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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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Singapore deports British author Alan Shadrake after 5-week jail term for contempt of court

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Alan Shadrake
A lawyer says British author Alan Shadrake has been released from a Singaporean jail after serving 5 weeks for contempt of court.

M. Ravi said Saturday his 76-year-old client was deported and flying to London after his release.

Shadrake’s book is critical of Singapore’s use of the death penalty for crimes such as drug trafficking.

He was jailed after Singapore’s High Court ruled that passages in his book titled “Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock” impugn the impartiality, integrity and independence of the judiciary.

Shadrake was sentenced to 6 weeks in jail and an extra 2 weeks for failing to pay a 20,000 Singapore dollar ($16,400) fine.

Ravi said he was released early for good behavior.

Source: Associated Press, July 9, 2011

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Jun 01, 2011
Alan Shadrake, 76, lost an appeal against his six-week sentence and a fine of 20000 Singapore dollars (16150 US dollars), the heaviest sentence so far imposed for contempt in Singapore. 'Singapore has thrown Alan ...
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At 76, Alan Shadrake knows the books he will be taking into solitary confinement if he is sent to Changi prison by Singapore's Appeals Court today - Rudyard Kipling's Kim, George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New ...
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The Court of Appeal allowed Alan Shadrake, author of Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, to undergo a medical check before starting his prison term on Wednesday, said his lawyer M Ravi. ...
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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 ...
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