[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 26 SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi prosecutor builds case against Al Qaida men on trialProsecutor says men pretending to surrender to authorities in order to gather intelligence about their security 2 Yemeni Al Qaida militants are standing trial in Riyadh for allegedly planning a terrorist operation. They were instructed by the terrorist group to call the Ministry of Interior and tell them that they planned to surrender themselves to Saudi security authorities, according to the public prosecutor. The men worked to gain the trust of 1 ministry officer by feeding him false information and details of the group. Once they established his trust they agreed to meet at a security point on the Saudi-Yemeni border. However, during their meeting the officers became aware that the men were misleading them and only wanted to gather details about the security situation at that border post and were immediately arrested, the Saudi daily Okaz reported on Thursday. The 1st defendant, 32, was charged with being a member of Al Qaida in Yemen, plotting to carry out a suicide attack, communicating with a Daesh terrorist in Syria, smoking hashish and renegging on a pledge he made 5 years ago when he was released from prison over another security-linked case. Charges against the 2nd defendant, 34, included being a member of Al Qaida and Daesh, plotting with the 1st defendant to carry out a terrorist attack and giving false and misleading information to Saudi authorities for cash. He was also charged with funding terror attacks by purchasing arms for Al Qaida. The prosecutor requested the death penalty for the 2 defendants or the maximum penalty stipulated by the law. The accused told the Specialised Criminal Court they wanted some time to prepare their defence against the charges. (source: Gulf News) IRAN: A Scientist's Appeal for Retrial Ahmad Reza Jalali (Djalali), Iranian physician and researcher whose death sentence was approved by the Supreme Court, is requesting a retrial. According to a close source, Ahmad Reza Djalali's death sentence was approved by branch 1 of the Supreme Court in November, but he has requested a retrial. Being formally invited by Tehran University, Ahmad Reza Djalali travelled to Iran but was arrested by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence on his way to Karaj on April 24, 2016. He spent three months at the detention centre of the Ministry of Intelligence. Now Iranian authorities claim that he is convicted of "espionage and collaboration with enemies". "Dr. Djalali's case is sent to branch 33 of the Supreme Court for a retrial but it hasn't been processed or objected so far," Told an informed source about Ahmad Reza Djalali's case to Iran Human Rights (IHR). He also said, "Dr. Djalali might still get executed unless the sentence is suspended. He is in a terrible physical condition and he is getting weaker and thinner every day." Ahmad Reza Djalali lived in Sweden since 2009 where he had the permanent residence. He worked as a researcher in the field of crisis management at Karolinska University in Stockholm. On Tuesday, January 24, Alaeddin Borujerdi, the head of Majlis' National Security Commission who was in Brussels, accused Ahmad Reza Djalali of participating in the terror of nuclear scientists in a press conference. Mr. Djalali is currently held at Evin Prison and rejects all the accusations, and he also denied all the accusations the Ministry of Intelligence made against him through a documentary. (source: Iran Human Rights) ** Imminent Execution for Ramin Hussein Panahi UNPO has been informed by the "International Network of Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights" that Ramin Hussein Panahi, a Kurdish Iranian who had been sentenced to death on 25 October 2017, is now in danger of imminent execution. Ramin Hussein Panahi was shot and arrested on 23 June 2017, in Sanandaj ,a city in Iranian Kurdistan, after meeting with Kurdish citizens to inform them on human rights issues. After his detention, he was not allowed to get medical treatment nor to receive visits. After 124 days and 23 requests at different governmental branches - from the IRGC to Iran's secret service - Ramin's family remained unaware of his whereabouts and health conditions. In response to Ramin's family members' quest to obtain information about him, Iranian authorities detained 3 of his relatives: his brother, Afshin Hussein Panahi, his brother in law, Ahmad Hussein Panahi, and Zobeir Hussein Panahi. All 3 were sentenced to imprisonment for respectively 9, 5 and 6 years, following an unjust trial on the 25 October 2017. On 26 October 2017, Ramin's mother and sister were informed by the Iranian authorities that he was awaiting his death penalty and that they would be informed after his execution. On 25 January 2018, the "International Network of Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights" received information from his fa
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 26 PAKISTAN: Public hanging of child rapists & murderers considered as Pakistan mourns 7yo victim A Pakistani Senate committee has proposed to publicly hang those who sexually abuse or murder children. The measure is a response to the gruesome case of a Pakistani 7-year-old girl who was raped and killed earlier in January. Part of the Pakistani Penal Code (PPC) on the punishment of child rapists and murderers currently states: "Whoever kidnaps or abducts any person under the age of 14 in order that such person may be murdered or subjected to grievous hurt... shall be punished with death (sic)." Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior Rehman Malik is now seeking to add the phrase "by hanging publicly" after the word "death." The amendment has been proposed just 1 day after Pakistani authorities arrested a key suspect behind the murder of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari. The girl was abducted and later found raped and murdered near the eastern city of Lahore earlier in January. The case prompted mass protests and shockwaves across the country, with demonstrators accusing the government of inaction. On Tuesday, police detained a 24-year-old man whose DNA matched samples found on the girl's body, according to Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab province. The suspect has been identified as Imran Ali, and was a neighbor of Zainab. He later confessed to having killed at least 8 girls including Zainab. The confession was recorded in a video released by local media. "I want Imran Ali to be hanged publicly... I will request the political parties to support my wish," Sharif later said. Over 1,700 children were abused in Pakistan in the 1st 6 months of 2017, according to the data from the Islamabad-based Sahil group, which works on child protection, local media said. In 2016, the total number of reported child abuse cases was over 4,000, meaning that an average of 11 children were abused in Pakistan every day. Yet there are those who oppose the drastic measure. "[The] Zainab incident is unfortunate but the demand for public hanging is also not correct," Senator Hasil Bizenjo said. According to Senator Farhatullah Babar, if the law is amended, there'll be "calls for hanging everyone." In the meantime, a petition on change.org calling to hang Zainab's killer has gathered over 320,000 signatures. "The rapists of innocent Zainab should be hanged publicly in front of a large crowd so that other potential rapists learn a lesson," the petition said. The petition, however, was closed, failing to gain 500,000 signatures. (source: rt.com) *** 2 get death penalty in murder case A court on Thursday awarded death sentence to 2 convicts for killing their relative over domestic dispute in Puleena Jabbar area. The court also imposed Rs0.2 as fine on both murder convicts. The court also awarded life imprisonment to another accused involved in the murder whereas acquitted the 4th accused for lack of evidence against him. Additional and Session Judge (ASJ) Gujar Khan Aslam Gondal took up the murder case and awarded capital punishment to 2 convicts namely Raja Faisal and Raja Abbas for killing Raja Saqlain over some domestic dispute in 2014 within limits of Police Station Gujar Khan. The judge given life imprisonment to 3rd accused Raja Yasir and dropped charges against Raja Asad and ordered police to release him. The judge also ordered 2 murder convicts to pay Rs0.2 fine each. Gujar Khan police had registered a murder case number 603/14 under section 302/34 against 4 men for killing Raja Saqlain. (source: The Nation) INDIA: Maharashtra now has most prisoners on death row, overtakes UPJudges in Maharashtra have traditionally been very heavy-handed in their infliction of the death penalty, said Yug Chaudhary, a Mumbai-based lawyer who has represented the appeals of several death row inmates. Maharashtra has overtaken Uttar Pradesh as the state with the most prisoners on death row, according to a report published on Wednesday by researchers at the National Law University in Delhi. "UP almost has double the population of Maharasthra and has been the leader for a while," said Anup Surendranath, director of the Centre on the Death Penalty, which compiled the report. "It's interesting to see that Maharasthra has overtaken UP." Maharashtra had 67 prisoners on death row at the end of 2017, up from 47 a year before. Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, had 65 death row prisoners, down from 77. The states' populations are about 11 crore and 20 crore, respectively. Why does Maharashtra have so many death row prisoners? Violent crime doesn't account for it. Maharashtra's murder rate in 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, was about 2 for every one lakh people. That's lower than both that of UP and the country as a whole, both of which recorded murder rates of about 2.5 per lakh. Instead, it ma
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----COLO., ARIZ., WASH., USA
Jan. 26 COLORADO: Attorney: David Bueno Case Shows Why Colorado Should Abolish Death Penalty The Colorado Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's decision to reverse David Bueno's 1st-degree-murder conviction because evidence that might have helped him was withheld in his death-penalty case. To attorney David Lane, who represents Bueno, the ruling casts shame on prosecutors with the 18th Judicial District DA's office currently occupied by Colorado Attorney General candidate George Brauchler even as it and other controversial cases, including those pertaining to death-row residents Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray, undermine the argument for capital punishment in general. "If Colorado is to maintain the integrity of its judicial system," Lane says, "it's absolutely essential that these matters be addressed by the Colorado Supreme Court disciplinary council - and the death penalty should be abolished." "Arapahoe County DA Charges Death-Penalty Fees to State," a February 2008 feature by Westword's Alan Prendergast, pivoted on the efforts of District Attorney Carol Chambers, Brauchler's predecessor, to give the ultimate punishment to Bueno and fellow inmate Alejandro Perez for a killing committed in prison. This effort "has been a head-scratcher from day one," Prendergast wrote, since "in the history of the state, Colorado has never sought the death penalty for a prisoner killing another prisoner." As pointed out in the Colorado Supreme Court opinion, accessible below, a jury ultimately found Bueno guilty of slaying inmate Jeffrey Heird. However, 15 months after Bueno's conviction, but before he was sentenced (jurors had already rejected the death penalty for him), Chambers's office revealed that it hadn't shared 2 reports in its possession since the earliest days of the investigation. "One report documented the discovery of a note found on the day of the murder indicating that white supremacists were planning to murder white inmates in the prison," states the court, which notes that Heird was Caucasian. "The other evinced a detective's suspicion that the murder was linked to another homicide that had been committed in prison a few days earlier." Bueno's legal team responded by asking for a new trial, and this request was granted. Then, in October 2010, the conviction was vacated, with one passage from the order by District Judge Douglas Tallman suggesting that the actions by Chambers and company may have been purposeful. "Apparently, someone from the District Attorney's office made the conscious decision this information was not to be included in discovery because it was not relevant," Tallman wrote. "The Trial Court cannot say with certainty the District Attorney acted in bad faith by withholding relevant and possibly exculpatory evidence [But] it is apparent to the Trial Court that a conscious decision was made at some point early in this case to keep the information from the Defendant by separating these documents from the balance of [the] working file." This was hardly the final word on the matter. Although Perez was acquitted circa 2011 in a development Lane characterized at the time as "virtually unheard of" for a high-profile death-penalty case, the 18th Judicial District DA's office under Chambers and, later, Brauchler, continued to maintain that Bueno's conviction should stand. But this week, the Colorado Supreme Court closed that door, standing behind the lower court's determination that "the prosecution...suppressed exculpatory and material evidence." Lane calls the prosecutors' approach to Bueno "Mississippi in the mountains. And this is how the 18th Judicial District rolls. Look at the hearing for Sir Mario Owens," who was convicted, along with Ray, of killing Javad Marshall-Fields (son of state representative Rhonda Fields) and his fiancee, Vivian Wolfe, in 2005. "A judge found 22 instances of them hiding documents that should have been turned over to the defense." These problems also happened on Chambers's watch, but Lane doesn't give her successor a pass. "Brauchler has vigorously defended the actions of Chambers's henchmen," he maintains. "And defending the indefensible and not seeking justice but seeking convictions and death sentences is not what his job is about." He acknowledges that "I'm not accusing George Brauchler of hiding evidence. It's his deputies who are hiding the evidence. They have a pattern of hiding evidence in death-penalty cases, and for that, they should be disbarred and jailed." Colorado's capital-punishment statute should be sent away, too, Lane believes. "Colorado has only had 1 execution in 50 years," he stresses. "Right now, we only have 3 people on death row: Nathan Dunlap (who got a reprieve but not clemency from Governor John Hickenlooper in 2013), Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray - and the death penalties of Ray and Owens are tainted by prosecutorial misconduct and the h
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, TENN., ARK., MINN., OKLA.
Jan. 26 OHIO: Prosecutors to ask for death penalty against adult murder suspects The Licking County Prosecutor's Office will be pursuing the death penalty for the 1st time in more than a decade against 2 men charged with the aggravated murder of another Newark man. Licking County Prosecutor Bill Hayes said prosecutors will likely present the case to a grand jury next week for indictment. If the grand jury approves the death penalty specifications, the cases against 21-year-old Dustin Lehoe and 20-year-old Tyler Ocasio would be the 1st capital indictments in Licking County since 2007. Licking County last sentenced someone to death row in 2005, when Roland Davis was convicted of the aggravated murder of 86-year-old Elizabeth Sheeler. Iradell Crumpton was indicted on a death penalty specification in 2007, but he was later sentenced to 45 years to life in prison. Hayes said the cases against Lehoe and Ocasio would qualify under Ohio law for the death penalty. "These are a couple of bad actors," he said. The pair are accused, along with 15-year-old Jaden Osborn and 16-year-old Dylan Warren, of going to 70 Cherry Street around 2:45 a.m. Saturday and kicking open a door. Court records show Lehoe and Ocasio are suspected of going into a basement of the home where 48-year-old David Barcus was staying and attempting to rob him, fatally shooting him in the process. Under Ohio law, if a homicide occurs while another felony is being committed, such as an armed robbery, the death penalty can be imposed. Osborn and Warren would not be eligible for the death penalty because they are juveniles. Prosecutors are seeking to try the 2 as adults and a probable cause hearing to determine if the cases could be moved to Common Pleas Court will be held in March. Osborn and Warren are both being held at the Multi-County Juvenile Detention Facility in Lancaster, pending future hearings. Ocasio and Lehoe are being held in the Licking County Justice Center in lieu of $1 million bond each. Their cases are expected to be presented to the grand jury next week. (source: newarkadvocate.com) TENNESSEEfemale may face death penalty Sherra Wright Could Face Death Penalty If Convicted Of Murdering Lorenzen Wright The ex-wife of former Memphis Tiger and Grizzlies basketball star Lorenzen Wright could face the death penalty if convicted of her ex-husband's murder. Sherra Wright is accused of killing Lorenzen Wright in 2010 with suspected co-conspirator Billy Ray Turner. Authorities indicted and arrested Sherra Wright last month in Riverside County, California, and after she waived extradition, authorities brought her to Shelby County Saturday. The prosecutor leading this case said pursuing the death penalty for Sherra Wright is under consideration. This as she finalizes her legal team in the coming weeks. "I could have never fathomed that in a million years, I would have never thought she would have been a suspect," says Montae Nevels, a friend of Lorenzen Wright's. In an orange jumpsuit, Sherra Wright's presence Thursday seemed surreal to friends and family of the ex-husband she's accused of killing. "It is a shock to everybody in the community, it's a shock to the family," says Nevels. "Sherra is a suspect, we are not saying Sherra is guilty, that's the court's decision, but we are just here wanting justice for the family." Wright is accused of plotting and attempting to kill Lorenzen beginning in April 2010, and then having a role in his actual murder in July 2010 in Shelby County. "Of course, people fuss and fight, but I never thought it would have gotten to this particular point," says Nevels. For prosecutors, Wright's appearance Thursday begins a new chapter, weeks after the more 7-year cold case of Lorenzen's murder ended with her arrest. "This is the case that's obviously been in the media and been in the forefront of a lot of people's minds," says Paul Hagerman with the Shelby County District Attorney's Office. And as for the death penalty? "It's still under consideration, I'll say that." For Wright's defense team, she's expected to be represented by 2 high-profile Memphis attorney families: Ballin and Farese. "There a number of legal hurdles that have to be met before a death penalty can be sought," says Blake Ballin. "Anytime you have a case where the victim is a well-known celebrity or a well-known person in the community, you know, the main thing, main challenge is making sure the truth is out there," says Steve Farese, Jr. "She's concerned about her children, most of her concern is about the children," says Ballin. "She's doing as well as you could expect someone to be doing given the situation that she's been in," says Farese, Sr. "She's been accused of something she didn't do." Billy Ray Turner is also accused in the murder of Lorenzen Wright, and once attended the same church with Sherra Wright. He is
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., N.C., S.C., FLA., ALA., LA.
Jan. 26
TEXASimpending executions
Death Watch: Rayford, BattagliaHuntsville heats up
William Rayford faces his 1st execution date on Tuesday, Jan. 30, for the 1999
kidnapping and murder of ex-girlfriend Carol Hall. The 64-year-old Dallas
native was on parole at the time, as part of a 23-year sentence for murdering
his wife.
Last week, Rayford's attorney Bruce Anton asked that the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals stay Rayford's execution on grounds that testimony suggesting
that Rayford's race could make him a future threat played a role in his
sentence. The appeal also challenges the work of Rayford's trial attorneys, who
failed to raise the issue of their client's mental health (brain damage brought
on from lead poisoning), and did not pursue other alleged evidence. Anton also
cites Rayford's 16 years on death row as a form of cruel and unusual
punishment. Rayford appealed for a new trial in 2012 on similar grounds,
unsuccessfully.
Meanwhile, John Battaglia is up again - scheduled for death on Thursday, Feb.
1. He's been in Livingston since May of 2002, after he was convicted of killing
his 2 young daughters while on the phone with their mother, his ex-wife. He
narrowly avoided execution in March of 2016 when the 5th Circuit Court of
Appeals issued a stay so the trial court could consider claims of competency
("Matters of Incompetence," Dec. 2, 2016), but in September the Court of
Criminal Appeals found Battaglia competent to face his execution. He appealed
to the U.S. Supreme Court in December; justices have yet to rule.
Rayford and Battaglia would be the 2nd and 3rd inmates executed in the new
year. Huntsville has 3 others already on the calendar for this spring,
including Thomas Whitaker on Feb. 22. In 2003, Whitaker plotted to have his
brother and parents killed by a hit man. His brother and mother died; his
father, Kent, was shot in the chest but survived. Kent has never sought death
for his son, and earlier this month appealed to the state's Board of Pardons
and Paroles that they recommend Gov. Greg Abbott commute Thomas' sentence to
life in prison.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
*
2nd Death Penalty Hearing Pending For Donna Man's Killer
Hidalgo County prosecutors will say next month whether they'll seek the death
penalty in a 2nd sentencing hearing for an Alabama man convicted and condemned
for robbing and killing a man in Donna 11 years ago. 47-year-old Douglas
Armstrong won a new punishment hearing when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
late last year threw out his death sentence. The court ruled Armstrong's trial
attorneys were constitutionally inadequate in presenting their case for why he
should not be sentenced to death.
A Hidalgo County jury had found Armstrong guilty of robbing and slashing the
neck of 60-year-old Rafael Castelan outside a Donna bar in April 2006. If
prosecutors decide to not seek a 2nd death penalty hearing, Armstrong would
receive an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.
(source: KURV news)
*** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present28
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-546
Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. #
29-Jan. 30-William Rayford547
30--Feb. 1-John Battaglia-548
31--Feb. 22Thomas Whitaker549
32--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--550
33--Apr. 25Erick Davila---551
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
PENNSYLVANIA:
5 death row inmates challenge policy of solitary confinement
5 death row inmates sued Pennsylvania prison officials on Thursday, challenging
a policy that keeps the convicts isolated most of the time and calling the
practice degrading and inhumane.
The federal lawsuit asks the court to end mandatory, indefinite solitary
confinement for the 156 men on death row at Graterford and Greene state
prisons.
The lawsuit said death row inmates are locked up alone 22 to 24 hours each day,
and their small cells are kept illuminated at all hours.
"The devastating effects of such prolonged isolation are well known among
mental health experts, physicians and human rights experts in the United States
and around the world," the lawsuit said. "It is established beyond dispute that
solitary confinement puts prisoners at risk of substantial physical, mental and
emotional harm."
The lawsuit seeks class-action status as well as a declaration that the
solitary policy violates constitutional protection against cruel and unusual
punishment and violates the guarantee of due process.
A Corrections Department official said the lawsuit was being reviewed. The
defendants are the Corrections secretary and the wardens at Graterford and
Greene.
The inmates who sued - Anthony Reid, 50; Ricardo Natividad, 49; Mark Newton
Spotz, 46; R
