[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, OHIO, IND., ARK., NEB., USA
March 22 TEXASnew execution date Christopher Young has been given an execution date for July 17; it should be considered serious. * Supreme Court gives Texas inmate chance to secure funds that could help him avoid death penalty The Supreme Court on Wednesday said a Texas death-row inmate deserves another chance at securing funds for evidence that might lead to a reconsideration of his sentence. The justices were unanimous in ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit was too restrictive in reading a federal law that allows indigent defendants to secure money for "investigative, expert or other services." The federal Criminal Justice Act allows lawyers to receive such funds when it is "reasonably necessary" to assemble the kind of mitigating evidence that might persuade the jury to forego a sentence of death. But a judge denied the funds to attorneys for Carlos Manuel Ayestas, who was convicted of the killing of 67-year-old Santiaga Paneque during an invasion of her Houston home in 1995. In the 5th Circuit, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the law has been interpreted to mean a defendant must show that there is a "substantial need" for such services. Ayestas's attorneys said that created something of a Catch-22: The defendant would have to demonstrate that there is some relevant evidence he could discover without first having the funding to pursue that evidence. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the appeals court was wrong to impose the "substantial need" standard. Ayestas "contends that this interpretation is more demanding than the standard - "reasonably necessary" - set out in the statute," Alito wrote. "And although the difference between the 2 formulations may not be great, petitioner has a point." Courts deciding whether to grant the funds - Ayestas's attorneys asked for $20,000 - must consider the potential merit of the claims a petitioner wants to pursue, the likelihood that something beneficial might be obtained and whether the petitioner would be able to clear any procedural hurdles to presenting the mitigating evidence. Ayestas wants to show that his previous attorneys provided ineffective counsel, because they did not present a fuller portrait of his life that might spare him from execution. They contend he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was a regular user of cocaine and alcohol at the time of what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at oral arguments called a "horrific" killing. The case returns to lower courts so that they can judge Ayestas's request under the proper standard. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Ginsburg, thought that step was unnecessary. "On the record before this court, there should be little doubt that Ayestas has satisfied" the standard, Sotomayor wrote. The case is Ayestas v. Davis. The court also ruled for the defendant in a 2nd case decided Wednesday. The justices ruled 7 to 2 that, for someone to be convicted of obstructing the work of the Internal Revenue Service, a person must be aware that he or she is under investigation or should have known that was a reasonable possibility. (source: Washington Post) ** - impending execution Death Watch: The Suitcase KillerState's 4th execution set for March 27 Late on Monday afternoon, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied death row inmate Rosendo Rodriguez III's most recent appeal, and time is running out. Rodriguez was convicted of raping, beating, and killing Summer Baldwin at a Lubbock hotel in 2005, then trashing her body in a suitcase at the city dump. He confessed to the killing - as well as the murder of a 16-year-old girl whose body was also discovered in a suitcase 1 year before. Following the CCA's ruling, Rodriguez's attorney Seth Kretzer filed a flurry of new appeals in state and federal courts, arguing that his client did not receive a fair trial. The argument hinges on an unrelated 2015 lawsuit filed against Sridhar Natarajan, the Lubbock medical examiner who reported to have performed Baldwin's autopsy - which accuses the M.E. of routinely "delegating" decisions to his senior forensic nurse who often decided "which bodies to autopsy" and which required only "visual inspection." As Rodriguez's March 27 death date nears, his lawyer claims the prosecution team used a "discredited forensic scientist to deprive" Rodriguez of a fair trial, which ultimately violated his constitutional right to due process. The appeal goes on to say the state also violated Brady obligations by failing to disclose the aforementioned lawsuit and Natarajan's pricey out-of-court settlement. Rodriguez would be the fourth Texan executed this year; only Thomas Whitaker has been spared to date. (source: Austin Chronicle) * Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present30 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-548
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 22 JAPAN: Death penalty for ex-caregiver for killing elderly A court in Japan has sentenced a former care worker to death for killing 3 elderly residents at a nursing home in Kawasaki, near Tokyo. Yokohama District Court on Thursday found 25-year-old Hayato Imai guilty of murdering the 3 victims by pushing them from the balconies of their rooms. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty in the trial. The 3 residents all died in 2014. They were an 87-year-old man and 2 women, aged 86 and 96. The judges in the trial ruled that the victims would have been physically incapable of climbing over the balcony railings by themselves. They ruled out the possibility that the deaths were suicides or accidents. The ruling also rejected the possibility that other staff members had committed the crimes. The judges added that Imai's confession during police interrogation, in which he admitted to killing the 3 people, was credible. Imai's lawyer had maintained that he was not guilty, pointing out the lack of objective evidence, and arguing that the deaths could have been suicides or accidents. The lawyer also claimed that Imai's confession was coerced, and has filed an appeal against the ruling to a higher court. (source: nhk.or.jp) BANGLADESH: HC bench assigned to hear appeals in 10-truck arms haul case Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain has recently assigned a High Court bench to hear and dispose of the death reference and appeals in sensational 10-truck arms haul case in which 14 people, including former ministers were sentenced to death. The bench of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam may fix a date on Sunday for starting hearing on the death reference and appeals, court sources said. If a lower court sentences any person to death in a case, its judgment is examined by the HC through hearing arguments for confirmation of the death sentence. The case documents and judgment reaches as death reference to the HC from the lower court in 7 days after the latter delivers the verdict. 12 death-row convicts out of total 14 in the 10 truck-arms haul case have filed separate appeals with the HC challenging the trial court verdict against them. In the appeals, they prayed to the HC to acquit them of the charges, according to the sources. On January 30, 2014, the Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 handed down the death penalty to 14 people, former minister and Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Motiur Rahman Nizami and former BNP state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar for smuggling 10 truckloads of firearms in 2004. The 14 convicts were also given life term imprisonment in another case filed for possessing illegal firearms. Nizami was executed on May 11, 2016 after the Supreme Court upheld his death penalty for committing crimes against humanity during the country???s Liberation War in 1971. Meanwhile, another HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Jahangir Hossain is set on Sunday to start hearing the death reference and appeals in another sensational case filed for attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by planting a bomb weighing 76kg in Gopalganj's Kotalipara in July 2000. A Dhaka court on August 20 last year sentenced 10 leaders and activists of Harkatul Jihad al-Islami to death, 1 to life imprisonment and 3 to 14 years' imprisonment in the case. 7 of the convicts have filed separate appeals with the HC challenging the trial court verdict on them, court sources said. (source: The Daily Star) ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe President ED Mnangagwa Releases Thousands From Prison ED Mnangagwa is commuting death sentences for some prisoners and releasing thousands of people from prison, including most women and everyone under age 18. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's announcement Wednesday is an effort to ease overcrowded prisons. He has said he is against the death penalty because he once survived hanging when the southern African nation was still colonial Rhodesia. Nearly 100 people are on death row in the country of 13 million. Those on it for at least a decade are having their sentences commuted to life in prison. Zimbabwe's last execution was in 2005, partly because no one was willing to be the hangman. All women except those serving life sentences are being freed. Also freed are prisoners who are disabled or terminally ill and those sentenced to life before Feb. 28, 1998. About 3,000 prisoners are expected to benefit, said prison deputy commissioner-general Alford Mashango Dube. He said the current prison population is about 20,000 and capacity is 17,000. Zimbabwe's former leader Robert Mugabe in November said he was considering resuming executions. But weeks later Mnangagwa took power with the military's assistance after factional fighting within the ruling party. (source: pazimbabwe.com) INDONESIA/SAUDI ARABIA: 20 Indonesians on Saudi
