[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 11 PAKISTAN: SC stays execution of 3 convicted by military courts The Supreme Court stayed on Tuesday execution of 3 convicts handed down death sentences by military courts and ordered office of the Attorney General to respond to allegations mentioned in a petition. The order was issued by a 3-judge bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim that had taken up the appeals moved by convicts Ajab Gul, Fazal Ghaffar and Ms Zarba Khelow against the April 13 judgement of the Peshawar High Court (PHC). The apex court also issued notices to the Judge Advocate General Branch, the legal arm of the armed forces, and postponed further proceedings to a date to be decided later. A separate 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali is seized with 12 different appeals instituted against convictions by the military courts, including death sentences handed down to militants for their role in various terrorist attacks. Rights activist Asma Jahangir told Dawn the apex court had stayed the execution of her client, Ajab Gul, the brother of Taj Gul who was awarded a death sentence by a military court. Taj Gul, a resident of Upper Dir, was handed over to security forces by elders of the area some 5 years ago. On April 13, the PHC had upheld the death sentences handed down by the military courts to 6 militants, including Taj Gul and Fazal Ghaffar. Ms Jahangir said that although the high court upheld the sentences on the grounds that due process was followed, she pleaded before the court that her client was denied the right, also available under the Pakistan Army Act, to be represented by a suitable legal counsel during the trial. Moreover, no document was shown to her client to prove that he actually participated in any assault on a government or public property or the personnel of law enforcement agencies, she added. Her petition claimed that even though their family members met the accused several times at an internment centre at the Pak-Austria Institute of Tourism and Management in Swat, they came to know about their conviction only through media reports on March 15. A public announcement made by the Inter-Services Public Relations on March 15 said the convict was an active member of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and was involved in attacking law enforcement agencies which resulted in the death of police constables and personnel of the Levies force. A large cache of arms and explosives was recovered from the possession of the convict and he confessed to having committed the offences before a magistrate, for which he was given the capital punishment. Fazal Ghaffar, 38, was represented in court by Advocate Ahmed Raza Kasuri. Ghaffar was also detained and subsequently kept at an internment centre until his conviction and award of death sentence by the military court. The family of this convict also came to know about the death sentence through the media. Ghaffar was charged with attacking personnel of security forces. Fateh Khan was represented by Advocate Laiq Swati. He was handed over to the security forces on Dec 27, 2009, in the Charbagh area of Swat district and believed to be a teacher at a seminary before his arrest by the security forces. The counsel too pleaded that his client had been denied fair trial as he was not allowed to engage a defence lawyer of his choice during his trial. The military courts, set up after the Dec 16, 2014 carnage at the Army Public School in Peshawar, have so far convicted 76 militants, of which 72 have been awarded death sentences and four life terms. Only 8 of the militants have so far been executed, most of them involved in the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar. (source: Dawn) BANGLADESH: Bangladesh's Nizami urged patience before death: SonNizami's son Mohammad Nakibur Rahman says 'there is no doubt' that India is behind the execution "Stay patient" were the last words of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami leader Motiur Rahman Nizami before being hanged last night, his son said. Hours after burying his father, Mohammad Nakibur Rahman told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that Nizami "asked all of us to remain patient" and wished for "all of us to see each other in Jannah," or Heaven. Motiur Rahman Nizami, the leader of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party, was convicted by the nation's International Crimes Tribunal and hanged on accusations of committing atrocities during Bangladesh's 1971 War of Independence. Jahangir Kabir, a prison official, confirmed to Anadolu Agency reporter that Nizami was hanged at the Dhaka Central Jail at 12:10 a.m. local time Wednesday. Rahman, an assistant professor of finance at the U.S.' University of North Carolina, and a human right activist, said Jamaat-e-Islami had supported a united Pakistan and been "very active in keeping Pakistan united". But Jamaat had "no relationship with atrocities that took
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALA., OHIO, MO., KAN.
May 11 ALABAMAimpending execution Stay of Execution denied for death row cop killer A Mobile County Circuit Judge denied a stay of execution for Vernon Madison. He's one of Alabama's longest serving death row inmates. Madison was convicted of the 1985 killing of Mobile Police Officer Julius Schulte. He's set to be executed Thursday at Holman Prison, near Atmore. Madison's attorneys argue several strokes have caused significant damage and mental decline to the extent he no longer understands why the state intends to execute him, which they say violates his 8th Amendment right. It's been 31 years since Madison pulled the trigger, shooting officer Schulte in his patrol car from behind. "It's getting down to the point, where now is justice finally going to be served," said Matt Green, attorney. Green, a former Baldwin County Assistant District Attorney, has followed the case and says if the death penalty was ever justified -- this is the case. "His nickname was 'The Peacemaker.' He was responding to a runaway call and over the well-being of a child and that's what this is all about. Madison gets there and thinks somebody called police on him and for no reason... No reason goes and shoots and kills him," said Green. Convicted in 3 trials for capital murder and countless appeals later, Green says it's time justice be served. However, the group "Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty" is speaking out. The group's chairman and board members are on death row. The group's executive director spoke to us by phone and says its members plan to hold candlelight vigils across the state Thursday in the hours leading up to the execution. "I have to say I'm sorry for the State of Alabama... More blood, more blood on its hands," said Esther Brown, Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty. "I would say what the state does is in cold blood it's pre-meditated murder. Closure does not come from another injustice ... Because to kill anybody, whether it is an individual who does or the state, is an injustice." Now in the 11th hour, Madison has almost exhausted all of his appeals. "I think it is time justice be served. If the sentence of law that's been imposed by the court and the federal court system and the state judiciary... That it be followed. And I think that is what the family wants and maybe that will happen," said Green. Madison is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. (source: WALA news) OHIO: Ohio Supreme Court upholds death sentence of Cincinnati killer Anthony Kirkland5 victims included Esme Kenney, Casonya Crawford The Ohio Supreme Court voted 4-3 to uphold Anthony Kirkland's death sentence for murdering an SCPA seventh-grader and another Cincinnati teen - the last of his 5 victims. The court ruled that a prosecutor's comments implying that without a death sentence, the killings of 13-year-old Esme Kenney in 2009 and 14-year-old Casonya Crawford in 2006 would go unpunished, were improper but not enough to resentence him. Kirkland was found guilty in 2010 of aggravated murder, attempted rape and other charges in the Kenney and Crawford deaths. Before his trial, Kirkland also pleaded guilty to the slayings of 2 other Cincinnati women, 45-year-old Mary Jo Newton and 25-year-old Kimya Rolison, and received life sentences. He previously served a 16-year sentence for killing his girlfriend. Kirkland kidnapped Kenney, a cello player at the School for Creative and Performing Arts,, as she jogged alone around the Winton Hills reservoir close to her home on Saturday afternoon, March 7, 2009. Her parents had called police when she didn't come right home, and police were already out looking for her when they came upon Kirkland in the woods. He had Kenney's iPod and her watch. They found her body nearby. At the sentencing phase, the prosecutor questioned whether the killings of the Kenney and Crawford were "just freebies for him," because Kirkland was already going to prison for life, according to Tuesday's ruling. The prosecutor said the jury should not even consider life in prison for Kirkland for the girls' deaths. "He's going to jail on those other 2 for the rest of his life," he said. The message to the jury was plain, said Justice Judith French, writing for the majority: "If you do not return a recommendation of death, Kirkland will receive no punishment for 2 murders." However, French also said the court's independent review of the sentence could overcome the prosecutor's remarks. Prosecutors argued in a 2011 filing with the court that the prosecutor's comment was appropriate because part of the death penalty case against Kirkland was that the girls' killings was part of a "course of conduct" involving 4 victims. "The significance is that one of the reasons death was appropriate was the number of victims," William Breyer, Hamilton County chief assistant prosecuting attorney, said in the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 11 INDIA: Outfit seeks death penalty in Santhal woman's murder case All India Manji Pangana Mahal (AIMPM), a national Santhal tribe outfit, here today staged a sit-in protest demanding death penalty for the killer of a B.Ed student who was shot dead outside her college last week. 31-year-old Sonali Murmu, a married Santhal women, was shot dead outside her college and her hand severed in front of the institute's campus on May 4. Addressing the protest gathering at Subhash Chowk here, District Convener of the tribal outfit AIMPM Babulal Hembrom said the killer of Murmu should be "arrested and hanged". Hembrom said the government has been claiming that initiatives were taken for women empowerment but a poor tribal woman was killed in broad day light outside her college. The incident projects the true picture of women empowerment initiatives in the state, he added. According to police, Murmu was allegedly being harassed by one Suken Mandal of Dumka for long who had even threatened her after marriage. Prima facie, the killing appeared to be Mandal's handiwork as he was in love with her, Superintendent of Police, M Tamilvanan, had said. A number of Santhal men and women joined the protest today in front of the statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and demanded immediate arrest of the culprit and capital punishment. The protest was supported by various Left parties. (source: Zee news) IRANexecutions Iran regime hangs 4 prisoners in Isfahan The mullahs' regime has hanged 4 prisoners in a notorious jail in Isfahan, central Iran, according to local reports. The 4 prisoners, who were not named, were hanged on Sunday in Dastgerd Prison. Also on Sunday a man was hanged in public in Kermanshah, western Iran, and another man was hanged in a prison in Minab, southern Iran. On Monday 2 prisoners were hanged in a prison in Orumieh (Urmia), north-west Iran. The latest hangings bring to at least 70 the number of people executed in Iran since April 10. 3 of those executed were women and 1 is believed to have been a juvenile offender. Iran's fundamentalist regime on Monday amputated the fingers of a man in his thirties in the city of Mashhad, north-east Iran, the latest in a line of draconian punishments handed down and carried out in recent weeks. The state-run Khorasan newspaper identified the victim by his initials M. T., adding that he was 39 years old. The prisoner was accused of theft and is also serving a 3-year jail sentence. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April 13 that the increasing trend of executions "aimed at intensifying the climate of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society, especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval regime." Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the 2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to at least 743 the year before." "Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East and North Africa, the human rights group said. There have been more than 2,300 executions during Hassan Rouhani's tenure as President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the executions as examples of "God's commandments" and "laws of the parliament that belong to the people." (source: NCR-Iran) *** 19-Year-Old Prisoner Hanged in Northeastern Iran A young prisoner with murder charges was reportedly hanged at Mashhad Central Prison (in the Razavi Khorasan province, northeastern Iran) on Sunday May 8 at 4:50am. The state-run news site, Rokna, identifies the prisoner as a 19-year-old by the name of "Morteza". Although the report does not mention the date of arrest, there is a possibility that the prisoner was arrested when he was under the age of 18. (source: Iran Human Rights) PAKISTANexecutions Murderer of 11 among 2 sent to gallows 2 murder convicts were sent to gallows yesterday. Later, the dead bodies were handed over to the heirs for burial. The convicts identified as Captain (Retd) Zafar Iqbal and Mirza Shafique Ahmed were supposed to be hanged in April but their executions were delayed after they filed applications in courts against their execution. In the case of Iqbal, he was supposed to be hanged on April 25 but his execution was delayed on the directions of the district and sessions court after he filed an application saying that his family had reached a compromise with the victim family. Iqbal was convicted for killing 11 persons of a family. The convict had gunned down 6 of his relatives at Arya Mohalla in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 11 ANTIGUA & BARBUDA: UN wants death penalty off the books Several countries at the United Nations (UN) have recommended that the government of Antigua & Barbuda establish a formal moratorium on capital punishment. The recommendations, which came from among approximately 44 country representatives at the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council???s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), continued despite the representatives being advised that a de facto moratorium has existed since the 1990s. The 1st representative to raise the matter was from Australia. "Establish a formal moratorium on the death penalty with a view to ratifying the second optional protocol to the international covenant on civil and political rights," she advised. Many other countries followed suit. Panama's representative said, "Consider establishing an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty ..." while another Latin American country, Honduras, advised the same. The United Kingdom's (UK) representative said, " ... respect national legal procedures and the standards required by the Privy Council and the UN for the protection of the rights of prisoners sentenced to death." In response, Antigua & Barbuda's representative at the review, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Senator, Maureen Payne-Hyman, assured the group that in practice a moratorium exists. "With the issue of the death penalty, that's a very touchy and vexing issue in the Caribbean. In Antigua, it does not matter what type of crime you've committed, you're not executed," she said. Portugal responded by advising that the government abolish capital punishment "both in practice and in law." Many similar recommendations followed. The UPR is conducted on the human right records of all UN member states. The latest review was Antigua & Barbuda's 2nd. The 1st review was conducted in 2011. Superintendent of Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Albert Wade confirmed that there are no inmates awaiting the execution of a sentence of death or "on death row" as any such inmates were ordered to be re-sentenced by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. (source: Antigua Observer) JAMAICA: Jamaican Diaspora's mixed feelings of possible return of hanging The Jamaicans in the U.S. may be united in a call for stronger action to stem the tide of killings in their birthplace but they are divided when it comes to resuming hanging. Reacting to a disclosure by Robert Montague, Jamaica's National Security Minister that the Andrew Holness Administration was considering bringing back the death penalty, Jamaicans in the Diaspora, especially in New York, said aggressive steps were urgently needed to reduce the high homicide rate but they were far from being unanimous on any return of capital punishment. "The problem we face is the wanton use of violence in the commission of crime in Jamaica," said New York Assemblyman Nick Perry, Assistant Speaker pro-tem of the legislature in Albany. "The killings of innocent people, especially in case in which the victims have handed over their possessions and are not fighting back are appalling and cry out for stiffer punishment. People are simply fed up with what is taking place and many are agitating for a strong response, including hanging. "Although I am not a supporter of the death penalty I wouldn't be among those who are arguing we must save the life of a convicted killer who murdered someone in such merciless circumstances," insisted Perry. "The country is desperate for a solution in the wake of some killings. "Scientific research has shown that capital punishment isn't a deterrent, but there is increasing support across Jamaica for it because in far too many cases, there was no rhyme or reason to take people's lives," added Perry, Chairman of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus in the state legislature. "I am not a death penalty advocate but in some cases its use may be justified." The recent killings of 2 American missionaries, Harold Nichols and Randy Hentzel, who had spent 14 years building houses and otherwise serving poor communities in the Albion Mountain region in north-eastern St. Mary have triggered widespread concern in and out of Jamaica. "Marks of violence were seen on Nichol's body," said Dwight Powell, Deputy Superintendent and acting head of St. Mary's police. Hentzel's body was found face down in bushes with his hands bound behind his back. "It was a horrible example of violence," said Assemblyman Perry. Joan Pinnock, President of the Jamaican-American Bar Association, Northeast, agreed but was quick to reject any return of hanging in the Caricom nation. "The crime situation is quite bad as children, seniors and the youth are being victimized," complained Pinnock, representative of the northeastern region of the U.S. on the Jamaica Diaspora Board. "But we must find
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., LA., OHIO, MO., ARK., CALIF., USA
May 11 TENNESSEE: Follis found guilty of 1st-degree murder in death penalty case An Anderson County man who is facing the death penalty as a possible sentence was found guilty of 1st-degree murder on Tuesday for killing his uncle in Claxton more than 4 years ago. A jury of 8 women and 4 men deliberated for about 1 hour and 40 minutes before unanimously returning the guilty verdict against Norman Lee Follis Jr., 52, in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton. Follis was convicted of killing his uncle, Samuel "Sammie" J. Adams, 79, sometime between December 5, 2011, and January 24, 2012. It was the 1st death penalty trial in Anderson County since 1991, officials said. Adams' body was found hidden underneath an apartment staircase on Patt Lane in Claxton on January 24, 2012, after he was reported missing in December 2011. His decomposing body was buried under at least 10 blankets, and a couch had been shoved up against the door of the closet where Adams was hidden, according to testimony. Defense attorneys did not dispute that Follis killed his uncle, a Korean War veteran. "We cannot whitewash that out," attorney Mart Cizek said. But they argued that Follis was defending first his girlfriend and then himself after he saw Adams on top of his girlfriend, Tammy Sue Chapman, 47, groping her. Follis tried to get Adams off Chapman, but Adams attacked Follis, the defense said. The 2 men fell to the floor, the defense said, where Follis grabbed a extension cord to defend himself and force Adams off of him. "I put it around his neck until he let go of me," defense attorney Wesley Stone said, recalling Follis' explanation for the killing. But prosecutors called it murder, a premeditated killing that profited Follis and Chapman. They said Follis misled family, neighbors, and law enforcement officers about where Adams was that last month - before his body was found in the Patt Lane apartment closet on January 24, 2012 - and they cited testimony that Follis sold Adams' car for $1,000 cash on January 16, 2012. They characterized Follis' explanation for the killing - the defense of a third party followed by self-defense - as a story that he latched onto and then elaborated upon during an interview with Anderson County Sheriff's Department Detective Don Scuglia. They said Adams was an ailing 79-year-old who sometimes used a walker. 2 hours of taped interviews with Scuglia were "full of lies," said Tony Craighead, deputy district attorney general in the Seventh Judicial District. "You heard lie after lie after lie," Assistant DA Emily Abbott told jurors. "He's making this up as he goes along." The sentencing hearing for Follis begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The jury will participate in that hearing, and they will weigh aggravating factors submitted by the prosecution against mitigating factors submitted by the defense. If the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors, the jury can choose the death penalty, Craighead said. Besides 1st-degree murder, Follis was found guilty on Tuesday of one count of property theft of more than $1,000. Indictments filed in February 2014 alleged that Follis and Chapman obtained a 1997 Mercury Marquis owned by Adams, as well as the keys to his home, without his permission. An autopsy said Adams died of strangulation. He was bruised on the right side of his neck, and part of his larynx was fractured on the left side. During closing arguments on Tuesday morning, Stone said Follis hid his uncle's body in the closet because he was scared and didn't know what else to do. Abbott called the couch the most damning piece of evidence. There had been testimony that the couch was either put in front of the closet door to conceal Adams or prevent him from getting out. The couch showed cool contemplation and not rage, Abbott said. Chapman has also been charged with 1st-degree murder. Like Follis, she is facing the death penalty, and an August trial has been scheduled for her. (source: Oak Ridge Today) Jury to decide: Death or life in prison for Anderson man guilty of murder Jurors took 90 minutes Tuesday afternoon to convict an Anderson County man of strangling his 79-year-old uncle. Now, jurors must return early Wednesday morning to decide 52-year-old Norman Lee Follis Jr.'s fate: whether he spends the rest of his life behind bars, with or without the possibility of parole, or is sent to death row to await execution. "We're very pleased with the jury's hard work on this case and the verdict," Anderson County Deputy District Attorney General Tony Craighead said. The death penalty trial was the 1st in Anderson County since 1991. Follis was convicted following a 2-day trial in the December 2011 death of Samuel J. "Sammie" Adams. His implanted pacemaker quit working at 9:43 a.m. Dec. 12, court records show. Adams' decomposing body wasn't found until Jan. 24, 2012, stuffed
