[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 19 BAHAMAS: Bethel Insists Death Penalty To Stay Despite Un Calls ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel yesterday informed the United Nations that The Bahamas has no immediate intention of abolishing the death penalty despite calls from scores of member states to formally end the practice. Mr Bethel addressed the international recommendations that the country has not accepted during his national report to the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group session in Geneva, Switzerland. "It is one of the popular mind," Mr Bethel told the international body during a response period, "there is no appetite on the streets if you will in The Bahamas for any ability for compromise on that issue (capital punishment). It is an emotive matter and so what we try and do is to show through raising our conviction rates, through our prosecutors, to give a sense of comfort to the populace that there is a remedy, there is a punishment that fits the crime." While there is no formal moratorium, Mr Bethel noted there has not been a mandated execution in 17 years. "The Bahamas maintains its position on the retention of the death penalty. In fact, 1 of the recommendations submitted by the Constitutional Commission, after consultation, was the retention of the death penalty. The Bahamas continues to recognise the lawfulness of the death penalty as a punishment for the crimes of murder and treason, on a discretionary basis and subject to the conditions laid down in the case law. "That said," he continued, "The Bahamas is not considering any immediate action to establish a formal moratorium on the death penalty. The last mandated execution took place 17 years ago, even in the absence of a formal moratorium." He also reflected on calls for the removal of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, referencing the country as a Christian nation as described in the preamble to the Constitution. Mr Bethel revealed that persons who are in the process of gender reassignment are currently provided with psychological assistance from the Ministry of Health with other forms of assistance being possibly considered. "Consideration might be given to other forms of assistance," Mr Bethel said, "however, as this issue remains highly controversial in popular discourse, a cautious and modulated approach has been adopted. "Persons who are in same sex relationships are able to avail themselves of the regular protection and remedies available under the law in respect of violence or assault or property rights. And, it should be noted that consensual relations in private between adults of the same sex has been lawful in The Bahamas since 1991." On the matter of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, Mr Bethel acknowledged these elements have not been identified as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Constitution or legislation. However, he maintained the government's position that there has been no instances recorded of any legal discrimination of this nature, nor any formal reports made to law enforcement or government agencies. Mr Bethel stressed that the country, as a "Christian nation", believed that the family is the foundation of a strong nation and marriage by law defined as the union of a man and a woman. He also said that the local LGBTQI community had access to local and international platforms with representation on a number of national and regional organisations, and noted a 2016 press conference held by the transgender community to address concerns on the equality referendum that was conducted without interference. In response to recommendations from member states during yesterday's session, Mr Bethel underscored the importance of partnering with civil and religious leaders to "advance the cause of a more moderate public approach to issues." "We live in a constitutional democracy," he said, "we have had uninterrupted democracy, we have (had) 2 (constitutional) referenda. There has always been the political woe of the political class to advance all of the issues in controversy, except for the one of capital punishment, but the issue of gender equality, identity, transitioning, the difficulty in a democracy is that it is a question of developing a social consensus. And this is why we have adopted a modulated approach, cautiously, seeking to advance rights in areas that are very strongly held negative points of view in the populous." (source: tribune242.com) BANGLADESH: HC upholds death penalty of 2 for raping, killing minorAccording to the case statement, the convicts killed a 7-year old child, Alpona, after raping her in a jute field at Mahespur in Jhenaidah in 2008 The High Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of 2 people for killing a 7-year-old girl in Jhenaidah after raping her in 2008. The division bench of
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., TENN., IOWA, UTAH, ARIZ.
Jan. 19 TEXASnew execution date Fort Worth man convicted in birthday party slaying gets execution date A Fort Worth man convicted of killing a rival gang member's mother and a 5-year-old girl at a children's birthday party 10 years ago has been given an execution date. Erick Davila is scheduled to meet his fate in the Huntsville death chamber on April 25 at 6 p.m., according to court papers. A judge signed off on the death date on Wednesday. "Like that Winston Churchill movie, we shall never surrender and we intend to aggressively fight for Mr. Davila," said Houston defense attorney Seth Kretzer. The Supreme Court gave a death row prisoner a 2nd chance because one of the juror's made racist remarks. Davila, 30, is on death row for a shooting that killed Annette Stevenson and her granddaughter Queshawn, according to court filings. In April 2008, Davila drove by the Village Creek Townhouses in Fort Worth and opened fire on a rival gang member along with 15 children who were eating ice cream and cake on the front porch at the "Hannah Montana"-themed party. Court records describe a "chaotic scene" with "blood splattered everywhere." 2 other children were wounded in the shooting, but survived. Since his 2009 conviction, Davila has fought the case in appeals courts, taking his claims of bad lawyering all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Kretzer, who is co-counsel with Houston-based attorney Jonathan Landers, argued the case. In a 5-4 ruling, the justices rejected Kretzer's claims that earlier appellate counsel erred in failing to point out possible missteps made earlier by trial attorneys regarding bad jury instructions. In addition to signing off on a death date, a Tarrant County judge on Wednesday also slapped down a defense motion to disqualify the local prosecutor's office, as current District Attorney Sharen Wilson was the judge during Davila's 2009 trial and Assistant District Attorney David Richards previously served as Davila's attorney earlier in the appeals process. "We were surprised and concerned by the trial judge's denial on our motion to recuse," Kretzer said Thursday. "I'm not making up some new legal theory here that there's a conflict." Davila's death date is the 6th on the calendar in Texas this year. (source: Houston Chronicle) 'Tourniquet Killer' executed in Texas for 1992 strangling Texas carried out the nation's 1st execution of 2018 Thursday evening, giving lethal injection to a man who became known as Houston's "Tourniquet Killer" because of his signature murder technique on 4 female victims. Anthony Allen Shore was put to death for 1 of those slayings, the 1992 killing of a 21-year-old woman whose body was dumped in the drive-thru of a Houston Dairy Queen. In his final statement, Shore, 55, was apologetic and his voice cracked with emotion. "No amount of words or apology could ever undo what I've done," Shore said while strapped to the death chamber gurney. "I wish I could undo the past, but it is what it is." As the lethal dose of pentobarbital began, Shore said the drug burned. "Oooh-ee! I can feel that," he said before slipping into unconsciousness. He was pronounced dead 13 minutes later at 6:28 p.m. CST. "Anthony Allen Shore's reign of terror is officially over," Andy Kahan, the city of Houston crime victims' advocate, said, speaking for the families of Shore's victims. "There's a reason we have the death penalty in the state of Texas and Anthony Shore is on the top of the list. This has been a long, arduous journey that has taken over 20 years for victims' families." Shore's lawyers argued in appeals he suffered brain damage early in life that went undiscovered by his trial attorneys and affected Shore's decision to disregard their advice when he told his trial judge he wanted the death penalty. A federal appeals court last year turned down his appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review his case and the 6-member Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously rejected a clemency petition. Shore's attorneys said his appeals were exhausted. They filed no last-minute attempts to try to halt his execution. In 1998, Shore received 8 years' probation and became a registered sex offender for sexually assaulting 2 relatives. 5 years later, Shore was arrested for the 1992 slaying of Maria del Carmen Estrada after a tiny particle recovered from under her fingernail was matched to his DNA. "I didn't set out to kill her," he told police in a taped interview played at his 2004 trial. "That was not my intent. But it got out of hand." Estrada was walking to work around 6:30 a.m. on April 16, 1992, when he she accepted a ride from him. The former tow truck driver, phone company repairman and part-time musician blamed his actions on "voices in my head that I was going to have her, regardless, to possess her in some way." He also confessed to killing 3
