be no disparity in those figures." Ferguson said it sends a message. "It says that as a society we value white life more than non-white life," said Ferguson who is white. Capital punishment is often touted as a crime deterrent. Ferguson disputed those claims. "The death penalty isn't used as a criminal justice issue but rather a political issue," he said and cited homicide statistics from 4 states. North Carolina has a homicide rate of 6.9 for every 100,000 people. New York's rate is 4.5. In Massachusetts it's 2.7 and in Texas the homicide rate is 6.2 for every 100,000 people. Capital punishment is legal in North Carolina and Texas with Texas ranking No. 1 in its execution rate, Ferguson said. "If the death penalty was a deterrent, you would expect to see the states with the highest execution rates with the lowest number of homicides, but we are seeing the exact opposite," Ferguson said. Inadequate attorneys are sometimes blamed for why people end up on death row. "One in six death row inmates were represented by lawyers disciplined by the State Bar," Ferguson said. "Overall only 1 percent of attorneys are ever sanctioned by the State Bar." After Ferguson provided the crowd with information, he answered several questions. Then Stephen Dear, the executive director for the People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, explained what people who oppose capital punishment can do about it. Contacting legislators, signing petitions, holding rallies and prayer vigils and organizing press conferences were among his suggestions. Tammy Olsen, who is a student at Coastal Carolina Community College, heard about the information session from an instructor and while she wasn't against the death penalty, she decided to attend just to listen. "You hear about murders and you are sorry for the victims," she said. "You want something to happen to them because the victim didn't have a choice about whether they lived or died." After hearing the presentation, Olsen's opinion changed a little. "It makes you think different," she said. "I'm still not quite sure." Vernon Kelley, a sociology instructor at Coastal Carolina Community College, isn't confused about where he stands on the issue. He is against the death penalty and supports information sessions like the one at First Baptist Church Thursday, he said. "I think it's extremely important," he said. "It mobilizes people. It mobilizes young people and gets them involved and active in their community. The issue is plain. It's racist and biased against poor people." The Rev. James Brown, who is the pastor of First Baptist Church, on the board of directors of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and one of the organizers of Thursday's event, said that informing the public is key. "Tonight is to empower as well as inform the masses that they may speak to those in elected positions and convey to them that they do not favor the death penalty," Brown said. (source: Jacksonville Daily News, March 30)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide
April 1 PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: Palestinians await death sentence for selling Hebron house to Jews The Palestinian Authority arrested two Palestinians last week, one in Jordan and the other in Jericho, after authorities learned that they had sold property to Jews in Hebron. Under an old Jordanian law that the Palestinian Authority has vigorously maintained, the 2 now face a maximum penalty of death. The law prohibits Arabs from selling land to Jews. A group of young Jews moved into the unfinished house in question on March 19, sparking an international uproar. The settlers claimed, at the time, that they own the house and have ownership papers to prove so. However, an Arab resident of Hebron, Bayez Rajabe, told Ynetnews that he was the lawful ownder. Rajebe said, "The settlers say they bought the house from a Palestinian living in Jordan. They can buy the house from whoever they want, but the house is mine and I am the sole owner. I have never had any contact with them before." Rajabe filed a complaint with the Hebron police about the situation. Oren Zach, one of the students who inhabited the home, dismissed Rajabe's claims, saying that he claimed he did not sell the house "out of his fear of revenge from other Palestinians." It now appears Zach was correct. Hebron Jewish leaders said the arrest, while despicable and racist in nature, provides ample evidence that they are indeed the rightful owners of the property. The leaders said, "The arrest exposes once again the anti-Semitic nature of the PA. We call upon the government to accept the racial hatred prevalent in the PA," Haaretz reported. (source: Israel Insider) PAKISTAN: Death sentence awarded in infant killing case An anti-terrorism court in Karachi on Saturday handed down the death sentence on two counts to a man having found him guilty of kidnapping an infant for ransom and later killing her in cold blood. Asadullah, 21, was prosecuted for killing his 2-year-old relative, Laiba, after kidnapping her from North Nazimabad for ransom in April 2006. Announcing the judgment, the ATC Judge, Ghulam Ali A Samtio, also ordered confiscation of the convicts property worth up to Rs.1 million and imposed a fine of Rs.1 million. The convict was also directed to pay Rs.1 million as compensation to the parents of the victim. The court observed that prosecution has proved its case against the accused who first kidnapped infant of his relative for ransom and later killed her in cold blood, beyond a shadow of doubt. According to the prosecution, the accused demanded a ransom of Rs1.5 million. After negotiations, the family paid Rs.300,000 but the accused instead of releasing the kidnapped, killed her and threw her body in a nearby cricket ground. "The court has appreciated the prosecution case which provided sufficient evidence to prove the guilt of the accused," Special Public Prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa said. "Accused was not entitled to leniency because he committed a gruesome offence and he deserved maximum punishment," he added. The prosecution placed 16 witnesses, including one eyewitness, to prove the guilt of the accused. The court had constituted a medical board prior to deciding the case for determining the age of the suspect whether he was juvenile or adult. The medical report regarding age of the accused was produced before the court by the prosecution. As per medical board comprising five doctors, the age of the accused is between 21 and 22 years. US consulate-general blast case: Another ATC, meanwhile, adjourned hearing into the US diplomat killing trial after concluding cross-examination of the prosecution witness. Osman Ghani and Anwarul Haq are facing trial for allegedly preparing a plot for car bombing near the US Consulate-General in Karachi on March 2, 2006, in which 4 persons including US diplomat David Foy and three Pakistanis killed and 48 others injured. According to prosecution, alleged suicide attacker, later identified as Mohammad Tahir, had rammed a car packed with explosives into a vehicle carrying a US diplomat as soon as it emerged from the Consulate-Generals entrance. During cross-examination by the defence counsels M.Ilyas Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed, Inspector Mohammad Tariq, who was the 1st investigator of the case, said neither the injured persons nor the security personnel deputed outside the diplomatic mission deposed that they saw the accused while sitting in the vehicle which was later used in the suicide bombing. To another query, he asserted that all vehicles, which passed along roads leading to the US Consulate-General, were checked by police but the accused were not identified by the said security staff except 2 eyewitnesses. The ATC, headed by Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch, who is conducting trial inside the jail, after examination of witnesses, adjourned the hearing to April 2. (source: The International News) PHILIPPINES: Mother Fights for Justice 5 years ago, Evangeline Hernande
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----N.C., VA., NEB., PENN., GA.
April 1 NORTH CAROLINA: The only logical result The March 29 news article "Did doctor stand idle or monitor executions?" presents a number of paradoxes: By law, a doctor must be present at an execution and by court order must monitor the prisoner's progress to death. By the ethics of the profession of medicine, and by a recent ruling of the N.C. Medical Board, to do so would be a totally inappropriate aid to state-sanctioned killing. By law, such a doctor's identity must be kept secret, yet s/he must sign a death certificate that becomes part of the public record. By any standard, a death certificate must not be signed by a physician without seeing the patient, yet at least 2 of the physicians did that on several occasions. Perhaps there is only one logical solution: abolition of the death penalty. It is more expensive than incarceration, it has no deterrent effect, it has been abolished in most Western democratic countries and it has been denounced by all major religions in the United States. Arthur L. Finn, M.D. Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Cell and Molecular Physiology UNC-Chapel Hill School of MedicineChapel Hill (source: Letter to the Editor, News & Observer) VIRGINIA: Kaine prefers not to expand death penaltyThe governor has vetoed several bills that would have broadened the use of capital punishment. The 30-second television ad produced an enduring image of Democrat Tim Kaine's 2005 campaign for governor. In the closing weeks of a hard-fought race against Republican Jerry Kilgore, Kaine looked into the camera and tried to explain that his personal opposition to the death penalty would not stop court-ordered executions in Virginia. "My faith teaches me life is sacred," Kaine said in the ad. "I personally oppose the death penalty. But I take my oath of office seriously and I'll enforce the death penalty." Kaine won the election and, since taking office, has allowed the executions of 4 death-row inmates to proceed. The governor has delayed 1 death sentence, stopping the scheduled execution of a Danville man whose mental capacity has been questioned. But Kaine has not silenced his critics. Last week, he reignited a debate over his stance on the death penalty by vetoing five bills designed to expand the number of crimes eligible for capital punishment. The governor's explanation for the vetoes was blunt. "Virginia is already 2nd in the nation in the number of executions we carry out," Kaine said. "While the nature of the offenses targeted by this legislation are very serious, I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life or provide for public safety needs." 2 of the bills Kaine vetoed would eliminate the so-called "triggerman rule" and make certain accessories to capital murder eligible for the death penalty. Other measures would make the premeditated murders of judges and witnesses capital crimes. Republican leaders and sponsors of the bills were quick to criticize Kaine's decision and to call for an override of the governor's vetoes. "Unfortunately, Governor Kaine missed an excellent opportunity to address gang violence and make Virginians safer," said Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. Attorney General Bob McDonnell said he respected Kaine's decision to use veto authority, but added that "the interests of justice and public safety demand that these bills be passed into law." A two-thirds majority vote in each house is needed to override a governor's veto. Each of the death penalty bills received at least 81 votes in the 100-member House and at least 28 votes in the 40-member Senate. Kaine would be more likely to have his vetoes sustained in the Senate, where 27 votes are needed to override and Democrats occupy 17 seats. Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, who voted for the bills, said Kaine "is entitled to some presumption in sustaining his veto." "I'm going to look at this very hard," Edwards said. "I think the governor may have a good point. How far do we need to go with some of these bills?" Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, also voted for the bills but said he would give Kaine's veto serious consideration. "There is substantial support" for the legislation, Deeds said. Kaine faces a tougher challenge in the House, where the bills passed with broad, bipartisan support. Democrats occupy 40 seats, but more than 1/2 of the members in Kaine's party supported the bills. "The governor is a man of convictions and he put those convictions ahead of political expediency," said House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County, who supported the bills. "I also have some strong convictions and I think there are some cases where the death penalty is appropriate. And I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this issue." Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, a sponsor of legislation to eliminate the triggerman rule, said he hopes Kaine does not pressure lawmakers to sustain his vetoes. "Everyone has thought long and hard
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.H., N.Y.
April 1 NEW HAMPSHIRE: Manchester Democrats played key role in keeping death penalty The memory of slain Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs - and the pending capital murder trial of Michael Addison, the man accused of killing Briggs - permeated the debate in the House last week on repealing the state's death penalty. Many lawmakers believe the narrow vote to keep it would have gone the other way if not for the Addison case. The House supported the death penalty 185-173. Republicans overwhelmingly favored it, and Democrats overwhelmingly opposed it - except in Manchester, where the Democratic delegation voted 12-8 to keep the death penalty. Among all other Democrats, only about 1 in 4 voted to keep the death penalty. Had the Manchester Democratic delegation voted the same way, the House would have passed the repeal. And that doesn't even take into account the 9 Manchester Democrats who were absent. Undoubtedly, the issue will arise on the campaign trail in Manchester next year. Rep. Mike Brunelle, the Democrat who serves as chairman of the city delegation, voted to repeal the death penalty. He was happy to explain his vote. "The death of Police Officer Michael Briggs was one of the most devastating events to our city in the past 50 years," he said. "But I don't think it should be the purview of the government to decide when to take a life from another human being." Brunelle said neither the caucus nor the delegation took a position on the issue. Lawmakers voted their individual beliefs. (source: Concord Monitor) NEW YORK: Inmate allegedly violent in death row move A convicted cop-killer allegedly injured a guard at a New York jail when he violently opposed a transfer to an Indiana prison where he will sit on death row. The New York Post said when guards at the Metropolitan Detention Center attempted to remove Ronell Wilson from his cell on Friday, the 24-year-old inmate refused and the ensuing struggle left 1 guard with minor injuries. Wilson is scheduled to be executed at Terre Haute federal prison for the murders of New York Police Detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews in 2003. Prosecutors in Wilson's trial said he had killed the detectives during a failed undercover operation and even shot Nemorin after the police officer begged for his life. Friday's alleged outburst by Wilson was not his 1st at the New York facility, as the convicted murderer is accused of reacting violently in February to the news that a window would separate him from his family during visits. That outburst included Wilson smashing out 2 windows with a chair before being restrained, officials say. (source: UPI)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., TENN., N.J.
April 1 TEXAS: So children are a priority? TEXAS legislators lack credibility when it comes to protecting our children. The Texas House recently passed a bill (HB 8) that would increase penalties for people who molest children, and the state Senate is considering a similar bill (SB 5). Although I support efforts to protect children against child molesters, I oppose these bills because they might actually prove harmful to children and to law-enforcement efforts. I also oppose these bills because they include a provision that allows juries to give the death penalty for second-time child molesters. Children can be protected by long-term incarceration and treatment of child molesters our death penalty in Texas doesn't need to be expanded! And, such expansion might prove to be unconstitutional, anyway. I am concerned that these bills are motivated more by politics than by a genuine concern for our children. My skepticism is based on statistics published by Texans Care for Children, which say that among the 50 states, Texas has one of the highest child-poverty rates. It also ranks near the bottom in terms of dollars spent per child to prevent child abuse and neglect. It is clear that Texas politicians have failed miserably when it comes to helping and protecting our children. The politicians who want to enact harsher punishments for child molesters should first demonstrate that they are concerned about the thousands of children who live in poverty, who don't have health insurance and who are living in abusive and neglectful homes. These politicians then might have more credibility when it comes to passing stronger laws to protect children from child molesters. DAVID ATWOOD--Houston (source: Letter to the Editor, Houston Chronicle, Mar. 31) CONNECTICUT: Crime reporter Gerald Demeusy dead at 90 Gerald Demeusy, a crime reporter so well known that he once received a wave from a serial killer in the electric chair, died Saturday after being hospitalized with pneumonia. He was 90. Demeusy covered crime for The Hartford Courant from 1953 to 1983. Before that, he worked for the former Manchester (Conn.) Herald. "Demeusy personally knew many of those who were executed, and he had a million stories," said Courant columnist Jim Shea, who worked with Demusey in the 1970s. "Back in those days he could often be found on death row playing cards with the condemned prisoners. He was straight out of 'The Front Page.'" Demeusy covered six executions for The Courant, including the 1960 death of Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky, whose crime spree he had chronicled for the paper. Taborsky and an accomplice murdered 5 men and 1 woman during the 10-week robbery spree of liquor stores and gas stations in the Hartford area. Taborsky waved to the reporter from the electric chair. Demeusy later wrote a book about the case, "Ten Weeks of Terror." Speaking at his retirement party in 1984, Demeusy described his career this way: "I heard the whine of bullets and dodged debris in prison riots, rode in police cruisers, chased ambulances, tagged along on manhunts, covered shootings, raced through flaming buildings and witnessed executions. I wrote thousands of stories. ... Some of the best came out of court." Demeusy is survived by 4 children. Funeral arrangements were incomplete Sunday. (source: Hartford Courant) USAimpending federal execution Execution Set For Arkansas Man In 1994 Kidnap-Rape-Murder The federal government will bring an Arkansas man to Terre Haute to be executed on April 16th. Bruce Carneil Webster was convicted in the 1994 kidnapping and death of Lisa Rene. The 16-year-old girl was raped, beaten and buried alive after her abduction was recorded in a desperate 911 call. The Bureau of Prisons says Webster is scheduled to die by injection. Webster and Orlando Hall were among 5 men whom prosecutors said kidnapped Rene from her Arlington, Texas, home. The girls body was found in a shallow grave at a nature reserve in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on October 2, 1994. Webster would become the 1st prisoner put to death by the federal government since the March 18, 2003, and the 4th since the government resumed executions in 2001. (source: Associated Press) TENNESSEE: Death Penalty Case A Polk County man may face the death penalty for allegedly murdering his estranged wife's friend. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Brad Waldroup. He's accused of killing Leslie Bradshaw and attempting to murder his estranged wife. Last August, Bradshaw went with her friend Penny Waldroup to deliver Waldroup's children for a visit with their father. According to detectives, at some point they started to argue and that's when Waldroup murdered Bradshaw and injured penny. Police say he murdered Bradshaw in front of his 4 children. (source: WRCB TV News) NEW JERSEY: Death penalty in U.S. is topic, April 4 Anne James, executive director of the International Justice Project, will present a
