[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
April 16 TAIWAN: Drunk Drivers Who Kill People To Be Punished With Death Penalty In This Country Some countries believe that the death penalty is the right way to go for certain reprehensible crimes. Whether they are the sexual assault of a child or murder, every country has its own rule. Kenya, recently, for example, has decided to institute the death penalty for poachers caught killing the country’s most beautiful animals. Taiwan has decided to increase the penalty for convicted drunk drivers to be death by lethal injection – and most people are cheering at the change. In Taiwan, the government wants people who get behind the wheel while intoxicated to be fierce. Because people put other lives at risk when they drive drunk, Taiwan wants its motorists to understand the risk – to their own lives. If someone kills another person while driving drunk, then they will face the death penalty. In late March, Taiwan’s cabinet has approved a draft of an amendment to the Criminal Code that would allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for any person who killed another while driving drunk. The change to the law would make it possible for homicide by drunk driving to be indictable as a murder offense and not just manslaughter or something less dangerous in the courts. If the deed is found to be “intentional,” which most drunk driver cases are, then the death penalty could be the punishment. Although the death penalty for drunk driving position has not yet been approved – it is pending final say by the parliament, it has been met with a lot of support, and just as much resistance. The maximum penalty that people can get for killing someone while drunk driving is only ten years behind bars. That’s not enough many people believe. Residents of the Asian country want perpetrators to face the wrath of the government, especially since they put people at risk when they get behind the wheel drunk. The new law would not just institute the death penalty. It would also increase the length of jail sentences and have stricter punishments for repeat offenders – those who commit another offense within 5 years. “Cases of drunk driving leading to death are rampant… drink drivers recklessly caused accidents that took lives and destroyed families to result in irreparable regret,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement. In January, a 40-year-old man got behind the wheel while intoxicated. He smashed his car into a taxi. He killed three people and injured three others, including himself. Taiwan believes that men like him deserve to face the death penalty. The people want drunk drivers to know how serious their actions are. Few countries seek the death penalty for such cases. China and the United States have been known for putting murderous drunk drivers to death. Texas, for example, does not hesitate to use lethal injection to punish people indicted on “capital murder” if they do something truly heinous while behind the wheel of their car drunk. In 2014, one Texas man plowed his vehicle into a crowd, killing four. But prosecutors instead sought life in prison for him. (source: opposingviews.com) PAKISTAN: K-P cabinet approves draft bill proposing death sentence for possessing over 1kg of meth-ice The provincial cabinet on Monday cleared the draft of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Control of Narcotics Substances Bill 2019 which proposes death penalty or life imprisonment for people found possessing more than 1 kilogramme of methamphetamine, popularly known as ice. K-P Information Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and CM’s Adviser on Merged Districts Ajmal Wazir said this at a press conference in Ghalnai. It was for the 1st time that a meeting of the provincial cabinet was held at Ghalanai, the district headquarters of Mohmand. Chief Minister Mahmood cired the meeting attended by provincial ministers and chief secretary and administrative secretaries of various departments. After the meeting, K-P Information Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and CM’s Adviser on Merged Districts Ajmal Wazir told a press conference that K-P Control of Narcotics Substances Bill 2019 proposes severe penalties for those involved in the business, trafficking and use of narcotics with special focus on methamphetamine popularly known by street name of ice. They said that in order to eliminate the use of ice in educational institutions, the law proposed a penalty of two-year imprisonment and fine or both if ice up to 50 grammes was found in someone’s possession, for more than 50 grammes and less than 100 grammes, three-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs500,000 to 100,000, for more than 100 grammes and less than 1 kilogramme, 7-year imprisonment and a Rs100,000 to Rs300,000 fine. Similarly, judges could award death sentence or life imprisonment if the accused was found in possession of more than one kilogramme besides fine of Rs0.5 million to Rs1 million. A special
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.C., GA., ALA., LA., MO., NEB., S.DAK., COLO., CALIF., USA
April 16 NORTH CAROLINA: After being spared death sentence for killing neighbors, Wake Forest man pops off in court A Wake Forest man who avoided a death sentence for the murders of 3 of his neighbors 3 years ago insisted Monday that he was framed, blasted prosecutors and his defense attorneys and threatened jurors before being led off to prison. Jon Frederick Sander was convicted a week ago of gunning down Sandy Mazzella, 47, his wife, Stephanie Ann Mazzella, 43, and his mother, Elaine Mazzella, 76, in their home on March 25, 2016. Prosecutors sought the death penalty against Sander for the brutal murders – all 3 victims were shot several times at close range with a pump-action shotgun. But jurors deliberated for almost 5 hours over 2 days before recommending the life sentence. Before Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley imposed the sentence, Sander went on a 27-minute rant, railing against the Mazzellas and the justice system and implicating Sal Mazzella, Sandy Mazzella's father and Elaine Mazzella's husband, in the killings. "Everything's a lie and a scam," Sander said. "This whole thing was fabricated. Sal killed his family for the insurance money." Sal Mazzella choked back tears earlier in the hearing as he forgave Sander for killing his wife and the parents of his grandchildren. "Though we will forever live with the loss of my precious family members, I do not hate you," Sal Mazella told Sander. "You heard what I said? I do not hate you." "Wait till I'm done with my speech," Sander replied, sarcastically applauding after Sal Mazzella finished, despite his hands being shackled. Shirley cut Sander off when the convicted killer started telling jurors he would be set free on appeal and wouldn't forget their faces. The judge then lit into him as he handed down the sentence. "You love the spotlight," Shirley said, noting that Sander repeatedly spoke directly to a camera in the courtroom. "You've delighted in your celebrity. Let me tell you something, as horrific as this crime was, when the light goes out in this courtroom today ... the memory of you in the eyes of the public is going to fade, and it's going to fade quickly. "Come Monday, they're going to be watching something else," the judge continued. "They won't care about you. They won't care about this trial. They look for entertainment. You'll no longer matter in their eyes. You won't even be a footnote." Sander admitted to investigators that he shot the Mazzellas, but he maintained that he had been overcome with rage and had "snapped." He lived next door to Sandy and Stephanie Mazzella, and he and Sandy Mazzella worked together in a landscaping business. But difficulties in dissolving the struggling business and an allegation that Sander touched a member of the Mazzella family inappropriately sparked a feud that escalated quickly in early 2016. The Mazzellas took out restraining orders against Sander in February 2016, when Sander was charged with threatening the family. The orders expired the day before the shootings, when a judge said there was no reason to extend them. In the videotaped interview, which took place several hours after the shootings, Sander told a Wake County Sheriff's Office investigator that he feared losing his family because of the molestation allegation, so he wanted to "get even" and grabbed a loaded shotgun in the garage and headed next door. During his rambling statement Monday, Sander said he had no problems with the Mazzellas before the restraining orders, saying he was a "caring friend" to Sandy Mazzella who tried to help the business grow in every possible way. But the restraining orders, an attempt by Sandy Mazzella to charge him with auto theft and the molestation accusation sent Sander over the edge, he said in court. "I was going to go to jail for something I didn't do? No," he said. "I was built up with anger. I was built up with paranoia. I was built up with anxiety." During the sentencing hearing last week, the defense presented testimony that Sander suffered from mental health problems, including being bipolar, that went untreated and likely contributed to his actions. Sander said he blasted his way into the Mazzella home and fired shots near both women and 2 shot into Sandy Mazzella's abdomen before leaving. But he said all 3 were already dead, noting that he was too drunk to notice then and remember later when he spoke to investigators that the victims were already on the floor when he went inside. The Mazzellas' son, Nicholas, wasn't at home during the shootings. On Monday, he pointed out that Sander destroyed two families that day 3 years ago. "Was what you did really worth the consequences?" Nicholas Mazzella asked. "Now, your kids don't even get to see you anymore." (source: WRAL news) GEORGIA: Death-penalty trial begins for Gwinnett woman representing herself Jury selection is underway in a
