[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
October 26 IRAN: 5 Iranian environmentalists facing death penalty 5 environmentalists in Iran have been charged with national security crimes that carry the death penalty, something that the UN environment head has called deeply troubling. These activists from the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation were arrested in January, along with at least four other people, and accused of espionage, something that international human rights campaigners and Iran's own government say there is no evidence for. Thus, the Iranian Regime changed the charges to "corruption on earth", which is punishable by execution. UN Environment head, Erik Solheim, said that the UN is deeply troubled by these cases and that the latest development gives them "even greater cause for alarm". The 5 environmentalists are Houman Jowkar, Taher Ghadirian, Morad Tahbaz, Sepideh Kashani and Niloufar Bayani. Tahbaz, who is Iranian-American, is CEO of the PWHF, while Bayani who has worked with the UN, only returned to Iran last June to join the group. One source familiar with the Iranian Regime said that its intelligence apparatus is suspicious of NGOs, especially those with dual nationals involved, because it sees them as threats to the status quo of the Regime. Meanwhile, Iran is plagued by environmental challenges, including water shortages and air pollution, which have been triggers for the nationwide protests in Iran that sprang up in December, but the people most equipped to help are being jailed by the mullahs. In January, the Revolutionary Guards Corps arrested at least 9 members of the PWHF, 1 of whom has already died in jail. Professor Kavous Seyed-Emami, a celebrated Canadian-Iranian environmentalist, died in February and the Regime claimed it was suicide, but many disagree. The Regime accused Seyed-Emami of being a CIA-Mossad agent and claimed that the PWHF had used surveys of endangered Asiatic cheetahs as a cover for spying on missile test sites. However, they produced no evidence for that. The source said: "After the death in custody of Seyed-Emami, the Revolutionary Guards went on defensive and to extremes to prove that something was wrong, especially when the government is saying they haven't done anything wrong." Solheim explained that the UN was kept in the dark about Seyed-Emami's death and the new charges against the environmentalists. He said: "This sends an extremely ominous message to Iran’s environmentalist community." The Regime also arrested Kaveh Madani, the deputy head of Iran’s environmental protection organisation, and held him for 72 hours. Following his release, he fled the county. The 3 other environmentalists who were not charged with corruption on earth, but whose fate is still unknown are Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh. (source: irannewsupdate.com) ** Environmentalists Face Capital ChargesDetained for 9 Months; No Access to a LawyerA campaign poster showing environmental activists, Taher Ghadirian, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Houman Jokar, Sam Rajabi, Sepideh Kashani, Morad Tahbaz and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, who have been in detention for 6 months. Iranian authorities have issued indictments against 8 detained environmental activists that could lead to the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said today. Iranian authorities should immediately release these activists who have been arbitrary detained for nine months unless they can produce evidence to justify the charges against them and guarantee a fair trial. On October 24, 2018, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, said at a news conference that the authorities had finalized indictments for the activists, who have been held since January and February. He said that 4 face the charge of "sowing corruption on earth," which includes the risk of the death penalty. He justified the charge based on a claim that the activists were "seeking proximity to military sites with the cover of the environmental projects and obtaining military information from them." "Iran's judiciary appears determined to pursue serious charges against these environmental activists no matter how ridiculous the allegations of wrongdoing are and despite the continuing denial of the defendants' right to see a lawyer of their choice," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East deputy director at Human Rights Watch. "With the judiciary serving as one of the main cornerstones in Iran's apparatus of repression, there is a major risk that they won't get a fair trial." When the law is applied in such a vague way that people cannot predict which acts are crimes and detainees suffer major violations of due process rights, prosecutions are arbitrary, Human Rights Watch said. On January 24 and 25, the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence organization arrested Houman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., GA., FLA., S. DAK., COLO., NEV.
Oct. 26 TEXAS: 'Texas says death row, we say hell no!' Death row families, death row exonerees, activists and abolitionists gathered at the Texas Capitol Thursday in a powerful show of unity to demand that executions stop and the death penalty be abolished. The crowd welcomed five survivors from Witness to Innocence, who shared what it was like to be sent to death row and face execution even though they were innocent. As Albert Burrell, Shujaa Graham, Ron Keine, Gary Drinkard and Derrick Jamison introduced themselves, the crowd roared in solidarity. "We owe them a debt of gratitude for traveling to Austin as living examples of innocent people who survived years on death row before walking free as exonerees," said organizer Scott Cobb of the Texas Moratorium Network. Between tears and hugs and fists in the air, the families of people on death row took the stage. They live with the fear of death hanging over them and their families every day, knowing their loved one could be the next person added to Texas' execution schedule. Families of George Curry, Louis Castro Perez, Juan Balderas, Humberto Garza, Paul Storey and Jeff Wood each introduced themselves, as did the family of Ramiro Hernandez, who was executed in 2014. Activist Nicole Combs spoke about the 6 women on death row in Texas. Combs is an organizer with Help Inmates Smile, which supports all on death row in Texas. Last weekend in Dallas, the supporters of 1 of the women, Darlie Routier, who has steadfastly proclaimed her innocence, held rallies at the courthouse to demand long-sought-after DNA testing. As the activists marched through downtown Austin from the Capitol to the governor's mansion, smiling onlookers gave thumbs-up to the chants and messages on the signs. This public support is reflective of changing views on capital punishment even in Texas, which has executed 555 people since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. There were 406 executions in the U.S. in 2000 and just 23 last year. Public support in the U.S. for the death penalty has declined from almost 80 % in 1968 to 54 % today. According to an Oct. 26, 2017, Gallup Poll, "Americans' support for the death penalty is lower than it has been in over 4 decades. Fewer states now allow the death penalty than did so in the past." The number of executions has also declined in recent years. In 2000, when Texas executed 40 people, the state averaged 1 execution every 12 days. Now executions are down in Texas and around the country. Washington state's Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional on Oct. 11, bringing the total to 20 U.S. states without capital punishment and 4 with a moratorium on executions. Most states that have the death penalty on the books do not use it. Executions happen most often in former Confederate states. The number of people being sentenced to death there has also declined. Organizer Delia Perez-Meyer, sister to Louis Perez on death row, said after the march and rally: "We are so thankful to our beloved exonerees who traveled to Austin to support our families in our efforts to abolish the death penalty. ... It was a wonderful weekend filled with great joy, lots of laughter and tears, remembering those who have passed and looking to the future when we no longer kill our own citizens in the name of justice!" (source: Workers World) ** Plot to kill Uptown dentist unlike any case Dallas detective has seen, he testifies The killing of pediatric dentist Kendra Hatcher in an Uptown parking garage was the most planned case one Dallas police detective has ever investigated, he testified Wednesday. It's a murder scheme that prosecutors say involves a jilted lover, a getaway driver and a triggerman who told police he believed he was doing cartel business. The shooting suspect, 34-year-old Kristopher Love, is on trial this week on a capital murder charge in the September 2015 slaying of Hatcher. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. Hatcher, 35, was found dead from a gunshot wound in the back of her head about 8 p.m. Sept. 2, 2015. Surveillance footage from the garage showed someone walking toward Hatcher's car and then back to a black Jeep Cherokee. The owner of the Cherokee saw the surveillance photos on the news and told police he loaned the vehicle to Brenda Delgado. Delgado said she let her friend, 26-year-old Crystal Cortes, borrow the Jeep the day Hatcher was killed. Jurors on Wednesday watched several snippets of the 20-hour police interview with Love, who was questioned a month after the slaying. "I know I ain't murdered nobody, especially not a white dentist," Love told Detective Eric Barnes during the interview. At that point in the interview, all Barnes had told Love was that a dentist named Kendra Hatcher had been killed. Love denied knowing Delgado or Cortes and said he had never seen either woman before.
