[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 8 PHILIPPINES: Senators split on lowering age of criminal liability to 9 Is the Philippines ready to put to death a 9-year old? Senator Paolo "Bam" Aquino IV posed this challenge to critics of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act and those calling for the lowering of age of criminal liability. Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, for his part, said he is willing to support the bill offhand, noting how crime syndicates are exploiting the juvenile delinquency law and that "times have changed." "There are 12 years old who can think like a criminal and is exposed to a world of crime. The workings of his mind are already different. So I suggest that Congress discuss this, but I'm willing to support the move to lower the age of criminal liability," Lacson said. Aquino said he cannot agree to adjust the age of juvenile delinquents that should be made to face the law in view of the possibility of the restoration of the death penalty. "If we allow both of these laws to pass, we would be putting even children as young as nine-year old as candidates on death row," said Aquino, chair of the Senate committee on youth. "So, is this the kind of Philippines that we want?" Aquino asked. The senator was reacting to a resolution filed by presumptive House Speaker and Davao del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez that seeks to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility from the current 15 years old to 9 years old. Alvarez also sought passage of the bill restoring the death penalty in keeping with President Rodrigo Duterte???s all-out anti-criminality campaign. But the senator said that to give full criminal liability to a nine-year-old would be "too cruel" and is not the appropriate kind of development a child or a youth should need. "If you put the 2 bills that he filed together, the restoration of the death penalty and the lowering of the age of criminal liability to 9 years-old, then we might be faced with a situation subjecting even a 9-year old child to life imprisonment or death penalty," Aquino pointed out. "I don???t know if the proponents of the law realize this but there are cases that drug couriers or drug lords or drug pushers use children and the children are the ones caught," he said. "That child can actually get life imprisonment or death penalty. I don't think that's what we want to do...Is the Philippines ready to kill a 9 year old that was involved in that kind of circumstances? I don't think that's what we want to do, to kill a child," Aquino said. Lacson said Congress should obtain strong empirical data on the number of youth criminals so lawmakers can be guided as to the appropriate age to hold a young offender criminally liable. "I need to see the statistics. We need strong empirical data. We shouldn't guess and then decide. But as far as I'm concerned, lowering the age of criminality, I'm saying this, is a foregone conclusion. We need to lower the age so there could be criminal liability," he said. "Because if a child is 12 or 15 years old but his discernment is that of a 20 or 21 years old, then he cannot be considered a victim. That's what I want to see, and we need to call in resource persons - psychologists, psychiatrists to complete the information we have," Lacson said. Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan had earlier cautioned lawmakers against rushing to enact laws that would dictate the future of the country's young people who need guidance. Pangilinan, who helped push for the passage of the bill into law in 2006, also objected to authors of the measure who believe juvenile delinquents are "pampered" criminals. "Pampered? Many of the child offenders I've met were not raised in pampered environments. Many of them started as petty thieves who were forced by hunger and poverty to commit such crimes," Pangilinan said. "They gradually escalated to drug use, usually to deaden their hunger because rugby is cheaper than food. Their sense of humanity is also destroyed," he pointed out. "We should be going after the syndicates, and not the children. What happens if you arrest and prosecute the child alone? What do you do with the syndicates who used them in the 1st place?" added the senator. Pangilinan said the provisions in both the original act and the amending law were backed by studies and said that any subsequent amendments to be introduced again should also be supported by hard data. He said RA 9344, as amended is considered a landmark child protection law that establishes a comprehensive and child-sensitive justice system. The law prohibits the detention of children in jails, especially with hardened criminals, and provides for juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention programs, among others. (source: mb.com.ph) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.C., GA., UTAH
July 8 NORTH CAROLINA: Tillis notes support for increased federal penalties following Dallas shooting Following a mass shooting in Dallas that took the lives of 5 police officers, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, emphasized his support for a measure that would punish perpetrators of similar incidents. By Friday afternoon, five police officers were confirmed dead in downtown Dallas shooting that occurred Thursday evening. Seven others, including 2 civilians, were injured. It was unclear on Friday afternoon how many total suspects participated in killing law enforcement officers. The Associated Press reported that police killed 1 suspect by using a robot to deliver a bomb. In a prepared statement issued Friday, Tillis said it's important to support law enforcement officers. He also mentioned a pending piece of legislation called the "Thin Blue Line Act," which would increase penalties for people who kill or attempt to kill first responders. The list of sponsors and cosponsors is entirely composed of Republicans, including Tillis. In his statement, Tillis mentioned the bill as a way to support law enforcement officers. More specifically, the bill supported by Tillis would amend the federal criminal code to make the murder or attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, firefighters or other first responder an aggravating factor for juries that are considering the death penalty. "Brave men and women put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe, and our federal laws should support them and give them the protections they need and deserve," Tillis said. Law enforcement officers are described in the bill as those who are authorized to "engage in or supervise the detention, investigation, prosecution or incarceration of any person for any criminal violation" and those who are authorized to apprehend or arrest anyone for a criminal violation. The aggravating factor would apply when the murder occurs while a first responder is at work or because of the first responder's job status. After it was first introduced in 2015, the bill received support from the National Sheriffs' Association. At the time, the organization noted that the death penalty can be considered when a federal law enforcement officer is murdered. The death penalty cannot be considered for state or local law enforcement officers. "It is an important recognition that the targeting of state and local law enforcement officers and firefighters is equally as abhorrent in the eyes of the law," said Executive Director Jonathan F. Thompson at the time. In his statement that followed the Dallas mass murder, Tillis stressed the vital role of law enforcement in North Carolina's communities. "I am proud of North Carolina's law enforcement community and grateful for the brave men and women in blue who risk their lives every single day to patrol our streets, protect our communities, and keep our families safe," Tillis said. "One of the great privileges I've had as North Carolina's senator is visiting police stations across the state and personally thanking our officers for the selfless risks and sacrifices they make for all North Carolinians. Wearing the blue uniform is one of the toughest and most dangerous jobs in America." (source: Salisbury Post) GEORGIAimpending execution Halt the Execution of John Conner (UA 162/16) John Conner, a 60-year-old man who has been on death row in Georgia for 34 years, is scheduled to be executed on 14 July. Represented at trial by an inexperienced attorney, his jury heard nothing about his abusive childhood, or his possible intellectual disability. 1) Please write immediately in English or your own language: -- Calling for John Conner's execution to be halted and his death sentence commuted; -- Expressing concern that the jury never heard about his abusive childhood or possible intellectual disability, and noting that the parole board now has the chance to consider the mitigating effect of this information; -- Noting the evidence of personal growth that John Conner has achieved on death row after his chaotic and violent upbringing and the positive role he is said to play in prison; -- Explaining that you are not seeking to excuse violent crime or downplay the suffering caused. see: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/usa-halt-the-execution-of-john-conner-ua-16216 (source: Amnesty International USA) UTAH: Police Identify Man Accused in Deaths of Utah Teen Siblings A Utah man accused of killing a teenage brother and sister in what's being called a senseless slaying over a T-shirt has been arrested on allegations that could become a capital murder case, authorities said Friday. Mario Cervantes-Angel, 28, fired several shots after Jose Izazaga, 16, came out with a knife to defend his sister because she was being pushed around, police said. The fight started after another man accused Abril
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 8 IRAQexecutions Isis has executed 5 Sunni tribesman and beheaded 6 of their own militants for spyingThe extremists are becoming increasingly paranoid as the borders of their self-proclaimed caliphate shrinks. The Islamic State (Isis) militant group has executed 6 of their own fighters and 5 Sunni tribesmen in Iraq for allegedly spying for their enemies. The jihadists are losing ground in their self-proclaimed caliphate which bridges Syria and Iraq and are becoming increasingly paranoid. Reports have emerged from several news agencies in Iraq that Daesh (Isis) beheaded 6 of their own fighters in Mosul on Wednesday 6 July on charges of 'treason' after accusing them of leaking crucial security information to the US-led coalition operating in northern Iraq. They were said to have been interrogated by senior IS commanders before being handed their sentences by the Mosul Sharia Court. The brutal killings come just 3 days after the US-led coalition renewed airstrikes on IS headquarters in Mosul killing dozens of militants, including top jihadi commanders. Then on 7 July in a new photo report purportedly released by IS militants in Azim, around 80 miles north of Baghdad, 5 Sunni tribesmen were executed. They were accused of assisting the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), which is an Iraqi state-sponsored organisation comprising some 40 militias including Shiite, Yazidi, Christian and some Sunni brigades. The report has not been independently verified by the IBTimes UK but the ARA News network have quoted a media activist named Abdullah al-Malla who cited an IS official saying: "The ISIS leadership suspected that the al-Hisba members were leaking confidential information to the western coalition - whose airstrikes have recently killed top jihadi officials. "After interrogation, the Mosul Sharia Court issued a decision to publicly execute the 6 suspects. The 6 jihadis were beheaded in front of dozens of IS officials in central Mosul," al-Malla added. Amongst the IS leaders who have been reportedly killed in recent US-led coalition bombing was Muhammad Ahmed al-Bajjari, head of IS military operations in northwestern Iraq. He was said to have played a main role in planning attacks against Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army near Mosul. Another air strike reportedly killed the head of the feared al-Hisba police known as Hatim Taleb al-Hamdouni. (source: ibtimes.co.uk) SOMALIAexecutions Al Shabaab Publicly Executes 2 Men in Central Somalia The Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabaab fighters in central Somalia have publicly executes 2 men by firing squad on Thursday afternoon, for killing unarmed civilians in the past. Sources say a firing squad from Al Shabaab carried out the execution against the men at a square in the coastal city of Harardhere in Mudug province which is controlled by militants. A local court belonging to Al Shabaab has sentenced 2 men whose names have been identified as Abdirahman Dhuhul Abdulle, 22, and Abdi Muse Hayle, 25, to death penalty in vengeance for previous 2 civilian killing. The sources who spoke to Radio Shabelle on condition of anonymity by phone, said hundreds of residents, including women and children have watched to execution of the 2 men. Somalia's central town of Haradhere, formerly a pirate hub is currently serving as the biggest operations and financial core for Al Shabaab fighters in Mudug region situated in the autonomous Galmudug regional state. (source: All Africa News) UGANDA: Gen Sejusa Aides Convicted of Treason 6 aides to Gen David Sejusa, the former coordinator of intelligence services, were yesterday afternoon found guilty of offenses related to plotting to overthrow President Museveni's government. The 6 who were found guilty by the General Court Martial sitting in Makindye include Corporal Grace Nasasira, Corporal Geoffrey Karuhanga, Private Frank Ninsiima, James Karuhanga Nayebare, Moses Kakarugahi Nuwagaba and Abel Twinamtsiko Treason, a charge which they have been found guilty of attracts a maximum penalty of death. The 7-member panel led by chairman of the General Court Martial Lt. Gen Andrew Gutti deferred the sentencing of the convicts until July 18. The court in its verdict relied on evidence showing that the convicts conducted meetings at Sekanyonyi trading centre in Mityana district and asked several soldiers to join their team on the instructions of Gen Sejusa and former presidential candidate Gen Benon Biraaro. The evidence showed that the recruited forces were to contrive a plot to overthrow the government on grounds that they had gathered intelligence information that President Yoweri Museveni had intentions of making his son Maj. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba the next president of Uganda. Prosecution further alleged that the convicts, in or around the months of March to May 2014 and while in the areas of Mityana and Kampala,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----S.DAK., NEB., COLO., CALIF., USA
July 8 SOUTH DAKOTA: Death penalty upheld in 1992 murder of Rapid City man at doughnut shop The U.S. District Court for South Dakota has upheld the conviction and death sentence for a man convicted in the 1992 murder of a 22-year-old Rapid City man who was stabbed to death at a doughnut shop. According to state Attorney General Marty Jackley, the motions filed by Charles Russell Rhines were denied by the federal court. Rhines had sought a motion for habeas corpus relief and to amend the penalty he received. Rhines was convicted in the murder of 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer in Rapid City on March 8, 1992. Rhines, now 59, was charged with fatally stabbing Donnivan Schaeffer, 22, during a burglary at a Rapid City doughnut shop in March 1992. Schaeffer, a part-time employee at the shop, walked in on Rhines while he was robbing the shop. "The Federal Court's ruling affirms that Charles Russell Rhines' murder conviction and capital sentence for the horrific murder of Donnivan Shaeffer are constitutional. My thoughts and prayers are with the Schaeffer family, who have waited 24 years for justice in this case," Jackley said in a news release on Thursday. A Pennington County jury convicted Rhines of 1st degree murder in 1993 and returned a sentence of death. Rhines' conviction and death sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the South Dakota Supreme Court in 1996. Rhines' conviction and sentence were also affirmed on state habeas proceedings by the state trial court and South Dakota Supreme Court. With the conclusion of his federal trial court habeas corpus proceedings, Rhines can file a notice of appeal within 30 days to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit and, ultimately, to the United States Supreme Court. Rhines must obtain permission from the federal court to pursue an appeal. (source: Rapid City Journal) NEBRASKA: Nebraska Supreme Court rejects challenge to death penalty petition drive The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected a legal challenge of a ballot question that asks voters to reinstate the death penalty. Lawyers for death penalty opponents had argued a successful petition drive was legally invalid because organizers failed to list Gov. Pete Ricketts as a sponsor. Ricketts and his family gave $300,000 to the petition drive in 2015 after the Nebraska Legislature overrode the governor's veto of death penalty repeal legislation. "The alleged failure to include his name in the list of sponsors did not make the referendum petition legally insufficient," Judge Lindsey Miller-Lerman wrote in the court's opinion. The high court upheld the decision of Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret. The legal requirement to list sponsors is intended to let voters know which individuals, organizations or corporations are behind a petition drive before signatures are collected. Friday's ruling paves the way for the ballot question to appear before voters when they go to the polls Nov. 8. (source: Omaha World-Herald) ** High court: Ricketts not a 'sponsor' of death penalty referendum Death penalty opponents lost a bid Friday to keep the question of whether the ultimate penalty should return to Nebraska off the ballot in November. Christy and Richard Hargesheimer of Lincoln had sought an injunction to keep Secretary of State John Gale from placing the question on the ballot, saying the petition drive that gathered some 169,000 signatures failed to disclose Gov. Pete Ricketts as a sponsor. But the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state and a pro-death penalty group, which argued that Ricketts wasn't a sponsor, despite the fact that he and his father contributed 1/3 of the $913,000 raised by Nebraskans for the Death Penalty and his close allies took roles to promote it. In Friday's order, Supreme Court Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman said sponsors are individuals or entities who assume responsibility for the initiative or referendum process, so Ricketts would not be required to be listed as one. Lawmakers didn't define "sponsor" or say what it meant to sponsor a petition in the statute, which left it a question for the court to decide. Attorneys for the Hargesheimers contended it was important for the public to know about Ricketts' contributions, both financial and otherwise. But the state's high court found that the disclosure of financial backers was met by other statutes that require their identification. And the court affirmed Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret's dismissal of the suit in February. (source: Lincoln Journal Star) COLORADO: Lack of answers in Colorado Supreme Court's firing of judge unacceptable The remarkable removal of a judge from a death-penalty appeal shortly before he was set to make a significant ruling demands public explanation. Lawyers for convicted murderer and death-row inmate Sir Mario Owens are right about that,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN. GA., FLA., ALA., TENN.
July 8 TEXAS: British woman on Texas death row may be spared as new evidence surfacesA hearing this week for Linda Carty presents her with hope that she might avoid death penalty amid evidence prosecutors coerced false witness testimonies A British woman who has been on death row in Texas for 14 years has been given renewed hope that she might be spared execution by an appeal hearing at which devastating evidence was presented that prosecutors had coerced false testimony from key witnesses. Linda Carty, 57, has a high profile in Texas as one of just 6 women facing execution in the state and as a British citizen by dint of her birth in St Kitts at a time when the Caribbean island was still a British colony. Her case has been highlighted in documentaries and championed by the likes of Bianca Jagger and the British government. Carty has always protested her innocence on charges that in 2001 she commissioned three men to carry out the kidnapping and murder of her neighbor, Joana Rodriguez, in a plot to steal the victim's 3-day old baby. Previous attempts to appeal her death sentence have failed, despite the absence of any forensic evidence against her and the fact that she was represented at trial by a defense lawyer who spent only 2 weeks preparing the case. Close observers say that this week's hearing before a single judge appointed by the Texas court of criminal appeals takes her plea of innocence to another level. The hearing, that is likely to be concluded with the judge's opinion in early September, presents her with the greatest hope yet that she might secure a retrial. Michael Goldberg of the law firm Baker Botts, who has been Carty's lawyer for the past 13 years, said that it was highly unusual that his client had even reached the stage of a post-conviction evidentiary hearing. "We were very happy when the Court of Criminal Appeals granted us this hearing, since it rarely does in Texas," he said. Goldberg added that "now that we've concluded the hearing, the evidence that we were able to present shows even more conclusively that Linda's rights in the 1st trial were abused and that a new trial is required". During this week's hearing, Goldberg spent 8 hours cross-examining Connie Spence, the lead prosecutor in the case who still works as a supervisor for the Harris County district attorney's office in Houston. Part of that cross-examination related to the explosive affidavit given in 2014 by Charles Mathis, a former agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration. In the affidavit, Mathis recounted how he had recruited Carty as a confidential informant who could provide useful information to the DEA on drug dealing in the city given her expertise as a trained pharmacist. He said that when he told Spence that he did not want to testify at trial against Carty, the prosecutor threatened to concoct a story about him having had an affair with the defendant. "I was shocked when Spence said this ... I felt Spence was threatening and blackmailing me into testifying." The judge heard further allegations that the prosecutors had fabricated evidence, destroyed essential case notes and emails that might have helped the defense and withheld several recorded witness statements that should have been handed over to the defense team. Both Spence and another prosecutor on the case who also still works for the DA's office appeared at the hearing, and both denied that they had done anything to coerce evidence from any of the witnesses. According to a report of the hearing by the Houston Chronicle, Spence told the judge: "Defense had access to the evidence any time they wanted to look." Closing arguments in the appeal will be presented on 29 August, and the judge has indicated he will give his opinion within the first 10 days of September. Should the judge recommend a retrial, it will then be up to the full court of criminal appeals to decide whether or not to act upon his advice. (source: The Guardian) PENNSYLVANIA: Death-row inmates can get federal legal helpThe Federal Community Defender Office represents 4 out of 12 death row inmates in the York County Court of Common Pleas. Hector Morales got on the witness stand in the York County Court of Common Pleas on Jan. 19, 2011, and told jurors that he didn't kill Ronald "Country" Simmons to prevent him from testifying in a drug case. Instead, Morales testified, the 2 worked out an agreement. He was going to give Simmons, 42, a discount on drugs - and the occasional freebie. The jury didn't buy it. And on March 1, 2011, jurors came back with a punishment for the crime: death. Now, Morales, 33, is asserting that his constitutional rights were violated. He's arguing the prosecution committed misconduct during the trial, and that his previous lawyers were ineffective. "I am innocent of the crimes for which I was found guilty," Morales wrote in court documents filed on
