The execution of a nameless Pinoy, the execution of all!

Execution in China

Leo Echegaray was executed on February 5, 1999. His daughter Baby is now a young lady. His wife, whom he married in prison died some years after his execution. With the abolition of the Death Penalty in our country, we should be focusing on the deeper causes of crime rather than on the punishment of convicted prisoners. Our jails are still exploding from the ever growing population of offenders, which includes those suspected and accused of heinous crimes like the Maguindanao Massacre. If we still had the death penalty in our country, what could have happen to those who committed plunder like Erap? Or CGMA today? What could happen to those responsible for the Maguindanao Massacre?

Punishment is easy but finding the roots of crime and stamping these out is hard. With this recent news of another Filipino facing execution in China, more than just making appeals for a stay of execution or commutation of sentence, the government should now vigorously investigate the very reason (causes) why Filipinos become drug mules. In this regard, I find the comment of presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda rather facetious: “We recognize the decision of the judicial authorities in China. It was made based on the evidence that the Filipino was carrying 1.5 kg of heroin, and therefore, based on their law, it was subject to death penalty,” Lacierda said. Lacierda said he did not believe ties between the two countries would be affected as “this is not the first time an execution happened, we experienced it before.”

The statement from Lacierda leans more on preserving good relations between the country and China. Concern for the unnamed Filipino awaiting execution does not really come across. While we have to exhaust all means to save one Filipino life on December 8, 2011, shouldn’t the government and the people also get together and address the bigger and deeper issue that cannot be solved by either executions or diplomatic appeals?

Drug mules are only a tiny piece in the wider tapestry of the OFW phenomenon. The OFW phenomenon is only also a tiny piece in a yet bigger tapestry of poverty experienced by the majority of our people. I am afraid that if this more fundamental and bigger issue is not addressed, more will become drug mules, who will be caught, charged, convicted, sentenced and executed. Between now and December 8, I will pray hard not only for our countryman awaiting execution but for our government leaders and people, that we will begin to see how we in one way or another have contributed to a situation of despair that stems from a disturbing lack of love, respect and active concern for life, particularly of the poor, ordinary and seemingly ‘nameless’ Filipinos.

Source: Fr. Roberto P. Reyes, Philippine Online Chronicle, December 2, 2011. Fr. Roberto P. Reyes, Former President, Coalition Against Death Penalty in the Philippines

Bishops to appeal Filipino drug mule’s death sentence

An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that the bishops’ collegial body will make an appeal to the Chinese government for Beijing to commute the penalty of capital punishment it had handed down against a 35-year-old Filipino drug mule.

“We will send a letter to China to appeal for humanitarian reasons to commute the penalty to life sentence instead of death penalty,” Fr. Edwin Corros, the executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Migrant and Itinerant People, said on Friday.

“We are all aware that capital punishment in China is really death, but we will try to appeal the case of our Filipino compatriot,” Corros added.

The priest reminded overseas Filipinos not to accept offers of drug syndicates to become drug mules in exchange for money.

Corros, meanwhile, called on the government to assist more than 200 other Filipinos who are also facing the death penalty abroad.

The Philippine government earlier asked China to show mercy to the unnamed Filipino drug mule, who was caught on September 13, 2008 at the Guilin International Airport in Guangxi smuggling about 1.5 kilograms of heroin into China from Malaysia.

His death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme People’s Court in late November.

Source: The Manila Times, December 2, 2011

December 3, 2011 Update
'Mercy mission' rejected; China says Filipino's execution to push through Dec. 8

China has refused a visit from Vice President Jejomar C. Binay to ask for mercy for a Filipino on death row, and said the man's execution will not be delayed, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday.

On Sunday, all Masses in Catholic Churches will be offered for the intention of saving the convicted Filipino drug trafficker in response to Binay’s request to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). CBCP president Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma instructed all dioceses to offer Masses to ask for divine intervention for the commutation of the execution.

The 35-year-old is scheduled to be executed on December 8 after he was caught on Sept. 13, 2008 at the Guilin International Airport in Guangxi, China, trying to smuggle about 1.495 kilos (about 3 pounds, 5 ounces) of heroin into China from Malaysia.

“The Chinese government has informed the Philippine government that the verdict of the Supreme People’s Court of China is final and executory,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said.

China added that it will do everything to assist the family of the convicted Filipino, whose identity and origin have been kept from media by both the DFA and Office of the Vice President.

Hernandez said the DFA is making arrangements to fly relatives of the condemned Filipino to China so they would be able to see their loved one.

“We have also been informed that the Chinese side is unable to arrange the visit of Vice President Binay to China at this time,” Hernandez said.

Binay, Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) Concerns, had been awaiting a go-signal from Beijing to push through with the visit, which is tantamount to a last-ditch effort to at least delay the scheduled execution.

Despite this becoming a major blow to the Filipino convict’s family, the DFA expressed hope that the Vice President would still be allowed by Chinese authorities to go to Beijing.

Once there, the Binay will personally hand to Chinese President Hu Jintao a letter of appeal from President Benigno S. Aquino III requesting a commutation of the death sentence “based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds”.

Binay was in a similar situation last February when he reportedly met with three high-ranking officials in Beijing to ask for a stay of the executions of convicted Filipino drug traffickers Ramon Credo, Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, and Elizabeth Batain. They were eventually executed after a brief stay.

The executions triggered widespread condemnation in the Philippines, where capital punishment was abolished in 2006.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is now hunting down the Filipino who recruited the doomed Filipino.

PDEA Director General Jose Gutierrez Jr. said that they have already identified the recruiter.

Source: Manila Bulletin, December 3, 2011

Related article:

China to Execute Filipino Drug Trafficker Dec. 8, ABC News, November 30, 2011

Comments

Death penalty options expanded in proposed Arizona bills

PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers advanced proposals on Feb. 19, 2026, that would expand execution options for death row inmates to include firing squads and lethal gas, amid ongoing challenges with lethal injection and concerns over carrying out capital sentences. The measures, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Payne, R-Peoria, cleared a Senate committee with a party-line vote. They aim to give condemned inmates more choices while mandating firing squad executions for those convicted of murdering law enforcement officers. Senate Concurrent Resolution 1049 proposes a constitutional amendment that Arizona voters would decide in November. If approved, it would allow defendants sentenced to death to select from three methods: firing squad, lethal injection (intravenous administration of lethal substances) or lethal gas. Lethal injection would remain the default if no choice is made.

Japan | High court rejects retrial appeal over 1992 Fukuoka child murder

The Fukuoka High Court rejected an appeal on Monday for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two 7-year-old girls in the city of Iizuka in Fukuoka Prefecture, for which a death row convict was executed. The defense plans to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision. In what's known as the Iizuka incident, despite the assertion of his innocence, Michitoshi Kuma's death sentence became final in 2006 based on DNA test results and eyewitness accounts. He was executed at the age of 70 in 2008. The defendant's side submitted in the second round of its retrial request a woman's testimony as new evidence.

Sudanese Courts Sentence 2 Women to Death by Stoning for Adultery Despite International Obligations

Two Sudanese women have been sentenced to death by stoning in separate cases in Sudan, raising serious concerns about Sudan’s compliance with its international human rights obligations, particularly following its ratification of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

India | POCSO Court awards death penalty to UP couple for sexual exploitation of 33 children

A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda on Friday sentenced a former Junior Engineer (JE) of the Irrigation Department and his wife to death for the sexual exploitation of 33 minor boys — some as young as three — over a decade, officials said. The POCSO court termed the crimes as “rarest of rare” and held Ram Bhawan and his wife Durgawati guilty of systematically abusing children between 2010 and 2020 and producing child sexual abuse material. Convicting the duo under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the court sentenced them to death for offences including aggravated penetrative sexual assault, using a child for pornographic purposes, storage of pornographic material involving children, and abetment and criminal conspiracy, they said.

Iran | Man Hanged for Murder After Plaintiff Changed Their Mind at Last Minute

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 February 2026: Reza Karami, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Doroud Prison. The plaintiffs in the case had agreed to accept diya (blood money) in lieu of execution but changed their minds at the last minute. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Doroud Prison, Lorestan province, on 14 February 2026. His identity has been established as 30-year-old Reza Karami who was arrested around three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

Oklahoma Ends Indefinite Death Row Solitary Confinement

Every year, thousands of prisoners in the U.S. are placed in solitary confinement, where they endure isolation, abuse, and mental suffering . This practice might soon become rarer for some inmates in Oklahoma, thanks to the efforts of activists in the state. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma announced that the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester had ended the practice of indefinite solitary confinement for "the vast majority" of death row prisoners.

Alabama provides the greatest arguments against the death penalty

I have seen three executions. I hope I never see a fourth. Capital punishment is violence. But the state does all it can to conceal that fact. The viewing areas outside the death chamber are still and silent. Bright light floods the small room where people die. The warden pronouncing the sentence speaks in clipped, measured tones, saying no more than needed. You’re expected to view the act as a bloodless execution of justice.

Louisiana Supreme Court Unanimously Sides with Two Death-Sentenced Prisoners Targeted with Premature Execution Warrants

When Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill took office in January 2024, they moved aggressively to restart executions in the state. Gov. Landry signed bills that authorized nitrogen suffocation and electrocution as execution methods, increased his own power over the state capital defense system, and limited post-conviction appeals , while AG Murrill moved to take over capital appeal challenges from local district attorneys. In March 2025, the state conducted its first execution in 15 years.

Singapore executes 33-year-old Malaysian drug trafficker

Lingkesvaran was sentenced to death in 2018. A Malaysian man convicted of trafficking a significant quantity of heroin was executed in Singapore on Feb. 11, 2026, according to an official statement issued by the Singapore authorities. Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, 33, had been found guilty of trafficking not less than 52.77 grammes of diamorphine, also known as pure heroin. Singapore law mandates the death penalty for cases involving more than 15 grams of the drug. The authorities said the amount involved was enough to sustain the addiction of approximately 630 abusers for a week, highlighting the harm caused by large-scale drug trafficking.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog