India executes Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab

Mumbai: Nearly a week ahead of the fourth anniversary of the 26/11 attack, Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab — who had been convicted and handed capital punishment for his involvement in the Mumbai mayhem — was hanged to death in Pune’s Yerawada central prison on Wednesday morning, in a top-secret operation.

Within hours of his execution, Kasab was buried on the jail premises.

Making an announcement about the hanging of Kasab little over an hour the Pakistani terrorist-convict was executed, Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil said: “Kasab was hanged in Pune’s Yerawada prison at 7.30am today. The punishment to Kasab is a true tribute to the victims and martyrs of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.”

Patil added: “Through Kasab’s execution, India has sent a message to the world that India does not tolerate those who wage a war against the country. Kasab was given adequate opportunity to defend himself. After a Special court handed him death sentence, Kasab challenged the verdict in the Bombay High Court first and later in the Supreme Court both of which confirmed his death sentence. The President also rejected his mercy petition.”

Talking separately to journalists later, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that Kasab was hanged to death in accordance with jail norms and was buried on the Yerwada prison premises. “All the proceedings were carried out as per law, He has been buried in Yerwada jail. With this it has been proved that India’s rule of law prevails. If someone breaks the law of land, he will be punished, even if it takes time and expenses. Any attack on the country will not be tolerated.”

The hanging of Kasab comes a fortnight after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected the Paksitani terrorist’s mercy petition. “Our ministry had forward Kasab’s mercy petition to Rashtrapati Bhavan on October 16. Later on November 5, the President rejected Kasab’s mercy petition. Immediately upon my return from an Interpol meeting in Rome, I signed Kasab’s execution file on November 7 and the sent was sent to the Maharashtra government on the following day. At that time itself, it had been decided that Kasab would be hanged on November 21,” India’s federal Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said later in the morning in

Asked if India had informed Pakistan about the execution of Kasab, Shinde said: “The External Affairs Ministry, through our mission in Islamabad had informed the Pakistan government about Kasab’s hanging. When they did not accept the letter, they were communicated through fax.”

Asked if Pakistan had made a request for Kasab’s body, Shinde said: “If there was a request for Kasab’s body, we would have obliged, but there was no such request.”

Kasab was among the ten Pakistani terrorists who launched a terror attack on Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008, which carried on till the morning of November 29, 2008. In all 166 people, including foreigners and policemen, were killed and 300 others injured in the attack.

While nine Pakistani terrorists were killed, Kasab was the lone terrorist to be arrested during the attack on Mumbai’s various landmarks, including Hotel Taj and CST railway terminus.

A trial court had on May 6, 2010, awarded capital punishment to the Pakistani terrorist for his role in the 26/11 attacks. Subsequently, the Bombay High Court confirmed his death sentence on February 21, 2011.

Subsequently, on August 28, 2012, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Aftab Alam and C K Prasad dismissed Kasab’s plea challenging his conviction and death sentence confirmed by the Bombay High Court. The bench had also rejected his contention that he was not given a free and fair trial in the case.

Later on September 16, Kasab filed a petition seeking mercy from the President and forwarded the petition to the Rashtrapati Bhavan through the Maharashtra government. The federal Home Ministry later forwarded the petition to the President on October 16.

Kasab was secretly shifted from Mumbai’s Arthur Road prison to Yerwada Central Prison in Pune on the intervening night of November 18 and 19. A team of 17 police officers was involved in the “Operation-X” which was carried in a secret manner.

At Pune jail, Kasab was asked if he had any last wish. However, Kasab replied in the negative. After Kasab was hanged and the doctors formally declared him dead, the jail top brass called up State Home Minister R R Patil and told him: “The Operation-X is over”. It was after that Patil made a formal announcement to the media about Kasab’s execution.

Source: Gulf News, November 21, 2012

Kasab's Last Words

November 22, 2012: Ajmal Kasab, one of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai in India on November 26, 2008, reportedly sought pardon in the name of God seconds before he was executed at Pune’s Yerawada Central Prison on November 21.

Kasab, 25, appeared nervous before his hanging but remained quiet. He didn’t say anything, except for responding to the queries from the authorities.

However, a Times of India report, quoting an official present at the time of the execution, said that Kasab lost his composure just before entering the gallows and mumbled that he was sorry for the crime.

“Allah qasam maaf karna, aisi galti dobara nahi hogi (I swear by Allah, please forgive me, such a mistake won't be repeated)," Kasab said. These were reportedly his final words before being hanged.

Kasab was the lone militant caught alive among the ten gunmen who killed 166 people in multiple locations in Mumbai.

Source: ibtimes.com, November 22, 2012

Related articles:

Home ministry rejects 26/11 terrorist Kasab's mercy plea

Oct 23, 2012

In an unprecedented move, the home ministry -- which took years in sending mercy petition files of other convicts on death row -- has sent Kasab's file to Rashtrapati Bhavan within three weeks of getting the note of rejection ...

http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/

Death Penalty News: Kasab conviction: Abolish the death sentence ...

Jun 30, 2010

But, Kasab's case is far from over. Even before the death sentence by a trial court was confirmed by a higher court, Kasab has filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court challenging the verdict. And, if death sentence is ratified ...

http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/

India: Kasab challenges death penalty in High Court

Sep 29, 2010

In a fresh development in the 26/11 terror attack case, Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab today filed an appeal in Bombay High Court challenging death penalty awarded to him for killing 166 persons on November 26, 2008.

http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/

Gov. Mike DeWine calls for Ohio to abolish the death penalty

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday morning called on Ohio to abolish the death penalty, citing data that he said proves it is no longer a deterrent to violent crime. “For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said. “I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made.” DeWine cited data showing a decline in the last four decades of executions being carried out and an increase in the time inmates spend on death row.

I watched Ohio's last execution. Here's what it was like

As Gov. DeWine calls for Ohio to end capital punishment, the state’s last execution remains the one I witnessed in 2018 Inside Ohio's death house, there is a room for executions and separate witness rooms: one for those connected to the victim and another for those connected to the inmate. Windows separate the death chamber from those watching, the condemned from the living. I was there on July 18, 2018 – during Ohio’s most recent execution. Robert Van Hook was put to death that day for killing David Self in 1985. He sat on death row for three decades. I was one of three media witnesses to the execution.

Kansas AG urges governor to deny clemency to 8 sentenced to death

TOPEKA — Attorney General Kris Kobach on Tuesday urged the governor to deny clemency to Kansas inmates who have been sentenced to death. Eight of nine people sentenced to death in Kansas formally filed clemency requests in May, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office. Kobach urged Gov. Laura Kelly to reject them.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

New Mississippi billboard warns criminals: ‘Firing squad is legal’

DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. (WREG) — A billboard standing on Interstate 55 southbound as you cross the Tennessee state line and enter Mississippi from Memphis is sending a grim message to those coming into the state. DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton recently announced the new billboard campaign, which features the sign reading, “WELCOME TO MISSISSIPPI. WHERE THE FIRING SQUAD IS LEGAL. THINK TWICE.” It references Mississippi’s law permitting execution by firing squad under certain circumstances for inmates sentenced to death. Barton says this campaign is aimed at deterring violent crime and sends a direct message to criminals entering Mississippi.

SCOTUS: Alabama can’t execute Jeffery Lee by nitrogen; Thursday execution called off

After a week of legal volleyball, Alabama death row inmate Jeffery Lee’s execution—scheduled for Thursday evening—was called off after federal courts called the state’s nitrogen gas execution method “likely unconstitutional.” The state took the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping Lee could still be put to death tonight. In an order issued at 8:10 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that it would not lift a ban on Alabama executing Lee via nitrogen . In a short court order, the justices denied Alabama’s motion to go ahead with the execution. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch would have granted the appeal and let the execution proceed, according to the order.

With nitrogen gas blocked, Alabama seeks to execute inmate by lethal injection

Jeffery Lee, who successfully challenged his scheduled Thursday execution by nitrogen gas, argued that execution by firing squad would be less painful. The Alabama Attorney General’s Office Friday sought to put an Alabama death row inmate to death by lethal injection a day after the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed the state’s attempt to execute him by nitrogen gas. In a filing with the Alabama Supreme Court Friday afternoon, the state sought an expedited motion to set a new execution date for Jeffery Lee, 49. The state said that with a permanent injunction in place against nitrogen gas, the method by which the state intended to execute Lee on Thursday, it could execute him by lethal injection or the electric chair.

Alabama | Judge bars nitrogen gas execution, says method is unconstitutionally cruel

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from executing an inmate with nitrogen gas after declaring it violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge Emily Marks issued the ruling hours after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the method was constitutional. Marks permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffrey Lee, 49, by nitrogen gas. He was scheduled to be executed Thursday. The decision, for now, blocks the use of the controversial new execution method that the state has championed since 2024, but the issue will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Idaho will soon turn to firing squad executions. Police will pull the triggers

Trained members of Idaho law enforcement with demonstrated firearms proficiency are expected to fill slots for carrying out the death penalty by firing squad as the state prison system transitions to the controversial execution method next month. Six volunteers certified for no less than three years apiece through Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, will be recruited to ensure the Idaho Department of Correction is ready to comply with a state law that prioritizes shooting prisoners to death over lethal injection starting July 1. No one on the team may have faced disciplinary action over firearms, use of force, or related conduct over the prior year, according to new execution protocols the prison system released this week.

Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch wanted an execution that a Trump judge deemed illegal

The Supreme Court these days is generally in the business of helping executions go forward. But on Thursday night, the court did something notable: It told Alabama no. Even then, the court wasn't unanimous. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the refusal to let the nitrogen gas execution of Jeffery Lee proceed. What prompted the rare rejection? In line with the typical shadow docket practice, the court didn't explain itself. Nor did the dissenters, who merely noted their disagreement. But a deeper look at the case helps us understand why a majority of the court was unwilling to help the state this time.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog