[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 28 PAKISTAN: Pakistani court overturns blasphemy conviction of Muslim man Pakistan's Supreme Court acquitted a man Wednesday who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2002, saying there was a lack of evidence against him. Wajih-ul-Hassan was exonerated Sept. 25, with the court deciding that prosecutors hadn't proven that letters which were the basis of the accusation had in fact been written by him. Pakistan's state religion is Islam, and around 97 percent of the population is Muslim. The country's blasphemy laws impose strict punishment on those who desecrate the Quran or who defame or insult Muhammad. Although the government has never executed a person under the blasphemy laws, accusations alone have inspired mob and vigilante violence. The allegations against Hassan arose from letters he allegedly wrote to a lawyer, according to Dawn, a Karachi-based daily. The lawyer, Ismail Qureshi, had sought amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code, saying that blasphemy should be punished only by capital punishment; the PPC also allows life imprisonment as a sentence for the crime. Hassan allegedly wrote letters to Qureshi in 1998 which the lawyer deemed blasphemous; Qureshi went to the police and filed a petition against Hassan the following year. Mohammad Amjad Rafiq, additional prosecutor general of Punjab, told Dawn that in 2001 Hassan confessed before a manager at his place of work; the manager then took Hassan to a police station, where he was arrested. The next week, a handwriting expert said that Hassan's writing matched the blasphemous letters. Hassan was convicted and sentenced, a decision which was subsequently upheld by the Lahore High Court. But the Supreme Court overturned Hassan's conviction this week, saying Hassan's “extra-judicial confession” and the testimony of the handwriting expert were not strong enough evidence of his guilt, and there were no witnesses to the supposed crime. “Presumption of innocence remains throughout the case until such time the prosecution on the evidence satisfies the court beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of the offence alleged against him,” the Supreme Court's decision reads. “There cannot be a fair trial, which is itself the primary purpose of criminal jurisprudence, if the judges have not been able to clearly elucidate the rudimentary concept of the standard of proof that prosecution must meet in order to obtain a conviction,” it continued. Pakistan's blasphemy laws are reportedly used to settle scores or to persecute religious minorities; while non-Muslims constitute only 3 % of the Pakistani population, 14 % of blasphemy cases have been levied against them. Many of those accused of blasphemy are murdered, and advocates of changing the law are also targeted by violence. The blasphemy laws were introduced between 1980 and 1986. The National Commission for Justice and Peace said more than 1,300 people were accused under this law from 1987 until 2014. The Centre for Research and Security Studies reported that at least 65 people have been killed by vigilantes since 1990. More than 40 people are serving a life sentence or face execution for blasphemy in the country. Last year, the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned the blasphemy conviction of Asia Bibi, a Catholic woman who was accused in 2009. Her initial conviction had also been upheld by the Lahore High Court. (source: Catholic News Agency) Innocence after 18 years on death row The Supreme Court’s decision to acquit a man falsely charged with blasphemy is more than a verdict about the innocence of an individual: it speaks volumes about our justice delivery system. Wajihul Hasan was sentenced to death in a blasphemy case in 2002 and he spent 18 years on death row until September 25, when a 3-judge bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah exonerated him of the charges under Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks, etc, in respect of the Holy Prophet [Peace Be Upon Him]) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) over the lack of concrete evidence against him. He was arrested when the complainant, a lawyer, accused him of writing letters full of objectionable content. The case was based on 5 letters written to the complainant in 1998. Later, another letter received by the complainant revealed the identity of the earlier writer – Wajihul Hasan. The police showed reluctance to go ahead but a Lahore High Court decree ordered the Lahore police to register the case involving the blasphemy charge. Wajih’s ‘confession’ of the charge has a twist too: He confessed before Mohammad Waseem, the manager of a steel/iron factory where he worked, of having committed the crime. The manager got Wajih’s ‘extrajudicial confession’ on a paper and handed him over to the police in 2001. The Supreme Court overturned the death penalty handed down by the sessions court and later upheld by the high
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, MASS., PENN., FLA., TENN., MO., OKLA., CALIF.
Sept. 28 TEXAS: Utah man convicted in murder of ex-wife's family, faces death penalty A Utah man, who claimed to hear voices in his head when he killed 6 members of his former wife’s family in Texas, faces the death penalty after a Houston jury rejected his insanity defence and found him guilty of murder on Thursday, officials said. District Attorney Kim Ogg in Harris County, Texas announced the verdict against Ronald Lee Haskell, 39, and said in a statement that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the July 2014 slayings, which included 4 children. Police said Haskell posed as a FedEx delivery man when he entered the Stay family’s suburban Houston home, looking for his former wife, but instead only found his ex-wife’s sister and family. He tied up the family and shot and killed his former sister-in-law Katie Stay, 34 and her husband, Stephen Stay, 39 and their children Bryan, 13, Emily, 9, Rebecca, 7 and Zach, 4, Ogg said in a statement. A 5th child, Cassidy Stay, then 15, was left for dead but survived. Media accounts of the trial say that Cassidy Stay described family members begging for their lives, and she prayed her uncle would not shoot. She survived the head-shot by playing dead, media including NBC News reported. A forensic psychiatrist testified at the trial that Haskell suffered from a severe mental illness that prevented him from knowing right from wrong, media reported. Prosecutors said that Haskell was motivated by vengeance against the family and not mental illness. “There was never a reasonable doubt that Haskell meticulously planned and carried out the slaughter of the Stay family,” Ogg said in a statement. Prosecutors tried him only on 2 counts of murder, as part of a strategy to hold other potential charges in abeyance in case there are unforseen legal issues, media reported. Haskell’s attorneys were not available for comment early on Friday. The sentencing phase of the trial is scheduled to begin Monday. (source: ottawacitizen.com) MASSACHUSETTS: Death penalty bill for cop killers before lawmakers As police, elected officials and loved ones honored the line-of-duty loss of police officers in a ceremony outside the State House Friday, lawmakers inside have before them a bill that would allow the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a cop. “Men and women in law enforcement put their lives on the line every day for us. They are under attack, they never know if something as simple as a traffic stop could result in their death,” state Rep. Shaunna O’Connell told the Herald. “I think we have to send a strong message that we will not tolerate the murder of law enforcement officers and if you murder a police officer, you could face that same fate.” O’Connell (R-Taunton) filed a bill with Rep. David DeCoste (R-Norwell) to allow death sentences for anyone over the age of 18 who is convicted of murdering a police officer. DeCoste and O’Connell said they look forward to a hearing on the bill before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which has yet to be scheduled. The state representatives were prompted to act by the deaths of Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna, Yarmouth Sgt. Sean Gannon and Auburn police officer Ronald Tarentino, who were all shot dead in the line of duty in recent years. The Chesna family are constituents of DeCoste, who has long been a proponent of instituting the death penalty in Massachusetts. “It is important for us as a society to be able to say that some behavior is absolutely unacceptable and that in some cases, we have the option of taking a person’s life,” DeCoste said, “of executing a person for egregious activity, egregious crimes.” DeCoste noted that Gov. Charlie Baker indicated support for the concept after Chesna died last summer, when Baker stated, “I certainly do support the death penalty for people who kill a police officer, for a lot of reasons.” The bill also has the support among law enforcement professionals, including Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, president of the Major City Chiefs Association, who said the level of concern has “heightened significantly” after the recent deaths of Massachusetts police officers. “People understand that police officers that are out there are sworn to protect and serve members of public. To take the life of an officer, the consequences should be the highest, the death penalty,” Kyes said. “We hope that it would never have to be used. We hope no one would take the life of a law enforcement officer, but we should put it on the books, lay it out there to act as a deterrent.” (source: Boston Herald) PENNSYLVANIA: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects Petition to Rule Death Penalty Unconstitutional The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected a petition on behalf of 2 death row inmates to declare capital punishment unconstitutional in the commonwealth. The 1-page ruling, which came down Thursday but
