[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
News postings to this list will resume on Sunday, Oct. 7 October 3 KYGRYZSTAN: Kyrgyzstan is not ready for capital punishment, activist says Kyrgyzstan is not yet ready for the introduction of the death penalty, said Director of the Institute of Public Analysis Rita Karasartova at a round-table discussion in Bishkek on Oct 3. Introduction of capital punishment will not decrease the percentage of crimes. "Death penalty in our country won't work, because if a person sentenced to death has powerful relatives, the innocent one is to be killed," she said. (source: AKI Press) INDIA: Death penalty shrinking budget for crime prevention programs, sates policy paper Death penalty is shrinking budget for crime prevention programs, the Centre for Criminology & Public Policy (CCPP) has said, in a recently released policy paper. The think-tank has criticized the expansion of death penalty to child rapists, saying the move will "result in more acquittals than convictions." CCPP's Director and the paper's author Rochin Chandra said that the document has been prepared in consultation with several experts, including legal researchers, police officers, advocates, child and adolescent psychiatrists, and rehabilitation consultants. The paper has opined that before expanding death penalty to child rapists, the government should have carried out a scientific assessment to check whether death penalty has acted as a deterrent for crimes. The paper has highlighted the need for stricter implementation of laws, and diversion of public expenditure into child sexual-abuse prevention programs such as schemes for relief and rehabilitation of child victims. In its paper, Udaipur-based CCPP has also cited data to show the ineffectiveness of cost of death penalty as compared to its closest alternative-life imprisonment without parole. The paper mentions that during 2004-2015, about 1300 prisoners were put on death row, but of those, only 4 cases resulted in execution. "These figures show that legal process for death penalty is significantly longer and more complex than for life imprisonment, and applying such a punishment for child rape will only result in more acquittals than convictions", states the paper. Stating that there are loopholes in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2018-which prescribes death penalty for child rapists-the paper calls the expansion of death penalty a "fiscally irresponsible decision." Emphasizing that the matters of death penalty take more time to be disposed of by courts, the think tank has said that expansion of death penalty will lead to increase in the cost of prison management. "The government will have to bear the expenses of locking up death row convicts, while also paying a team of judges, defence lawyers and prosecutors for many years - often decades - to debate whether a sentence of death should be imposed on them," according to the paper. Another argument cited by CCPP against expansion of death penalty is that the fear of death penalty may encourage rapists to kill their victim in order to cover up the crime and eliminate the prime witness. Elaborating on how execution of death penalty is shrinking the budget for crime prevention programs, Chandra cited the example of a public-police outreach program of Ahmedabad police "whose budget got shrunk on this account." "Because of government's heavy reliance on death penalty, the budget for such innovative and workable programmes is shrinking," said Chandra. Chandra added that CCPP will soon send the policy paper to the government for consideration. (source: newindianexpress.com) IRAN: Amnesty: Iran Executes Teenage Victim Of Domestic, Sexual Violence Iran has executed a female victim of domestic and sexual violence who was convicted of killing her husband when she was a minor, according to Amnesty International. The execution of Zeinab Sekaanvand is "profoundly unjust and shows the Iranian authorities' contempt for the right of children to life," the London-based human rights watchdog said on October 2. A statement said the 24-year-old was hanged early in the day in Urumieh central prison in West Azerbaijan province. An ethnic Kurd, Sekaanvand was 15 when she married her husband, according to Amnesty, and she was sentenced to death in October 2014 following a "grossly unfair trial" for allegedly stabbing him to death. Philip Luther, Amnesty International's research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said she "sought help many times from the authorities about her violent husband and alleged that her brother-in-law had raped her repeatedly." Instead of investigating the allegations, Iranian authorities "consistently ignored her and failed to provide her with any support as a victim of domestic and sexual violence," Luther added. He also called
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----VA., N.C., FLA., ALA., TENN., S.DAK., USA
October 3 VIRGINIA: Jury will decide if man who killed wife, officer, will get the death penalty or prisonArmy veteran killed wife, police officer, shot and injured 2 other officers A jury that found a Woodbridge man guilty of murdering his wife, a Prince William County police officer, and shooting, and seriously injuring 2 other officers, heard arguments for, and against, his execution Monday. Jurors found Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Hamilton guilty of 17 different charges. But for the next week and a half, they will focus on just 2 of them both capital murder charges. Hamilton is facing 2 capital murder charges; killing 2 people within a 3 year span, and killing a law enforcement officer. Hamilton shot and killed his wife Crystal and Officer Ashley Guindon. Hamilton was also convicted of shooting, and seriously injuring 2 other Prince William County Police Officers. The shootings occurred at the Hamilton family home in Woodbridge, in February of 2016. It was the Hamilton's son's 11th birthday. The boy was home during the murders. The prosecution argued that "vileness," was shown through the excessive nature of the murders. they openly inquired "if a man could do this to his wife, to the police, in front of his son, in his own neighborhood... what else could he do?" The defense outlined Hamilton's military service. His 2 deployments to Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, and his inability to connect with his civilian colleagues after he took a job at the Pentagon. They said that in the midst of marital problems, he thought he could lose it all and snapped, leading to a horrifying "11 minutes," with tragic consequences. The prosecution argued that this crime spanned far beyond "11 minutes." Hamilton had long been abusive towards his wife, and had multiple encounters with law enforcement. (source: localdvm.com) NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina Bar Files Ethics Complaint Against Lawyer Accused of Fleecing Intellectually Disabled Death-Row Exonerees Florida lawyer Patrick Megaro is facing an official complaint by the North Carolina State Bar for allegedly defrauding death-row exonerees Henry McCollum and Leon Brown, and taking 1/3 of the compensation granted to the 2 men. Half-brothers McCollum and Brown were exonerated in 2014 after spending 30 years in prison, some on death row, for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. Both men are intellectually disabled, a factor that made them more vulnerable to wrongful conviction, and, the Bar complaint says, vulnerable to exploitation by Megaro. After McCollum and Brown were exonerated and formally pardoned by Governor Pat McCrory, they sought compensation from North Carolina for their wrongful convictions and incarceration. Megaro became McCollum's and Brown's lawyer in March 2015, after 2 women who claimed to be advocating on behalf of the brothers persuaded them to fire the lawyers who had been representing them in their compensation action and to hire Megaro's firm instead. The brothers received compensation awards of $750,000, but Megaro - who the complaint says did virtually no work on their exonerations or compensation cases - took $250,000 in fees from each man. Within 7 months, McCollum was out of money and taking out high-interest loans that Megaro arranged and approved. Megaro also negotiated a proposed settlement of the brothers' wrongful prosecution lawsuit in which he was to receive $400,000 of a $1 million payment. The complaint alleges that Megaro committed 16 ethical violations, including lying to judges, double-billing his clients, and engaging in fraud by signing for loans with a 42% interest rate. It also alleges that he violated his duty to act competently when he failed to determine the police department's insurance policy limits before agreeing to settle the brothers' wrongful prosecution case. McCollum expressed his disappointment with Megaro, saying, "He took money that he should have never took. I could have that money right now." According to the Marshall Project, "Wednesday's complaint begins a legal process similar to a civil lawsuit that will likely culminate in a public trial of the charges, with 3 members of the state's Disciplinary Hearing Commission sitting as judge and jury." Megaro - whose law partner derided the disciplinary action as "a political prosecution" - could face disbarment if he is found guilty. (source: Death Penalty Information Center) FLORIDA: Colley calls 2015 double murder 'accident' at final hearing In his last opportunity to speak to a judge before he is sentenced for killing 2 women, James Terry Colley Jr. apologized to those impacted by his crimes. "This was a horrible, terrible accident and I wish it was different," Colley said toward the end of a morning hearing at the St. Johns County courthouse. "But it's not, and I am sorry for all parties involved." Colley, who is now 38,
