[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
November 15 IRANexecutions 10 Prisoners Hanged at Rajai-Shahr Prison in 1 Day 10 prisoners were executed at Rajai-Shahr Prison on Wednesday, November 14. According to the IHR sources, Vahid Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi who were hanged on economic corruption charges were among them. 8 others were executed on murder charges. Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the "sultan of coins" by media, was a trader accused of manipulating the currency market. Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi was allegedly part of Mazloumin's network and had been involved in the sale of gold coins, Mizan reported. Of note, Iran Human Rights (IHR) had strongly condemned the executions for the charges of economic corruption. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director and spokesperson for the organization, said: "The death penalty is an inhumane punishment, and the international law prohibits death sentence for economic corruption, which is not considered as the most serious crimes. Besides, the prisoners were sentenced to death as a result of an unfair trial in an illegal Court. The primary purpose of the execution of these 2 people is to create fear in society, not to combat corruption. Iranian authorities know that the system, with corrupt organs such as the Judiciary and the Supreme leader who has absolute power and zero accountability, are the main sources of corruption in the country. We call on the Iranian authorities to put an end to the policy of using the death penalty as a solution to all its problems". Among those who were executed on murder charges, IHR could identify four as Saman Yamini, Ali Iranshahi, Ali Amindokht and Sam Sagvand. The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned executions on murder charges so far. ** Man Hanged at Zahedan Prison A Prisoner was hanged at Zahedan Central Prison on Monday, November 12. According to IHR sources, Milad Nouri was hanged on the morning of November 12, 2018. IHR could not yet obtain information about what he was accused of. Baluchi civil activist, Habibollah Sarbazi, told IHR, “a night before the execution, authorities called his family to go to the prison for the last meeting. We have heard that he was executed on rebellion charges, but we cannot confirm it yet.” According to the Baluchi Activists’ Campaign, Milad Nouri was a married man with 2 children. He was arrested around a year ago by security forces. The Iranian media outlets have not published news related to the aforementioned execution so far. 2o Prisoners Executed for Economic Corruption 2 Prisoners were hanged on economic corruption charges in Tehran this morning. They had been sentenced to death by the newly established Special Court on the Economic Corruption. Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns today's executions for the charges of economic corruption. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director and spokesperson for the organization, said: "The death penalty is an inhumane punishment, and the international law prohibits death sentence for economic corruption, which is not considered as the most serious crimes. Besides, the prisoners were sentenced to death as a result of an unfair trial in an illegal Court. The primary purpose of the execution of these 2 people is to create fear in society, not to combat corruption. Iranian authorities know that the system, with corrupt organs such as the Judiciary and the Supreme leader who has absolute power and zero accountability, are the main sources of corruption in the country. We call on the Iranian authorities to put an end to the policy of using the death penalty as a solution to all its problems". According to a statement by Tehran Prosecutor's Office, this morning (Tuesday, November 14), two prisoners were executed in Tehran. The 2 prisoners were sentenced to death on charges of "corruption on earth" through the formation of a network of corruption disturbing the country's currency through illicit and large-scale smuggling of gold coins. The prisoners were identified as Vahid Mazloumin and Mohammad Esmaeel Ghasemi. Vahid Mazloumin, dubbed the "sultan of coins" by media, a trader accused of manipulating the currency market, according to Mizan, the news site of the Iranian judiciary. Mazloumin was allegedly caught with two tons of gold coins, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). The second man was part of Mazloumin's network and had been involved in the sale of gold coins, Mizan reported. The executions were carried out in the presence of a number of people in Tehran, said the report. The Tehran Prison Statement did not mention the exact location of the two prisoners' execution. Death penalty on the charges of economic corruption in Iran is not unprecedented. Mahafari Amir Khosravi was executed on such charges n 2014. Several people have recently been sentenced to death for economic corruption.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., OHIO, TENN., NEV.
November 15 TEXASexecution Mexican citizen executed in Texas for killings of wife, kids A Mexican citizen on death row in Texas was executed Wednesday night for the sledgehammer killings of his wife and 2 children more than 26 years ago. Roberto Moreno Ramos was condemned for the 1992 deaths of his 42-year-old wife Leticia, 7-year-old daughter Abigail, and 3-year-old son Jonathan at their home in Progreso, located along the Mexico border. When asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Ramos thanked the Mexican consulate for assisting with appeals in his case and said he was grateful for “the humane treatment I got in prison in Texas.” “I’m getting my gold watch that it took the governor 30 years to forge,” he said without elaborating. “Thank you God. Lord, send me a chariot. I’m ready.” As the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began taking effect, the 64-year-old Ramos took a couple of deep breaths, sputtered once and began snoring. Within seconds, all movement stopped. 11 minutes later, at 9:36 p.m. CST, Ramos was pronounced dead. He became the 21st inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the 11th given a lethal injection in Texas, the nation’s busiest capital punishment state. No friends or relatives of Ramos or his victims witnessed the execution. Mexican officials had called for his execution to be stopped, arguing he was part of a group of Mexican citizens condemned in the U.S. who were never told when first arrested that they could get legal help from the Mexican government. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday night cleared the way for the punishment when it denied two appeals seeking to halt the lethal injection. Ramos’ attorney on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to stop his execution, arguing that Ramos’ constitutional rights were violated as lower courts refused to fully review his claims that his trial lawyers failed to present any evidence about his mental illness and abusive childhood that could have persuaded jurors to spare his life. 3 retired justices who had served on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals filed court documents with the Supreme Court on Wednesday in support of stopping the execution. The ex-judges alleged the appeals court appointed an incompetent appellate attorney who early in the post-conviction process failed to investigate Ramos’ case. Also Wednesday, a federal judge in Austin dismissed Ramos’ request to temporarily block the execution. The request had been part of a lawsuit Ramos filed against the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals a day earlier. The suit alleged the appeals court had not allowed Ramos to present claims he had ineffective trial and appellate lawyers. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had previously turned down requests to halt Ramos’ execution. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday declined to recommend either a commutation of his sentence or a six-month reprieve. In court documents, Ramos’ appellate attorney, Danalynn Recer, had argued Ramos suffered from bipolar disorder most of his life, including during the time of his family’s killings, as well as brain damage that affected his ability to control his impulses and regulate his emotions. Recer said Ramos was also brutally beaten as a child by his father. Ramos was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, and grew up in Guadalajara and Tijuana before his family moved to the United States in 1970. “No fact-finder or decision-maker entrusted with Mr. Moreno Ramos’ life has ever been provided with evidence of (his) ‘diverse human frailties’ to assist them in dispensing the most severe punishment under law,” Recer said. But the Texas Attorney General’s Office said Ramos’ death sentence was appropriate due to his “violent and dangerous nature.” Authorities said Ramos bludgeoned his family members and then buried them underneath his home’s bathroom floor so he could marry the woman he was having an extramarital affair with at the time. In court filings, the attorney general’s office highlighted testimony from Ramos’ then-19-year-old son, who told jurors at Ramos’ 1993 trial that his father “would continue to commit criminal acts of violence.” In 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, found Ramos was part of a group of 52 Mexican citizens awaiting execution in the U.S. who weren’t advised of their consular rights under the Vienna Convention when first arrested. It recommended they be tried again to determine if consular access would have affected their cases. Then-President George W. Bush directed states to reopen the cases. But the Supreme Court in 2008 overruled Bush’s directive, saying only Congress can require states to follow the international court’s ruling. Including Ramos, 6 Mexican citizens have been executed since being named in the international court ruling and all the executions were
