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After acquittal of ex-death row inmate, debate needed on Japan's death penalty

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Japan should be ensuring the safety of its citizens, but instead it is taking people's lives. Is it acceptable to maintain the ultimate penalty under such circumstances? This is a serious question for society. The acquittal of 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada, who had been handed the death penalty, has been finalized after prosecutors decided not to appeal the verdict issued by the Shizuoka District Court during his retrial.

Khartoum summons Western envoys over "apostasy trial"

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The Sudanese government has summoned Western diplomats in Khartoum to protest over their reaction to the death penalty handed down to a woman found guilty by a court of committing apostasy. The Arabic language Alintibaha newspaper confirmed on Sunday that the Sudanese Foreign Affairs ministry has registered its displeasure to the chorus of condemnation by Western missions in Khartoum following the court verdict on 27-year old Myriam Ibrahim.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman Abu-Bakr Al-Sideeg said the diplomats should explain the rationale behind their stance against the verdict.

He was quoted as saying that the integrity and independence of the judiciary in Sudan was irreproachable and should therefore be respect.

The official claimed Sudan remained committed to all human rights including people's freedom of religion which is enshrined in the country's constitution and was therefore inviolable.

Ibrahim, a pregnant Sudanese woman was convicted by a Sudanese court after refusing to recant her Christian faith.

In the presence of her husband, she told the court on Thursday that she will remain a Christian and had no intention of abandoning her faith for Islam.

Western governments had condemned the verdict, saying it was a flagrant violation of her most basic and fundamental human rights.

Ibrahim who was also sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery given that her marriage with a Sudanese Christians was not recognized as lawful under Sudanese Islamic law will appeal the verdict.

She was born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother.

Source: Star Africa, May 19, 2014
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Photos of maximum-security prisons in Norway and the US reveal the extremes of prison life

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US Administrative Security Facility, or ADX Florence, in Florence, Colorado. Inside the walls of the toughest prison in the US, a fork is a deadly weapon. Inside the walls of Norway's toughest prison, a fork is, well ... a fork. The differences extend far past silverware. In just about every way, the approaches that the US and Norway take to criminal justice fall on opposite ends of the spectrum. While the US uses isolation to punish offenders and keep them away from civil society, Norway prefers to rehabilitate its inmates so they can return to the outside world — there are no life sentences . No two prisons make that difference more clear than the super-max Administrative Security Facility, or ADX Florence , in Florence, Colorado and Halden Prison , in Halden, Norway. Not all US prisons are as strict as ADX, and while Halden is technically maximum-security, it's still closer to the rule than the exception in Norway. Here's what life is like at both e
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After acquittal of ex-death row inmate, debate needed on Japan's death penalty

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Japan should be ensuring the safety of its citizens, but instead it is taking people's lives. Is it acceptable to maintain the ultimate penalty under such circumstances? This is a serious question for society. The acquittal of 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada, who had been handed the death penalty, has been finalized after prosecutors decided not to appeal the verdict issued by the Shizuoka District Court during his retrial.
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Idaho death-row inmate survived injection intended to kill him. Now state will try again.

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Switzerland | The Guillotine of Geneva

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Wyoming | One of Matthew Shepard’s Murderers Denied Sentence Reduction

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Alabama set to tie record for executions in 50 years with upcoming lethal injection

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Iran Executes 16 People in One Day Amid Surge in Death Penalties

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