[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
August 15 SRI LANKA: Noose Looms Large For Drug Dealers Harshi Sudarshani, a Sunday school teacher in Negombo, and her younger brother have faced strained relationships with their friends since their father was arrested on a drug charge. The fisherman was arrested after packets of heroin were found on the boat in which he spends long periods at sea in search of tuna. Sudarshani, who joined religious leaders on an anti-drug protest with thousands of others in Negombo in February, denies her father's involvement in drug trafficking and blames the businessman owner of the boat. Her family's worries about the case increased with Sri Lanka's announcement in July that it was introducing capital punishment for persistent drug dealers. "My father is an innocent fisherman who used to go to church," says Sudarshani, who is about to move house due to the social stigma of the drug case. Sri Lanka has been on the map for years as a transit point for drugs, while concerns are growing about the use of illegal drugs, especially among children. The European Union opposes Sri Lanka's decision to introduce the death penalty for repeat drug dealers and warned that it could lose trade concessions that allow developing countries to pay fewer or no duties on their exports to the bloc. Vacancies for 2 hangmen have been advertised amid a public outcry demanding capital punishment for sexual assaults and other serious crimes apart from drug dealing. Civic rights activists oppose the government's decision to hang drug offenders. "There is no evidence in Sri Lanka or in any country that the death penalty reduces crime," says Ruki Fernando, a member of the watchdog Collective and an adviser to Inform Human Rights Documentation Center. "Crime can be best prevented or reduced through an economic-social-political system that ensures justice and all rights for all, coupled with an effective and independent criminal justice system and strict adherence to the rule of law. "In Sri Lanka, given the deficiencies of the criminal justice system including the lack of easily accessible, quality legal aid, many accused, particularly from poorer economic backgrounds, do not have access to fair trials, so the possibilities of wrongful convictions are high." Fernando says new evidence may emerge through new technology that shows wrongful convictions, but the death penalty is irreversible. In countries such as the United States, Canada and the U.K., people wrongly convicted have been released from death row or prison decades later, he says. In the U.S., for every 9 people who have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, 1 has been exonerated after being proved innocent later. The Anglican Church is opposed to the decision to hang drug dealers. "The church cannot in any way agree with the move," said Bishop Dhiloraj Canagasabey and Bishop Keerthi Fernando in a statement on July 18. "Sri Lanka halted judicial executions more than 40 years ago. Although several governments in the past have tried to reimpose the death penalty, wiser counsel has always prevailed." Capital punishment was abolished by former president S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1956 but it was reintroduced following his assassination in 1959. The country decided to reinstate the death penalty in 2004 for cases of rape and drug trafficking but halted its implementation when international human rights organizations opposed the decision. The death penalty was last enforced in 1976. Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission said capital punishment is a serious human rights violation. Amnesty International said the country would damage its reputation by resuming executions after more than 40 years. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, last month clarified his earlier statement that was interpreted by some media as his support for the death penalty. He said the state should not bring back capital punishment but "criminal minds that sought to destroy social peace and harm hundreds" should not go unpunished. Pope Francis has declared the death penalty wrong in all cases because it is an attack on human dignity. Activist Fernando is clear. "The death penalty violates the right to life and is a cruel, inhuman and degrading form of punishment that must be rejected in any form, for any crime, in any circumstance," he told ucanews.com. (source: eurasiareview.com) * Sri Lanka's Catholic Bishops says no to death penalty In a statement with regard to the issue of the Death Penalty, the Members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka today said that the Church teaches in the light of the Gospel that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person. It said that the supreme Pontiff Holy Father Francis has approved a new revision of number 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., TENN., NEB., NEV., USA
August 15 TEXASnew death sentence Jury delivers death sentence for Jordanian immigrant convicted of 2 Houston-area 'honor killings' A Jordanian immigrant was sentenced Tuesday to death for a pair of 2012 "honor killings" that were part of an extensive plot to kill 5 people, including his daughter, in retribution for her leaving home, converting to Christianity and marrying a Christian. Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, 60, slumped slightly when the verdict was read, but did not react otherwise. The twisted saga that emerged during the trial of intolerance and violent reprisal by the domineering patriarch of an extended family living in a rural Montgomery County compound shocked local residents, and has attracted national and international news coverage since it first unfolded with Irsan's arrest in 2014. The lengthy trial, and disturbing testimony during the punishment phase about rapes, drugging, beatings and a previous homicide, left both jurors and family of the victims sniffling and wiping tears. Meanwhile, the trial judge praised the jury's verdict. "Don't second guess yourselves," state District Judge Jan Krocker told jurors. 'You listened attentively to every detail. It was the right verdict." Jurors sat through 7 weeks of testimony about Irsan's rage and desire to "wash his honor in blood," quickly convicting Irsan of the capital murder of his daughter's new husband, Coty Beavers, 28, and her best friend, Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30, an Iranian activist and medical researcher who supporter her choice. Families of the victims cried, hugged and took pictures together after Irsan was led out of the courtroom in a yellow jail uniform. "Adios," one family member said from the gallery. Almost an hour after the verdict was read, 4 women and 3 men from the jury came back to the courtroom to hug the surviving family members of Irsan's victims. In tears, they introduced themselves and spoke quietly. They said it was tough decision, but they hope the families can now have peace. Immediately after Krocker sentenced Irsan to death, he had to sit and listen as Beavers' mother gave a victim impact statement, from the witness stand, with 2 of her sons standing next to her. "On November 12, 2012, Ali Irsan and his family destroyed life as we knew it forever," said Shirley McCormick. "That was the day they ambushed and murdered Coty, to restore honor to someone who never had any." Afterward, Coty Beavers' twin brother said the family would focus on the remaining suspects: Irsan's adult son, Nasim, who is charged with capital murder, and his adult daughter, Nadia, who is charged with stalking. "Honor violence typically involves participation of multiple family members," said Cory Beavers. "We will continue to pray that everyone culpable in these murders are brought to justice." Bagherzedeh's parents, who attended every day of trial, asked family friend Kathy Soltani to speak for them. "By taking Gelareh away from us, they took away a true human being who would have helped anyone in any way that crossed her path throughout her life," Soltani said. "They took something good from our society." Defense attorneys for Irsan said they were disappointed in the verdict and noted that it would automatically be appealed. "We will just leave it in God's hands," said lead attorney, Allan Tanner who represented Irsan with Rudy Duarte. From the beginning of the trial 2 months ago, prosecutors said Irsan was hellbent on punishing his daughter and anyone who supported her break from the family. "He wanted to kill her," prosecutor Jon Stephenson told jurors during his opening statements. "But he wanted to kill all those she loved first, so that she would suffer that much more before she died." Stephenson was appointed special prosecutor along with Anna Emmons and Marie Primm after Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg recused her office. One of her top staffers represented one of the suspects in the multi-defendant case before joining the district attorney's office. It is the 1st death penalty trial that has taken place since Ogg took office on January 1, 2017. During the trial, some of Irsan's family testified they lived in fear of daily beatings, including with a length of garden hose and "sticks" like Irsan's cane and 2-by-4 boards. 2 of his sons said that was not true. One of Irsan's daughters also testified that he cheered the 9/11 attacks on America and praised Osama bin Laden, and told his children they should volunteer to become suicide bombers. For 8 weeks, prosecutors put on evidence that Irsan had been a violent offender with a history of money grubbing schemes since coming to America in 1979. "He will lie, cheat, steal manipulate, abuse, torture, stalk and kill to get what he wants," Emmons said during closing arguments. She pointed to allegations that he raped his first wife, a blind woman he met in Iowa, then
