[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Feb. 19 GAZA: Hamas sentences 3 to death for spying for Israel, upholds 3 more rulings All were convicted of treason, and some charged with causing the death and injury of Gazans Authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip have sentenced 6 men to death for "collaborating" with Israel, the Palestinian Safa press service reports. 3 of the sentences were new while the other 3 were sentences that were upheld following appeal. The Associated Press reports that Sunday's sentences bring the number of people on death row to 10, and several others are appealing the same conviction. According to the Safa report, all were convicted of treason, and some of the men were charged with causing the death and injury of Gazans through their actions. Hamas authorities believe that 1 of the convicted, born in 1968, began working with Israel in 1991, said Safa. 3 of the accused were from Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip, and the others were from Gaza City and Khan Younis. Under Palestinian law, those convicted of collaboration with Israel, murder and drug trafficking face the death penalty. Execution orders must be approved by the Palestinian president before they can be carried out, but Hamas no longer recognizes the legitimacy of Mahmoud Abbas whose 4-year term ended in 2009. In the past, Hamas has come under fire from human rights groups for executing suspected collaborators without a trial. Sometimes Gazans are accused of being collaborators based on mere rumor and at other times those who fall out of favor with Hamas are deemed collaborators and executed. (source: 124news.tv) FRANCE: The guillotine is named after a man who hated capital punishment Q: I was watching a movie, and someone was being executed with the guillotine. Why did the French use the guillotine instead of hanging or firing squad? T.M., of Collinsville A: Humane execution. For many, it's still an abhorrent contradiction in terms. But for Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, it was at the heart of his plea to France's National Assembly in 1789 for a cleaner method of killing the condemned. Ironically, the instrument to achieve that goal - the guillotine - now carries the name of a man who was opposed to capital punishment. So, no, Guillotin did not invent the fearsome instrument that can separate head from body in an instant. Far from it. Similar contraptions had begun popping up in Europe centuries before, at least in thought if not reality. As early as 1210, "The High History of the Holy Grail," an old French Arthurian romance novel, described a device with not one, but three openings. "And behold what I would do to them if their heads were therein ... a cutting blade of steel droppeth down, of steel sharper than any razor, and closeth up the three openings." It didn't take long for imagination to turn into reality. Near Merton, Ireland, Murcod Ballagh was executed with a similar device in 1307. In England at least 56 prisoners were killed with the Halifax Gibbet from 1286 to 1650, when beheadings were stopped there. The Maiden was reportedly built for the authorities in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1564 and was used to dispatch those found guilty from 1565 to 1710. But it wasn't until nearly a century later that the efficient killing machine gained its lasting name when it had its heyday in France. Born in 1738, Guillotin seemed to excel in whatever he tried. In earning a degree from the University of Bordeaux, his essay so impressed the Jesuits that he became a professor of literature. But a few years later he went off to Paris to study medicine, earning a prize from the faculty at Reims. So after he earned a spot in the National Assembly, his colleagues listened intently when, on Oct. 10, 1789, he argued that criminals should be decapitated by a "simple machine ... that beheads painlessly." At the time, beheading in France was done by ax or sword, which could be messy because incompetent executioners sometimes needed 2 or more strokes. Moreover, beheading was reserved for the upper class. Commoners were typically hanged, which could take several minutes. Guillotin thought his idea would make executions not only swift and certain but more egalitarian as well, 1 of the cornerstones of the popular French motto, "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite." But he also hoped it would be the 1st step in eliminating capital punishment entirely, a hope that would not be achieved for 200 more years. So as the French Revolution continued in 1791, Dr. Antoine Louis, secretary to the Academy of Surgery, headed a committee (which included Guillotin) to develop such a device. Impressed by the Maiden and Gibbet, the group came up with an "improved" design that employed an oblique blade rather than the former models, which tended to crush the neck or otherwise mutilate the body. On April 25, 1792, in front of what is now the Paris City Hall, highwayman Nicholas Jacques Pelletier
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., ALA., OHIO, KY., MONT., USA
Feb. 19 TEXAS: Conference held in Austin to abolish the death penalty A group of Texans wanting to get rid of the penalty heard a different perspective on the act of executing someone during a conference Saturday in Austin. The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty brought together people who think it's unfair - and should go away. The group invited journalists who have witnessed executions to explain why it's an important issue to discuss. "Whether you're for it or against it, whether that coverage takes place is extremely important. I think that a lot of people who are advocates either for it or against it don't know the back story as far as what goes into the reporting on the death penalty, how sometimes the stories can be pretty dark, pretty looming, very graphic in a lot of ways," said Ryan Poppe. Democratic lawmakers have filed bills in the Texas House and Senate to abolish it. However, Poppe says it will likely see the same fate as past bills to do the same. It likely will not even come up for a vote. (source: KXAN news) ** Activists Want Texas' Death Penalty Abolished as Executions Decline Data from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty shows fewer inmates were executed in 2016 than in 2015 - a trend the group says continues to go down. "I think it's time to get rid of it," said Brian Stolarz, defense attorney. Opponents of the death penalty say juries are becoming more aware of the risk of a wrongful conviction. "We also see juries in cases demanding higher standards of evidence. There have been 157 people nationwide and 13 here in Texas who were wrongfully convicted and released from death row," said Kristin Houle, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Defense attorneys say the political climate has changed and so have minds. "We have a case with no physical evidence, no science at all in the case. Just witness interviews, witness statements and other things, and a man who was innocent was going to die," said Stolarz. 2 bills have been filed at the state capitol; 1 would get rid of the death penalty for people convicted under Texas' law of parties and the other would abolish the death penalty altogether. Additionally, fewer prosecutors are seeking capital punishment "because they have the option of life in prison without parole and also because many of them don't want to burden their counties with the exorbitant expense of a death penalty trial," said Houle. Some argue the state ought to practice restorative justice - where those convicted have a chance to repent and rehabilitate. "Even people who have done bad things cannot be judged on that one bad thing alone. People are greater than the one bad thing they do," said Stolarz. So far, 18 states plus DC have abolished the death penalty. (source: twcnews.com) *** Lawmaker wants state funds for death penalty attorneys A Republican Texas lawmaker is trying to pass a bill that would create and fund a statewide office of appellate attorneys to represent death row inmates. Last week, Rep. James White, R-Hillister, filed House Bill 1676 to create the Office of Capital Appellate Defender. The state-funded office would represent inmates sentenced to death who can't afford their own lawyer in their direct appeals to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals - the time when convicts can raise issues from their trial. Currently, the convicting court appoints an approved lawyer for this step of the appeals process and the prosecuting county pays the bill. White, who represents 5 rural counties in East Texas, said the bill is one way to help struggling counties that have had to raise property taxes while dealing with unfunded state mandates, such as paying for indigent defense. And as chairman of the House Corrections Committee and representative of the district that houses most of Texas' death row inmates, he wants to ensure the state is being thorough when handing down the harshest penalty it can impose. White has estimated the office would cost $500,000 a year, which could put the bill in jeopardy as lawmakers work to tighten the state???s budget for the coming biennium. (source: The Texas Tribune) GEORGIA: Man gets new life sentence for killing officer 25 years ago A man sent to death row 23 years ago for killing an Atlanta police officer has been given a new sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole. Atlanta-Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said in a news release Friday that 45-year-old Norris Speed agreed to the new punishment to avoid another possible death sentence during a new penalty hearing ordered by an appellate judge. Speed was convicted in 1993 of malice murder in the December 1991 slaying of Atlanta officer Niles Johantgen. But an appeals judge threw out Speed's death sentence in 2010, ruling a sheriff's deputy gave improper
