[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----UK, S. ARAB., BURMA, PAKIS., ETHIOP., SUDAN, GHANA, INDON., EGYPT
May 22 UNITED KINGDOM: 'I'd bring back death penalty for child killers' - PCC Matthew Grove Humberside police and crime commissioner Matthew Grove says he supports bringing back the death penalty for murderers who kill children. Mr Grove said he would also back capital punishment for those who kill vulnerable people. The police and crime commissioner discussed his views on the topic as part of a new online documentary series, Eye On Crime, which has been launched by Humberside Police. Mr Grove said: I would [bring back capital punishment] for a very clear area of crime and that is where you have the murder of vulnerable people, by which I mean children and disabled people, where they are targeted for a malicious attack and murdered. I would be quite happy for that category of people to face the ultimate sanction because that's a group of people who are not able to protect themselves and we, as a society, have an absolute duty to do everything we can to say these people are not to be touched. The 3 30-minute programmes have been produced by East Coast Pictures, with support from Humberside Police, Hull City Council and Crimestoppers. Domestic abuse, which makes up 12 per cent of all calls made to Humberside Police, is one of the issues the programme focuses on. Denise Farman, service manager for Women's Aid, said: We wanted to get the message out to as many people, women and men, across our area about the help and advice available and through online and social media, the programme helps us to do that. PC Andy Allen, Crime reduction officer for Humberside Police in Hull, also gives advice to viewers on how to protect themselves and their property. Julia Thompson, executive producer for East Coast Pictures, said: More video is watched on mobile devices now than on desktop, so we created the special programmes to showcase some of the great work being done by local organisations to make our communities even safer places to live and work. Visit www.eyeoncrime.tv to view the series. (source: Hull Daily Mail) SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia trying to win UN Human Rights Council presidency In a move that will definitely drill the final nail in the coffin for credibility for the United Nations' Human Rights Council, Saudi Arabia is set to make a bid to head the HRC. The news surfaced after the United Nations Watch that overlooks the HRC pushed the United States to prevent the nation that recently advertised for 8 new executioners to not be awarded the title. We urge US Ambassador Samantha Power and EU foreign minister Federica Mogherini to denounce this despicable act of cynicism by a regime that beheads people in the town square, systematically oppresses women, Christians, and gays, and jails innocent bloggers like Raif Badawi for the crime of challenging the rulers' radical brand of Wahabbist Islam, said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, reported The Independent. Electing Saudi Arabia as the world's judge on human rights would be like making a pyromaniac as the town fire chief. Currently, Germany is heading the HRC but when its term ends in 2016, the new presidency will be announced. According to a UN official, the presidency will be determined by elections in December 2015. Saudi Arabia was elected a member of the HRC in 2013 - a move that drew heavy criticism from human rights campaigners worldwide. Saudi Arabia carried out its 79th execution in 2015 on Wednesday (6 May) despite calls from Amnesty International to bring to a halt the macabre spike in the country's executions. This unprecedented spike in executions constitutes a chilling race to the bottom for a country that is already among the most prolific executioners on the planet, said Said Boumedouha, the deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. If this alarming execution rate continues, Saudi Arabia is well on track to surpass its previous records, putting it out of step with the vast majority of countries around the world that have now rejected the death penalty in law or practice. Oil-rich kingdom wants to recruit executioners In 2014, an estimated 87 executions were carried out by the Kingdom, which is a stark reminder of the alarming rate with which executions are being carried out in 2015. The Kingdom recently advertised for more executioners to behead convicted prisoners with the job description suggesting the appointees should be able to perform amputations as well. Crimes that can result in the death penalty in the Kingdom, include adultery, armed robbery, blasphemy, drug trafficking, murder and rape to name a few. (source: International Business Times) BURMA: Burma Fails To Revoke Controversial Law Used To Jail Dissidents A proposal to revoke a controversial law used to jail political dissidents was rejected by Burma's Lower House of parliament, with its supporters
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----KAN., NEB., ARIZ., USA
May 22 KANSAS: Kansas Man Faces Death Penalty The Kansas Attorney General's Office announced they would seek the death penalty against David Cornell Bennett Jr. Bennett is charged with 4 counts of 1st degree premeditated murder, 1 count of rape, and 2 counts of criminal threat. In November of 2013, Cami Umbarger, 23, and her 3 children were found dead in their Parsons home. Bennett is currently being held in the Labette County Jail on a $5 million bond. His trial is set for October 5th in Parsons. (source: fourstateshomepage.com) ** Parsons Reacts to Proposed Death Penalty in Quadruple Homicide If David Bennett Jr. is found guilty and sentenced to death for the murder of Cami Umbarger and her 3 children in Parsons , he will be the 10th Kansas inmate on death row. Kansas was the last state to re-instate the death penalty in the modern era, and has not executed an inmate since 1965. Citizens reporter Tim Spears talked to in Parsons are overwhelmingly in favor of the death penalty in Bennett's case. Primarily due to the involvement of children. Those kids were innocent, resident Paul Wallace said. They didn't have an idea even if they were in bad surroundings. They didn't deserve to be killed. If you're gonna murder someone and a who innocent family, or a child, same thing needs to be done to you, death penalty supporter Sandy Shepherd said. Those were innocent kids, Lisa Lawson said. [Cami] was innocent too. And what [Bennett] did, he deserves to be punished for it. [The] children didn't do nothing, said Gennie Ainesworth, whose granddaughter knew one of the victims. My granddaughter cried for over 2 months cause she went to school with 1 of the children. And that's not something you should have to explain to a child. Your friend's in heaven now. [The children] didn't have nothing to do with it, death penalty supporter Tim Shultz said. That's a pretty bad guy to do something like that to a family and them kids. Since Kansas' current death penalty law enacted in 1994, there have been 85 capital cases in the state. 13 men have been sentenced to death, 1 sentence was removed and 2 sentences were vacated by the supreme court. The 9 remaining are in early appeals. (source: KOAM TV news) NEBRASKA: Nebraska governor reiterates plans to veto bill abolishing death penalty Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has said it before and he will say it again: He plans to veto a bill passed this week that would abolish the state's death penalty. The Legislature is out of touch with Nebraskans on their vote to repeal the death penalty, Ricketts, a Republican who took office this year, said in a statement posted to Facebook. The overwhelming majority of Nebraskans support the death penalty because they understand that it is an important tool for public safety. The state's attorney general, Doug Peterson, has also criticized the legislature's decision, which he said weakened [Nebraska's] ability to properly administer appropriate justice. Ricketts had previously threatened to veto the bill, which lawmakers approved and sent to his desk Wednesday. However, for Ricketts's veto to be upheld, it appears he will have to change the minds of some Nebraska lawmakers. In the state's unicameral legislature, which has 49 state senators, it takes 30 votes to override a veto from the governor. On Wednesday, there were 32 senators voting in favor of the bill. I will continue to work with senators to sustain my veto when I issue it, Ricketts said. He has until next week to officially veto the legislation. If the bill does become law, Nebraska would be the 19th state to formally abolish the death penalty. It would also be an outlier among states to act on the issue recently. Several states have repealed the death penalty or announced moratoriums over the last decade, but they have typically been blue states such as Maryland, which was the most recent state to formally abolish the practice. While a majority of Americans support the death penalty (a number that has been falling for 2 decades), there is a very clear partisan divide on the issue: 3/4 of Republicans are in favor of capital punishment, while a majority of Democrats oppose it. Nebraska is a reliably red state with a conservative legislature, making it something of an unexpected place to see the death penalty on the precipice of disappearing. Some lawmakers have pushed for a repeal for religious reasons, while others have pointed to wrongful convictions. Still others have pointed to it as an example of a wasteful government program. The reality is Nebraska hasn't executed anybody in about 20 years, State Sen. Colby Coash, a Republican who co-sponsored the repeal legislation, said in an interview. That inability spoke to my feelings about inefficient government. I've said frequently, if any other program was as inefficient and as costly as this has
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., FLA., KY., TENN.
May 22 TEXAS: Execution Drugs to be State Secret Under Legislation Headed to Governor Manufacturers of execution drugs will be shielded from public scrutiny, helping to keep Texas' capital punishment machine in working order, under a bill headed to the governor's office. On Tuesday, Senate Bill 1697 cleared its final hurdle with a favorable vote in the House. If signed into law by the governor, as expected, the bill will keep information about anyone who participates in executions or supplies execution drugs confidential. This bill is about trying to protect innocent people who are just doing their job, said Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo), the bill's House sponsor, on Tuesday. That rationale was voiced numerous times by supporters as the bill moved through both chambers, but there's little evidence that Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) personnel or suppliers of execution drugs are at risk. The names of those involved in carrying out executions have never been revealed by TDCJ. The real issue is whether citizens should be able to access information about lethal-injection drugs. Until last year, the identify of lethal-injection drug suppliers could be acquired through a public information request. In May 2014, then-Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled that TDCJ could keep the information secret. The ruling came after the Department of Public Safety sent Abbott a threat assessment report that claimed publicly linking a supplier or manufacturer of execution drugs would present a substantial threat of physical harm and should be avoided to the greatest extent possible. That decision was a shift from 3 previous rulings in which the attorney general???s office had found that TDCJ failed to prove that disclosing the information would create a substantial threat of physical harm. The May 2014 ruling came as Texas' supply of execution drugs was rapidly dwindling. In 2012, the state turned from a 4-drug cocktail to a single injection of pentobarbital. According to a Texas Tribune timeline, by August 2013 TDCJ had only 4 vials of the drug remaining, prompting the state to turn to compounding pharmacies, lightly regulated facilities that typically mix drugs for individual patients. In October 2013, the Woodlands Compounding Pharmacy requested that TDCJ return pentobarbital it had sold to the agency after the company began receiving unwanted media attention. In a letter to TDCJ, Jasper Lovoi, the owner of Woodlands, said he had been made to believe that his company's role in supplying the drugs would be kept private. I find myself in the middle of a firestorm that I was not advised of and did not bargain for, Lovoi said in the letter. During the House debate on SB 1697 Tuesday, Smithee said that manufacturers - such as compounding pharmacies - are refusing to sell lethal injection drugs to Texas and other states because of threats of violence. But when Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg) asked him to elaborate on those threats, Smithee couldn't provide examples. Canales is the author of a stalled bill that would require TDCJ to post information about execution drugs, including the manufacturer, on the agency's website. A similar exchange took place during debate in the Senate last week. Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), SB 1697's author, said that when information about the manufacturers of execution drugs was previously disclosed, it had a chilling effect on reputable pharmacies wanting to provide these compounds to the state of Texas. She said that investigations by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) had led to the determination that credible threats had been directed at suppliers of lethal-injection drugs. But when pressed, Huffman couldn't cite specific examples. No details of the DPS investigations have been made public. According to Austin-based attorney Philip Durst, lawmakers have been unable to point to specific threats because there haven???t been any. Durst is one of the plaintiff's attorneys in an ongoing lawsuit against TDCJ seeking disclosure of the name of a particular compounding pharmacy supplying execution drugs to the state. Durst told the House Corrections Committee at the end of April that based on his assessment of evidence provided by TDCJ and DPS during the lawsuit, there have been no threats of violence against drug suppliers or manufacturers in Texas or in any other state. Evidence presented by TDCJ in its motion for summary judgment includes emails to drug suppliers that read more like scoldings than threats and a link to a blog post about the Woodlands Compounding Pharmacy that includes an illustration of an exploding head. The post encouraged readers to write reviews of the pharmacy on Google+, sign a petition and contact the American Pharmacists Association. A state district court sided with the plaintiffs in December 2014 and ordered TDCJ to reveal the name of the lethal injection drug
