[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 8 PAKISTAN: Aasia Bibi: Christian acquitted of blasphemy leaves PakistanHeld in protective custody since her acquittal after 8 years on death row, Bibi leaves citing threats to her life. Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy by Pakistan's Supreme Court last year in a case that has become emblematic of fair trial concerns in such cases, has been granted asylum in Canada, her lawyer says. Bibi, 53, flew out of Pakistan after being held for months in protective custody by Pakistani authorities following her acquittal, Saif-ul-Malook told Al Jazeera by telephone on Wednesday. She joins her husband and 2 daughters, Malook said. "She has gone to Canada, she will live there now as she has been granted asylum by them," he said. Canadian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case. Bibi spent 8 years on death row after her arrest in the central village of Ithan Wali after an argument with 2 Muslim women who refused to drink water from the same vessel as her, due to her religion. The women and a local cleric accused Bibi of having insulted Islam's Prophet Muhammad during the altercation, a charge that she has consistently denied. Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where the country's strict laws prescribe a mandatory death penalty for some forms of the crime. Increasingly, blasphemy allegations have led to murders and mob lynchings, with at least 74 people killed in such violence since 1990, according to an Al Jazeera tally. Among those killed were Salman Taseer, then a provincial governor, and Shahbaz Bhatti, then a federal minister, in 2010. Both officials had stood up for Bibi when she was first accused of blasphemy. Incendiary issue In a landmark judgment acquitting Bibi, the Supreme Court noted in October that there were "glaring and stark" contradictions in the prosecution’s case against Bibi. "[There is] the irresistible and unfortunate impression that all those concerned in the case with providing evidence and conducting investigation had taken upon themselves not to speak the truth of at least not to divulge the whole truth," wrote Justice Asif Khosa, now Pakistan’s Supreme Court Chief Justice, in the verdict. Bibi had been convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court in November 2010, with the Lahore High Court upholding her conviction on appeal four years later. Rights groups had long insisted there were numerous fair trial concerns in her case, as well as in blasphemy prosecutions generally. The Supreme Court verdict prompted days of violent protests by the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline religious group with widespread support that has long pushed for those accused of blasphemy to be executed or murdered extrajudicially. Led by firebrand cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the TLP blocked roads and major intersections across the country following Bibi's acquittal in October. Rizvi was arrested in November and charged with treason for leading the protests. Afzal Qadri, the cofounder of the TLP, released a statement last week apologising for the protests and promising not to engage in further political activity. Rizvi, and scores of other TLP activists, remain in police custody, charged with hate speech and inciting violence. Days after the verdict was announced, Bibi's lawyer Malook sought refuge in the Netherlands, citing threats to his life for having represented her. In February, Bibi told the Associated Press news agency through an intermediary that she was being held by Pakistani authorities in indefinite protective custody and that they would not let her leave the country. On Tuesday, "the long running issue" of her departure from the country was resolved, her lawyer says, and Bibi is now safely in Canada and reunited with her family. (source: aljazeera.com) CHINA: Canadian drug smuggler Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to appeal death sentence in China A Canadian man handed the death penalty for drug smuggling in China will appeal his sentence Thursday, in a case that has deepened the diplomatic rift between Beijing and Canada. The appeal comes against the backdrop of Beijing’s anger over the December arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive at the Chinese tech giant Huawei, who faced a U.S. extradition hearing in Canada on Wednesday. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was sentenced to death on charges of drug trafficking in January. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the decision as “arbitrarily” chosen. Schellenberg’s appeal will take place Thursday morning at the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court in northeastern Liaoning province, a source said. The Dalian court declined to comment. The provincial level Liaoning High People’s Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “Canada remains extremely concerned that China has chosen to apply the death penalty, a cruel and in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., LA., ARIZ.
May 8 TEXAS: Lawmaker right to demand change in execution-day procedures State Sen. John Whitmire is calling on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to make a change to its execution-day procedures following the execution of a man sentenced to die for the gruesome modern-day lynching of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper. Whitmire said he was “shocked” to see John William King’s written statement quoted in the media. He wants the TDCJ to end the policy of a prison spokesman reading aloud prisoners’ written statements after their death. “I believe this action was totally improper and should never be repeated,” he said. He’s right. Reading aloud King’s statement after the fact was rude and disrespectful to Byrd’s family, just as doing so for any other condemned killer is rude and disrespectful to the families of their victims. A condemned killer’s only chance to weigh in with final thoughts should be any last words uttered while strapped to the gurney inside the execution chamber. King kept his eyes closed as witnesses arrived in the death chamber and never turned his head toward Byrd’s relatives. Asked by Warden Bill Lewis if he had a final statement, King replied: “No.” That should have been the last we ever heard from him. Former Jasper County District Attorney Guy James Gray — the man who prosecuted King, Lawrence Russell Brewer and Shawn Allen Berry — told The Texas Tribune in an August 2018 story, “When you handle a case like that and get inside the mind of a real racist, a white supremacist racist, and you see how dangerous those people are to the fabric of our society ... ’’ Gray is right. Byrd was beaten, stripped naked, tied to the back of a truck by three white supremacists and dragged down a dirt road until he was dead and decapitated. King was found guilty of orchestrating one of the most gruesome hate crimes in U.S. history. Why would anyone want to get inside the mind of that type of individual? In a 2001 interview, King described himself as an ‘‘avowed racist.’’ He had offensive tattoos on his body, including one of a black man with a noose around his neck hanging from a tree, according to authorities. A Hollywood ending where the condemned expresses regret and sorrow for their heinous act isn’t realistic. It certainly wasn’t going to happen in this instance. This isn’t the first time Whitmire has been critical of the prison system after the execution of one of Byrd’s killers. Berry was sentenced to life in prison; his 1st parole hearing is set for June 2038. Before he was executed in 2011, Brewer ordered two steaks, a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, white bread, fajitas, pizza, Blue Bell ice cream, fudge and three root beers. At the time it was standard for prisoners to request a special meal before their execution. But when Brewer refused to eat any of the food, Whitmire demanded an end to the practice, calling it “ridiculous.” Prison officials complied, and since then condemned men can eat only what’s on the mess hall menu for the day. Whitmire also wants to examine the death-penalty appeals process and look into how King was able to linger on death row for more than 2 decades. On average, inmates on Texas’ death row have spent 15 years, 8 months there, according to The Texas Tribune. Two inmates sent to death row by Angelina County juries have been there much, much longer — 41 years, 6 months and 32 years. Louvon Byrd Harris said King and Brewer got “an easy way out” compared with“all the suffering” that her brother faced. Sadly, she’s also right. (source: Editorial, Denton Record-Chronicle) *** District Attorney seeking death penalty in accused cop killer We have confirmed the Bexar County District Attorney is seeking the death penalty against Otis McKane. McKane is accused of killing San Antonio police Detective Ben Marconi in 2016. Marconi was a 20-year veteran of SAPD from Floresville. He was 50 when he was killed outside of police headquarters. District Attorney Joe Gonzales issued a statement on the decision late Tuesday. When I ran for District Attorney in 2018, I promised the citizens of Bexar County that I would seek the death penalty only in the worst of the worst cases. The facts of this case meet that standard. After months of reviewing all of the evidence in this case, as well as meeting with and considering the wishes of Detective Marconi's family, my capital crimes committee and I have elected to seek the death penalty. This decision was made after much debate about the options available to me and I believe that the cold and calculating nature of the defendant's conduct in this case deserves the death penalty. (source: foxsanantonio.com) PENNSYLVANIA: Rep. Frank Ryan co-sponsors bipartisan bill to abolish death penalty State Representative Frank Ryan (R-101) has backed a bipartisan bill that would see Pennsyl
