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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.

Qatar: Expat Sentenced to Death by Firing Squad

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November 30, 2014: A criminal court convicted a young Asian of killing an elderly Qatari woman in her home some months ago and sentenced him to death by a firing squad.

The convict had confessed in the court that he had killed the woman in the garden of her home in revenge for humiliating him.

On the eve of the incident, the convict jumped the boundary wall of the victim’s home after late evening (isha) prayers and lurked in the shadows until the wee hours of the morning.

The woman came out very early in the morning as usual to open the tap outside to water her garden. At that moment, according to local Arabic daily Al Arab, the convict attacked her.

He said he hit her on the head and when she fell down he used an undershirt to strangulate her.

The criminal court’s decision will most likely go in appeal. 

Sources: The Peninsula, Hands Of Cain, December 1, 2014
Location: Qatar
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