[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
October 19 SOUTHEAST ASIA: South-East Asian countries are backing away from the death penaltyBut not from extra-judicial killings Malaysia is hardly known for the leniency of its punishments. Sharia (Islamic law) applies in some states and canings offer a violent public spectacle. Even so, the country's new government no longer wishes to deal in death. On October 10th Liew Vui Keong, a minister, announced that the death penalty would be abolished, although the necessary legislation has yet to be introduced in parliament. That would leave only four countries in South-East Asia still conducting executions: Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. And even among these hold-outs, there are signs of change. Vietnam, with a population of more than 95m, is by far the most prolific executioner in the region. It does not normally disclose the number of prisoners put to death. But last year it reported that 429 had been executed in a 151-week period between 2013 and 2016, a much higher number than had been estimated previously. Singapore, the next on the list, carried out only 8 hangings last year. In Singapore and elsewhere, the death penalty remains popular with voters. But it is less and less so with lawmakers, who are more aware of the foreign criticism it attracts, especially because it is sometimes used for non-violent crimes such as corruption and drug offences. In recent years Vietnam has abolished it for crimes such as producing or trading counterfeit food and possessing drugs. Last year Malaysia and Thailand scrapped mandatory death sentences for selling drugs. In Indonesia a new law under discussion in parliament would introduce a ten-year probation period before an execution occurs. There is regression, too. Singapore imposed a moratorium in 2011 during a review of mandatory sentencing before resuming executions in 2014. In June Thailand carried out its 1st execution since 2009. In the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte would like to reintroduce the death penalty, a view shared by many of those who voted for him. But legislation to do so has stalled in Congress. The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is a former president who helped to bring about the abolition of the death penalty in 2006. As encouraging as the growing ambivalence about executions is, however, the region suffers from enormous numbers of extra-judicial killings in which the authorities often participate. Myanmar has not formally executed anyone since 1988. Yet a UN report last month said that its army had slaughtered more than 10,000 members of a Muslim minority, the Rohingyas, in a pogrom which began last year. Indonesian authorities shot dead more than 60 drug suspects last year. They claim, unconvincingly, that all the killings occurred in self-defence, or as suspects attempted to flee. In the Philippines Mr Duterte's war against drugs has unleashed murder on an appalling scale. Police and vigilantes have killed more than 20,000 suspects in around 2 years, according to human-rights groups and opposition politicians. For the most part the victims have been petty users and dealers, rather than kingpins. Mr Duterte has himself boasted on occasion about participating in such killings in his previous job as mayor of the city of Davao; at other times he has disavowed any role. But he certainly has not disavowed the practice. (source: The Economist) PAKISTAN: Rethinking Pakistan's drug lawThis mislaid focus, which allows for expendable 'drug mules' to be arrested and convicted rather than the actual kingpins, is aided by the broad-brush nature of the law Dilawar, a 65 years-old truck driver, is apprehended one day on his way to Kashmir and found to be carrying 380 kilos of cannabis. He is oblivious to the nature of the cargo, yet is able to identify with detailed precision, the people who had employed him to carry it. Although apprehended, these individuals are only detained and then released without any charges against them. Dilawar on the other hand, a man who would have needed 76 years just to earn the money required to buy that amount of drugs, was prosecuted and eventually handed a sentence for life imprisonment. Dilawar’s case is not anomalous in the record of anti-narcotics enforcement in the country. The regime in Pakistan is rigged against those from the poorest and most vulnerable strata of society. In many cases this includes women and it also includes under-age minors and people with learning difficulties. A report published earlier this year by the Foundation for Fundamental rights relied on extensive case reviews and interviews, to reveal the iniquitous operations of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act of 1997 (CNSA). The extensive research in the report does not reveal a single case, where a defendant had faced the harshest penalties under the act - death or life
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IDAHO, NEV., CALIF., WASH., USA
October 19 IDAHO: Man to Face Death Penalty in Birthday Party Stabbing RampageProsecutors say a man suspected of going on a stabbing rampage at a children's party, killing a little girl celebrating her 3rd birthday and wounding 8 others in Idaho, will face the death penalty. A man suspected of going on a stabbing rampage at a children's party, killing a little girl celebrating her 3rd birthday and wounding 8 others, will face the death penalty, prosecutors in Idaho said Thursday. Timmy Kinner, a homeless man who had been asked to leave a Boise apartment complex the day before, returned the following day and began attacking children and others at the outdoor birthday party, police said. A judge this summer entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to 1 count of 1st-degree murder and 8 counts of aggravated battery in connection with the June 30 attack. "After careful consideration, we have concluded that pursuing the death penalty is appropriate in this case," Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in a statement. The Ada County Public Defender's Office, which is representing Kinner, declined to comment. Police have said Kinner didn't know any of the victims, who were all refugees from Ethiopia, Syria and Iraq. Police have said the attack does not appear to be a hate crime. Kinner, 30, has refused to meet with a psychologist to evaluate his health. Ruya Kadir was at her 3rd birthday party - complete with a pink doll-shaped cake and a Disney princess banner - when police say Kinner, armed with a large knife, attacked. Ruya and 5 other children were badly injured, along with the three adults who tried to protect them. Some children hid in a closet until police told them it was safe to come out. Police say Kinner had recently been asked to leave the apartment complex because of bad behavior. He was arrested shortly after the stabbing. Investigators recovered the knife he was believed to have used in a nearby canal. (source: Associated Press) ** Idaho officials to pursue death penalty against man charged in Boise mass stabbing The Ada County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday that it will pursue the death penalty for the man charged in a June mass stabbing that killed a 3-year-old girl and wounded 8 other refugees. "My office, including 2 senior deputy prosecutors, victim-witness coordinators, an investigator and staff are working closely with the Boise Police Department and their assigned detectives," lead prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in a statement. "After careful consideration, we have concluded that pursuing the death penalty is appropriate in this case. It is important that we preserve the integrity of the case and let the criminal justice process take its course to ensure Mr. Kinner is afforded due process and receives a fair trial." The prosecutor's office said it would make no additional comments on the decision. Kinner's lead attorney is David Smethers with the Ada County Public Defenders Office. The office on Thursday said it has "no comment" on the decision. Kinner is set to go to trial Jan. 3. His attorneys have raised concerns over his mental health in recent hearings, asking that he be committed to a state facility for treatment. (source: idahostatesman.com) NEVADA: Scott Dozier Still Wants to Be Executed. And He's Still Waiting.After forcing Nevada into a legal battle over its lethal injection drugs, an execution "volunteer" says the state is punishing him. Last week, Nevada death row prisoner Scott Dozier called his family and friends and said they might not be hearing from him for a while. He had been placed, he said, in a form of solitary confinement so his mental health could be assessed, with just a few articles of clothing and an anti-suicide blanket. Prison officials have not offered an explanation, but Dozier has speculated that they are punishing him for - or trying to get him to halt - his years-long effort to be executed. "I have never heard him sound so defeated," said Edgar Barens, a filmmaker who has regularly corresponded with Dozier. Dozier's ongoing legal saga, which I wrote about in January, continues to illuminate the ambivalence and political turmoil surrounding the death penalty in the United States. Death row prisoners usually appeal their sentences, and many manage to hold off execution for decades. Many live in solitary confinement with few amenities, but Dozier was given access to an exercise yard, as well as a television, MP3 player and art supplies. Still, he did not feel that life in prison was a life worth living. 2 years ago, he announced that he would give up his appeals and agree to be killed. His request forced Nevada, which had not executed anyone in a decade, to come up with a new lethal injection cocktail and defend it in a number of court battles. As of now, the state is losing those battles, and it appears Dozier will not
