[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----JAP., CHINA, RUSS., INDIA, PAKIS., BANG., MALAY., SING.
October 27 JAPAN: A restaurant in Tokyo is serving the last meals of famous death row inmates In Tokyo's red light district neighbourhood of Kabukichi, Shinjuku, Chim?Pom - a Japanese guerilla art collective - has opened a pop-up restaurant serving the last meals requested by famous death row inmates. Dubbed the Ningen Restaurant (translated as "human restaurant"), the pop-up, which operates until October 28, offers meals requested by convicted criminals such as Gary Mark Gilmore before they were executed. Gilmore, a serial criminal, was convicted on counts of armed robbery, assault, and 2 murders he had committed in Utah. His case gained international attention after he demanded to receive the death sentence for his crimes. For his last meal, Gilmore opted for a hamburger, mashed potatoes, a hard-boiled egg, and multiple shots of whiskey. According to Munchies, Gilmore requested Jack Daniels, though Chim?Pom's version uses Maker's Mark instead. Here's a look at Chim?Pom's take on Gilmore's last meal: Chim?Pom reportedly features the last meals of other criminals including John Wayne Gacy, a Chicago-based serial killer and rapist, who requested to have a pound of strawberries, a bucket of KFC chicken, fries, and a dozen fried shrimp for his last meal. The restaurant also serves the last meal of Joseph Paul Jernigan, a criminal from Texas convicted of murder who donated his corpse to the Texas Anatomy Board at the suggestion of the prison chaplain. Without his knowledge, his body was later integral in the establishment of a federal government project meant to digitalize the human body, called the Visible Human Project. Chim?Pom's recreation of Jernigan's last requested meal includes 2 cheeseburgers, a salad, and an iced tea. However, Jernigan reportedly refused to eat his actual meal when the time came. The 2-week pop-up is part of a larger art installation by Chim?Pom, featuring artwork by Austrian avant-garde artist Hermann Nitsch and performances from local artists such as Aida Makoto and shock art performers Dengenki Network. Based out of the Kabukicho Book Center, the pop-up is the building's last event before being demolished following an acquisition by a Tokyo-based property developer that operates the nearby famous Robot Restaurant. Here's a glimpse of what it's like inside the restaurant: The "body-based" theme of the pop-up and the other exhibitions are inspired by the Kabukicho neighbourhood's history as a place where, according to Chim?Pom's website, "people used the sex work industry, bodies, and desire as weapons or ways of consumption to survive." The project isn't the 1st of its kind. In 2017, photographer Henry Hargreaves achieved coverage for his photographic recreation of famous death row meals. Hargreaves is a critic of the death penalty and created his photo series following news that Texas was rescinding criminals' ability to make last meal requests. A representative for Chim?Pom did not immediately reply to INSIDER's request for comment. (source: businessinsider.com.au) CHINAexecutions Drug producers executed in south China 2 drug makers were executed Friday in south China's Hainan Province for manufacturing drugs, according to a local court. The 2 offenders, identified by their surnames as Xie and Tian only, were the prime culprits of a drug-manufacturing case. In early July of 2015, Xie and Tian who were locals of south China's Guangdong Province conspired to secretly fund the manufacturing of ketamine in a valley in Wenxi Village, Suichuan County in east China's Jiangxi Province, said the First Intermediate People's Court of Hainan. The local public security department launched a raid on July 11, 2015, and seized a total of 3.5 tonnes of drugs and raw materials for producing the drugs at the plant. The local police apprehended 13 suspects involved in the case from July 11, 2015 to Sept. 13, 2016. The court sentenced Xie and Tian to death in the 1st trial on June 26, 2017. All their properties were also confiscated, according to the verdict. Other suspects were convicted and given jail terms ranging from fixed-term imprisonment to life imprisonment and the death penalty with probation. Xie and Tian appealed after the trial. The Hainan Provincial Higher People's Court rejected their appeal and upheld the sentences of the previous trial on Dec. 18, 2017. (source: xinhuanet.com) RUSSIA: Party leader claims Russians would support capital punishment due to their 'aggressive nature' The school shooting in Kerch last week has reignited a public debate on whether Russia should keep its moratorium on the death penalty, which has been in place for over 20 years. On October 17, a student of a college in Kerch killed 21 people, including 16 fellow students in a gun rampage. Just like many other high-profile crimes in Russia, this was used by proponents of the death p
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., TENN., S.DAK., CALIF., ORE.
October 27 TEXASimpending execution Human Rights Watch Letter in Support of Clemency for Roberto Ramos Moreno Governor Greg Abbott Office of the Governor P.O. Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711-2428 David G. Gutierrez, Presiding Officer Executive Clemency Section Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 8610 Shoal Creek Blvd. Austin, Texas 78757 Re: Letter in Support of Clemency for Roberto Ramos Moreno, TDCJ # 999062 Dear Governor Abbott and Presiding Officer Gutierrez, We write to urge you to commute the sentence of Roberto Ramos Moreno, whose execution is now scheduled for November 14. International human rights law is predicated on recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all people, including those who have committed terrible crimes.[1] Human Rights Watch believes the inherent dignity of the person cannot be squared with the death penalty, a form of punishment that is unique in its barbarity and finality, and, as practiced in the United States, a punishment inevitably plagued by arbitrariness, prejudice and error. We therefore oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and in all countries around the world. In 2005, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concluded that Mr. Ramos Moreno received inadequate legal defense from his court-appointed trial lawyer, which violated his fundamental right to due process and a fair trial.[2] In addition, the Mexican government maintains that Mr. Ramos Moreno's consular notification and visitation rights under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations were not respected.[3] In addition to all of this, there is unique mitigating information in Mr. Ramos Moreno's case. A mental health expert determined that Mr. Ramos Moreno suffers from severe organic brain damage and has been afflicted with Bipolar Mood Disorder for most of his life including at the time of the offense. Human Rights Watch has called for the commutation of death sentences in other cases involving individuals with serious mental health conditions.[4] The United States stands increasingly alone in its pervasive use of the death penalty. By retaining capital punishment in a world that has largely turned its back on this practice, the US damages its reputation, causes friction with its closest neighbors and allies, and undermines its own efforts to promote human rights at home and abroad. For all these reasons we urge you to commute the sentence of Roberto Ramos Moreno. Sincerely, Alison Leal Parker Managing Director, US Program Human Rights Watch (source: Human Rights Watch) FLORIDA: Death row: 17 inmates from Northwest Florida face the death penalty Out of the most heinous murder cases in Northwest Florida history, just 17 of them have ended with the convicted killer going to death row. They've included Edward Zakrzewski, a former Eglin Air Force Base airman who hacked his wife and 2 young children to death with a machete inside their Mary Esther home; Norman Grimm, a Milton man who raped and killed his neighbor, then dumped her body off the Pensacola Bay Bridge only to have the body hooked by a fisherman the next day; and Steven Cozzie, a homeless Walton County man who sexually assaulted and strangled a teenage girl on vacation in Seagrove Beach with her family. Their high-profile cases mostly transpired before the public eye and their death sentences were met with satisfaction that justice had been served. But although each case was different, one thing they all had in common was that their shocking crimes gripped the region and left a lasting impression on many in the Panhandle. The Daily News looks back at some of the most shocking death penalty cases in Northwest Florida's history, and where their cases are now. Death row inmates from Northwest Florida There are 17 inmates on death row from Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties, and none of them is currently scheduled for execution. They're winding their way through the rigorous appeals process at the state and federal level, and some are seeking to have their convictions thrown out entirely. The last person to be executed from Okaloosa County was Dan Hauser, who was put to death via lethal injection in 2000 for the 1995 murder of an Okaloosa Island exotic dancer. Forty-year-old Anthony Bryan of Santa Rosa County was also executed in 2000 for the 1983 slaying of a night watchman, and Arthur Rutherford, another Santa Rosa County man, was put to death in 2006 for the 1985 robbery and killing of a woman for whom he had worked. No inmate from Walton County has been put to death in Florida. Florida has the second highest number of death row inmates in the country, with 354 as of April 1, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. California leads the country with 740 death row inmates. The 17 Panhandle inmates on death row have served a combined 294 years in prison, and most of
