[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 25 YEMEN: Yemeni court overturns death sentence of Iranian spies A Yemeni security court on Monday overturned the death penalty against 2 Shiite rebels who were convicted of spying for Iran during 1997-2008, the official Saba news agency reported. The court revised the death sentences against defendants Abdulkarim Lajy and Hani al-Madaneen to five years prison term starting from the date of their arrest. The death penalty was ruled on May 25, 2010 against the accused over charges of collaborating with Iran, collecting sensitive information of Yemeni military and security facilities and delivering them to the Iranian embassy in Sanaa during the period 1997-2008, Saba said. Yemen has witnessed since 2004 sporadic battles between government troops and the Shiite Houthi rebels, which the government accused of seeking to re-establish the clerical rule that was overthrown by the 1962 Yemeni revolution that yielded the Yemeni republic. The conflict ended on Feb. 11, 2010 with a ceasefire agreement between the government and the Shiite rebels. On Jan. 23, 2013, Yemen arrested 8 Yemeni Shiite sailors while they were trying to smuggle a 40-ton weapon shipment allegedly from Iran to Yemeni southern coasts. The Yemeni government accused Iran of being behind the shipment which it said aimed to harm the Yemeni national security. However, the Iranian government denied the accusations. (source: Xinhua) INDONESIA: Execution and Indonesia's justice system Adami Wilson's execution on March 15, is a timely reminder that the death penalty remains part of Indonesia's rule of law landscape. Much of the reportage of Wilson's execution highlighted his continuing criminality in jail. The message is none too subtle - "He deserved to die". It may well be that for more and more Indonesians that message misses the point. It is not a question of whether he deserved to die, but rather whether he needed to. Is killing power how, in a modern Indonesia, respect for the rule of law should be upheld, or is there a better way? The Indonesian government's efforts to save its nationals on death row in places like Saudi Arabia or Malaysia has been applauded internationally. Those efforts sit well with the unmistakable momentum worldwide to abolish the death penalty. When the government helps its nationals facing execution, it does so without judging whether they deserve to die. The criteria for diplomatic assistance is whether it is needed, not whether it is deserved. The situation should be no different at home. We can always emphasize the heinous nature of a person's crime, and their continuing lack of remorse, to justify executing them. That appears to be what happened in Wilson's case. But it was not necessary to kill Wilson. Killing him was to engage in the very kind of conduct that we abhor and want to prevent. It demeans us all. All sorts of people do terrible things but killing them may very well diminish what is being achieved in building respect for the rule of law. Indonesia has come a long way since the New Order. Wilson's execution is a reminder that there is still a long way to go. Presently, Indonesian law permits applications by death row inmates for clemency. In the case of each application the President will effectively decide if the applicant deserves to die. A case in point is the 2 remaining members of the "Bali 9", Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran on death row in Denpasar. They recently submitted their clemency applications to the President, who will now determine whether they deserve to die. They were part of a group that attempted to smuggle heroin from Bali to Australia. Whilst their crimes were reprehensible, in the 8 years since they were caught at Ngurah Rai airport they have changed enormously. Over a period of time they came to acknowledge the wrongfulness of what they had done and the damage that it potentially caused to Bali's reputation as a holiday destination. They are adapting to their circumstances by learning to speak Indonesian fluently and supporting those coming into the prison, helping them to adjust. Over time their efforts expanded to encompass setting up a computer training project. They taught inmates skills such as word processing, graphic design and they made submissions to overseas NGO's and church groups to provide funding for properly qualified teachers in areas such as computers, English, first aid and philosophy. Myuran Sukumaran's interest in art has led him to collaborate with locally and internationally renowned artists who have come into the jail to provide lessons and inspiration to many prisoners who would never have such opportunities. Andrew Chan's work within his Christian Church has equally reached out to fellow Christians who have needed spiritual guidance. In short, the strength of their rehabilitation is extraordinary. For years, prison officials have commented on t
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 25 SINGAPORE: Call for guidelines on death penalty A former senior district judge has called for guidelines on how judges should use their discretion to decide if a capital offender should hang or get a life term. At issue is whether such discretion will lead to inconsistency in sentencing, said Dr S. Chandra Mohan, now a Singapore Management University law don. He raised these points in an article titled The Death Penalty and the Desirability of Judicial Discretion, in the current issue of the Law Society's Law Gazette. His comments about granting judges complete discretion to impose death or life sentences for certain murder offences comes at a time when the new provisions passed by Parliament last year could be tested in a murder case for the 1st time. The sentence of death row inmate Kamrul Hasan Abdul Kudus, convicted of killing a 25-year-old maid, is set to be reviewed by the Court of Appeal in light of the new provisions. A pre-trial conference is due next month. It is understood that the apex court could use the case to indicate how the new discretion is to be used by the courts in general. Under the new laws, the mandatory death penalty is retained for intentional murder. But for three other forms of murder, the judge can impose a life term and caning instead. "The real question that will plague our judges is how is consistency in sentencing murder cases to be maintained? What type of murders... qualify more readily for the death penalty?" Dr Mohan wrote in the article jointly authored by SMU law student Priscilla Chia. He raised the prospect that the life term could even be seen as a "default sentence" for murder. For example, it could end up being viewed in a similar way to kidnapping. In a 1974 case, the Appeal Court made clear kidnappers would get the death penalty only in cases where their conduct outraged the community's feelings. "It follows from this reasoning the default position in murder cases other than (for intentional murder) is a life term," he said. Some nations have tried to minimise the prospects of inconsistency by formulating statutory guidelines or guidelines developed by the judiciary, the authors noted. "It may now fall on the Chief Justice or the Council of Judges to lay down some general guidelines as to when the death penalty ought to be imposed until further clarification from the Court of Appeal," wrote the authors. The list should contain common aggravating and mitigating factors, as is the practice in countries such as the US, they added. Law Minister K. Shanmugam indicated in Parliament last July that factors should include the need for deterrence, the manner in which the offence was committed and the personal culpability of the accused. The authors added: "Broad sentencing guidelines in murder cases will make the sentencing process in such cases more objective, rational and transparent. Only then can the newfound judicial discretion in murder cases truly represent the better part of valour." (source: The Straits Times) TUNISIA: Child rape protesters call on Tunisia minister to quit Protesters on Monday demanded the resignation of Tunisia's minister for women's affairs, Sihem Badi, accusing her of defending a children's nursery where a 3-year-old girl was raped. The protesters, among them relatives of the victim, gathered outside the ministry in Tunis shouting slogans against Badi, including "Minister of shame, get out!" and "Ministers who protect paedophiles have no place among us." The young girl was raped repeatedly by the caretaker of the nursery in La Marsa, an upscale suburb of the capital, according to the police. The suspect was arrested on Saturday. On the same day, Badi, who as minister of families as well of women's affairs is responsible for children's nurseries, said a member of the girl's family was to blame and that no measures against the caretaker were needed. "Three weeks ago, my life turned into a nightmare. When I imagine my daughter, who weighs 10 kilos, in the hands -- and on several occasions -- of this 55-year-old caretaker, I have only one wish, to die," the father of the victim told AFP. "The children's nursery is still open despite what happened to my daughter," he added, his voice welling with emotion. If found guilty, the suspect risks the death penalty, even though no executions have been carried out in Tunisia since 1991. The last person to be put to death was a rapist and child serial killer. (source: Agence France-Presse) SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi- Filipinos on death row are patiently hoping to be freed Some Filipinos on death row are patiently hoping to be freed soon. They are waiting for the final freedom based on the assistance of the Saudi government at least in the case of Rodelio "Dondon" Lanoza. A source at the Philippine Embassy, who did not want to be identified, confirmed that there are at least 5 Filip
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IDAHO, CALIF., WAASH., NEV., ARIZ.
March 25 IDAHO: ACLU condemns firing of N. Idaho public defender The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho is condemning a decision by Kootenai County officials to end the longstanding contract with the region's chief public defender. Last week, Kootenai County commissioners voted to terminate its contractual relationship with John Adams, who has run the public defender office for 17 years and earned broad respect from the region's legal community. The decision to let Adams go came 3 weeks after he made a harassment claim against a commissioner and 2 weeks after telling commissioners he'll need a day off each week for cancer treatment. Adams, 59, said he was stunned by the decision, but the ACLU's reaction was even more forceful. The organization complained his firing comes at a time when Idaho's overall system of public defense has been deemed deficient, lacking resources and in some counties falls short of its constitutional obligations. "We encourage you to take careful pause," according to the letter sent Monday by ACLU of Idaho officials. "Your effective termination of one of Idaho's best public defenders will serve as an especially ominous illustration of the grave failures of the state's unconstitutional indigent defense system." The ACLU letter cites a 2010 study by the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association that specifically pointed out the need for Kootenai County to avoid exerting political influence on Adams' office. The report also identified Kootenai and 6 other counties in the state where the public defender office was deficient or operating at a level that prevented it from passing constitutional muster. On Monday, an Idaho House Committee voted in favor of a resolution calling for the creation of an interim commission to study the state's public defender system. During his tenure, Adams was the lead attorney on 26 murder cases and 7 death-penalty cases, including the state trial of child killer Joseph Duncan. Commissioners did not immediately return telephone messages left by The Associated Press Monday. First-year commissioner Jai Nelson, the subject of Adams' harassment complaint, said last week the county is doing a study of its public defender system and ending Adams' services are a step in that process. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: Overturned 1998 Kevin Pearson death penalty case scheduled to begin Tuesday Testimony was expected to begin Tuesday in an overturned death penalty verdict stemming from a gruesome rape, torture and murder committed in Long Beach in 1998. In January 2012, the California Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Kevin Darnell Pearson, who was sent to death row as 1 of 3 men convicted of the murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery and torture of Penny Sigler, also known as Penny Keptra, whose naked body was discovered on a freeway embankment in Long Beach. Selection of a new jury in Ong's courtroom began in mid-February. (source: Press-Telegram) WASHINGTON: Prosecutors followed law in Scherf death penalty case Prosecutors followed the law 2 years ago when they reached a swift decision to seek the death penalty for a convicted rapist who is accused of killing a Monroe corrections officer, a Snohomish County judge ruled Monday. Lawyers for Byron Scherf claimed his rights were violated in 2011 by Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe's decision to include capital punishment as 1 option for jurors to consider if Scherf is convicted. Defense attorneys Jon Scott and Karen Halverson urged Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Appel to remove a death sentence as one potential outcome for the case. They argued Roe abused his discretion by not providing Scherf's lawyers sufficient time to make a case for mercy after he allegedly strangled corrections officer Jayme Biendl. Scott told Appel it has been an "evolving practice" for prosecutors in potential capital cases to delay making a decision until hearing from the defense about potential evidence that could mitigate. State law requires prosecutors to provide written notice of intent to seek the death penalty within 30 days of a defendant being arraigned for aggravated murder. Scherf was arraigned March 16, 2011. Prosecutors filed the notice of intent to seek a death sentence the same day. "The rigid, statutory requirements were complied with," Seth Fine, a senior deputy prosecutor, told the judge. Appel agreed, and said that evolving practice and statutory requirements aren't the same thing. He also said the defense had failed to show that Roe abused the discretion reserved for prosecutors under the law. "There has been nothing that has been demonstrated so far that indicates the Constitution has been violated," the judge said. Biendl was killed Jan. 29, 2011, in an ambush attack in the chapel at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe. Scherf was found seated outside the killing s
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----KAN., NEB., COLO.
March 25 KANSAS: Rep's death penalty repeal effort stalled for now; Former judge says bill to end capital punishment in Kansas will get hearing next year The House gave initial approval Monday to 2 bills regarding the death penalty - but neither was the one Rep. Steven Becker, R-Buhler, ultimately wants to see come up for a vote. Becker introduced a bill in early March that would banish capital punishment from Kansas, replacing it with a sentence of life in prison without parole. With the session winding down, Becker said Monday his bill will be staying in the House Federal and State Committee until next year. "I've been assured it will be given a hearing, but it will be next session," Becker said Monday. "I absolutely have not given up on that. I will be pushing that." The death penalty has been abolished and reinstated in Kansas 3 times. No executions have occurred since it was most recently reinstated in 1994. Becker, a former judge, said he always has been opposed to capital punishment as part of his value system and his religious faith. But he said it was his professional experience that spurred him to take action. "What triggered my doing something about it is my career in the criminal justice system and seeing how imperfect it is," Becker said. "I cannot justify having death as part of an imperfect criminal justice system." Becker said the possibility of the state presiding over the execution of an innocent person haunts him. "Just the possibility is totally unacceptable," Becker said. Becker's bill would apply only to crimes committed after June 30, 2013. In addition to ending the death penalty in Kansas, House Bill 2397 would establish a victim's assistance fund from the savings created by decreased judicial costs. The state agency that provides funds for defense attorneys for Kansans who can't afford them estimates the bill would save $157,000 in staff reductions immediately and savings from fewer appeals could approach $100,000 per year. Becker said he has talked to Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, who has mounted similar death penalty repeal efforts in the Senate. The last time that body voted on repeal, in 2010, the measure failed by one vote. Several states, including Colorado, Arizona and Delaware, are considering repeal this year, and advocates have pointed to Maryland lawmakers' recent approval of repeal as a sign that the movement has momentum. "I would love to see something similar here," Becker said. The death penalty-related bills approved by the House on Monday were House Bill 2387 and House Bill 2389. HB 2387 would specify that 1st-degree murder while committing or fleeing from another dangerous felony would be treated similarly to premeditated 1st-degree murder. HB 2389 would extend to the Kansas attorney general the authority to file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in cases in which the local prosecutor has a conflict. (source: Capital Journal) NEBRASKA: Don't risk executing an innocent For many years, the debate over whether to repeal the death penalty was a stylized event in which the arguments remained much the same. Things changed when DNA evidence came into use. Through the use of the new technology, people began to realize just how fallible the criminal justice system is. To date, 18 people who have served time on death row have been released. Nebraskans have seen time after time in the past few years how serious errors can occur in the criminal justice system. To cite one example, the Beatrice Six were released from prison after DNA evidence showed that another man had committed the murder that led to their convictions. In another jarring case, the former crime scene investigator in Douglas County was convicted of planting evidence in a murder investigation. 2 suspects facing trial because of that false evidence were released. It's not surprising that support for the death penalty has receded across the nation. This month Maryland became the 6th state in 6 years to abolish the death penalty. Watching in the gallery was Kirk Bloodsworth, an ex-Marine who was convicted in 1985 of killing a 9-year-old girl. Prosecutors called him a monster, and cheers rang out in the courtroom when he was sentenced to death. But DNA evidence later showed that he was innocent and that another man had committed the crime. "What he reminded people sitting on the floor is that anybody could be in his shoes," Maryland State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden said. "He's living testament to what can happen to the wrong guy." In the 1990s, about 80 % of Americans supported the death penalty. In recent years Gallup polls have shown support dropping to the low 60s. There are multiple reasons to oppose the death penalty. Some oppose it on the moral grounds that all life should be respected. Some are convinced that it is too costly and ties up too many resources in the justice system. But th
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA, N.C., ALA., ARK., MISS.
March 25 USA: States Banning Death Penalty May Total 18 with New Maryland Law 8 years have passed since Maryland law enforcement terminated a human life based on the death penalty statute. The General Assembly voted 82-56 on March 15 to join 18 other states in abolishing the death penalty. Critics claim it is too expensive and subject to human error and bias. Gov. Martin O'Malley has pushed to repeal the death penalty since he became the governor of Maryland in 2007. The House advanced the repeal legislation this week after delegates rejected nearly 20 amendments, mostly from Republicans, aimed at keeping capital punishment for the most heinous of crimes. The law's passage reflects a growing unease among lawmakers in Maryland, and across the country, over the risk of putting an innocent person to death. Life without the possibility of parole will become the most severe sentence in the state with passage of the law. Supporters of repeal argue that the death penalty is too expensive due to the cost of the appellate process, that it is error-prone, racially biased and a not in fact a deterrent of crime. Opponents of repeal say it is a required tool to punish lawbreakers who commit the most serious crimes. Passage would mark a major victory for O'Malley. Aides said he will sign the bill in coming weeks. The passage of the act would not apply to the 5 men Maryland currently have on death row. The governor has the option to commute their sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The state's last execution took place in during the administration of Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich in 2005. He resumed executions after a moratorium had been placed pending a 2003 University of Maryland study. The study found significant racial and geographic disparity in how the death penalty was carried out. Capital punishment was put on hold in 2006 in Maryland after a ruling by Maryland's highest court. The court found that the state's lethal injection protocols weren't properly approved by a legislative committee. The committee has yet to sign off on protocols. O'Malley, a Catholic, expressed support for repeal legislation in 2007, which stalled in a Senate committee. Maryland has a large Catholic population and the church opposes the death penalty. In 2008, lawmakers created a commission to study the matter after repeal efforts failed. The panel recommended a ban later that year, citing racial, income and jurisdictional disparities in how the death penalty is applied. Lawmakers tightened the law to reduce the chances of mistakes in capital cases by restricting capital punishment to murder cases with biological evidence such as DNA, videotaped evidence of a murder or a videotaped confession. Neighboring Virginia has executed 110 convicts since the U.S. Supreme Court restored capital punishment in 1976. Virginia's death row population, however, has dwindled to 8 from a peak of 57 in 1995. This is because fewer death sentences are being handed down in the state amid an increased acceptance of life without parole as a reasonable alternative. Death sentences have declined by 75 % and executions by 60 % nationally since the 1990s. If the new legislation passes, Maryland will become the 18th state to ban the death penalty. Connecticut did so last year. Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York also have abolished it in recent years. (source: Hammill Post) Federal defenders face deep cuts, delays in cases The lawyers who defend the nation's poor in federal courts across the country are grappling with budget cuts they say will decimate their offices, delay criminal cases and jeopardize the fairness of the criminal justice system. The cuts have already forced some offices of federal defenders to lay people off, and many are planning to force staffers to take off 6 weeks or more without pay over the next 6 months. Even a Supreme Court justice has expressed concern that cuts could pressure the system and result in criminals running free. The cuts, amounting to roughly 10 percent of this year's budget, come in a program seen as the flagship for public defenders and as the nation marks this month's 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright, which guaranteed that criminal defendants will be provided with a lawyer if they can't afford one. While federal prosecutors have been notified by the U.S. Department of Justice that they may be furloughed for up to 14 days, those cuts are not yet final. Federal public defenders, though, say cuts to their offices are virtually certain. "It's important that people who don't have any power and any voice have people to speak for them," said U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake of Maryland, who helps oversee the federal defenders program for the judiciary. "You never know when you might need the 6th Amendment." Defenders and court officials
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.J., CONN., MD., PENN.
March 25 TEXAS: Pro-Con: Should the death penalty be abolished? State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., a Democrat out of Harris County, wants to ban the death penalty in Texas - and he isn't alone. Texas House Democrat Jessica Farrar, also out of Harris County, has authored a bill to end the death penalty in Texas. She has written similar bills since 2007, and not one has passed the Texas Legislature. Dutton authored a different bill for the 83rd Legislature to abolish the death penalty, but it remains in committee. Farrar's bill also is still in committee. In both bills, the Texas Penal Code would allow judges and jurors to give a life term or life without parole sentence to those convicted of capital murder with no mention of the death penalty. Some legislators contend the death penalty is simply too expensive. The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, for example, found the death penalty system "dysfunctional" for costing the state about $137 million per year. Both New York and New Jersey have abolished the death penalty because of the high costs, which include an exhaustive appeals system. Though no similar study has been released for Texas, a 1992 Dallas Morning News report found that each Texas execution cost the state about $2.3 million, 3 times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years. Despite the costs, others believe the death penalty is necessary for justice and acts as a deterrent to crime. With 2 men out of Victoria County currently on death row, the conflict hits close to home. (source: The Victoria Advocate) NEW JERSEY: Amick: Sen. Shirley Turner recalls effort to end death penalty in N.J. as other states follow suit 5 years ago, when then-Gov. Jon Corzine's signature made New Jersey the 1st state since the 1960s to abolish the death penalty legislatively, supporters of the repeal predicted that it would encourage similar actions elsewhere in the nation. They were right. New Mexico followed suit in 2009, Illinois in 2011, and Connecticut in 2012. 2 weeks ago, the Maryland Legislature completed action on a measure to ban capital punishment for future crimes. When Gov. Martin O'Malley signs it into law, as he has pledged to do, Maryland will join 17 other states that have ended executions. Similar campaigns reportedly are making progress in Delaware, Colorado, New Hampshire, Kansas and Nebraska. And many states with the death penalty still on the books are using it more sparingly. "State after state is deciding that (it) is simply not worth the risks and costs to retain,??? says Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. The effort here to replace state-imposed death with life in prison without parole was long and difficult, recalled one of its leaders, state Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence). But she's proud of the outcome. "It's one of the most important accomplishments I've had during my tenure in the Legislature," she told me. "We brought New Jersey out of the Dark Ages. It was just barbaric to think that for the state to lower itself to the level of a common criminal, a murderer, constitutes justice." The reformers were also strongly motivated by the awareness that an innocent person could be put to death - the epitome of the irreversible mistake. A reminder in the news was the case of Byron Halsey of Plainfield, who was convicted in 1985 of the savage rape and murder of his girlfriend's pre-teen son and daughter. The prosecution had sought the death penalty, but Halsey ultimately was sentenced to 2 life terms plus 20 years. In 2007, after 19 years behind bars, he was freed when DNA evidence showed that another man had killed the children. Halsey's release came 2 years after another long-term prisoner, Larry Peterson of Pemberton, became the 1st New Jerseyan convicted of murder to go free based on DNA testing. Both men "could easily have died for crimes they didn???t commit," Turner said. The drive for change began in 2002, when Turner co-sponsored a bill to create a commission to study all aspects of the death penalty and make recommendations. It was passed by wide margins in the Senate and Assembly, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Jim McGreevey on the last day of the 2002-2003 legislative session, which made the veto impossible to override. For Turner, McGreevey's action remains inexplicable - all the more so considering that after his abrupt resignation in 2004, he embarked on a life of humility, self-examination and service that includes counseling federal prison inmates. The governor's stated reason, that the death penalty had been "continuously studied in painstaking detail" and a new study would be unlikely to provide any useful new data, was factually wrong and later proved to be wrong as a forecast. After Senate President Dick Codey succeeded McGreevey as governor, the Legislature a
