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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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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.

Court approves executions for 2 Arizona inmates

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Robert Henry Moormann (L)
and Robert Charles Towery (R)
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the executions of two inmates, including one who has been on death row for 26 years for brutally killing and dismembering his adoptive mother.

The court approved warrants for Robert Henry Moormann and Robert Charles Towery and set their executions eight days apart from one another. Moormann’s execution was scheduled for Feb. 29 and Towery’s was scheduled for March 8.

If Moormann’s execution is carried out, it will be the first death penalty carried out in the state since July 19, when the state executed Thomas Paul West for the beating death of another man in a 1987 robbery.

The court was set to consider approving the death warrants for Moormann and Towery back in November, but delayed the decision at the last minute without explanation.

At the time, a federal judge was considering a lawsuit filed by defense attorneys arguing that Arizona’s execution practices violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

The lawsuit claimed that the state had deviated from a court-approved execution protocol by using unvetted personnel to administer lethal injections under a sheet, away from witnesses’ view.

Judge Neil Wake ended up dismissing the lawsuit on Dec. 21. The defense attorneys are appealing his decision to the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Source: AP, January 11, 2012
Location: Arizona, USA
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