[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 28 IRANexecutions Hangings continue in Iran this week 14prisoners were executed at prisons in the Iranian city of Karaj this week. 11 were executed on Wednesday 25 May in Gohardasht Prison; one of whom is believed to have been a minor at the time of his alleged offence. A further 3 prisoners were executed on Tuesday at Qezelhesar Prison. The victims in Gohardasht were all aged between 22 and 25, and are believed to be Mohsen Agha-Mohammadi, Asghar Azizi, Farhad Bakhshayesh, Iman Fatemi-Pour, Javad Khorsandi, Hossein Mohammadi, Masoud Raghadi, and Khosrow Robat-Dasti and Medhi Rajai- who is thought to have been 16 when he purportedly committed his capital offence. Of the 3 prisoners executed at Qezelhesar Prison only Ruhollah Roshangar, a married father of 2, has been identified. All those executed had been behind bars for 4 years. There were also public hangings this week in the Iranian cities of Ramsar and Shiraz. 2 other prisoners were hanged in a prison in Shiraz. Last week an estimated 21 hangings took place over 48 hours. Since 10 April at least 116 people have been executed, according to the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Amnesty International has released an annual report into the death penalty. Iran has consistently ranked high in regional and global counts; with 82% of all executions in the Middle East and North Africa taking place in the country. "Any claim of moderation under Hassan Rouhani is simply a myth. It is high time for the United Nations and human rights organizations to speak out against the brutal executions", says Farideh Karimi of the NCRI. The NCRI has called the government's domestic policy an attempt to "intensify a climate of terror" whilst Iran is embroiled in a desperate bid to support Bashar al-Assad. (source: Iran Focus) UNITED KINGDOM: 2,200 Brits Held In Foreign Jails More than 2,000 British expats and holidaymakers are held in foreign jails - including 13 awaiting the death sentence, according to new official data. In response to a freedom of information request, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued a country-by-country list of how many Brits are in prison. The list includes convicted prisoners as well as those awaiting trial. The total adds up to 2,205 British prisoners. The Foreign Office also revealed 13 prisoners are facing execution in the USA, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya and Ghana. "The British government is against the death penalty and we are doing all we can to stop the execution of any British national anywhere in the world," said a spokesman. Drugs and child sex offenders The Foreign office declined to discuss individual cases or identify those on death row. The spokesman also disclosed that 887 Britons were held in jails around the world for drug offences - which is 40% of the total number of prisoners held. The other main categories were child sex offenders (154) and immigration offences (102). The top 5 countries holding British prisoners are the USA (540), Spain (247), Ireland (222), Australia (144) and France (104). "We would warn any expats or travellers from the UK to make sure that they understand and obey the laws of any countries they visit, even if they are only passing through," said the spokesman. "Behaviour which is acceptable at home may cause serious offence in another country." Britons in foreign jails Country Prisoners USA 520 Spain 247 Ireland 222 Australia 144 France 104 Germany 83 United Arab Emirates 82 Thailand 81 Japan 43 Canada 42 Pakistan 42 Philippines 37 Peru 34 India 33 Portugal 31 Italy 27 Jamaica 26 New Zealand 25 Norway 20 Taiwan 18 Turkey 17 Netherlands 16 China 15 Indonesia 15 Morocco 13 Switzerland 13 Trinidad and Tobago 13 Cambodia 12 Greece 12 Belgium 11 Malta 11 Bulgaria 10 Hong Kong 9 Brazil 8 Cyprus 7 South Africa 7 Costa Rica 6 Dominican Republic 6 Ethiopia 6 Total 2068 [source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office] Note: Countries holding 5 or less British prisoners are excluded from the table (source: parsherald.com) Littleport's hunger riots: Descendants mark 200th anniversary It resulted in 5 men being hanged on the scaffold and a mixed legacy of shame and pride. But what triggered a Cambridgeshire village to go on a 3-day rampage soon after the end of the Napoleonic Wars? The rioting broke out in Littleport on 22 May 1816, when about 100 people armed with pitchforks, cleavers and guns smashed windows and broke down doors, stealing money, food and goods from their wealthier neighbours. Resident Elizabeth Little described Thomas South brandishing his cleaver and when she asked if he wanted bread or meat, he replied: "No, we want money". He demanded 1 pound, but on being told Mrs Little only had 10 shillings, took that instead. Littleport's vicar tried to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IDAHO, USA
May 28 IDAHO: Documents: Murder suspect laughed after knocking victim out with 2???4 board Timothy Blaney was so irate when he found his wife in bed with another man that he grabbed a 2-by-4 piece of wood and beat the the man unconscious, according to court documents and incident reports obtained by EastIdahoNews.com. The 22-year-old victim, Skylar Huffield, was rushed to the Portneuf Medical Center, where he died. Blaney, 20, was charged with 1st-degree murder Thursday and could face the death penalty. Court documents show Blaney and his wife separated in February but are still legally married and have a child together. Blaney recently moved to Oregon, and his wife met Huffield on Facebook. They began having a relationship in Pocatello earlier this week, according to documents. Incident reports show Blaney's wife and Huffield were in bed together at a home on the 3800 block of Hawthorne Road around 3 a.m. Wednesday. Blaney's wife told investigators that she was awakened by Blaney turning on the lights in the bedroom. Blaney asked, "Is this the guy you're sleeping with?" then left the room and returned with a piece of wood, according to documents. "Blaney began striking Huffield in the head with the 2-by-4 as he was lying on the bed," documents state. "(Blaney's wife) said she climbed over Huffield and grabbed Blaney around the waist in an effort to prevent him from hitting Huffield but was unable to stop him." A man who was sleeping in the front room on a couch heard the commotion and woke up. He saw Blaney walking back and forth from the bedroom to the kitchen. "I caught my wife sleeping with another guy, he woke up and I knocked him back out," Blaney allegedly told the man. "(The witness) said Blaney laughed as if this was amusing to him," reports state. Blaney's wife called police and he left the home in his vehicle. Officers arrived and Huffield was unresponsive, so paramedics were called. A short time later, an officer spotted Blaney at a Pocatello gas station. He was arrested and taken into custody. Huffield was rushed to Portneuf Medical Center and had massive swelling to his brain, according to court documents. Doctors told detectives he would not survive his injures, and he was pronounced dead at 2:22 p.m. Wednesday. Blaney was arraigned Thursday in Bannock County. Magistrate Judge Rick Carnaroli ordered that Blaney remain in the Bannock County Detention Center on a $1 million bond. Randall D. Schulthies is the public defender representing Blaney, who is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on June 8. Blaney faces a potential death penalty or imprisonment of life. Bannock County prosecutors have 60 days to determine if they will seek the death penalty. (source: eastidahonews.com) USA: To Save Our Justice System, End Racial Bias in Jury Selection The Supreme Court ruled correctly on Monday when it found that Georgia prosecutors in Foster v. Chatman had illegally barred African-Americans from serving as jurors in a death penalty trial. But the decision does not end racial discrimination in jury selection. The best way to do that is to limit the number of jurors that lawyers can strike for no reason at all to just 1 or 2 per side. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers can exclude any number of prospective jurors for legitimate reasons - if a juror knows the defendant, has formed an opinion about the case or is unlikely to be impartial. But lawyers can also dismiss several more potential jurors simply because they do not want them - without explaining why. In federal felony trials, the prosecutor has six peremptory challenges and the defense usually has 10. In federal death penalty cases, each side has 20. State numbers vary. In the Foster case, which dates from the 1980s, the prosecutors eliminated people simply because of race. Timothy Foster, a black man, stood accused of killing an elderly white woman when he was a teenager. The prosecutors worked conscientiously to exclude the potential black jurors; they marked their names with a "B" and highlighted each black juror???s name in green on four different copies of the juror list. Those jurors were ranked against one another in case, one member of the prosecutorial team said, "it comes down to having to pick one of the black jurors." The plan worked, and an all-white jury sentenced Mr. Foster to death. This was an egregious case, but not a unique one. Far too often in criminal or death penalty cases that involve a black defendant, prosecutors try to exclude black jurors because they believe it will increase the chances of a conviction. In Houston County, Ala., prosecutors struck 80 percent of qualified black jurors from death penalty cases from 2005 to 2009. If these strikes are challenged, prosecutors can claim race-neutral reasons. In Mr. Foster's case, prosecutors said one prospective juror who was excluded didn't make enough
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., PENN., N.C., ALA.
May 28 TEXASstay of impending execution A court just stayed this Texas man's execution because a witness was hypnotized Charles Flores, a Texas death row inmate who was scheduled to be executed next week June 2, was granted a stay of execution late Friday afternoon. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed Flores' execution date and sent his case back to the trial court for a hearing based on his claim that improper hypnosis was used on the main eyewitness in his murder trial. As Fusion reported earlier this month, Flores was convicted for the 1998 murder of Elizabeth "Betty" Black in a Dallas suburb. A jury sentenced him to death the following year even though prosecutors presented no physical evidence linking him to the crime, and the only witness who saw him at the scene, Jill Barganier, was hypnotized by police. As part of Flores' final appeal, which was filed last week, psychology professor Steven Lynn said in an affidavit that recent research shows the hypnosis could have made Barganier create false memories. "Clearly, the techniques that were used to refresh Ms. Bargainer's memory would be eschewed today by anyone at all familiar with the extant research on hypnosis and memory," Lynn wrote. That hypnosis was the crux of the appeals court's ruling. The court approved his application for a writ of habeas corpus by essentially finding reason to believe a reasonable juror may not have convicted him if they had heard evidence like Lynn's testimony. Now, the trial court in Flores' case will hold a hearing specifically on the hypnosis issue and the eyewitness identification. If Flores' lawyers can show by a preponderance of the evidence that a jury would acquit him today after hearing new scientific evidence, it would lead to a brand new trial for Flores, more than 17 years after he was convicted. "We're ecstatic for Charles right now," said Gregory Gardner, 1 of Flores' attorneys. "This hypnosis was always very troubling from the beginning... and we're thrilled that now the Texas courts are going to take a closer look at it." The warden at the Polunksy Unit, the Texas death row prison where Flores is housed, is expected to notify him of the ruling later tonight. While the appeals court focused on the hypnosis issue in its ruling, Flores also brought up other issues in his appeal - including the fact that his white co-defendant received a much shorter sentence than he did and is currently out of prison on parole. 2 of the 9 judges on the appeals court, which is the highest court in Texas that hears criminal cases, dissented from granting a stay. Only 1 of the judges who supported Flores' application, David Newell, wrote an opinion explaining his thinking. "Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions across the country," Newell wrote. "We may ultimately grant relief. We may ultimately deny relief. But either way, given the subject matter, by granting a stay this Court acknowledges that whatever we do, we owe a clear explanation for our decision to the citizens of Texas." (source: fusion.net) *** Issue of Mental Health Assessment a Focus as 3 Fight Death Sentences Throughout Mental Health Month in May, The Texas Tribune is partnering with Mental Health Channel and KLRU to focus on some of Texas' biggest challenges in providing mental health care. See all the stories in this series. Randall Mays is on death row for killing 2 sheriff's deputies. Scott Panetti was sentenced to die for killing his estranged wife's parents. And a jury condemned Robert Roberson for killing his 2-year-old daughter. Beyond being on Texas' death row, the 3 share another common thread: their attorneys are challenging whether the criminal justice process addresses the issue of mental illness fairly and comprehensively when weighing the death penalty for killers. In each case, trial prosecutors and attorneys for the state have argued the men intentionally killed their victims and understand why they were convicted and sentenced to death, a constitutional benchmark before the condemned can be executed. But attorneys for the men argue that although their clients are killers, their documented mental health histories could negate the intentional killing argument and therefore raise the question of whether execution is cruel and unusual punishment. Though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states can't execute the intellectually disabled, an exact legal definition of that condition remains open to debate. Any of these three cases could ultimately help clarify that issue for others in similar situations. Mays' and Panetti's attorneys argue their clients aren't competent to be executed. Roberson's attorneys say his right to due process was violated at trial. Criminal justice experts say that determining mental health can be hard for anyone, including judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors
