[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 28 PAKISTAN: Pakistani Boy Facing Death Penalty After Muslim Accused Him of Burning Quran Released from Prison A 9-year-old Christian boy facing the death penalty after being accused of burning the Quran has been released from prison thanks to the efforts of politicians and humanitarian groups. According to the London-based charity British Pakistani Christian Association, the little boy, Izhan, was at school in the town of Quetta when he was accused of burning a copy of Islam's holy book by a local Muslim. The next day, he and his mother, Shakil, who works as a nurse at a nearby hospital, were arrested without the police conducting an investigation into the blasphemy allegations - a crime carrying the death penalty. "News of the arrests created huge community tension, however prompt police action prevented threats to the Christian community and the formation of a mob from becoming a full scale attack on an innocent Christian community," reads the BPCA report. Pakistani human rights activists quickly went to try and secure the release of the child and his mother, and officers from BPCA, along with other human rights advocates, spent the four days after the arrest calling for their freedom. The 2 Christians were released last week, and police confirmed that no evidence of any alleged Quran desecration was found. Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws often target Christians, which make up just 1.6% of the country's population. According to BBC News, "scores" of Christians have been found guilty of desecrating the Koran or of blasphemy since 1990. Earlier this year, a young Christian boy in Pakistan was charged with blasphemy and forced to run for his life after Muslim leaders offered a $10,000 reward for his body because he was falsely accused of viewing anti-Muslim material on his phone. Last month, a 16-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly posting an image of the Kabba in Mecca on his Facebook page. The crime should have received a maximum of a 10 year sentence - however, in a recent ruling, a judge increased the charge, meaning the teen could face death by hanging. The teen's family have been forced to flee their home in Bhai Pheru for fear of violence as their son awaits trial in prison. Pakistan, the world's 2nd largest Muslim country, is ranked #6 on the Open Doors 2016 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians, and has received the maximum score in the violence category. Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, condemned Pakistan's blasphemy laws, saying "they serve no purpose but to cause pain and anguish to innocent victims." "They are used as tools for discrimination and to settle personal vendettas," he said. "International bodies like the UN turn a blind eye to the impact of such laws to the detriment of global society. Their failure to respond is simply creating schism and animosity and the rise of Islamophobia, despite the fact most liberal Muslims despise the laws themselves." He added, "Pakistan's refusal to reform or abrogate these laws should be recognized as a contravention of human rights especially freedom of religion, conscience and free speech. Action must be taken now before Pakistan a nuclear nation reaches a point of no return, especially considering the whipping up of hatred towards minorities that Imams in Pakistan use the laws to generate." (source: The Gospel Herald) PHILIPPINES: '5 executions a day' if death penalty returns, Duterte quipsHouse speaker vows bill to revive death penalty out before Christmas The Philippines might carry out 5 executions of convicted criminals a day to ease prison congestion once the death penalty is reimposed in the country, President Rodrigo Duterte candidly remarked during a meeting with the Filipino community in Tokyo. "Some have opposed it even if our jails are overcrowded with some reaching 1,000. But that's not a problem, we will execute 5 every day," the president said while on a visit to Tokyo a few days ago. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, for his part, has assured the House bill seeking to reinstate death penalty will be passed before Congress goes on a Christmas break. "I don't know with the Senate, I don't control it, but as far as the House is concerned, we will approve it before the Christmas break," Alvarez said in a media interview in Tokyo on the sidelines of the President's visit. Alvarez said it was up to the executive branch to propose about the form of capital punishment. "If they want to hang them, shoot them by firing squad, it's up to them. The criminals would be dead either way." He said death penalty was not an effective deterrent to crimes before because the previous governments did not carry out more executions. "Before they speak, they should look at the record first. How many were killed? It had not been a deterrent because they kept on objecting, so it
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., ALA., NEB., USA
Oct. 28 FLORIDA: Options would solve death penalty dilemma The usual objections people give for opposing the death penalty are: it's cruel, inhumane and expensive for taxpayers. I am ambivalent about the death sentence, but not for any morally ambivalent reason. Yes, I completely agree with the argument about the possibility of human error in convicting an innocent person. I don't think the possibility of a death sentence has ever stopped anyone from killing someone, so, it's obviously not a deterrent at all. I think there should be alternative methods of punishment, which would remove the question of moral objection from jurors' minds for the most heinous of crimes. There should be more than just the death penalty Yes or No option. I'm willing to give someone convicted of a death penalty-level crime options - a buffet of options from which they can choose. First, the option of spending the rest of their life in solitary confinement OR the death penalty. If they decide on the death penalty, they would get a choice of how they want to be killed; lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, guillotine, etc., you get the idea. I think this approach would remove at least 99 % of the moral objections anybody might have about finding someone guilty in a death penalty case. It would come down to the convicted person's decision of which option to take. I think it's all very civilized and rational by having removed all the wiggle room for moral objections. Claudia Krysiak, Tamarac (source: Letter to the Editor, Sun Sentinel) ** Pam Bondi: It's 'obvious' Supreme Court didn't halt death sentences in Florida Confusion continues to surround Florida's death penalty after the state Supreme Court ruled two weeks ago that death sentences must be made on a unanimous jury vote. That decision upended a new law passed this spring that required a 10-2 vote by the jury to sentence someone to death after they have already been found guilty. It led to questions about whether the Legislature must act before death sentences can commence. Not so, says Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Death penalty trials should continue. Still, Bondi's office has asked the Supreme Court to clarify its rulings in Hurst vs. Florida and Perry vs. Florida, the two death penalty cases the justices decided on Oct. 14 that ruled a split jury could not sentence someone to death. "We're just seeking clarification toclarify for the trial courts and just state the obvious," Bondi said. In fact, she said, a circuit court judge in Ocala "erred" last week when it put sentencing on hold in a double-murder case. "The death penalty is still constitutional," Judge Robert Hodges said, according to reports in the Ocala Star-Banner. "But the process to get there is gone." That's the argument that some death penalty defense lawyers have made in the weeks following the court's Hurst and Perry rulings. Other questions remain unanswered about the death penalty in Florida, as well. Namely, what happens now to the 386 death-row inmates convicted and sentenced under thrown-out laws? The question has caused stress among prosecutors who worry a mandate from the Supreme Court to retry cases or resentence convicted murderers would cause a catastrophic backlog. But Bondi's not worried. Reporters asked Tuesday whether she thought there would be "hundreds of retrials and hundreds of resentencings"? "I don't, I don't," she said. (source: Tampa Bay Times) ALABAMA: Lawyers question whether Alabama inmate felt burning pain during lethal injection Alabama death row inmate Christopher Brooks may have been burned alive by the state's new lethal drug cocktail during his January execution, a former federal public defender from Alabama wrote in a column published Thursday on the political website The Hill. Bob Horton, spokesman for the Alabama Department of Corrections, denied the allegation. "The claim is unsubstantiated. There is no evidence to lead to a conclusion that the inmate suffered," he stated in an email to AL.com on Friday morning. Stephen Cooper, in his post, points to an April 15 complaint filed by a federal public defender representing death row inmate Ronald Bert Smith, who is now scheduled to be executed Dec. 8. Smith and several other death row inmates, including Tommy Arthur who is set for execution Nov. 3, have been challenging Alabama's new three-drug lethal injection protocol as violating the 8th Amendment provision against cruel and unusual punishment. The state had halted executions for more than two years as they looked for a new source of the lethal injection drugs and dealt with the lawsuits. The new 3-drug combination was first used in Brooks' execution on Jan. 21. Brooks, 43, was convicted in the December 1992 brutal rape and murder of Jo Deann Campbell inside her Homewood apartment. "I hope this brings closure to everybody," Brooks
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 28 CANADA: Survey respondents cite the business case for the death penalty Earlier this year, Canada marked 4 decades since the abolition of the death penalty. Last July, Insights West looked at how Canadians feel about this issue and found some eye-catching results, both in policy and motivations. Across the country, 53% of Canadians support reinstating the death penalty for murder in Canada; 36% are opposed. It must be outlined that support, while high, is tepid, with 29% of Canadians saying they are "somewhat" in favour of bringing back capital punishment. Still, the fact that a majority of Canadians would change such a fundamental component of the justice system merits a deeper look. Men (at 56%) are slightly more likely to be in favour of the death penalty than women (52%). Canadians aged 55 and over are also more supportive of changing the law (59%) than those aged 35 to 54 (51%) or 18 to 34 (also 51%). Alberta boasts the highest proportion of capital punishment supporters (57%), but British Columbia is not far behind (52%). When the results are analyzed through party lines, people who voted for the federal Conservative Party in 2015 are overwhelmingly in favour of reinstating the death penalty (68%). Canadians who voted for the New Democratic Party or the Liberal Party last year are not as convinced (53% and 48%, respectively). Our views on the death penalty are also affected by recent news and events. Pollsters who asked this question in the aftermath of the Karla Homolka trial, for instance, garnered higher support for the death penalty than at previous times in the country's history. This might also explain why Alberta scored higher than any other region this year, because the survey was conducted immediately after Calgary resident Edward Downey was charged with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder. What was truly surprising about the latest survey is that the reasons cited by supporters of capital punishment are not purely moral. When those Canadians who would like to see the death penalty return to Canada were asked about their motivations, only 24% agreed with the notion that "murderers cannot be rehabilitated." Half of death penalty supporters (50%) suggest that capital punishment would provide "closure to the families of murder victims," while a similar proportion (53%) subscribe to the "eye for an eye" dictum: if a murderer has taken a life, the death penalty fits the crime. The idea of capital punishment acting as a deterrent for potential murderers is endorsed by 59% of death penalty supporters. Surprisingly, none of these reasons are top of mind for Canadians who would like to bring back the death penalty. Almost 2/3 of them (63%) believe the death penalty would save taxpayers money and the costs associated with having murderers in prison. The survey shows that fiscal concerns are the main reason cited for Canadians who want to change a law that has been in place for 4 decades. It is atop the list of motives for men (70%), Canadians aged 55 and over (73%) and Conservative voters (also 73%). It is not a shock to see a large majority of Albertans who support the death penalty (78%) side with the notion of saving money. The surprise is that the proportion is slightly higher in British Columbia (82%). Conversely, opponents of the death penalty in Canada cite the possibility of wrongful convictions (76%) as the main reason to resist any change in existing legislation. Several high-profile cases in the United States have not gone unnoticed by Canadians, who are keenly aware of the mistakes that a justice system can make. (source: Commentary; Mario Canseco is vice-president of public affairs for Insights WestBusiness Vancouver) PAKISTAN: Lawmakers to seek clemency for schizophrenic man on death row A human rights committee in Pakistan's upper house of Parliament has called on the government to spare a mentally disabled man from the death sentence which is due next week. Lawmaker Farhatullah Babar says the committee will seek a pardon from President Mamnoon Hussain for 50-year-old Imdad Ali, a convict who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2008. Thursday's development comes days after Pakistan's highest court rejected Ali's final appeal, claiming his disease does not qualify as a mental disorder. Ali has been on death row since he was convicted in 2001 of murdering a religious scholar. Babar says the committee was taking action because 2 Pakistani brothers were "wrongfully hanged" last year while their appeals were still pending. Under Pakistan's Constitution, the president has the authority to pardon any convicted person but Mamnoon had rejected an earlier mercy petition in May. The legal team filed a new petition last month. Since reintroducing the death penalty in 2014, Pakistan has executed 425 people. The reintroduction of the death penalty was prompted by the mass killing of more
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., LA., ARK., KAN., NEB., CALIF.
Oct. 28 TEXASnew execution date Steven Long has been given an execution date for June 28, 2017; it should be considered serious. ** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present20 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-538 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 21-December 7---John Battaglia539 22-January 11---Christoper Wilkins540 23-January 25---Kosoul Chanthakoummane541 24-January 26---Terry Edwards-542 25-February 7---Tilon Carter--543 26-April 12-Paul Storey---544 27-June 28---Steven Long--545 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) GEORGIAimpending execution//volunteer 8th Georgia execution this year to be of a man who says he did it Georgia on Thursday scheduled the lethal injection of Steven Frederick Spears, who thus far has chosen not to fight his death sentence for murdering his girlfriend in 2001. If he dies by lethal injection on Nov. 16 as scheduled, Spears, 54, will be the 8th person Georgia has executed this year, which is more than any other state. Last week, Georgia executed Gregory Lawler for murdering an Atlanta police officer in 1997. His lethal injection was Georgia's 7th since Feb. 3, more than any other year since the death penatly was reinstated nationwide in 1976. Spears, now 54, readily admitted he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Sherri Holland, in the early-morning hours of August 25, 2001, in Lumpkin County. "I loved her that much. I told her I wasn't letting her go, and I didn't," Spears said in his confession. "(If) I had to do it again, I'd do it." Spears told friends and detectives that he had warned Holland whey they started dating that if he "caught her or found out she was (with) somebody else," he would "choke her ... to death." When he began suspecting Holland was romantically involved with someone else, Spears made 4 plans to kill her. Following 1 plan, Spears connected electrical wiring to the plumbing in the crawlspace under Holland's house so she would be electrocuted in the shower during a lightening storm. According to court records, Spears boasted, "Pretty creative, ain't it?" He also left a bat under a canoe at Holland's house in case he decided to beat her to death. Spears also crawled into Holland's house throught an air conditioner vent to leave a loaded shotgun for later. "If she brought somebody else in there I was just gonna shoot him,", Spears said. His 4th plan - which he used - was to choke her, bind her with duct tape, and suffocate her with a plastic bag. On the night of Aug. 24, 2001, Spears hid in Holland's son's closet for several hours. Around 2:30 a.m. or 3 a.m. the next day, he went into her bedroom and woke her. As Holland tried to run, Spears hit her several times in the head, then followed through with his 4th plan. "Last thing she said was she loved me," Spears told investigators. Holland's ex-husband found her body when be brought their son home after a visit. By then, Spears was hiding in the woods, sleeping in a deer stand. 10 days after the murder, Spears came out of hiding and was picked up as he walked along a highway. He said he was going to turn himself in. Even though Spears declined to challenge his conviction or sentence, death penalty cases are automatically appealed to the Georgin Supreme Court. On Feb. 16, 2015, the Georgia Supreme Court rejected the automatic appeal, and the Spears case was not voluntarily submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court for review, which is usually the next step. Unless he changes his mind, Spears will be the 1st person to go to his death in Gerogia without contesting his sentence. 20 years ago, Larry Lonchar was electrocuted for a DeKalb Country triple murder after he gave up his appeals, but only after he twice allowed his lawyers to file challenges hours before he was scheduled to die. (source: Atlanta Journal Constitution) LOUISIANA: DA to seek death penalty against suspect in stabbing death A Jefferson Parish grand jury has indicted a man accused of stabbing a restaurant manager to death during a June robbery on 1st-degree murder charges and the district attorney's office says it will seek the death penalty. District Attorney Paul Connick, in a statement Thursday, said he came to that decision regarding 23-year-old Joshua Every after meeting with the victim's family and consulting with staff. Every and 3 others are charged in the death of 21-year-old Taylor Friloux, who managed a Raising Cane's restaurant in Kenner. 24-year-old Mark Crocklen Jr. and 18-year-old Gregory Donald Jr. face charges of 2nd-degree murder. A 4th defendant, 22-year-old Ariana Runner, was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and
