[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
November 2 GLOBAL: Countries should heed "clear pro-abolitionist spirit" towards death penalty: UNHCROn Sudan, the Human Rights Committee highlighted its concerns that the death penalty is still imposed for crimes other than those involving "intentional killing". Countries should heed the "clear pro-abolitionist spirit" towards the death penalty of one of the world's most important treaties, a key UN independent human rights panel said on Thursday, while highlighting concerns about right-to-life violations in Belarus and Sudan. The Human Rights Committee's comments followed its scheduled review of both countries at its 124th session in Geneva, which also covered Belize, Bulgaria and Guinea. The 18-member body of independent experts began work more than four decades ago to monitor people's right to life, freedom of expression and freedom of conscience – obligations for State signatories to the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Together with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the two Covenants are the cornerstone of an extensive series of internationally binding rights treaties. On Sudan, the Human Rights Committee highlighted its concerns that the death penalty is still imposed for crimes other than those involving "intentional killing". Panel member Sarah Cleveland told journalists that this could include a "wide range" of offences, such as blasphemy, adultery and same-sex relationships. "Sudan has a wide range of crimes on the books that are subject to the death penalty including crimes which do not qualify as the 'most serious crimes' under the Covenant," she said. "It has a mandatory death penalty for a number of crimes and it also retains on the books punishments including execution by stoning and by crucifixion." Noting that Sudan had "indicated that they do not apply the latter 2 punishments", Ms Cleveland explained that the committee had recommended that they be removed from the criminal code nonetheless. On Belarus, the UN panel noted with concern that the death penalty "continues to be imposed and enforced", including in 6 cases where the Human Rights Committee had requested a stay of execution. "We intervened and asked them not to execute a person until we have heard his allegations about the due process and other violations of his process," said panel chair Yuval Shany. He explained that the Government had said it was examining a move towards the abolition of the death penalty, but that a majority of the population was not in favour of doing so. "We already know that 3 out of those 6 persons have been executed despite our requests," Mr Shany added. "We do not have information about the fate of the other 3, so we are still hoping that they were not executed." Denying families an execution date, clearly 'inhumane treatment' Among the committee's other concerns about Belarus with regard to the Convention was the practice of preventing families of condemned prisoners from knowing the date of their execution - one of a series of measures which the authorities maintained were there to shield relatives. "The argument from the State has been that these provisions in the Penalties Enforcement Code are actually in a way to protect the family," said panel member Ilze Brands Kehris. "But it is the view of the Committee and every time we have had other countries where we have dealt with this as well, is that the traumatic experience of not knowing what has happened to a loved one and not knowing the time of even an execution and certainly not being able to then bury the body...actually does amount to inhumane treatment." Beyond its country-specific recommendations, the UN panel also took the significant step of issuing updated, detailed guidance on the right to life, which is covered in the Covenant under Article 6. The Committee last published two such documents more than 30 years ago, and each of those was only 10 paragraphs long. The latest version was nearly 4 years in the making and is more than seven times as big - reflecting the input of dozens of States and civil society - and the impact of modern-day threats to people's civil and political rights, such as weaponized drones and environmental degradation. According to the panel's rules, Member States have two years to report back on their progress in implementing its main concluding observations, or recommendations. Asked whether the panel would comment on the case of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Saudi officials reportedly say was killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, chair Yuval Shany said that the country was not a signatory to the Convention. Turkey was a signatory, however, Mr Shany, explained, before adding that it had yet to report back to the Committee, although it was expected to do so next year. At its 125th meeting in March, the panel is due to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., ARK., USA
November 2 TENNESSEEexecution Tennessee inmate Edmund Zagorski executed by electric chair Tennessee death row inmate and convicted double-murderer Edmund Zagorski has been executed. The Tennessee Department of Corrections announced the news in a statement Thursday evening: "The death sentence of Edmund Zagorski was executed by means of electrocution on November 1, 2018 in accordance with the laws of the state of Tennessee. The sentence was carried out at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Zagorski was pronounced dead at 7:26 p.m." Zagorski's final words were "Let's rock," according to reporters who witnessed the execution. In a news conference afterward, eyewitnesses say he either grimaced or grinned as a sponge was put over his head. The witness says the inmate raised up in his chair when each jolt of electricity went through him. Witnesses say Zagorski was shocked twice before being pronounced dead at 7:26 p.m. local time. ? Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to halt Zagorski's execution. The court said in a statement Thursday evening that it would not block the state's plans to put to death the 63-year-old inmate at a Nashville prison. Zagorski had asked the court take up his claim that it's unconstitutional to force him to choose between the electric chair and lethal injection. His attorney said Zagorski chose the chair thinking it would be quicker and less painful, but he maintains both methods are unconstitutional. The court statement says Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the dissenting voice, noting Zagorski's decision to opt for the electric chair. Says Sotomayor: "He did so not because he thought that it was a humane way to die, but because he thought that the 3-drug cocktail that Tennessee had planned to use was even worse. Given what most people think of the electric chair, it's hard to imagine a more striking testament - from a person with more at stake - to the legitimate fears raised by the lethal-injection drugs that Tennessee uses." In opting for the electric chair over a lethal injection as Tennessee allowed him, Zagorski had argued it would be a quicker and less painful way to die. He became only the 2nd person to die in the electric chair in Tennessee since 1960. Nationwide, only 14 other people have been put to death in the electric chair since 2000, including a Virginia inmate in 2013. Prosecutors say Zagorski shot John Dotson and Jimmy Porter and slit their throats in April 1983 after robbing them when they sought to buy marijuana from him. Zagorski becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Tennessee and the 8th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 2000. Zagorski becomes the 20th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1, 485th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. The USA carried out 21 executions in 2017; there are 4 more possible/likely executions scheduled in the country this year. (sources: WTVC news, Associated Press & Rick Halperin) ** Edmund Zagorski, who was on death row for 34 years, executed via electrocution Edmund Zagorski, who was on death row for a 1984 double-murder, was executed via electric chair Thursday, Nov. 1 in Nashville. Zagorski died 8:26 p.m. EST. His last words were, "Let's rock." Zagorski's attorney, public defender Kelly Henry, said during the post-execution press conference that in the days leading up to the execution, he told her he wanted to keep the mood light. Henry said she held her hand over her heart as a signal to Zagorski that she was holding him in her heart. She also said that Zagorski wanted to see her smiling face before his death. Henry said she smiled for him. Henry also told the media in the post-execution press conference that her client had shared some thoughts before being taken into the execution chamber: "First of all, I want to make it very clear that I have no hard feelings," he said. "I don't want any of you to have this on your conscience. I am good." Zagorski is only the 2nd person put to death by electrocution in Tennessee since 1960. Daryl Holton chose to die in the electric chair in 2007. The execution was carried out after a legal battle that spanned a few weeks over Zagorski’s decision to use the electric chair instead of lethal injection. The original execution date was set for Oct. 11, but a 10-day reprieve from Governor Haslam was given so that the Department of Corrections could make sure the electric chair was fully operational. The 63-year-old man was on death row for 34 years, which was the 2nd longest in Tennessee. He was sentenced in the killings of John Dotson and Jimmy Porter. Prosecutors said Zagorski shot the men and slit their throats after robbing them in April 1983. The victims had planned to buy marijuana from Zagorski. (source: WATE news) **
