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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.
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British author Alan Shadrake to appeal jail term

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Alan Shadrake
A British author jailed for six weeks after his book on Singapore's death penalty was found to be in contempt of court is filing an appeal to overturn his conviction, his lawyer said.

Alan Shadrake, 76, "wishes to appeal against his conviction and sentence", a letter sent by his lawyer, M Ravi, to the Supreme Court said.

Mr Ravi said Shadrake, a freelance writer based in Malaysia and Britain, should not have been convicted for insulting the judiciary in his book Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice In The Dock.

"Even if he's found guilty, the sentence is excessive," Mr Ravi said.

The lawyer declined to state his grounds for challenging the conviction.

Shadrake was handed a six-week jail term on Tuesday and fined 20,000 Singapore dollars ($15,000) after being found guilty of scandalising the city-state's courts.

It was the stiffest sentence ever imposed in Singapore for the offence and was denounced by human rights groups campaigning for an end to executions and greater freedom of expression in the country.

The previous longest jail term for contempt of court was 15 days.

Source: AFP, November 18, 2010
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