Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.
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Florida: After 35 Years and DNA James Bain Is Free
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The United States legal system has a long and distinguished history that derives many of its legal traditions from English law, and English law traces its roots back to the Magna Carta written in 1215.
But the jurisprudence evolutionary process over the centuries has yet to yield a perfect system, nor will it ever. The legal profession is as ripe with imperfections as any other social science.
This is hardly a revelation, but certain mistakes within our legal system can alter an individual's life forever.
In 1974, James Bain (pictured) convicted was of kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old boy. He was given a life sentence.
Bain was 19 when the crime was committed; he has spent every day since his conviction behind bars in a Florida prison. But after 35 years, Bain was recently set free when DNA tests revealed he did not commit the crime.
The ease in which someone could be wrongly convicted, given our flawed system, is understandable; the time that it takes to exonerate them given our technological advances is not.
Bain was convicted on what continues to be the most convincing while perhaps the most unreliable method: eyewitness testimony. A jury will often hear eyewitness testimony unaware of the factors that can compromise the accuracy of an individual's statement.
Jurors may be unaware of the factors that can interfere with eyewitness perception such as any aspects of the event in question that could obstruct an individual's memory or prejudice their perspective.
Another favored method of prosecutors to obtain convictions is the use of testimony from those already in-custody also referred as "jailhouse snitches." In theory, witnesses with special knowledge of criminal activity would enable authorities to apprehend and prosecute suspects.
Since the primary motivation often includes a deal of some sort, it increases the likelihood that an informant would fabricate testimony.
Bain's conviction was based in large part on the eye witnessed testimony of the victim. According to the Innocence Project, the organization that helped Bain win his freedom, the victim described the perpetrator and the victim's uncle said the description sounded like James Bain. The victim then viewed a photo lineup and identified Bain as the perpetrator. He would later say in a deposition that he had been asked to "pick out Jimmie Bain."
Bain sought DNA testing several times on appeal, but was denied in 2001, 2003 and 2006. The Innocence Project of Florida took on his case and obtained DNA testing on evidence from the crime scene. The results
confirmed that Bain was not the perpetrator.
But DNA testing is hardly a panacea for the inherent flaws embedded within our legal system. It can only be administered in approximately 10 percent of cases. That means 90 % of the cases are still subject to the flaws of eyewitness testimony, jailhouse snitches, along with poor legal representation as the leading factors that put innocent people behind bars.
A small consolation, but Florida is one of 27 states that compensate for wrongful convictions. At $50,000 a year per year served, Bain will receive roughly $1.7 million. Hardly adequate given what Bain has endured, but certainly better than the 23 states that have yet to reach the enlightenment to pass similar legislation.
Why doesn't every state compensate wrongful convictions?
Moreover, Bain becomes the latest example as to why the death penalty must be abolished. Supporters of the capital punishment emphasize the perpetrator of the crime to justify their position, while those who oppose the death penalty place emphasis on the innocent.
In a flawed legal system, the death penalty once it is carried out simply offers no recourse for the innocent. It is impossible to support the death penalty and not overtly or covertly support an error percentage higher than zero.
Bain, who has the distinction of serving longer than anyone who has been exonerated by DNA testing, calmly stated in his first few moments of freedom, "I'm not angry."
A truly astonishing statement when you consider that Bain was incarcerated several months before Richard Nixon resigned, 1 year before the movie Jaws premiered, 30 years before the Red Sox would win their 1st World Series since 1918, and 35 years before DNA testing would free him.
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.
Saudi Arabia executes man for murdering Otaibah tribe woman RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has executed a native citizen. The Ministry of Interior of Saudi Arabia has announced that the execution of a man named Basil Bin Suhail has been carried out. Basil was executed for killing a woman by hitting her with a car.
The Osaka District Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by death row inmates that claimed same-day notifications of executions violate the Constitution — the first ruling of its kind. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the government in hopes of sparking a wider discussion on the rights of death row prisoners. They also sought ¥22 million in compensation and plan to appeal to a higher court.
In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler. A district judge who previously presided over a woman’s capital murder case recommended last week that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturn Melissa Lucio's 2008 conviction after a district attorney’s office admitted that prosecutors withheld evidence from her defense.
Programme on state television discloses new details and punishments from espionage cases as part of a campaign marking National Security Education Day Authorities in Beijing have revealed that a Chinese scientist who was convicted in 2015 of selling state secrets to foreign spy agencies was executed in 2016, one of several “shocking” spy cases.
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 15 2024: Marjan Hajizadeh and Esmail Hassaniani, a couple sentenced to death for drug-related charges in a joint case, were executed in Zanjan Central Prison. Marjan is reported to have been 16 at the time of arrest, which IHRNGO is working to confirm. If verified, she will be the first child offender executed for drug charges since 2014. She was also a child bride forced into marriage.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments centering on an Arizona death row prisoner that could set new precedent to determining ineffective assistance of counsel. A Mohave County Superior Court jury convicted Danny Lee Jones for the 1992 murders of Robert Weaver and his daughter Tisha, as well as the attempted murder of Weaver’s grandmother. A judge sentenced Jones to death for the two murders.
There’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430. When Louisiana legislators approved the use of nitrogen gas asphyxiation as an execution method during a second special legislative session in February, the move attracted national attention; not the least because it has only been used in the U.S. once. That’s when Alabama executed convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith on January 25th of this year. Now there’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430.
The Islamic Republic has executed eight more prisoners over the past few days amid a significant spike in death penalties. On April 14, 2024, Hamedan Prison executed Arsalan Hashemi, a man convicted of drug offenses, according to human rights group HRANA.
BAGHDAD, April 15 (Reuters) - Iraqi lawmakers postponed voting on Monday on a bill that includes the death penalty or life in prison for same-sex relations - a measure that diplomats from Western countries said could have serious consequences for Iraq's political and economic ties if it goes through. Parliament was in session on Monday, with the bill - an amendment to an anti-prostitution law - second on its agenda.