[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
October 21 IRANexecution Man Hanged at Zahedan Prison A prisoner was executed at Zahedan Central Prison on rape charges this morning. According to the IHR sources, Mehdi Mirshekar, 31, was in prison for 6 years before the execution. He was convicted to death on rape charges and his execution was carried out on the morning of Saturday, October 20. According to HRANA, Mehdi Mirshekar was transferred to the solitary confinement of Zahedan Central Prison on Monday, October 15, 2018. The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the execution so far. (source: Iran Human Rights) MALAYSIA: Wee: Don't bulldoze death penalty abolition Wee Ka Siong has called into questioned what he claims is Putrajaya's hastiness in pushing through the abolition of the death penalty. The MCA deputy president said the government should at least allow a parliamentary select committee to vet the proposal first. "I have proposed to the government to set up a parliamentary select committee to look into the abolition of death penalty, which was then echoed by Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Nga Kor Ming. "But Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong is now saying that the government would not do so, as the Cabinet had already made a decision to put an end to capital punishment. "I hope that the government can respect the role of Parliament in this instance. After all, abolishing the death penalty requires amendments to 8 legislations, covering 32 offences," he said in a statement last night. Wee questioned if the hastiness was to allow the extradition of convicted murder Sirul Azhar Umar from Australia, which has refused to comply because the country does not support the death penalty. Sirul, a former bodyguard to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, was convicted of murdering Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu. "Between extraditing Sirul and an in-depth evaluation of abolishing the death penalty, which one is more important? "There should be more effort put into discussing whether abolishing the death penalty is suitable for Malaysia at this stage," he said. Wee also questioned the proposal to set up a victim compensation fund. "How does the government plan to sustain this fund then? Will it cut other expenses or introduce new taxes? If so, which expenses will be affected?" he asked. (source:: malaysiakini.com) PAKISTAN: Road to abolition 10 years ago, in 2008, Pakistan took a much-needed step towards abolition of the death penalty by establishing a moratorium on executions. Less than six years later, that moratorium was lifted as a knee-jerk reaction to the increasing threat of terrorism. In the 4 years since then, Pakistan has become one of the world's top executioners. We boast one of the largest death row populations in the world: nearly 4,700 people, according to the most recent official government figures, are currently waiting to be executed by the state and to join the almost 500 others who have been executed since December 2014. While there has been a notable reduction in the number of prisoners on death row over the past several years, we still sentence 1 person to death each day, on average. These are statistics that Pakistan should be ashamed of. Throughout the world, countries are gradually moving towards abolition, some by maintaining moratoriums and others through reducing the number of offences that are punishable by death and putting in place protections for the most vulnerable. Yet in Pakistan, we keep missing the train to abolition. We have seen the number of crimes punishable by death increase over time, and the system through which executions are handed down continues to be riddled with travesties of justice. We cling to the idea that capital punishment is an effective deterrent - when all reliable studies on the matter say it is not. Despite a reduction in death row prisoners, we still sentence one person to death each day, on average. We say the death penalty is to combat terrorism, yet the vast majority of people on death row have not been convicted of terrorism charges. Yes, we are far from being the only country in the world that still applies the death penalty; in fact, some 56 countries fully retain the death penalty. But just 4 countries - Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia - were responsible for 84 per cent of all officially recorded executions carried out worldwide in 2017. (There are no official figures for certain countries, including China.) Perhaps most tragically, Pakistan belongs to a small club of countries that execute minors and people with mental and intellectual disabilities. For the former, our laws prohibiting the application of the death penalty to juveniles are summarily disregarded, while for the second, we inexplicably have not been able to adopt laws that would enable diagnoses and adequately consider the degree of crimi
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., ALA., TENN., ARK., IDAHO, CALIF., WASH.
October 21 TEXAS: Murder-for-hire suspect faces trial in plot against Dallas dentist slain in Uptown parking garage A trial begins Monday for the suspected triggerman in a murder-for-hire plot that left a pediatric dentist dead in Uptown Dallas and made the woman accused of orchestrating the scheme an international fugitive. Authorities say Kristopher Love was hired to rob Kendra Hatcher by Brenda Delgado, the jilted lover of the victim's boyfriend. Hatcher, 35, was found dead Sept. 2, 2015, shot in the head in the parking garage of her Uptown apartment complex. Love, 34, could face the death penalty if convicted of capital murder. Dallas County hasn't sent anyone to death row since 2013. The suspect is likely the only person connected to Hatcher's death who could face the death penalty. That's because Delgado fled the country shortly after the slaying and was captured in Mexico in April 2016. She is not eligible for capital punishment as part of the extradition agreement with Mexico. The suspected getaway driver, 26-year-old Crystal Cortes, is also charged with capital murder, but the Dallas County district attorney's office has not filed to seek the death penalty in her case. Prosecutors in Dallas County sought the death penalty twice last year: for a man who killed 3 people at a drug house and for Erbie Lee Bowser, a former Mavs ManiAAC who killed his girlfriend and estranged wife and both women's daughters. Jurors deadlocked on whether Bowser should be put to death, and he received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. In the other case, jurors appeared deadlocked on punishment when Justin Pharez Smith took responsibility for his actions to spare his life. In 2013, 3 people were sent to death row by Dallas County jurors. Hatcher, 35, was slain in September 2015. Police suspect her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend was involved in the murder plot, affidavits show. (Provided by family) Across the state, juries have opted for capital punishment in just over 1/2 of the death penalty cases presented since 2015. Texas jurors have sent 4 people to death row this year but declined to condemn 2 others to death. Kristin Houle, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, said it's "disappointing" that the Dallas County district attorney continues to seek capital punishment. "It also is troubling that all of the individuals for whom prosecutors in Dallas have sought the death penalty since 2012 are African-American, perpetuating concerns about racial bias in the application of capital punishment," Houle said in a written statement. Dallas County prosecutors also plan to seek the death penalty against a man who was sent to death row once already. Hector Medina was granted a new punishment trial by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last year. He was convicted in 2008 for killing his children in revenge after their mother left him. Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson has said her office considers the death penalty on a case-by-case basis for the worst offenders. Love, who has a lengthy criminal history in Tennessee, admitted to investigators that he was involved in the robbery of Hatcher, according to arrest affidavits. Prosecutors have filed documents detailing Love's criminal history, dating to just before his 17th birthday. Love has been convicted of aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and burglary of a building. Records show he has also fled police, failed to appear in court, stolen vehicles and possessed a weapon despite being a convicted felon. In the months before Love was arrested in Hatcher's slaying, he was using drugs, "facilitating the offense of prostitution" and distributed "illegal substances," according to court records. Love also has several tattoos "representing violent behavior," prosecutors wrote. One of his tattoos says "1 MAN ARMY" over an image of an AK-47 surrounded by bullet holes. He is also tattooed with "Life or Death" and has an image of a revolver tattooed on his waist, court records show. On the night of Hatcher's death, surveillance video captured an image of a 1996 Jeep Cherokee leaving the garage at the Gables Park 17 apartments. The Jeep was linked to Delgado, who told police she had loaned the vehicle to Cortes, according to police records. But Cortes told police that Delgado promised to pay her $500 for her role as the getaway driver in a robbery. Cortes said she drove a man she only knew as "Kris" to the garage. He got out of the Jeep, shot Hatcher and returned to the vehicle with 2 purses, records show. Before the slaying, Cortes asked Love how much he was being paid to rob Hatcher, investigators say. He told her it was "none of her business," the records show. After the shooting, Cortes said Love told her she and her son "would be next," records show. Love was later linked to Delgado, and police found the murder w
