[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., VA., TENN., MO., CALIF.
November 5 PENNSYLVANIA: Pittsburgh mayor says he ended call with Trump after complaints over death penalty laws Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto (D) said he quickly ended a call with President Trump shortly after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue because Trump started complaining about death penalty laws. Peduto spoke with The Washington Post on Saturday about dealing with the aftermath of the shooting late last month that killed 11 people — the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. He told the newspaper that he was standing outside of the synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood when he received a call from the president. Trump offered thoughts and prayers and vowed to help Peduto with anything he needed, the mayor said. The president even offered a direct line to the White House. The president quickly veered into discussing the need for harsher death penalty laws as a method of deterring mass murderers, Peduto recalled to The Post. Peduto said he was so stunned, he could not respond to Trump’s remarks. “I’m literally standing 2 blocks from 11 bodies right now. Really?” Peduto thought at the time, he told the Post. He noted how he felt numb. The mayor thought that talking about the death penalty wasn’t “going to bring them back or deter what had just happened." "I ended the conversation pretty quickly after that," he added, saying the conversation only lasted about three minutes. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. Peduto’s recollection of the phone call mirrors what Trump told reporters hours after the shooting while he was heading for a campaign rally in Illinois. “Anyone who does a thing like this to innocent people … they should really pay the ultimate price," Trump said, referring to the gunman as a “wacko.” The president also insisted that an armed guard inside the synagogue would have prevented the shooting. Peduto did not meet with Trump when he visited the synagogue last week. The mayor had asked the president to postpone his trip so that it would not overlap with the funerals for the victims. Trump was met by hundreds of protesters. “It could have been avoided,” Peduto told the Post of the protests. “He could have chosen to go to the Holocaust Museum and lay a wreath with his wife. Or put together a fund in order to memorialize the 11 people whose lives were lost for perpetuity, in the museum.” A group of progressive Jewish leaders penned an open letter telling the Trump he is not welcome in Pittsburgh until he denounces white nationalism. Over 86,000 people signed on to a petition from the group, the Pittsburgh affiliate of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, telling the president he is not welcome in the city. (source: thehill.com) VIRGINIA: He’s sent more killers to death row than any Va. prosecutor. But not this time. In the final days of what may be his final death-penalty case, the 81-year-old Virginia prosecutor ambled into the courtroom on an October morning, halting midway down the aisle. Paul Burns Ebert, the Prince William County commonwealth’s attorney for the past 50 years, shifted to his right, closer to the pews. He clutched his cane. And he turned to greet the mother of the slain police officer whose murderer was facing life in prison or execution. Sharon Guindon wrapped her arms around Ebert. Her eyes welled up as she patted the prosecutor wearing a patterned suit that drooped over his large frame. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you, thank you.” Two days later, in a county that has long embraced the death penalty, a jury of 10 women and two men refused to recommend the ultimate punishment for Ronald Hamilton, who had killed his wife, Crystal, and then Ashley Guindon, who was working her first shift as a Prince William police officer. For Ebert, who had sent more killers to death row than any other prosecutor in Virginia, it was a loss that stung. Prince William once ranked in the top 2 % of jurisdictions across the country responsible for the majority of executions in the modern era, according to a 2013 study by the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center. Ebert said he thinks the Hamilton case is the 1st time his office has failed to persuade a jury to recommend a death penalty. It was particularly grating to prosecutors and relatives of the victims because the judge, Steven S. Smith, refused Ebert’s request that the jury continue debating life or death after they had reported a 6-6 split on the third day of deliberations for one of Hamilton’s 2 capital murder charges. On the other charge — for the killing a law enforcement officer — jurors unanimously agreed to give Hamilton life in prison without parole. The loss in Smith’s courtroom was also deeply symbolic: Smith was once a prosecutor on Ebert’s team. His father, H. Selwyn Smith was Ebert’s predecessor and boss. When the elder Smith became a Prince William judge, he imposed
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
November 5 IRAQ: Iraq to hang man seen gunning down Babylon passport director in video An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death one of the assassins of the head of the Passport Directorate of Babylon (Babil) province, Commander Safa al-Dulaimi. In late-June, a group of gunmen intercepted the director’s vehicle and killed him with machine gun fire. Shortly after, Iraqi security authorities claimed to have arrested the commander’s assassins. However, the fate of the other detainees is yet unknown. About 2 weeks ago, local police forces in Babil said a sticky bomb exploded under the car of an officer who was assigned to investigate Dulaimi’s case. The officer survived the attack. The officer in charge played “a significant role in uncovering the circumstances of the assassination of” the commander, the police noted. “The Criminal Court of Babil has issued a verdict after reviewing the case of the man accused of killing passport director in the province and sentenced him to death,” the Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement. The statement added that “the court found that the evidence obtained, including surveillance cameras and confessions, during the investigations are sufficient to criminalize the accused and issued its decision to hang him until dead in accordance with the provisions of Article IV of the anti-terrorism law.” Different human rights organizations, including the United Nations, have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the rising number of death sentences in Iraq. Aside from their condemnation, the organizations warn Iraqi authorities’ efforts to escalate the implementation of death sentences could lead to the execution of innocent people. (source: kurdistan24.net) IRANexecution Man Hanged at Ardakan Prison A prisoner was executed on a murder charge at Ardakan Prison on Saturday, November 3. According to HRANA, Sami’ Mohtarami, 43, was convicted to qisas (retribution in kind) on a murder charge. He killed a person during a car robbery in 2015. The victim’s family agreed to forgive Sami’ in the condition of receiving Diya. Diya in Islamic law (Sharia) is a financial compensation paid to heirs of a victim to thus avoid a retaliation punishment. However, Sami’ was a poor man and could not pay the amount. Therefore, his execution was carried out on the morning on Sunday, November 3, 2018. The Penal Code of Iran does not specifically state that convicted murderers are subject to the death penalty, but rather to “qisas” which means “retribution in kind” or retaliation. In this way, the State effectively puts the responsibility for executions for murder on the shoulders of the victim’s family. The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned execution so far. According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the 517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges. There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and intent. (source: Iran Human Rights) PAKISTAN: Asia Bibi stuck in Pakistani prison over death fears A Pakistani Christian woman whose death sentence for blasphemy charges was commuted last week is trapped in a prison that has been converted into a safe house, a source with direct knowledge of the facility told CNN on Monday. Asia Bibi, a mother of 5 from Punjab province, is unable to leave the facility over fears that her life is in jeopardy, the source added. In newly released details, CNN has learned that the Pakistani army and intelligence services have jurisdiction over the jail and are in charge of her safety, the source said. Extra surveillance cameras have been installed at the converted jail in recent days and any individuals entering or leaving the location are searched, including those who are charged with preparing Bibi's food, according to the police source. On Sunday, Bibi's lawyer was reported to have fled the country in fear for his life, according to an associate. His departure comes as Bibi's husband, Ashiq Masih, begged the United Kingdom, the United States or Canada to grant his family asylum, in a video message seen by the Guardian. Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sentenced to hang after she was accused of defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed during an argument a year earlier with Muslim colleagues. The workers had refused to drink from a bucket of water Bibi had touched because she was not Muslim. At the time, Bibi said the case was a matter of women who didn't like her "taking revenge." On Wednesday, she won her appeal against the conviction and death sentence. Bibi's acquittal prompted violent demonstrations by the Islamist movement Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). In an effort to end the protests, the government on Friday struck a deal with th
