[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Nov. 17 BANGLADESH: Man gets death penalty after 22 years for killing wife; According to the case statement, police recovered the hanging body of Saber Ali's 1st wife Arju Begum from her residence in Hill View Residential area in the port city on October 1 in 1994. A court in Chittagong has awarded death sentence to a man for killing his wife 22 years ago in Chittagong city's Hill View Residential Area. The court of Special Judge Mir Ruhul Amin on Thursday handed down the verdict against Saber Ali, the fugitive accused, after examining the records and witnesses' deposition, Public Prosecutor (PP) Advocate Mesbah Uddin Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune. The court also fined the convicted Tk10,000, in default, to serve 12 more months in jail. The court acquitted 2 other accused Monowara Begum, 2nd wife of Saber Ali, and her relative Jamal Hossen, added the PP. PP Mesbah Uddin said the court passed the verdict after taking deposition of 6 witnesses out of 10 and examining all the evidences while the convicted Saber Ali was on the run after walking out from jail on bail. According to the case statement, police recovered the hanging body of Saber Ali's 1st wife Arju Begum from her residence in Hill View Residential area in the port city on October 1 in 1994. Later the deceased's father Nazir Hossain filed a case with Panchlaish police station accusing the 3 mentioning that the trio murdered his daughter following family feud and hanged the body with ceiling. Conducting probe, SI Joynal Abedin pressed the charge sheet to the court implicating the trio in October 12 in 1995 while the court framed the charge against them on April 20 in 1997. PP Mesbah said Saber went into hiding after coming out from jail on bail before submitting charge sheet to the court. (source: Dhaka Tribune) BAHAMAS: Archbishop Calls For End To Death Penalty ARCHBISHOP Patrick Pinder, of the Catholic Archdiocese, yesterday called for the government to abolish the death penalty and focus instead on offender rehabilitation. Archbishop Pinder's remarks came in a joint pastoral statement from the Bishops of the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) in commemoration of the Catholic Church's Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. The bishops - 19 of whom are signatories to the document - are urging governments and citizens in the region to abolish capital punishment. The statement said to take away a person's "basic right to immunity from fatal harm" is to "compromise his/her sacred dignity". It said while a "climate of lawlessness" is prevalent in the Bahamas and the region, capital punishment does not "assist the criminal to reform," nor does it "assist the victim to restore his or her violated dignity." As such, Archbishop Pinder said the Bahamas, as a member of the AEC, along with the AEC's other regional members, should instead focus on "restorative justice" to bring about true criminal justice reform, which includes addressing the factors that contribute to crime and "strengthening" the capacity of criminal justice systems to address crime and violence. The last person executed in The Bahamas was David Mitchell in January 2000. Given the country's crime woes, many have called for the death penalty to be enforced, in the hope that it would serve as an effective deterrent to criminal activity, particularly for such serious offences as murder. However, the London-based Privy Council has served as an obstacle to the Bahamas carrying out the death penalty, after ruling in 2006 that the mandatory death sentence for murder was unconstitutional. "To reject capital punishment is not to make light of the loss of loved ones and the violation of human dignity and rights experienced by victims of crime," the bishops wrote. "Capital punishment does not assist the criminal to reform, or society to deter. Neither does it assist the victim to restore his or her violated dignity. Only genuine reconciliation can achieve personal satisfaction and restore social order. The process of reconciliation involves conversion, reform, restitution and forgiveness. "In civil society, penal laws and institutions are necessary because the conditions of reconciliation are not often fully met. But the goal of reconciliation, the restoration of moral order to society, is the purpose of those institutions, and it is the purpose of the Christian practice of forgiveness." Archbishop Pinder, along with the other bishops, said the region would be better served addressing the "underlying" causes of criminal activity and to focus on reforming the criminal justice system in their respective countries. "A restorative justice approach focuses on holding the offender accountable in a more meaningful way and helping to achieve a sense of healing for both the victim(s) and the community; it embraces socialisation, rehabilitation and reconciliation rather than retribution and
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.MEX., CALIF., ORE., USA
Nov, 18 NEW MEXICO: Bid to reinstate death penalty likely to stall in Legislature A push to reinstate New Mexico's death penalty for certain violent crimes could end up stuck in neutral in the coming 60-day legislative session, after Democrats reclaimed the state House in last week's election and expanded their majority in the Senate. Rep. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, who sponsored the 2009 legislation that abolished New Mexico's death penalty and replaced it with life in prison without the possibility of parole, said she believes the effort to bring it back will get a cool reception from Democrats, after some Republicans used the issue as campaign fodder during the election. "We wouldn't really have an appetite for it," Chasey said this week, adding it's unlikely the legislation would be passed out of its first assigned committee. "To me, it makes no sense from a policy standpoint." However, Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, who co-sponsored a death penalty reimposition bill during last month's special legislative session - it passed the House but was not voted on in the Senate - said she still plans to try, despite the election results that included the defeat of 1 of the bill's other co-sponsors. "I do still intend to carry (the bill)," Youngblood told the Journal . "I think the people of New Mexico - and specifically, my constituents - want it." She also said she's been looking at other states' death penalty laws and is open to making changes to the special session legislation. Gov. Susana Martinez called in August for the death penalty to be brought back - at least for those convicted of killing children or law enforcements officers - after a spate of high-profile crimes sent shock waves through the state. The crimes included the death of 10-year-old Victoria Martens of Albuquerque, who police say was drugged, raped and killed by 3 adults, including her mother, and the killing of police officers in Hatch and Alamogordo earlier this year. Martinez, the state's 2-term Republican governor, expressed optimism the death penalty proposal and other criminal penalty bills could find traction in the Legislature, which will have some new faces in leadership positions, because Democrats won the House and longtime Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, was defeated in his re-election bid. "The governor is going to continue to pursue legislation that cracks down on violent repeat criminals with tougher penalties, and that includes reinstating the death penalty for the most heinous crimes," Martinez spokesman Michael Lonergan said. "The governor believes legislators will listen to victims' families and the general public who want to see these bills pass." But it appears several legislators would have to change their minds before the death penalty could be reinstated. During the special session, which ended Oct. 6, the House voted 36-30 in favor of the bill to reinstate the death penalty, with all House Republicans present voting in favor and all House Democrats voting in opposition. Since then, Democrats picked up likely 5 and possibly 6 seats in last week's election, apparently giving them a 38-32 majority in the House. Of the newly elected Democrats, at least t3 said in response to a Journal questionnaire that they would oppose bringing back capital punishment. Only one, Candie Sweetser of Deming, said she would support the proposal, and several others were noncommittal. The questionnaire responses would appear to suggest defeat for the death penalty proposal in the House, unless minds are changed. And that's not even considering the Senate, where Democrats picked up a net of 2 seats and will apparently enter the 2017 session with a 26-16 advantage over Republicans. House Minority Leader Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, who is expected to be elected House speaker on the opening day of the 2017 session, suggested death penalty bills will not be a top focus once Democrats assume control of the House. "If a member wants to introduce legislation reintroducing the death penalty, they would certainly have that option," Egolf said in a recent interview. "But I think it's fair to say it will not be a priority that takes precedence over putting people back to work." Nationally, there's been a movement away from the death penalty in recent years. 19 states, including New Mexico, currently do not have death penalty laws on their books, and 3 of those states - Illinois, Connecticut and Maryland - have abolished capital punishment in the past 5 years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. However, last week's election gave hope to capital punishment supporters, as voters in Nebraska voted overwhelmingly to restore the death penalty and voters in California narrowly rejected a proposed repeal of capital punishment. Before abolishing the death penalty, New Mexico had executed just one inmate since
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., N.C., ALA., LA., OKLA.
Nov. 17 PENNSYLVANIA: Accused Wilkinsburg mass shooters run out of legal funds The same defense attorneys who have been privately representing 2 men accused of killing 5 adults and an unborn child in Wilkinsburg will continue their work but will now be funded by taxpayers. Cheron Shelton, 29, of Lincoln-Lemington and Robert Thomas, 28, of Homewood are charged with 5 counts of criminal homicide as well as homicide of an unborn child stemming from the March 9 attack during a cookout at a home on Franklin Avenue. Both Shelton's attorney, Randall McKinney, and Thomas's lawyer, Casey White, were initially privately retained by the defendants, but have now been appointed by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman to continue on the case because Shelton and Thomas do not have the funds to pay them. If the men are found guilty of 1st-degree murder, prosecutors will seek the death penalty. Mr. McKinney and Mr. White will handle the trial portion of the case. If the defendants are convicted, Wendy Williams will represent Shelton while Michael Machen will represent Thomas. To sentence the men to death, the jury must find unanimously that the prosecution has proved at least one aggravating factor in the case, and that factor must outweigh any mitigation presented by the defense. In its notice it would seek capital punishment, the Allegheny County District Attorney's office listed four aggravators, including that the defendants created a grave risk of death to others during the crime; that the men have a significant history of felony convictions using the threat of violence; that they have been convicted of another crime before or at the time of the current offense - for which life imprisonment or the death penalty is possible; and that they have been convicted of another murder before - or at the time of - the current offense. Killed in the attack were Jerry Michael Shelton, 35, Brittany Powell, 27, and Chanetta Powell, 25, and their cousins Tina Shelton, 37, and Shada Mahone, 26. Chanetta Powell was 8 months pregnant. Investigators said that the shooters that night fired 2 volleys. One person, using a handgun, fired 18 shots from the back of the yard, while the other, using an assault-style rifle, fired 30 shots at the crowd of people. Police have said that the men were targeting Lamont Powell, who attended the cookout with several relatives, because they believed he shot and killed Calvin Doswell of Lincoln-Lemington in 2013. Powell was injured in the shooting but survived. He has not been charged in the Doswell case. (source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) NORTH CAROLINA: DA to seek death penalty in double homicide Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the suspects in the death of two men whose bodies were found in a burned-out car in September. District Attorney David Learner's office made the announcement this week in Burke County Superior Court in the double homicide cases against Icey Chennell Gooden, 26, of 4217 Sundown Road, Morganton, and Brian Jerome Robinson, 33, of Connelly Springs. The 2 are each charged with 2 counts of murder for the Sept. 17 deaths of Spencer Murray and Albert Austin, both from Forest City, whose bodies were found in the trunk of the burned vehicle. Scott Devon Hemphill, 33, of 2320 Farmer St., Apt. B, Charlotte, also has been charged with 2 counts of murder and Brandy Nicole Davis, 32, of 906 Jamestown Road, Apt. D3, Morganton, was charged with accessory after the fact to homicide in the case. The bodies of Murray and Austin were discovered around 8 a.m. on Sept. 18 when Burke County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to Canoe Creek Way in Morganton. When they arrived, deputies found a burned Cadillac Deville with human remains inside, according to previous reports. With the assistance of an investigator with the North Carolina License and Theft Bureau, investigators learned the Cadillac belonged to Austin, of 555 Poors Ford Road, Lot 5, in Forest City, and was registered to Murray, of 165 Astrid Lane, in Forest City, according to previous reports. The case remains under investigation by the Burke County Sheriff's Office and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. (soruce: The News Herald) ** Death Penalty To Be Sought In Murder Case Involving Burned Vehicle The cases against 2 people accused of the deaths of 2 men in Burke County in September 2016 will proceed as capital matters. Prosecutors for the State announced this week in Burke County Superior Court that they will pursue the death penalty in the double homicide cases against 26-year-old Icey Chennell Gooden of Morganton and 33-year-old Brian Jerome Robinson of Connelly Springs. Gooden and Robinson are each charged with 2 counts of murder for the September 17 deaths of Spencer Murray and Albert Austin, whose bodies were found in the trunk of a burned vehicle. The case
