[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 17 SINGAPORE: HRW: Grant clemency to death row inmate in Singapore Singapore President Tony Tan should urgently grant clemency to death row prisoner Kho Jabing, who is due to be executed on May 20, Human Rights Watch has said. Jabing was convicted of the murder of Cao Ruyin in 2007. On 5 April 2016, the Court of Appeal, Singapore's highest court, dismissed Kho Jabing's appeal. An Appeals Court panel in January 2015 had reversed, by 3 to 2, a high court ruling overturning Kho Jabing's death sentence. At dispute was whether his actions during a botched robbery had been done in "blatant disregard of human life". At the time of Kho Jabing's conviction, Singapore law imposed a mandatory death penalty for the offence, thus preventing the court from considering the full circumstances of the crime. "President Tan should grant clemency to Kho Jabing in recognition of sentencing reforms under Singapore law," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The death penalty is always cruel, and a man's life should not hinge on a legal technicality." Mandatory death sentences are contrary to the rights to a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said. As the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions stated in 2005, a mandatory death sentence "makes it impossible [for the court] to take into account mitigating or extenuating circumstances and eliminates any individual determination of an appropriate sentence in a particular case The adoption of such a black-and-white approach is entirely inappropriate where the life of the accused is at stake." In 2012, Singapore's parliament amended the Penal Code to provide courts with some discretion in sentencing certain categories of murder, including murder without intent. Since the change of law was considered retroactive, Kho Jabing sought a review of his death sentence, stating the murder had not been pre-meditated, and there had been no "blatant disregard for human life." In August 2013, the High Court agreed and re-sentenced Kho Jabing to life imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane. Kho Jabing's accomplice in the crime, Galing Anak Kujat, had his conviction for murder overturned, and the court re-sentenced him for committing robbery with hurt and sentenced him to 18 1/2 years in prison and 19 strokes of the cane. Singapore is one of few countries that retains the death penalty, claiming without evidence that capital punishment deters crime. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all cases because of its inherent cruelty and irreversibility. "Singapore's continued use of the death penalty has no place in a modern state," Robertson said. "President Tan should cut through the complexities and controversies of this case and grant Kho Jabing clemency so that he is imprisoned for life." (source: aliran.com) *** Sarawakian's execution up to Singapore president If Singapore President Tony Tan does not reconsider Sarawakian Kho Jabing's new clemency petition, then the murder convict will be executed predawn on Friday. As recently as early this month, it was assumed Kho, 31, could have at least 3 more months pending a fresh clemency petition. "However, it has come to our attention that the president, while acknowledging Kho's intention to file a new clemency petition, has taken the position that his decision to reject the previous clemency petition in October 2015 still stands," said a joint statement released by human rights activists. "It is unclear if Tan will consider the new clemency petition once it is filed." The press release was issued by We Believe in Second Chances and the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign. Co-signees include Amnesty International, the Sarawak Advocates Association, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, Reprieve Australia, Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network and Center for Orang Asli Concerns. 12 relatives of other inmates on death row in Singapore also joined in the group petition. They include sisters, mothers and fiancees. The campaigners are urging the president to grant clemency to Kho and commute his death sentence to life imprisonment. "The fact that 1 High Court judge and 2 Appeal judges have expressed the opinion that the death penalty is not an appropriate punishment for Kho Jabing shows there continues to be doubt a death sentence is justified in this case. "It is of utmost importance this case not be rushed. "We call on the president to stay the execution scheduled for May 20, as to allow a reasonable time for the consideration of Kho's new petition," the statement added. Kho received a letter from the Singapore Prison Service on May 12 informing him that his execution had been scheduled. Kho was convicted of murder in 2011. The announcement came as a shock to family members who have flown to Singapore. "We do not condone Kho's crime, nor do we seek
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 17 JAPAN: After hanging, ex-citizen judge calls death penalty 'murder' Toshiyasu Yonezawa says he committed "murder" when he was performing his civic duty. The 27-year-old's "victim" was Sumitoshi Tsuda, himself a convicted killer who fatally stabbed 3 people in Kawasaki, including the landlord of an apartment. Tsuda, then 63, was the 1st person executed under the citizen judge system that was introduced in 2009 to allow ordinary citizens to have a say in the legal process. Yonezawa was 1 of the lay judges who demanded capital punishment for Tsuda 5 years ago. "I do not want to accept the fact that he was hanged," said Yonezawa, referring to Tsuda's execution in late 2015. After long refusing media requests for comment on Tsuda's death, Yonezawa agreed to be interviewed by The Asahi Shimbun. Now an opponent of capital punishment, Tsuda explained how he came to regret his decision and the traumatic effect of being responsible for ending a person's life. He urged people to "have 2nd thoughts" on death sentences. Under Japan's revised judiciary system, citizen judges hear the 1st trial of serious felony cases, including murder and robbery resulting in death or injury. 3 professional judges and 6 citizen judges discuss and decide on the verdict in each case. If the judges cannot unanimously agree on a sentence for the guilty party, the punishment is determined by a majority vote. At least 5 of the judges, including at least 1 of the professionals, must agree before the sentence is adopted. Lay judges are duty-bound to keep confidential any developments in their discussions of the trial and the results of majority votes. But they are allowed to give their own opinions about the trials. "For me, the death penalty used to be somebody else's problem, but it currently is not," Yonezawa said. "It is tough for ordinary citizens to be involved in a legal process that can claim someone's life." Yonezawa, a resident of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, said he has tried to forget the murder suspect, but he sometimes has flashbacks of Tsuda's face. "His expressionless face I saw in the courtroom appears in my mind," Yonezawa said. "I can't help but think about what he felt in the last moment of his life." Yonezawa was a senior at university when he and other judges sentenced Tsuda to death on June 17, 2011, as prosecutors had demanded. "We determined the ruling after paying due consideration to the feelings of the bereaved families and the defendant's early background," Yonezawa said at a news conference following the ruling. "I hope he will reflect on what he did and sincerely accept the sentence." At that time, Yonezawa still believed that capital punishment should continue, and that certain criminals in the world deserve to be executed. The following month, Tsuda dropped his appeal, and his death sentence was finalized. Yonezawa said he was relieved to hear that because the condemned inmate "accepted the decision that we made after many discussions." Shortly after the death sentence was finalized, one of Yonezawa's close friends said, "So you killed the person." Yonezawa was appalled. He had believed that the death penalty is the "heaviest punishment" carried out by somebody else. He had never associated his decision with the notion that he "killed someone" by indirectly involving himself. But his friend's words made him think: "Was it a proper decision?" And he had trouble trying to dispel feelings that his decision may have been wrong. Although Yonezawa attempted to shut his mind and forget the experience, he became nervous each time he heard reports about an execution. He did not tell anybody, but Yonezawa felt relieved when he learned that the inmate put to death was not Tsuda. But on Dec. 18, Tsuda was executed at the Tokyo Detention House. "I could not accept it as reality," Yonezawa said. "I thought if I did not believe the execution had been carried out, I could continue believing Tsuda was alive somewhere." Yonezawa refused the flood of requests for media interviews, saying he had nothing to say. He was also focused on his work at a company that he joined after graduation. Months after Tsuda's death, Yonezawa said he still does "not want to believe that," although he is well aware that Tsuda is gone. "The death penalty is no different than murder except that it is legally authorized," he said. After thinking about the capital punishment issue as his own problem, he now opposes the practice. In 2014, Yonezawa, working with about 20 former citizen judges and others, called on the justice minister to disclose more details about the death penalty to stimulate nationwide discussion on the practice. They also urged the minister to suspend executions for the time being. "I feel anger toward the fact that the government continues carrying out hangings, even though we are demanding that it should not,"
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEV., CALIF., WASH., USA
May 17 NEVADA: Nevada execution chamber construction moving forward despite drug cutoff The Nevada Department of Corrections is moving forward with the construction of a new execution chamber at Ely State Prison despite the announcement that the drugmaker Pfizer will not allow its drugs to be used for lethal injections. Pfizer became the last of about 25 Food and Drug Administration-approved drugmakers globally to officially cut off access, The New York Times reported last week. The company manufactures seven drugs that can be used in executions. Brooke Keast, public information officer for the Nevada Department of Corrections, said the project is proceeding. "Medication manufacturing can change at any given time," she said in a statement. "And if we receive a court order to execute, we can't say the reason for not following orders is DOC infrastructure." A Nevada prison official told the Review-Journal in July 2015 that the agency would use the drugs midazolam and hydromorphone to administer a lethal injection. Both of these drugs are manufactured by Pfizer. "Pfizer makes its products to enhance and save the lives of the patients we serve," the company said in a statement on Friday. "Consistent with these values, Pfizer strongly objects to the use of its products as lethal injections for capital punishment." The Nevada Legislature in the 2015 session approved spending $858,000 to build a new execution chamber at Nevada???s maximum-security prison at Ely. The current chamber is in the now-closed Nevada State Prison in the capital. Nevada has the death penalty and is required by law to use lethal injection for executions. State officials in December approved a nearly $94,000 contract with the architectural and engineering firm of Kittrell Garlock & Associates of Las Vegas to design the new execution facility. The last execution, by lethal injection, occurred at the Nevada State Prison on April 26, 2006, when Daryl Mack was put to death. Mack was executed for the rape and murder of a Reno woman, Betty Jane May, in 1988. (source: Las Veags Review-Journal) CALIFORNIA: 3 men eligible for death penalty plead not guilty 3 suspects arrested in connection with a deadly shooting appeared in court on Monday. Jeffrey Tapia, 20, Ricky Cortex, 19, and Daniel Marquez, 20, all pleaded not guilty on all charges connected to the murder of 31-year-old Benjamin Mendoza. They were arrested on suspicion of murder, conspiracy and participation in a criminal street gang and are all eligible for the death penalty. Mendoza was killed on May 11 near Madison Street and Del Mar Drive. His family said they do not believe Mendoza was connected to the suspects in any way. "We don't know if the victim was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," said the Kern County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ray Pruitt. The suspects are being held without bail and are expected to be back in court on May 25. (source: bakersfieldnow.com) * Death sentenced for man convicted of ordering victim's deathIn courtroom outburst, defendant denies wrongdoing in 2011 shooting by gang members. Judge rejects his last-minute moves to switch attorneys. A 41-year-old Moreno Valley man, described in court as a gang shot caller, was sentenced to death Monday, May 16, for ordering the shooting of a Moreno Valley man after a home-invasion robbery 5 years ago. What likely was his last appearance in a Riverside County Superior Court room repeated some elements that made the case stand out. Romaine Martin had a closed-door hearing with Judge Candace J. Beason over a request to get rid of his attorneys, not his 1st such request, and the judge denied it. He withdrew a motion for a penalty-phase retrial that had been prepared by his trial defense attorneys. Last month and again Monday, the judge rejected his requests to hire new attorneys. In both cases, the attorneys had not communicated with the court in advance about the requests. In an outburst, Martin said his rights had been violated, denied responsibility for the crimes and turned to victim Jerry Mitchell Jr.'s family members and said, "I pray for you." The judge warned that his conduct may warrant gagging, but after a break and talk with courtroom deputies, who numbered up to 8 at one point, Martin kept quiet. In a brief statement to the court during the sentencing hearing, the victim's father, Jerry Mitchell Sr., said Martin deserved to die and asked if it was possible to put Martin "in front of the line on death row." The father was consistently in the courtroom for proceedings over the 5 years, often accompanied by relatives and friends. A jury found Martin guilty in January of charges including murder as an aider and abettor, robbery, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and committing a crime in furtherance of a criminal street gang, according to court records. The same
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, IND., OKLA., S.DAK.
May 17 OHIO: Doing Harm: Medical Professionals and the Death Penalty It's a brutal photo. Romell Broom holds his arms in front of him, palms out. Dozens of white adhesive squares mark the locations of all 18 attempts to insert an IV by members of an Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction execution team in 2009. Broom had been sentenced to die for the 1984 rape and murder of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton. After two hours, during which eyewitnesses claim Broom showed signs of pain and distress, the execution was called off. It was the 1st time a state had attempted an execution but failed to kill the condemned person since lethal injection was first used by Texas in 1982. This past March, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that attempting to execute Broom again would not constitute cruel and unusual punishment or double jeopardy. With Pfizer's announcement last Friday that it would impose tighter regulations on drugs that can be used for executions, the last open-market source for those drugs has been closed. State-sanctioned killing will continue, but states must now buy drugs from under-regulated compounding pharmacies. For years, death penalty states have worked on the margins of medicine. During Broom's attempted execution, the fact that medical professionals (including nurses and a phlebotomist) failed to insert IVs properly is a case in point. When the execution team failed, Ohio corrections officials solicited the last minute assistance of physician Dr. Carmelita Bautista, who was working in the prison at the time. Bautista later told The Associated Press that she was asked to help locate an IV site. The Ohio Supreme Court's green light to the state to attempt to kill Broom again should raise another concern regarding state execution protocols: the ongoing participation of medical professionals in state-sanctioned killing. In spite of the injunction to "first do no harm," some doctors help maintain the US death penalty regime. In 2014, an Oklahoma family physician named Dr. Johnny Zellmer tried to insert an IV into the femoral vein of Clayton Lockett during an attempted execution. The drugs entered the tissue under his skin and not his bloodstream, causing extreme pain. After 43 minutes, Lockett died of a heart attack. His family filed a lawsuit against Zellmer, though it was ultimately unsuccessful. On December 9, 2015, a nurse on Georgia's execution team spent longer than an hour inserting IVs into Brian Keith Terrell's arms and also put one in his hand. Also in Georgia, on February 3, 2016, the execution team failed to insert IVs in 72-year-old Brandon Jones' arms. A physician then inserted an IV near his groin. Doctors have also been involved in executions indirectly. Dr. Mark Dershwitz, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, provided testimony in support of using a controversial drug combination for the execution of Dennis McGuire in Ohio. Dershwitz has testified in support of lethal injection protocols for 22 states and the federal government. McGuire's execution took 26 minutes, and according to witnesses he struggled and gasped for air. Months after that execution, Dershwitz announced he would be getting out of the testifying business. In spite of the injunction to "first do no harm," some doctors help maintain the contemporary US death penalty regime directly and indirectly, and they have the support of a few doctors and lawyers who have argued that doctors should be present at executions in order to avoid needless pain and suffering. Deborah Denno, professor of law at Fordham University and lethal injection expert, told Truthout that there should be more attention paid to the role medical professionals play in executions. "I think generally people are looking more at secrecy and drug acquisition. The Supreme Court hasn't really looked at medical professionals. But they've always been involved. They've always been there and it's ongoing." Denno noted that doctors who do participate are not always the best of the best -- in part because the pay is low and many of these doctors have had little success elsewhere. "And then we often only find out there are doctors present when there's a problem," she said. A Moral Slippery Slope That photo of Romell Broom's mutilated arms, widely available online, was taken by Dr. Jonathan Groner, a pediatric surgeon at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Groner was asked by Broom's attorney to examine him shortly after the attempted execution. Groner's visit to examine Broom was also his 1st visit to a prison. "It's an otherworldly experience to be there. Everything about the institution discourages conversation," he told Truthout. "Broom was basically in a cage, and I said to the guards, 'I need to see him; I can't just look at him in this cage.' He didn't look particularly threatening to me." The guards let
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., FLA., ALA., MISS., LA.
May 17 TEXAS: Europeans make journey to Texas death row Death row is where convicted murderers spend years of purgatory before the final walk to the death chamber. Many of them are shunned by their own families. But there's one group prisoners call their salvation: Europeans who send care packages, money and travel thousands of miles on a journey to death row. About an hour north of the big city of Houston lies the small town of Livingston, an unexpected tourist destination for Europeans like Mona Buras. "I go to school now," Buras says. "Studying theology. I want to be a prison minister." The 45-year-old mother of 2 just spent 26 hours traveling from Norway to visit a pen pal. "With Perry, I've been writing with for more than 2 years now," Buras says. "I get a friend. I really do." Her friend is a man who this summer, Texas plans to execute. "Everybody else has just really turned their back on me, mostly," death row prisoner Perry Williams says. He's convicted of robbing and murdering a medical student in Houston nearly 16 years ago. He claims the crime was not intentional. "A lot of stuff is really hazy because I was under the influence of PCP," Williams says. "Who pulled the trigger on that man?" reporter Emily Baucum asks. "It's up in the air because he swung on us," Williams responds. "The gun went off during the process." "I don't approve of it but I think they have 2nd chances," Buras says. "It's not my job to judge." A Norwegian mother and a Texas prisoner - it's an unlikely friendship Williams admits is difficult to comprehend. "I was skeptical because it was like, why do you want to help somebody that's supposed to be killing somebody?" Williams says. The death penalty has been abolished in all but one European country. In Norway, the maximum sentence for murderers is 21 years. No prisoner there has been executed in Buras' lifetime. "That's why I think it's strange for me," she says. "If you're American and you kill and if you're Norwegian you kill, you're still a killer. So how come we are so different in our punishment?" Websites show Europeans how to get in touch with and even visit American prisoners. In Texas, wardens don't track where visitors are from but motels in Livingston are often full of Europeans. In an email, a woman who visits from Switzerland writes. "It wasn't because I was bored with my life or something like that. It was a sincere interest to know why people still get executed." Sometimes the pen-pal friendships turn romantic. We heard from a woman who's engaged to a prisoner. She writes, "They can't call overseas, so I have never been able to receive a phone call from him." Even face to face, Buras and Williams' friendship is through a window. They say it's purely platonic - nothing sexual, but there is love. "Yeah I love her," Williams says. "I love her because like I say, she's proved a lot to me because she's doing something my family won't even do." "Yes, I do love him," Buras says. "It's hard to have this kind of relationship without getting to love them." They exchange letters and poetry. Buras says because her children's university costs are paid for by the Norwegian government, she's able to send Williams money. "I send what I have," Buras says. "If I have $50 I will send him that. If I have $10 I will send him that." Williams says he doesn't ask for money but does spend it on hygiene products. "Do you feel guilty taking money from her?" Baucum asks. "Yes, that's why I never say nothing," Williams responds. If you find Buras' behavior naive, she understands - because she too feels a culture shock. "The Americans would not believe what we do with our prisoners back home," Buras says. At Norwegian prisons, instead of barbed wire there's a system to help reintegrate criminals into society. But for Williams, the countdown is on. "Until the last minute," he says. "Until 6 o'clock on July 14." His execution will be the 1st time the 2 friends get to hug each other. "I just appreciate her giving me a chance to show the world that I'm not a lost cause," Williams says. As he lives his final months with remorse, Buras will be there until the end. "To imagine him in the chamber, getting strapped down to this bed and actually getting killed - it's really, really difficult," she says. Buras will make 1 more journey to death row in July when William is executed. News 4 will be there, too, to document that experience. (source: news4sanantonio.com) NORTH CAROLINA: Judge: Death penalty can be sought in veteran's burn death A judge has agreed that prosecutors can seek the death penalty against a man charged with beating and burning to death an Army veteran he had met at a bar in 2014. The News & Record of Greensboro reports (http://bit.ly/1qoqEUj ) that a judge agreed with aggravating factors cited by prosecutors. Those factors included the cruelty of the
