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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

South Carolina: Prosecutor says not all families agree with death

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Dylann Roof
Dylann Roof
A South Carolina prosecutor says not all of the families of the 9 people killed in June's shooting at a Charleston church want her to seek the death penalty, but they accept her decision to try to put the suspect to death.

Prosecutor Scarlett Wilson read a statement Thursday afternoon, just hours after filing court papers saying she would pursue the death penalty against 21-year-old Dylann Roof. 

She took no questions at a brief news conference.

Wilson called Roof's actions "the ultimate crime that deserved the ultimate punishment." 

Wilson says she understands the desire of some victims' families to forgive Roof, but she says forgiveness doesn't eliminate the consequences of Roof's actions.

Roof faces state charges including nine murder counts in the June 17 slayings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Source: Associated Press, September 5, 2015

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Location: Charleston, SC, USA
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