[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
September 8 EGYPT: Egypt sentences 75 people to death, Muslim Brotherhood leader gets life in jail An Egyptian court handed out on Saturday, the death penalty to 75 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, while sentencing their spiritual leader Mohammed Badie and 46 others including Essam Sultan and Basem Aouda, for life behind bars, for their involvement in a 2013 sit-in protest which led to deadly clashes. While those sentenced to death by hanging, include senior Brotherhood leaders Essam al-Erian, Mohamed Beltagi and prominent Islamist preacher Safwat Higazi. The Cairo Criminal Court also handed out a 10-year jail term to ousted President Mohamed Morsi's son Osama, while sentencing photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, to 5 years behind bars. Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan, earlier this year received UNESCO's World Freedom Prize. He was arrested in August 2013 as he covered the deadly clashes in Cairo between security forces and Morsi supporters. The Cairo Criminal Court is trying 739 persons accused of security related activities, killing and destroying public properties. (source: alarabiya.net) ** Death sentences and heavy prison terms handed down in disgraceful mass trial Cairo Criminal Court today handed down 75 death sentences, 47 life sentences, and heavy prison sentences ranging from 15 to 5 years to 612 people, in a mass trial related to participation in the al-Rabaa sit-in on 14 August 2013. Among those sentenced was photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as "Shawkan", who was sentenced to 5 years, which he has already served. Najia Bounaim, North Africa Campaigns Director at Amnesty International, said. "These sentences were handed down in a disgraceful mass trial of more than 700 people, and we condemn today's verdict in the strongest terms. The death penalty should never be an option under any circumstances. The fact that not a single police officer has been brought to account for the killing of at least 900 people in the Rabaa and Nahda protests shows what a mockery of justice this trial was. The Egyptian authorities should be ashamed. We demand a retrial in an impartial court and in full respect of the right to a fair trial for all defendants, without recourse to the death penalty. "Shawkan has already spent more than 5 years in prison simply for doing his job as a photojournalist and documenting the police brutality that took place that day. The Egyptian authorities' disgraceful attacks on press freedom and freedom of expression must stop, and they must immediately and unconditionally release Shawkan. He is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for doing his journalistic work." Not a single security official has been held to account for the events on 14 August 2013, widely known as the Rabaa massacre, where a violent police dispersal left at least 900 dead in 2 sit ins at Rabaa al Adawiya and al-Nahda squares. According to official statistics, 6 security officers were also killed that day. In the Rabaa trial, the group of 739 protesters were collectively prosecuted for the killing of 17 men, including 7 members of the police force, as well as other charges including "illegal gathering", "incitement to break the law", and involvement in violence. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally, for all cases and under any circumstances. (source: Amnesty International) PAKISTAN: 3 bandits sentenced to death for killing Rangers man in Karachi An antiterrorism court on Friday sentenced 3 men to death in a case pertaining to killing of a Rangers soldier and wounding a policeman during an armed robbery. The ATC-XVIII found the 3 men - Imran Iqbal, Shabbir Javed and Irfan - guilty of attacking personnel of the law enforcement agencies when they resisted their robbery bid on Jan 29 within the remit of the Quaidabad police station. Rangers' sepoy Abdul Rauf died during treatment at a hospital, while police constable Umer Wahid survived. The trial was conducted in the judicial complex inside the Karachi central prison. The verdict was reserved earlier by the court after recording evidence and arguments from both sides. The verdict stated that the prosecution had fully proved its case against the 3 men beyond a shadow of a doubt. Therefore, the court handed down capital punishment to the 3 men on counts of murder and terrorism. It also imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on each convict. Separately, the court also sentenced convicts Iqbal and Javed to 7-year imprisonment for possessing illicit weapons. They were also ordered to pay Rs10,000 each as fine. According to the prosecution, the Rangers soldier and his police constable friend were intercepted by armed robbers when they were passing through the Landhi 89 area on a motorbike in plain clothes. They were forced to stop the bike at gunpoint. As the bandits were looting valuables and cash from
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.H., OHIO, TENN., LA., ARK., UTAH, ARIZ.
September 8 NEW HAMPSHIRE: Repealing the Death Penalty in New Hampshire Is Personal New Hampshire is the only state in New England that still puts people to death. The Northeast region, and much of the nation, has recognized capital punishment for what it is: a practice of a bygone era that is inherently unjust, often racially charged, and has resulted in the torture of individuals put to death. This could change for New Hampshire on Sept. 13, when state legislators have an opportunity to override Gov. Chris Sununu's veto of a death penalty repeal bill. This is the latest of a long line of legislative attempts at repeal in the past decade. The trend is strongly in favor of repeal, and it is one that crosses party lines. The question for New Hampshire is not if, but when. There are Republicans, Democrats, independents, and libertarians who support repealing the death penalty, just as there are people in all these groups who do not. You cannot assume an elected official's position based on that person's party. More than any other civil rights issue, the death penalty is personal for elected officials, seen through the prisms of morality, faith, or specific encounters with individual constituents. Many oppose it because it goes against their religious beliefs. Others oppose it because it costs the state far more money than life in prison. And some oppose it because an innocent person may be put to death. When the New Hampshire Senate voted to repeal the death penalty in March, 8 Democrats and 6 Republicans voted in favor of repeal. When the New Hampshire House voted in April, 146 Democrats and 77 Republicans voted for repeal. Because of Gov. Sununu's veto in June, the state's House and Senate will reconvene on Sept. 13 and will have to override the veto with a 2/3 vote in each chamber. As that vote approaches, the message that most resonates across party lines, gender lines, and county lines is this: The death penalty is inherently imperfect and that imperfection takes an enormous human toll. We know for a fact that people are wrongfully sentenced to death in our nation. We know this because over 160 people on death row have been exonerated. What's more, the process of executing someone can result in torture, which is unconstitutional. We know this from different experiences in different states, no matter the method of execution. There is always the risk that a so-called "humane" execution becomes cruel and unusual. People are too often sentenced to death not because of the crime committed, but because of a poor legal defense, because of their race, or because of the race of the victim. A death sentence for a defendant often raises questions about why someone in similar circumstances, sentenced by a different jury, received life without parole instead. And regardless of how the death penalty is carried out, state employees who conduct the execution often experience post-traumatic stress disorder afterwards. This means that even an execution conducted without error causes harm. Our criminal justice system is not infallible. We know this. We also know that society can function without the death penalty. Many states do. The overwhelming number of countries across the globe do. It is impossible to guarantee that the death penalty is only applied to the guilty and only to those guilty of the most heinous crimes. It is also impossible to guarantee a person won't be tortured while being killed by the state. The only way to ensure that someone is never wrongfully sentenced to death, wrongfully executed, or tortured during an execution is to repeal the death penalty. And that's the certainty the New Hampshire Legislature should provide on Sept. 13. (source: Jeanne Hruska, Policy Director, ACLU of New Hampshireaclu.org) OHIO: Convicted murderer Grate to be charged in Richland County; execution delayed Richland County will pursue charges against convicted killer Shawn Grate, Prosecutor Gary Bishop said Friday. Grate, 42, was convicted in May of the aggravated murders of Stacey Stanley, 43, and Elizabeth Griffith, 29, at the end of a lengthy jury trial in Ashland. The jury recommended the death penalty for Grate, and Ashland County Common Pleas Judge Ron Forsthoefel agreed. The judge set Grate's execution date for Thursday - 2 years to the day of his arrest - but it will not happen for some time. "He has to set a date as part of the sentencing," Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell said. "It's the initial date. It never happens (that quickly)." Tunnell said a notice of appeal has been filed. "That stays everything," he said. In Richland County, authorities said Grate confessed to killing Candice Cunningham in June 2016. Her body was found behind the burned-out house at 1027 Park Avenue East in Madison Township in September 2016. The fire had been deemed suspicious. Mansfield police also have
