[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 14 SAUDI ARABIAexecution Saudi executes Yemeni for killing employer Saudi Arabia on Thursday executed a Yemeni man for murdering and robbing his employer, raising the number of death sentences already carried out by the kingdom this year to 52. Yaser Qawza broke into the home of his Saudi employer Falwa al-Jarad, tied her up and beat her to death before robbing her money and jewellery, according to an interior ministry statement. Qawza was executed in the southern region of Aseer, said the statement, published by the official SPA news agency. Most executions in the country are carried out by beheading with a sword. Last year Saudi Arabia executed 153 people, most of them for drug trafficking or murder, according to an AFP tally. Amnesty International says the number of executions in Saudi Arabia in 2015 was the highest for 2 decades. The kingdom practises a strict Islamic legal code under which murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death. On January 2, the kingdom executed 47 men convicted of "terrorism", including al Qaeda-linked Sunni militants and Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, whose death sparked a diplomatic crisis with Iran. (source: The Tribune) SOMALILAND: Heads of Missions of the European Union and Member States condemn executions carried out in Mogadishu and Dararwayne and Mandera The Heads of Missions of the European Union and Member States strongly and unequivocally oppose the death penalty in any circumstances. It is a serious violation of human rights and human dignity and cannot be used as an instrument for justice. In this context, we are deeply concerned by reports of at least 4 executions in Somaliland on 11 January and by the authorities renewed use of the death penalty. We are similarly concerned with reports of an execution in Mogadishu on 3 January. The EU and Member States' Heads of Missions call upon the respective authorities to halt executions and to apply a moratorium of the death penalty. We are committed to support and work with the respective authorities in achieving a full abolition of the death penalty and in the strengthening of institutions to provide justice to all Somali people in a fair and transparent manner. (source: somalilandpress.com) PAKISTAN: ATC sentences SHO Shehzad Warraich to death for killing Daska Bar president, other lawyer The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday sentenced former Senior House Officer (SHO) Shehzad Warraich to death 4 times for killing Daska Bar Association President Rana Khalid Abbas and advocate Irfan Chauhan. The verdict was announced by a special anti-terrorism court's judge Chaudhry Imtiaz Ahmad. Besides the death penalty, the accused will pay Rs 4 lac to the victims' family. The court has also ordered 30 years imprisonment to the accused for injuring 5 lawyers. In May 2015, 2 lawyers including Daska Bar Association President Rana Khalid Abbas - were killed during a clash between protesting lawyers and police. Officials of Daska Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) along with SHO of Daska city police station Shehzad Warraich were conducting an anti-encroachment drive in Sialkot's Daska tehsil when local residents and lawyers staged a protest, seeking more time from authorities. The SHO opened straight fire to disperse the protesters as a result of which a pedestrian and three lawyers, including the Daska bar president, sustained gunshot wounds. Later, Rana Khalid Abbas and another lawyer succumbed to their wounds during treatment. (source: Daily Pakistan) BANGLADESH: Sayedee now to appeal for acquittal War criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee will file a petition with the Supreme Court seeking review of its verdict that commuted his death penalty to jail unto death. He would seek acquittal from the charges in which he was found guilty, Masud Sayedee, son of the convict, told The Daily Star after meeting his father at Kashimpur Jail-1 in Gazipur yesterday. 3 lawyers accompanied Masud during the visit. Earlier on Tuesday, the government filed a review plea seeking death penalty fro Sayedee. "My father has decided to file a review against the Supreme Court judgment. He has given necessary instructions today to his lawyers in this regard," Masud said, adding that the plea would be filed by January 21, as his father was officially informed about the SC's full judgment on January 6, though it was released on December 31 last year. The review petition has to be filed within 15 days from the date when the accused receives a certified copy of the full judgment or is officially informed about it, according to the SC judgment on the review petition of Abdul Quader Mollah, who was executed in December 2013. The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on February 28, 2014 sentenced Sayedee to death for killing Ibrahim Kutti and one Bisa Bali in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., MO., OKLA.
Jan. 14 FLORIDAimpending execution Florida asks court to deny inmate's execution-delay request Florida asked the state's high court on Thursday to reject a condemned inmate's request to delay his execution based on the U.S. Supreme Court's finding that its procedure for imposing the death penalty is illegal. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's office said the U.S. Supreme Court's finding should not be applied retroactively to already-settled death penalty cases. Ruling on the Hurst v. Florida case Tuesday, the nation's highest court ruled 8-1 that Florida's procedure is flawed because it allows judges, not juries, to decide death sentences. Michael Lambrix is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Feb. 11, and there are questions about how the Supreme Court's ruling will affect his case and those of Florida's 390 death row inmates. Lambrix was sentenced to death for the 1983 slayings of 2 people he met at a bar. Prosecutors said he killed them after inviting them home for a spaghetti dinner. Attorneys for Lambrix cited the ruling in their request for a new sentencing hearing. "The potential retroactivity of Hurst ... to Mr. Lambrix's ... case and potentially to many, many other cases ... is an issue that demands ... an oral argument before this Court," Lambrix's attorney William Hennis wrote. In its reply, Bondi's office cited a previous U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a similar Arizona case to bolster its argument that the court's decisions cannot be applied retroactively to condemned inmates who have already exhausted their appeals. "Lambrix's request for a stay should be denied," Bondi's office wrote. "It is time for Lambrix's sentence for these brutal murders to be carried out." It wasn't clear when the court would rule. (source: Associated Press) MISSOURI: Cape Republican co-sponsors bill to end death penalty State Rep. Kathy Swan wants to see the Missouri Legislature repeal the death penalty. Swan is 1 of 5 Republican lawmakers and one Democratic representative who have signed on to the bill. In addition, the measure would mandate any person sentenced to death before Aug. 28, 2016, be given life imprisonment without eligibility for probation or parole, except by act of the governor. The Cape Girardeau Republican said her co-sponsorship of the bill is rooted in her pro-life beliefs. "Pro life doesn't just mean pro-life at conception," said Swan, who is Catholic and the only House member from Southeast Missouri to back the bill. The Roman Catholic Church repeatedly has come out against the death penalty. She acknowledged past legislative efforts in the state House have failed to garner enough votes to repeal the death penalty. But she said such legislation at least has started the "conversation." She added, "It creates an awareness about this issue." Swan said, "I am absolutely not soft on crime." But she insisted there is no justification for the death penalty, regardless of how horrific the crime. If this bill, HB 2064, became law, convicted murderer Russell Bucklew would not be executed. Bucklew is on death row for the 1996 killing of a man during a crime spree in Southeast Missouri. Bucklew was convicted in 1997 for fatally shooting Michael Sanders of Cape Girardeau County in front of his 2 young sons, then kidnapping Sanders' girlfriend at gunpoint and raping her. Bucklew had his death sentence stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2014. Attorneys for Bucklew and fellow Missouri death-row inmate Ernest L. Johnson claim medical conditions would make lethal injection too painful and have suggested the gas chamber as an alternative way to carry out their death sentences. Bucklew's attorneys also have suggested death by firing squad. State Rep. T.J. Berry, a Republican from Kearney, is the chief sponsor of the bill. Berry, who proposed similar legislation last year, has argued the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime when it takes an average of more than 18 years to execute someone. (source: Southeast Missourian) OKLAHOMA: Pittsburg County Killer nears execution as Federal Court rejects appeal despite claims of mental illness A Pittsburg County Killer will be executed soon as a federal court rejects his appeal for habeas relief. Judges said that the man could have avoided death penalty if jury learned about his mental illness. A man from Pittsburg County convicted of double slaying received a death penalty and will be executed soon, reported News 9. On Monday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected petitions made by James Chandler Ryder, also known as Mitch Ryder. Ryder, 53 years old, was pronounced guilty of murdering Daisy and Sam Hallum in 1999 in Pittsburg County. The court maintained the decision to convict Ryder with death penalty. There were claims that Ryder's lawyer did not thoroughly probe his mental health and ability to undergo trial. Judges
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 14 ZAMBIA: Abolish death penalty, says prisons deputy Zambia Prisons Service deputy commissioner-general Lloyd Chilundika says the death penalty is inhuman and should be abolished. Mr Chilundika told the Parliamentary committee on legal affairs, governance, human rights, gender matters and child affairs yesterday that taking of life can never be done humanely no matter the circumstances. "The death penalty amounts to cruelty. It is my considered view that it be abolished and substituted with progressive types of punishments that should address that which death penalty has failed," he said. Mr Chilundika, who was flanked by Zambia Prisons Service senior assistant commissioner in charge of research, planning and information and technology Chrispin Kaonga, said imprisonment alone is severe punishment enough. "We are living in a dispensation of human rights and most countries in the Southern African Development Community have abolished the death penalty," he said. Mr Chilundika said hanging is not done publicly contrary to views that death penalty serves as a deterrent to would-be offenders. "Death may be calculated as punishment but what is punishment if it does not make one feel the pain and be remorseful to change for the better. "Death is the end of one's life and therefore there is no lesson to the one that is punished with death sentence," Mr Chilundika said. He said most times, people on death row reform by the time their execution period matures. "The State is a rational being. We want to be a good State. We counsel these prisoners in the condemned section and by the time they are about to be executed, they are no longer the hardcore criminals they were," Mr Chilundika said. He explained that every human being has the inherent right to life and no one should be arbitrarily deprived of life. Meanwhile, Mr Chilundika has commended President Lungu for commuting to life imprisonment the sentences of prisoners on death row. He said there were over 342 offenders waiting to be executed in cells meant for 48 people. (source: Daily Mail) BELARUS: Statement by the Spokesperson on a death sentence in Belarus A death sentence was handed down last week to Mr Henadz Yakavitski by the Minsk Regional Court of the Republic of Belarus. Mr Henadz Yakavitski's legal right to appeal should be fully guaranteed. Mr Yakavitski was convicted of a serious crime and we extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the victim. Nevertheless, the European Union is opposed to capital punishment in all cases and without exception. We urge Belarus, the only country in Europe still applying capital punishment, to join a global moratorium on the death penalty as a 1st step towards its abolition. Commuting the sentences of persons sentenced to death and launching a public debate on the death penalty with Belarusian society would be an important move in this regard. (source: diplomaticintelligence.eu) SAUDI ARABIA: Writers join worldwide action to protest Palestinian poet's death sentence in Saudi Arabia Hundreds of writers in 44 countries take part in coordinated readings to support Ashraf Fayadh, condemned to death for allegedly promoting atheism Hundreds of writers including Irvine Welsh, Ruth Padel and AL Kennedy are taking part in a worldwide reading in support of the Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh, who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia after being accused of renouncing Islam. The readings of Fayadh's poetry at 122 events in 44 countries on Thursday are part of a campaign organised by the International literature festival Berlin calling on the UK and US governments to halt his beheading and to put pressure on Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record. The action comes ahead of a panel of judges considering Fayadh's appeal next week, where it will be contested that the poet???s conviction for apostasy is seriously flawed and based on false and uncorroborated allegations. Poems being read at the worldwide event include a selection from Fayadh's 2008 book, Instructions Within, which his accuser claimed promoted atheism, a charge the poet has denied. AL Kennedy, who is participating in a reading organised by PEN England at the Mosaic Rooms in west London, said Fayadh's persecution was "very obviously unjust and morally repellent". Calling on the Saudi authorities to show mercy and wisdom, the novelist also offered the poet her "admiration for his courage and his devotion to truth and justice" and hoped that the international show of solidarity would "provide a measure of comfort in what must be a horrifying situation". Irvine Welsh, who will read at the Two Hearted Queen coffee shop in Chicago, said he hoped the campaign would put "pressure on governments who espouse democracy and freedom to consider their actions in dealing with [Saudi Arabia]". The Trainspotting author added:
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., GA., FLA.
Jan. 14 TEXASimpending execution Death Watch: Unhappy New YearMasterson found guilty of capital murder of Shane Honeycutt, set to die Jan. 20 Texas goes to the gurney Wednesday, Jan. 20, with its 1st execution of the calendar year. Set to die is Richard Allen Masterson, 43, who's spent the past 14 years on death row for the murder of Darin Shane Honeycutt. Masterson and Honeycutt knew each other for very little time. They met at a gay bar in Houston just before 2am on Jan. 26, 2001. Dressed in drag that night, Honeycutt introduced himself as Brandi Houston. He offered Masterson a ride home from the bar and on the way proposed that they go back to Honeycutt's apartment for the night. On the morning of Jan. 27, a friend, Larry Brown, coerced Honeycutt's landlord into letting him into the apartment, and found his friend Shane naked and not breathing on his bed. Masterson had stolen Honeycutt's car and hightailed to Georgia. He was later arrested in Florida - picked up for stealing a 2nd car - and brought back to Harris County. Jurors reportedly took only 90 minutes to determine his sentence. Unquestioned during the trial was whether Masterson killed Honeycutt - he admitted as much on his return to Houston. During an interrogation, in which no attorney was present, he allegedly "add[ed] elements that would elevate the case to capital murder," saying he'd rather die than serve a life sentence. But the way in which he killed his recent acquaintance - and whether or not he intended to kill him - was not so easily discernible. He said in a statement during the interrogation (which played to jurors at trial over objections from his attorney) that he killed Honeycutt by putting him into a sleeper hold as soon as the 2 undressed, and that he never actually planned to have sex with him that night. "Something just told me in my mind - I said to myself that I was going to kill him," Masterson said. However, Masterson recanted on those statements in his trial testimony, saying that he lied about his actions because he was too embarrassed to tell the officer taking the confession that he planned to have sex with a man. Instead, he said, Honeycutt requested that Masterson choke him during sex. Something "went wrong" and Honeycutt fell forward, gurgling. Masterson said he got up and left the room; when he came back, Honeycutt was dead. The jurors didn't think long on Masterson's intentions, finding him guilty of capital murder. During the punishment phase, a litany of witnesses were brought out to testify to Masterson's violent past - including accusations of domestic violence and reported incidents while incarcerated - and the jury ruled that he represented a future danger to society. It did not help his cause that, against his attorneys' wishes, he testified that he would defend himself in prison, "whether it's against a guard or inmate or anybody else by any means necessary." Masterson had very little chance of winning his trial all along. In a Jan. 2012 letter written to his judge, Masterson claimed his attorneys had been assigned to his case only "a few weeks" before jury selection, and that the investigator hired to "ask questions about the deceased['s] background and sex practices" never questioned Masterson, among other concerns. A Dec. 2011 letter to that same judge elaborated further, listing a number of individuals charged with heinous crimes who received lesser sentences. "They all had good lawyers they paid," he wrote. "Poor people like me get death." Masterson has railed against his attorneys in letters and waffled on attempts to withdraw various petitions for relief. He's now represented by D.C. attorney Gregory Gardner, who on Dec. 21 filed a application requesting that Masterson be assigned to an expert doctor for a brain scan to determine whether he suffers from organic brain damage. That request was granted Dec. 22, giving Masterson 29 days to complete the necessary procedures. Gardner has not replied to the Chronicle's requests for updates. Masterson would be the 13th Texan executed under Gov. Greg Abbott's reign and the 532nd since the state's 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty. 6 inmates are currently on the death row docket with set dates, including James Freeman on Wednesday, Jan. 27. (source: Austin Chronicle) PENNSYLVANIA: Freemansburg cop killer on death row asks for stay of execution A Freemansburg man sentenced to death for killing a police officer has filed court papers asking for a stay of execution. George Hitcho filed papers on his own behalf last week accusing his trial attorneys of botching his case. The 50-year-old wants a stay of execution until his appeal against his trial attorneys is resolved. The typewritten papers were sent from the State Correctional Institution in Greene County and docketed in Northampton County on Jan. 4. On Wednesday, Northampton County Judge F.P.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALA., KY., MO., CALIF., USA
Jan. 14 ALABAMA: Expert: Lethal injection consciousness check 'inadequate' In a lawsuit challenging Alabama's death penalty protocol, Dr. Alan Kaye, chair of Louisiana State University's Department of Anesthesiology, testified Wednesday that the "consciousness check" used by the Alabama Department of Corrections during lethal injections is inadequate. Specifically, he said the check for consciousness does not ensure condemned inmates won't feel the sensation of being buried alive or burned from the inside as a result of the drugs. But the court is primarily trying to determine if the consciousness checks are performed at all. This litigation began in 2011 when attorney Suhana Han filed suit against Jefferson Dunn, ADOC Commissioner; Walter Myers, warden of Holman Correctional Facility; and others on behalf of Thomas Arthur, a death row inmate who was convicted in 1982 in a murder-for-hire plot. A final hearing for this litigation began on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Alabama's current death penalty process uses a 3-drug injection lethal cocktail to carry out executions: 500 milligrams of midazolam, 600 milligrams of rocuronium bromide and 240 "milliequivalents" of potassium chloride. The 1st drug, midazolam, is supposed to sedate inmates so they won't feel the effects of the rocuronium bromide, a paralytic, and the potassium chloride, which stops the heart. Kaye said that if inmates are not properly sedated, they could feel the effects of the paralyzing drug, which would induce the feeling of being buried alive, and the potassium chloride, which would cause a burning sensation. In addition, no Alabama inmate has yet been executed using midazolam. Pentobarbital was the sedative of choice until the state ran out of its supply. According to ADOC's protocol, correctional officers are supposed to perform a consciousness check after the sedative is administered. That involves a correctional officer saying the inmate's name, gently brushing his eyelashes, then pinching his arm. The consciousness check is vital in determining if condemned inmates have been properly sedated, Kaye testified. "(The consciousness check) is all we have in this protocol," Kaye said. "It's a safeguard, albeit a limited safeguard." That consciousness check is inadequate for several reasons, Kaye testified. Based off testimony he's read, Kaye said correctional officers performing the check aren't adequately trained on how to do so. He said they don't pinch hard enough and there is little communication between those performing the check and those administering the drugs. "(The consciousness check) can't tell you, even if done properly, if a person is at a deep level of anesthesia," Kaye said. But the issue at hand in this trial isn't necessarily the adequacy of the consciousness check. It's if that check is regularly performed at all. Kaye said he doesn't believe this check is always performed. On Tuesday during trial, 3 people who have witnessed 2 executions in 2010 and 2011 testified that they did not see the pinch test performed. On Wednesday, a video deposition of a volunteer minister for death row inmates testified that the consciousness check was not performed on 6 executions he's witnessed. Thomas Govan, an assistant attorney general representing the defendants in this case, pointed out to Kaye upon cross examination that correctional officers testified that the consciousness check was always performed. Kaye's opinion remained unchanged. U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins, who is presiding over this litigation, isn't expected to rule until higher courts rule on other death penalty litigation motions which are tangentially related to Arthur's case. He is tasked with deciding if ADOC committed a violation by allegedly not performing the consciousness check, and if the plaintiffs have proved that there is a readily available alternative method to the state's current lethal injection protocol. (source: Montgomery Advertiser) * Marshall County death row inmate hopes for reduced sentence A Marshall County man on death row for the killing of his wife and her unborn child returned to court Wednesday. Jessie Phillips is hoping to have his sentence reduced. This after an appeals court seeks clarification from the judge on his 2012 sentence. Prosecutors in the case are asking the judge to clarify to the appeals court, reasons why he ordered the death penalty. But defense attorneys see this as an opportunity for Phillips to be re-sentenced to life without parole. More than 3 years after he was sentenced, Jessie Phillips was back before his trial judge Wednesday morning. Phillips was sentenced to death in 2012 for the shooting death of Erica Droze. Droze was 8 weeks pregnant when she was shot in the head by Phillips at Lakeside Car Wash back in 2009. On Wednesday, the parties
