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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.

Supreme Court Begins New Term with at Least One Capital Case

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Scott Panetti
The U.S. Supreme Court will begin its 2014-15 term on October 6.

One of the cases the Court will hear during its 1st month is Jennings v. Stephens, a Texas death penalty case involving ineffectiveness of counsel and whether a separate appeal is necessary for each such claim. Oral arguments will take place on October 15. 

The Court has been asked to review an appeal from Scott Panetti, another death row inmate from Texas, who may be mentally incompetent. 

Last year, the Supreme Court struck down Florida's strict IQ cutoff for determining intellectual disability. In that case, Hall v. Florida, the Court concluded that "Florida's law contravenes our Nation's commitment to dignity and its duty to teach human decency as the mark of a civilized world."

Source: DPIC, October 4, 2014
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