[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS----Urgent Action: Legal Representation In Spotlight As Execution Set (USA: UA 84.17)
ARKANSAS: Urgent Action LEGAL REPRESENTATION IN SPOTLIGHT AS EXECUTION SET Ledell Lee, aged 51, is due to be executed in Arkansas on 20 April for a murder committed in 1993. There have been serious concerns about his legal representation. Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet: * Calling for clemency for Ledell Lee and for his death sentence to be commuted; * Expressing concern at the serious issues relating to legal representation provided to Ledell Lee; * Explaining that you are not seeking to condone violent crime or to downplay its consequences. Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of forwarding this one! Contact below official by 20 April, 2017: The Honorable Asa Hutchinson, Governor of the State of Arkansas State Capitol, Suite 250, 500 Woodlane St, Little Rock, AR 72201, USA Fax: +1 501 682 3597 Email: http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact-info/ (use US detail) Salutation: Dear Governor ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
April 6 GAZAexecutions Hamas hangs 3 Gaza 'collaborators' with IsraelGaza's Hamas rulers hanged 3 men they accused of collaborating with Israel Thursday following calls for revenge for the killing of 1 of their commanders last month, an AFP journalist reported. Hamas says that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and its "collaborators" killed Mazen Faqha in the Palestinian territory on March 24, but has offered no evidence. According to Hamas, Faqha formed cells for the Islamist group's military wing in the West Bank cities of Tubas, where he was born, and Jenin. The men who were hanged on Thursday were not implicated in his killing but the Islamist group has pledged "radical measures" against Palestinians who "collaborated" with Israel. Hamas has offered "collaborators" with Israel a chance to turn themselves in and receive clemency. "The doors of repentance will be open for 1 week, from Tuesday, April 4 to Tuesday, April 11," the interior ministry said on Tuesday. Hamas also tightly restricted movement out of the enclave following the assassination. The measure remains in place despite calls from NGOs and human rights groups to lift it. The restrictions have stopped male patients aged from 15 to 45 from using the territory's sole crossing for people to enter Israel to receive medical treatment, Human Right s Watch said. Security checks and searches have increased, including roadblocks. Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought 3 wars since 2008. The enclave has been under an Israeli blockade for 10 years. (source: al-monitor.com) LIBYA: Libyan Muslims Throw Alleged Gay Men Off Rooftop A video of Muslim men throwing accused homosexuals from a rooftop in Libya was posted to Twitter by a local journalist on Sunday. The killing was done as a form of punishment for disobeying the Sharia law, a strict interpretation of an Islamic set of principles, according to Tarek Fatah. The authenticity of the video was unclear, but in the 45-second clip, apparent Muslims can be seen chanting "Allah-U-Akbar" as they throw 4 purportedly gay people off a rooftop. The incident allegedly took place in Libya, and the date, as well as the victims' gender, were unknown. Towards the end of the clip, a bystander walked toward the unmoving bodies. However, it remained unclear if he was a part of the act since he stood on the sidewalk as the bodies dropped one by one. Under Sharia law, homosexuality "is a vile form of fornication, punishable by death," according to TheReligionofPeace.com. (source: Instinct Magazine) INDIA: Report over abolition of death penalty sent to all states: Govt The Law Commission report which recommended abolishing death penalty for all crimes other than those related to terrorism, has been circulated to all the states for their views, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Quoting the Ministry of Home Affairs, Minister of State for Law P P Chaudhary said in response to a written reply to a question that as criminal law and criminal procedure are on the concurrent list of the Constitution, the report was circulated to all the states on October 13, 2015 for their views on the issue. "The views of some of the states are awaited and they are being reminded regularly," he said. 2 government appointees in the law panel - then ex-officio members P K Malhotra (Law Secretary) and Sanjay Singh (Legislative Secretary) had given their dissent on the report. Besides them, Justice Usha Mehra (retd), the then permanent member of the panel too had opposed the report. (source: The Free Press Journal) BANGLADESH: Youth gets death twice for killing child A Rajshahi court sentenced a man to death penalty twice under separate sections for killing a child after abduction in 2014. The death-row convict was identified as Ashik Mondol, 25, son of Akter Hossain alias Babu of Dighirparha village under Adamdeghi upazila in Bogra. Judge Shiring Kabita Akter of Speedy Trial Tribunal of Rajshahi handed down the verdict on Tuesday afternoon. The court also sentenced Ashik 17-year rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 40,000. The convict was present at the court while delivering the judgment. Later, he was sent to Rajshahi Central Jail. According to case statement, Ashik abducted Meghdad, 7, son of one Rashedul Islam of the area on Eid Day on July 29, 2014. Later, he claimed ransom for his release over Rashedul's mobile phone. On August 2, 2014, Rashedul filed a case in this regard. Police arrested Ahik on the following day and took in remand. Later, law enforcers recovered Meghdad's body based on information he provided. (source: businessnews24bd.com) NIGERIA: Senate proposes death penalty for sea piracy A bill seeking death penalty for anybody that caused death during sea piracy scaled second reading in the Senate on Wednesday. The bill sponsored by Senator Nelson Effiong,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARK., OKLA., CALIF.
April 6 ARKANSAS: Ark. parole board suggests mercy for 1 of 8 due to dieThe board said the governor should spare Jason McGehee's life, but did not offer a reason for the recommendation Arkansas' parole board on Wednesday recommended that Gov. Asa Hutchinson extend mercy to 1 of 8 inmates scheduled to die in an unprecedented series of double-executions this month. Hutchinson, a Republican, is not bound by the board's recommendation. The board, in a 6-1 vote, said Hutchinson should spare Jason McGehee's life, whose execution is set for April 27 in the death of 15-year-old Johnny Melbourne Jr. The board did not offer a reason for the recommendation, but former Department of Correction Director Ray Hobbs spoke in favor of clemency for McGehee, 40, at a hearing last week, saying he'd gotten to know the inmate while making his rounds in prison. "He has learned his lesson, and he still has value that can be given to others if his life is spared," Hobbs said. The board's chairman, John Felts, was the lone dissenting vote. He said McGehee's death sentence wasn't excessive considering the inmate had directed the torture and strangulation death of Melbourne, who had told police about a northern Arkansas theft ring. With a key lethal injection drug expiring at the end of the month, Arkansas hopes to execute 8 men in a 10-day period beginning April 17. Only Texas has executed that many inmates in a month, doing it twice in 1997. 7 executions in a month would still be a record for Arkansas. Co-defendants said McGehee did most of the beating when Melbourne was killed Aug. 19, 1996. Several people beat and tortured the teenager at a house in Harrison, then bound him and drove him to an abandoned farmhouse outside Omaha, a town in northern Arkansas. He was later strangled while his hands were tied with an electrical cord. In a separate decision, the board says a petition by Kenneth Williams was without merit. Williams was condemned after escaping and killing a man who lived near the prison. Before his escape, he was serving a life term for killing at University of Pine Bluff cheerleader. (source: Associated Press) * Ark. Supreme Court Issues Stay in Execution Drug Info Legal Battle The Arkansas Supreme Court has issued a stay in a legal battle over packaging information for lethal injection drugs that will be used to execute 8 death row inmates before the end of April. Last week, a Pulaski County judge ordered the Department of Correction to release information about its supply of potassium chloride, one of the lethal injection drugs. The state had not complied with the ruling, and a contempt of court hearing had been set for Wednesday morning. However, the issue now appears to be moot. Attorneys for death row inmates were seeking un-redacted packaging information for lethal injection drugs, arguing that citizens have the right to information about drugs used to execute condemned inmates on their behalf. Lawyers for the state argue a 2015 law passed by the legislature exempts the information from Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests. If the information is made public, the state says the identities of drug suppliers could be made public, thus jeopardizing the state's ability to acquire drugs. "If Arkansas has these drugs, more than likely they've acquired them in some unethical and possibly illegal way, so the citizens of Arkansas need to know that," Furonda Brasfield, with the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, said. Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Wendall Griffen set a 9:30 a.m. Tuesday deadline for the state to produce drug information. The state failed to turn it over and instead filed for a stay at the state Supreme Court. That stay was granted late Tuesday afternoon meaning there will be no contempt of court hearing. The Supreme Court will now decide on the underlying issue of whether the information should be released. The 1st execution is set for April 17. (source: nwahomepage.com) * Arkansas Races To Kill 8 Prisoners in 10 Days see: https://youtu.be/8F_2dohS3uM (source: aclu.org) *** Capital punishment critics protest outside of the Governor's Mansion Critics of capital punishment hope Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson hears their message to stop the scheduled executions of the "Arkansas 8." If he is at home, he might. Members of the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty are staging a daily rally outside the Governor's Mansion. They held signs, marched up and down the block, and chanted for mercy Wednesday afternoon, for Jason McGehee, and the rest of the Arkansas 8. McGehee became the 1st of the death row inmates scheduled for execution later this month to earn a recommendation of clemency from the Arkansas Parole Board. "We support the Parole Board's decision to recommend clemency for Jason McGehee," said Furonda
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., GA., FLA., ALA., LA.
April 6 TEXASimpending execution Death Watch: No Comfort, No ClosureJonas Cherry's parents don't want their son's killer killed 32-year-old Paul Storey is the 5th person set for a state killing this year, his execution date currently set for Wednesday, April 12. In 2006, Storey shot and killed Jonas Cherry, manager of the Putt-Putt Golf & Games mini-golf course in Hurst (Tarrant County) during a botched robbery. His friend Mark Devayne Porter, who had served as accomplice, accepted a plea deal, and is currently serving life in prison. Storey refused a similar plea, and in 2008, he was found guilty of capital murder, and sentenced to death. Storey's efforts for relief have since been unsuccessful. But recently, a few impediments to his execution have arisen. Austin attorney Keith Hampton, who's representing Storey with Mike Ware, says that Cherry's parents Glenn and Judy were appalled by the state's invitation to travel to Huntsville to witness Storey's execution, and have filed an affidavit with Tarrant Co. District Attorney Sharen Wilson and Gov. Greg Abbott requesting that Storey's life be spared. "It is very painful for us to consider the suffering of Paul Storey's mother, grandmother, and family if he is put to death," they wrote. "[His] execution will not bring our son back, will not atone for the loss of our son, and will not bring comfort or closure." Hampton called the Cherrys' request an "amazing act of mercy." He said it's rare to hear the family of a murder victim say "you'll multiply our pain by inflicting pain on another family." Hampton and Ware have separately been at work to vacate Storey's sentence. On March 31, they filed a petition asking that their client's sentence be vacated in consideration of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. They say prosecutors knew of the Cherrys' opposition to the sentence, and that prosecutor Christy Jack lied in her closing argument about their desire to see Storey executed. And because the prosecution offered Storey a plea deal prior to trial, Hampton argued, the prosecution's pursuit of the death penalty raises a presumption of vindictiveness. Making matters more muddy is that Sven Berger, one of the jurors during Storey's trial, spoke with the Marshall Project last March, confessing his regrets for sending Storey to death row. Referencing a 2010 affidavit he filed in Storey's support, Berger said he would have lobbied against the death penalty had he known of Storey's "'borderline intellectual functioning,' history of depression," and other mitigating evidence. And in a 2nd affidavit, Berger said he would also have rejected a death sentence had he known the Cherrys' stance. Both Ware and Hampton hope that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will be swayed and grant Storey a new punishment hearing. If not, he'll be the 543rd Texan executed since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976. (source: Austin Chronicle) ** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present24 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-543 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 25-April 12-Paul Storey---543 26-May 16---Tilon Carter--544 27-May 24---Juan Castillo--545 28-June 28--Steven Long---546 29-July 19-Kosoul Chanthakoummane---547 30-July 27-Taichin Preyor-548 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) * Ruling could mean new execution date for man convicted in prison guard's murderA death row inmate convicted in a Texas prison guard's murder lost another appeal Wednesday at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled against a death row inmate who claims he was framed in the 1999 murder of a prison guard. The ruling could allow Bee County to set his 4th execution date in the last 2 years. Robert Pruett, 37, has consistently maintained his innocence in the murder of Daniel Nagle, and for the last several years, has worked to have DNA testing prove his innocence. But the trial court has twice tested DNA evidence in the case and twice found inconclusive results, ruling that the tests wouldn't have had any effect on his conviction and sentence had they been available during his 2002 trial, according to Wednesday's Court of Criminal Appeals opinion. Pruett was serving a life sentence for murder in Beeville when Nagle was murdered in December 1999, according to court records. Nagle was found stabbed, unresponsive in a pool of his own blood next to a sharpened metal rod and a shredded disciplinary report Nagle filed against Pruett. Pruett says he was framed for the murder, that he threw the report at Nagle but didn't hurt him. A Bee County jury sentenced Pruett to death in 2002 for
