Dear All:
Under the laws of war, the so-called Iraqi Provisional Government is
just a puppet government for which the US and the UK are responsible as
the belligerent occupants. See US Army Field Manual 27-10 (1956), the Laws
of Land Warfare. Amnesty must bombard the US and the UK governments to stop
these executions, not their puppets in Baghdad.
fab
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (voice)
217-244-1478 (fax)
fbo...@law.uiuc.edu <mailto:fbo...@law.uiuc.edu>
(personal comments only)
-----Original Message-----
From: thenobelpeaceprizetor...@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:thenobelpeaceprizetor...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of sissel
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 1:27 PM
To: thenobelpeaceprizetor...@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [thenobelpeaceprizetoryan] What is Norway doing to stop this?
----- Original Message -----
From: sissel <mailto:denm...@online.no>
To: Nobel Peace Prize for Ryan <mailto:nppr...@compar.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 8:25 PM
Subject: What is Norway doing to stop this?
----- Original Message -----
From: sissel <mailto:denm...@online.no>
To: Dagsrevyen <mailto:dagsrev...@nrk.no> ; Sverre Lodgaard
<mailto:s...@nupi.no> ; i...@nobel.no <mailto:i...@nobel.no>
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 8:24 PM
Subject: What is Norway doing to stop this?
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
2 August 2005
UA 202/05 Fear of imminent execution
IRAQ: 48 people
According to local press reports 48 people have had their
appeals against their death sentences rejected, and are
therefore at risk of imminent execution. The sentences have
now been referred to the Presidential Council for
ratification, which is the final step before executions can
proceed. The Presidential Council is made up of President
Jalal Talababi and his two deputies, 'Adil 'Abdul Mahdi
and Shaikh Ghazi al-Yawar.
Amnesty International does not have the names of the 48,
or the charges of which they were convicted or any details
of their trials. Since the new Iraqi government was formed
in early May 2005 no executions are known to have been
carried out.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Executions were frequent during the government of
Saddam Hussein, which was overthrown by the invasion of
the US-led coalition in March 2003. After the invasion the
country was first run by the Coalition Provisional Authority
(CPA), which suspended the death penalty in June 2003.
On 28 June 2004 power was transferred to an Iraqi interim
government.
On 8 August 2004, the interim government reinstated the
death penalty for crimes such as murder, drug trafficking
and kidnapping. The authorities justified the reintroduction
of the death penalty as a measure to deal with the
deteriorating security situation. Amnesty International
deplored the re-imposition of the death penalty in Iraq, and
has repeatedly raised its concerns with the Iraqi authorities,
making submissions to the Minister of Human Rights and
Minister of Justice. A new government was formed in early
May 2005, under Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'afari, a
former Shi'a Muslim exile.
In November 2004, 10 people were sentenced to death for
"criminal activities" and a number of others have since
been sentenced to death for "terrorist activities", rape of
women and killing of officials and policemen.
Before the new government was formed, Jalal Talabani
declared his opposition to the use of the death penalty, in
interviews with national and international media.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to
arrive as quickly as possible:
- expressing concern at reports that 48 people are facing
imminent execution;
- asking to be told the full names of the 48, the charges of
which they were convicted, and the dates of their trials;
- acknowledging the seriousness of the security situation in
Iraq, but pointing out that the death penalty has never
proved to be an effective deterrent to crime;
- condemning all abuses by armed groups and others,
including kidnapping, rape and killing of civilians, and
urging that those responsible for these abuses be brought to
justice in trials that meet international standards for fair
trial and that do not impose the death penalty;
- calling on the authorities to commute all death sentences,
and to abolish the death penalty in law and practice.
APPEALS TO: Fax numbers and e-mail addresses for
the Iraqi authorities are not available. Please send
appeals via the Iraqi embassy, asking them to forward
your appeals to:
President of the Republic of Iraq
Jalal Talabani
Salutation: Your Excellency
Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq
Dr. Ibrahim al-Ja'afari
Salutation: Your Excellency
Ask for the Iraqi to send copies to the Acting Human Rights
Minister, Nasreen Barwari.
Ambassador Ms. Rend Al-Rahim
Embassy of the Republic of Iraq
1801 P St. NW
Washington DC 20036
Fax: 1 202 462 5066
Email: <mailto:amboff...@iraqiembassy.org> amboff...@iraqiembassy.org
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the
Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm,
Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after
September 13, 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: <mailto:u...@aiusa.org> u...@aiusa.org
<http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/> http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
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From rhalp...@mail.smu.edu Tue Aug 2 23:24:42 2005
From: rhalp...@mail.smu.edu (Rick Halperin)
Date: Tue Aug 16 12:16:17 2005
Subject: [Deathpenalty]death penalty news----OHIO, USA, FLA., N. DAK.
Message-ID: <pine.wnt.4.44.0508022224340.2804-100...@its08705.smu.edu>
August 2
OHIO:
Suspect may face execution----Grand jury indicts Needius Grubb, allows
death penalty if convicted
****
Needius Grubb will be the 1st person tried for his life in Preble County
in more than 15 years.
Dennis B. McGuire was sentenced to kidnapping, rape and murder of Gayle
Stewart on Valentines Day 1989. McGuire is still on death row.
Grubb has been held in the Preble County Jail since his arrest. Bond is
set at $1 million.
The grand jury met in special session Thursday to consider the charges
against Grubb. No other cases were considered at that time. A new grand
jury session began Monday.
****
Needius Grubb will face the death penalty if convicted for the murder of
Barbara Mullins.
A Preble County Grand Jury handed up the capital indictment late last
week.
In addition to the aggravated murder charge, the grand jury indicted Grubb
for kidnapping, rape and domestic violence. 6 of the 8 counts against
Grubb specify he is a "sexually violent predator."
Grubb, 41, was arrested July 12, hiding behind a propane tank in a yard on
the Eaton Road near New Miami in Butler County.
Mullins body had been found the day before next to her purple Chevrolet
Beretta in a wooded area along Winters Road.
Mullins, 34, and Grubb had left a gathering on Toby Road early on the
morning of July 10. Witnesses told investigators he forced her into the
car after beating her violently.
Mullins died from multiple blunt force injuries and strangulation. She was
beaten and choked to death.
Grubb and Mullins lived together, most recently in Union. He had been
jailed in the past on domestic violence charges involving Mullins and had
been released from the Preble County Jail the morning of the day before
Mullins was killed.
Preble County Prosecutor Martin P. Votel, who recommended the death
penalty stipulation to the grand jury, said, "If there was ever a crime
that deserved the death penalty, this is it."
(source: Palladium-Item)
USA:
Should America keep capital punishment? Yes.
After death, there is no turning back. So is it fair to bind only the
victim of a brutal murder to such a brutal truth, without holding the
perpetrator to the same consequences?
The answer is as clear as whether one has the right to take an innocent
persons life in the first place. Capital punishment should remain an
option in the United States.
Singapore implements the death penalty more stringently than perhaps
necessary but, as a result, is reputed to be the safest country on earth.
Even if punishment of death does not deter criminals, it is still
necessary for the option to be in place when they are brought to justice
after committing such a crime.
Also, tax dollars should go to supporting society's young and elderly,
rather than to sustaining criminals for life sentences.
And, frankly, the question of the divinity of life is completely
overshadowed by the failures of humanity "a murderer's total lack of
humanity strips him of the right to demand life, which he utterly
disregarded.
(source: Opinion, Ms. Amy Zhang is a student at Dreher High School; The
(S.C.) State)
**********************************
Should America keep capital punishment? No.
The continuing use of capital punishment is one of the greatest social
injustices facing the country today.
It seems that many of us have deemed it an acceptable risk that an
innocent citizen might be executed every so often along with a few guilty
criminals, some sort of twisted collateral damage.
However, not only are we likely putting some innocent people to death, but
we are ignoring, in the name of justice, the very conditions that have led
to the use of this horrifically ineffective deterrent.
Often, those sentenced to death have poor legal representation, trials in
locations more favorable to the death penalty and trials with racial
biases that cloud proper judgement.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg remarked that "people who are
well-represented at trial do not get the death penalty."
Clearly, it's time for the next generation of Americans to rise up against
this age-old injustice and put an end to state-backed murder.
(source: Opinion, Mr. Samiron Ray is a student at Dutch Fork High School;
The (S.C.) State)
FLORIDA:
Death penalty ordered in 2 murders at Davie Waffle House
Waffle House triggerman Gerhard "Chip" Hojan today was sent to death row
for killing 2 Waffle House employees in a cramped freezer. Hojan and his
roommate Jimmy Mickel robbed the restaurant -- just off Interstate 75 in
Davie -- on March 11, 2002.
After eating waffles and drinking Cokes, Hojan ordered waitress Barbara
Nunn, waitress Christina De La Rosa and cook Willy Absolu into the Waffle
House freezer.
Nunn survived a shot to the head and was able to crawl to safety at a
nearby Shell station. De La Rosa and Absolu died in the freezer.
In his death sentence order, released today, Broward Circuit Judge Paul L.
Backman noted Hojan's cruelty to the victims.
Hojan, 30, returned to the freezer 3 times before shooting the screaming
victims execution-style.
As they begged for their lives, he made them hand over their cash.
De La Rosa "knew she was next. In her extreme panic and emotional
distress, all she could do was try to crawl and hide under the freezer
racks."
Hojan, a divorced security guard with 2 children, had no prior criminal
record.
He used his share of the robbery proceeds -- about $1,900 -- to pay off an
overdue bill for a rental truck.
Investigators found 434 rolled quarters, 502 dimes and 363 nickels among
their loot. Hojan also bought 2 money orders for $411 at a 7-Eleven store
2 hours after the shootings.
Hogan's lawyers, John Cotrone and Mitch Polay, tried to argue in 2004 that
he should be sentenced to life in prison, but their client refused to let
them.
Backman later appointed defense attorney Hilliard Moldof to review Hojan's
record for evidence of mitigating circumstances.
Moldof cited testimony from forensic psychologist Dr. Michael Brannon, who
said Hojan's mother told him that the Hojan's father ridiculed him and
beat him with a bamboo stick. He said Hojan's mother told him that Hojan
suffered two head injuries.
Hojan's father denied any abuse and said his son's head injuries were not
serious.
Backman, in his ruling, said Hojan lacked remorse, and that the reason he
wouldn't let his lawyers fight for him was that he preferred death to life
in prison.
Mickel is currently serving 5 life sentences. During today's hearing,
relatives of Hojan's victims softly wept.
De La Rosa, a 17-year-old high school dropout, had been working at the
restaurant to help support her 6-month-old son, Kyle. Absolu, 28, had
immigrated to Broward about 2 years before his murder to raise money for
his wife and 2 children in Haiti.
Jayson Kalinowski, De La Rosa's former boyfriend and Kyle's father, told
Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4 that Hojan didn't deserve to live another
day. Kalinowski embraced Kyle, now 3 years old, and sobbed outside the
courtroom.
The child looked confused as he tightly embraced his dad with his tiny
arms. His eyes grew wider when his grandmother, Shelly Langman, said his
name in front of the cameras. "Kyle. . ..he has no mommy," Langman said.
"I don't know if he will ever have closure."
(source: Miami Herald)
NORTH DAKOTA:
Federal judge upholds death penalty for suspect in slain N.D. college
student case
In Fargo, federal prosecutors can proceed with seeking the death penalty
for a convicted sex offender charged with kidnapping college student Dru
Sjodin, a judge ruled.
There has not been an execution in North Dakota in nearly a century.
Attorneys for Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. argued that the prosecution's intent
to use aggravating factors to prove its case should have been spelled out
in a grand jury indictment accusing Rodriguez of kidnapping Sjodin and
causing her death.
Instead, prosecutors told Rodriguez's defense attorneys in a separate
notice afterward. Those aggravating factors include Rodriguez's previous
convictions in Polk County, Minn., for sexual assault and attempted
kidnapping, and allegations that Rodriguez used "torture and serious
physical abuse."
In his ruling late last week, U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson said the
federal death penalty law's lack of detail in spelling out the grand
jury's role in death penalty cases does not make it unconstitutional.
U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley said prosecutors were "happy the court agreed
with us."
Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to a charge of kidnapping resulting in
the death of Sjodin, 22, a University of North Dakota student who
disappeared in November 2003 after leaving her job at a Victoria's Secret
in Grand Forks. Her body was found 5 months later in a ravine near
Crookston, Minn., where Rodriguez was living with his mother.
It is the 1st time federal prosecutors have sought the death penalty in
North Dakota, which has not had a state death penalty law since the 1970s.
The state's last execution was more than 90 years ago.
Rodriguez's trial is set for March 2006.
(source: Associated Press)
