[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., GA., USA
April 11 GEORGIAimpending execution Georgia prepares to execute Kenneth Fults despite 'racist, unfair' trial An American man is due to be put to death on Tuesday evening in Georgia despite serious concerns over his sentencing and Amnesty International saying his trial was unfair and racist. Kenneth Fults, 48, who is black, admitted murdering his 19-year-old white neighbour Cathy Bounds. He killed her in 1996 at the end of a week-long rampage which begun with the intention of killing his ex-girlfriend's new lover, and saw him stage a series of robberies before breaking into Bounds' trailer to commit a burglary. But, finding her unexpectedly at home, he bound her with electrical tape and shot her 5 times. He pleaded guilty and was sent to trial to be sentenced. "Once he pled guilty, I knew I would vote for the death penalty because that's what the n- deserved" Statement from juror Thomas Buffington But Amnesty argue that he should never have been handed the death penalty, because his overworked court-appointed lawyer failed to do his job - repeatedly falling asleep in the courtroom - and because 1 of the jurors admitted after the trial that he wanted "that n-" to be put to death, regardless of whether he committed the crime. Fults' lawyers obtained a signed statement from juror Thomas Buffington in which Buffington, who is now dead, explained his reasoning for handing Fults the death penalty. "I don't know if he ever killed anybody, but that n- got just what should have happened," he said. "Once he pled guilty, I knew I would vote for the death penalty because that's what the n- deserved." Another juror said following the trial that they were not told by Johnny Mostiler, the lawyer, about the extent of Fults's mental problems. He has the reading age of a 9 year old, and his IQ puts him in the bottom 3 % of the population. "I don't believe he had a fair trial," the juror said, according to Amnesty. "Mr Fults's current lawyers have told me about how Mr Fults was neglected and abandoned as a child and that he is mentally retarded. Mostiler didn't bring this up at trial and he should have, so that we would have known more about Mr Fults before we talked about whether to give him the death penalty." International law bans use of the death penalty on people with mental or intellectual disabilities. Only the State Board of Pardons and Paroles can grant clemency, and petitions have been set up calling for the board to review the decision. And the scheduled execution comes at a time of increasing international interest in America's legal system, thanks partly to television dramas such as the re-telling of the OJ Simpson case, Netflix's Making a Murderer, and the wildly popular justice podcast Serial. If he is put to death, Fults will be the 4th person Georgia has executed by lethal injection this year. A 5th man, Daniel Anthony Lucas, was scheduled last week to be put to death on April 27 for killing a Jones County father and his 2 children, 1 by 1, in 1998. The only other time Georgia has executed as many as 5 people in a year was last year, and in 1987. (source: The Independent) FLORIDA: Jury to decide if Kirkman receives death penalty in 2006 murder A jury will decide Monday if the mastermind behind the death of a former beauty queen should be sentenced to death. The jury found Vahtiece Kirkman guilty on Friday in the 2006 murder of Darice Knowles. Prosecutors said they plan to show the jury the cruelty of the crime as they seek the death penalty for Kirkman. They said they might have been kinder if Kirkman shot Knowles, but instead she was bound, gagged and buried alive beneath cement. Jurors will hear testimony about some of Kirkman's previous felony convictions, including the 2006 murder of Willie Parker, which prosecutors believe Knowles' knowledge of was the motive behind her death. Kirkman is already serving a life sentence for Parker's death. "Life in prison is not enough," Assistant State Attorney Greg Konieczka said. (source: WFTV news) * Life or death?: Twice-convicted killer to learn fate this week Prosecutors today will argue that a 37-year-old Cocoa man plotted in cold blood to kidnap, beat and then bury a a Bahamian student alive after fearing she was talking with police about his connections to another slaying. A 12-member jury found Vahtiece Kirkman guilty of 1st-degree premeditated murder and kidnapping 22-year-old Darice Knowles, a former beauty contestant visiting friends in Cocoa. Now the sentencing phase of the 2-week long death penalty trial - featuring several witnesses, Cocoa investigators and others discussing the motive, the impact on Knowles' family and the pain suffered in the last moments of the victim's life - begins today at the Moore Justice Center. Today's sentencing is not the 1st time Kirkman has faced the death penalty in a murder co
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
April 11 UNITED NATIONS: Rights groups set 'priorities' for next UN chiefRights groups say the next leader must strike a new deal for refugees and end the death penalty. This week, 8 candidates for the top job will outline their vision for the role at the UN General Assembly. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and 4 other rights groups have listed 8 priorities for the next UN secretary-general, who will be elected later this year to replace Ban Ki-moon. Their unofficial job description was released on Monday as United Nations member states were due to begin week-long question and answer sessions with each of the eight candidates currently running for the position. Other candidates are expected to emerge. The priorities include forging a new deal for refugees and migrants that is based on "sustained international cooperation with an equitable sharing of responsibilities for resettlement." They also called for a full review of the bodies that manage international migration. The rights groups said the next UN chief should be prepared to invoke the UN charter to prevent and end mass atrocities such as the deliberate targeting of civilians in wars. Current UN chief Ban Ki-moon steps down in December Candidates were also urged to promise to work towards abolishing the death penalty during their term, after a recent Amnesty report showed that executions worldwide rose by more than 1/2 in 2015, compared to the previous year. The surge was largely due to Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia carrying out more killings, but China and the United States also regularly resort to the death penalty. Minority rights, gender equality The NGOs also called on the next UN leader to champion the rights of marginalized people, ensure gender equality and work to combat impunity for crimes under international law. The new secretary-general must also be willing to stand up to big powers at the Security Council to discourage them from using their veto power to block action to end atrocities, they said. In 2014, the Security Council failed to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for war crimes prosecutions after Russia and China blocked the measure. UN officials said the two-hour public interviews of candidates, which will begin on Tuesday, were part of broader plans to make the selection process for the position of UN chief more transparent. 8 candidates so far So far, 8 candidates have declared their interest. They include Irina Bokova, the chief of UN children's body UNESCO, Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, and Antonio Guterres, the former UN high commissioner for refugees. The Associated Press cited unnamed UN officials as suggesting that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission budget chief Kristalina Georgieva may also make strong candidates for the role, although Merkel is reportedly not keen on the job. The new UN secretary-general is formally picked by the 193-member General Assembly. But the 15-member Security Council recommends the successful candidate, and in practice the five permanent Security Council members - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France - have veto power over the nominees. The successful candidate will take over the position on January 1, 2017, when incumbent Ban's 2nd 5-year term ends. The human rights 'priorities' agenda was also endorsed by Civicus, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect and the World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy. (source: Deutsche Welle) INDIA: CSWO demands death penalty for rape & murder accused The Irene Hujon faction of the Civil Society Women Organisation (CSWO) has demanded death sentence for a rape accused even as it asked the State government to appoint a special prosecutor to expedite trial in the case. In a shocking incident, one Vicky Syiemlieh allegedly raped and murdered a 19-year-old-girl at 41/2 Mile in Upper Shillong on March 17. "Crimes like these can no longer be tolerated and should be dealt with a firm hand," Hujon said in a memorandum to the Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma. Hujon suggested the name of Additional Advocate General, WHD Syngkon to handle the case. Meanwhile, in a letter to Home Minister Roshan Warjri, the Seng Teilang Kynthei said that the incident has shamed the state. "We feel ashamed that even little children are not spared from being raped and murdered in this once beautiful and peaceful state of ours. It is the bounden duty of our public representatives whom we have elected, to strengthen the judicial system and put in place tough laws to protect women and children," the Seng Teilang Kynthei said. "We also demand that others who were involved along with Vicky Syiemlieh in this gruesome act be awarded the same punishment," the organisation said. (source: sentinelassam.com) SOMALIAexecution
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., GA., MISS., USA
April 11 TEXAS: Hold 3 Generations of Smith Co Prosecutors & Judges Accountable in the Kerry Max Cook Case It is time to hold the Smith County District Attorney's Office accountable for a history of reckless disregard for due process and the rule of law. We ask that A. D. Clark, III, Jack Skeen, David Dobbs, Deborah Tittle, former 114th Smith County District Judge Cynthia Sevens-Kent, Sgt. Eddie Clark, Lt. Ron Scott and others be taken before an Ethics Committee and disbarred so they cannot hurt any one else. We ask that you restore the appearance that a person accused of a crime can get a fair and impartial trial in Smith County, Texas. The case of Kerry Max Cook is the worst example of documented police and prosecutorial misconduct in Texas history. These are the sustained facts this 40-year Smith County capital murder case: 1977-1978: Kerry was inducted into his legal nightmare first by A.D. Clark, III, Jerry Landrum, Lt. Ron Scott, Texas Ranger Stuart Dowell, Sgt. Eddie Clark based on a bizarre 1977 "Psychological Profile" that said the killer was a young homosexual. Kerry worked at a gay bar in Dallas and the rest is history. Smith County District Attorney A. D. Clark III is the architect of the police and prosecutorial misconduct that falsely created the August 1977 arrest warrant, the indictment, and the June 29th, 1978 conviction and death sentence. September 1991: 15 years later, the conviction was overturned. Smith County District Attorney Jack Skeen inherited Kerry's case. A. D. Clark III and Jack Skeen are first cousins. Skeen immediately adopted all of Clark's original misconduct - records prove Skeen and his First Assistant David E. Dobbs suppressed more exculpatory evidence and suborned more perjury to keep the appearance that Kerry was responsible for a crime that he did not commit. March 1994: District Attorney Jack Skeen and First Assistant David Dobbs convinced another jury to re-convict Kerry Cook a 2nd time based on the exact misconduct first created by A. D. Clark III. November 6, 1996: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled "Police and prosecutorial misconduct has tainted this entire matter from the beginning." The 2nd conviction obtained under Jack Skeen and David Dobbs was thrown out. [source: Chasing Justice by Kerry Max Cook] see: http://tinyurl.com/kerrymc (source: change.org) Death penalty concerns voiced Donna man???s execution is 1 of over 500 carried out in Texas since 1923 At midnight Monday, Pablo Lucio Vasquez was placed on a 72-hour death watch inside the Polunsky Prison Unit in Livingston where he has lived since 1999 after he was convicted for capital murder and sentenced to death. The 38-year-old Donna man, originally from Dawson County in West Texas, was found guilty for the brutal murder of 12-year-old David Cardenas the night of April 18, 1998. According to his taped confession, Vasquez and his 15-year-old cousin, Andy Chapa, met the boy at a local party and later beat the boy outside Chapa's house with a metal pipe and a shovel. Vasquez told police he was hearing voices in his head telling him to kill Cardenas and to drink the boy's blood. He also admitted to taking a ring and a necklace from the boy's body. Less than 24 hours before his scheduled execution, prison guards continued to log his every move revealing Vasquez hardly slept and barely touched his food, according to Jason Clark, spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Clark said he spoke to Vasquez briefly Wednesday morning and described him as being in "good spirits." At 10 a.m. Vasquez talked with visitors and took pictures during an hourlong visit. He then was escorted back to his 60-square-foot cell where he received his last pieces of mail. At noon, he was transferred from the Polunsky Unit, which has housed all death row inmates in Texas since 1965, and booked into the red brick, 2-story Huntsville prison unit that houses the death chamber. About a dozen protesters gathered about 4 p.m. Wednesday across the street from the red prison walls. Led by 64-year-old Pat Hartwell, the protesters held up pink cardboard signs with Vasquez's picture that read "Do not kill me," and "Abolish the Death Penalty," in bold black letters. "The man has grown up in prison. He's never caused any trouble in prison; he's never had anything but good marks, so let him stay in prison for this horrific crime," Hartwell said. "We are not advocating that we should let the prison doors open and let everybody run free. We think that they should be responsible for their actions, but we as a society need to take responsibility also." Hartwell, of Houston, has been fighting to end the death penalty in Texas for more than a decade. She keeps meticulous records of appeals, mental health records and court documents of the 248 people currently on death row and from every person who has been execute
