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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.
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Bali nine: executions could be delayed months as judges re-examine Filipina maid's case

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Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso
Jakarta: The Indonesian Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of a Filipina drug courier scheduled to be shot at the same time as the Bali nine duo, potentially delaying the executions for months.

The decision is significant for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan because Indonesian authorities have consistently said they intend to execute all 10 drug felons simultaneously.

Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi said a panel of judges would be appointed this week.

"After that the panel will examine and study her case. It will take months," he said in Kompas newspaper on Tuesday.

Filipina domestic worker Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso was sentenced to death in 2010 for attempting to smuggle 2.6 kilograms of heroin from Malaysia to Yogyakarta. Veloso maintains she was deceived by an acquaintance and did not know the drugs were in her suitcase.

Her lawyer argued she deserved a case review because the translator during her trial was only a student who did not have a license from the Association of Indonesian Translators.

Case reviews take up to three months to be determined.

On March 12, Attorney-General spokesman Tony Spontana said Indonesian authorities would wait on the result of all legal processes lodged by the felons on death row before proceeding with the executions.

He said simultaneous executions were "more efficient and effective".

"We don't want one to have to wait for another's execution before his own. That will affect the convicts' psychological state," he said.

Nine of the 10 drug felons are now understood to have launched legal proceedings.

Chan and Sukumaran will have an appeal against the rejection of their clemency plea heard on Thursday. The Judicial Commission is also investigating claims the judges who sentenced them to death offered a lighter sentence in exchange for bribes.

And the family of Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, are fighting for his life to be spared on the grounds he is mentally ill.


Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Jewel Topsfield, March 17, 2015

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Location: Indonesia
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