Belgian expat's murder charge sparks discussion about the death penalty in Belgium

Belgian national Philippe Graffart (center) arrives at the state court in Singapore.

The arrest of Belgian expatriate Philippe Graffart for the alleged murder of his 5-year-old son has attracted media attention in Belgium, with many Belgian news reports focusing on how he faces the death penalty.

Newspapers like the La Dernière Heure (The Latest Hour), a French-language daily published in Brussels, kicked off their reports by stating that Graffart faces the death penalty by hanging if he is convicted. Others, such as La Meuse, a French-language regional paper published in Liege, Belgium, ran the death penalty threat as a headline.

Graffart, 41, was charged in court on Wednesday with the murder of his son, Keryan Gabriel Cedric Graffart. The boy was understood to have been strangled as hand-shaped bruises were found over his neck.

The La Dernière Heure said on Wednesday that Graffart's mother was trying to help him. The newspaper also quoted Graffart's uncle, who was unnamed, as saying that the family was "in shock" over the incident.

Belgian minister of foreign affairs Didier Reynders said that consular assistance has been offered to Graffart's family in Singapore, according to the La Dernière Heure. Mr Reynders also told the Brussels newspaper that Belgium is against the death penalty.

"Belgium is campaigning in the front line and has always been against the death penalty. We operate all over the world to demand its abolition. Belgium's position is very clear on the matter. If any of our people had to be condemned to such penalty, it is clear that we will take steps to publicise our position again," the La Dernière Heure quoted Mr Reynders as saying.

The Straits Times was not able to verify the comments, as the Belgian Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Corporation, which is responsible for Belgium's external relations, had not responded to messages by press time. The Belgian Embassy in Singapore has declined to comment on the case.

Meanwhile, many Belgians have commented on the case online.

"This jerk, he deserves death, rest in peace little angel." said Marie-therese Rodts Marino said in a comment on Belgian newspaper Sud Presse's Facebook page.

On La Meuse's website, someone named Martine Monseur said:"May this little innocent victim rest in peace. Belgium should institute the death penalty for people who harm children!"

But other netizens were critical of the death penalty.

Said Marie-Francoise Cambron: "I am against the death penalty because it does not change what he did and will not bring back the little boy."

Source: Straits Times, October 9, 2015

Belgian financial executive charged with strangling 5-year-old son in Singapore

The boy was reportedly found in his bedroom with hand-shaped bruises around his neck and his parents, divorced, are believed to be fighting over his custody

A Belgian financial executive was charged on Wednesday with murdering his five-year-old son in Singapore, an offence punishable by hanging.

Philippe Graffart, 41, was accused of killing his son Keryan at an upmarket condominium near Singapore’s embassy row between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

He has been remanded for psychiatric observation at the medical complex in Changi Prison.

Local media reported the boy was found strangled, with hand-shaped bruises around his neck, and Graffart was believed to have been fighting for custody of his son with his former wife.

He was arrested before dawn on Tuesday after showing up with self-inflicted wounds outside a police station, the Straits Times said. The charge sheet contained no further details.

Graffart was due to fly to Hong Kong on Wednesday for work and arrangements had been made for Keryan's mother to pick him up from school, the Straits Times quoted Graffart's domestic helper Ni Em Cin as saying.

The Belgian’s account on business networking service LinkedIn described him as an executive director and head of fund distribution in the Asia-Pacific for Nordea Investment Management, based in Oslo.

A Facebook account in his name showed a collection of happy pictures with Keryan.

“Happy Birthday to you Keryan! 5 years i am so proud of you!,” said a post dated September 25.

Source: South China Morning Post, October 7, 2015

Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com

Arizona | The cruelty of isolation: There’s nothing ‘humane’ about how we treat the condemned

On March 19, I served as a witness to the execution of a man named Aaron Gunches, Arizona’s first since 2022. During his time on death row, he begged for death and was ultimately granted what is likely more appropriately described as an emotionless state-assisted suicide. This experience has profoundly impacted me, leading to deep reflection on the nature of death, humanity, and the role we play in our final moments. When someone is in the end stages of life, we talk about hospice care, comfort, care, easing suffering and humane death. We strive for a “good death” — a peaceful transition. I’ve seen good ones, and I’ve seen bad, unplanned ones.

Execution date set for prisoner transferred to Oklahoma to face death penalty

An inmate who was transferred to Oklahoma last month to face the death penalty now has an execution date. George John Hanson, also known as John Fitzgerald Hanson, is scheduled to die on June 12 for the 1999 murder of 77-year-old Mary Bowles. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday set the execution date. The state’s Pardon and Parole Board has a tentative date of May 7 for Hanson’s clemency hearing, executive director Tom Bates said.

Bangladesh | Botswana Woman Executed for Drug Trafficking

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Lesedi Molapisi, a Botswana national convicted of drug trafficking, was executed in Bangladesh on Friday, 21 March 2025. The 31-year-old was hanged at Dhaka Central Jail after exhausting all legal avenues to appeal her death sentence. Molapisi was arrested in January 2023 upon arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, where customs officials discovered 3.1 kilograms of heroin hidden in her luggage. Following a trial under Bangladesh’s Narcotics Control Act, she was sentenced to death in May 2024. Her execution was initially delayed due to political unrest in the country but was carried out last week.

'No Warning': The Death Penalty In Japan

Stakes for wrongful convictions are high in Japan, where the death penalty has broad public support despite criticism over how it is carried out. Tokyo: Capital punishment in Japan is under scrutiny again after the world's longest-serving death row prisoner, Iwao Hakamada, was awarded $1.4 million in compensation this week following his acquittal last year in a retrial. Stakes for wrongful convictions are high in Japan, where the death penalty has broad public support despite international criticism over how it is carried out.

Inside Florida's Death Row: A dark cloud over the Sunshine State

Florida's death penalty system has faced numerous criticisms and controversies over the years - from execution methods to the treatment of Death Row inmates The Sunshine State remains steadfast in its enforcement of capital punishment, upholding a complex system that has developed since its reinstatement in 1976. Florida's contemporary death penalty era kicked off in 1972 following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia , which temporarily put a stop to executions across the country. Swiftly amending its laws, Florida saw the Supreme Court affirm the constitutionality of the death penalty in 1976's Gregg v. Georgia case.

Lethal Injection, Electric Chair, or Firing Squad? An Inhumane Decision for Death Row Prisoners

South Carolina resumed executions with the firing squad killing of Brad Sigmon last month. Mikal Madhi’s execution date is days away. The curtain shrieked as it was yanked open to reveal a 67-year-old man tied to a chair. His arms were pulled uncomfortably behind his back. The red bull’s-eye target on his chest rose and fell as he desperately attempted to still his breathing. The man, Brad Sigmon, smiled at his attorney, Bo King, seated in the front row before guards placed a black bag over his head. King said Sigmon appeared to be trying his best to put on a brave face for those who had come to bear witness.

Louisiana | Lawyers of Jessie Hoffman speak about their final moments before execution

As Louisiana prepared its first execution in 15 years, a team of lawyers from Loyola Law were working to save Jessie Hoffman’s life. “I was a young lawyer three years out of law school, and Jessie was almost finished with his appeals at that time, and my boss told me we needed to file something for Jessie because he’s in danger of being executed,” Kappel said. Kappel and her boss came up with a civil lawsuit to file that said since they wouldn’t give him a protocol for his execution, he was being deprived of due process, and the lawsuit was in the legal process for the next 10 years.

USA | Federal death penalty possible for Mexican cartel boss behind 1985 DEA agent killing

Rafael Caro Quintero, extradited from Mexico in 2022, appeared in Brooklyn court as feds weigh capital charges for the torture and murder of Agent Enrique Camarena NEW YORK — The death penalty is on the table for notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, the so-called “narco of narcos” who orchestrated the torture and murder of a DEA agent in 1985, according to federal prosecutors. “It is a possibility. The decision has not yet been made, but it is going through the process,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Saritha Komatireddy said in Brooklyn Federal Court Wednesday.

South Carolina | Spiritual adviser of condemned inmate: 'We're more than the worst thing we've done'

(RNS) — When 67-year-old Brad Sigmon was put to death on March 7 in South Carolina for the murder of his then-girlfriend's parents, it was the first time in 15 years that an execution in the United States had been carried out by a firing squad. United Methodist minister Hillary Taylor, Sigmon's spiritual adviser since 2020, said the multifaceted, months long effort to save Sigmon's life, and to provide emotional and spiritual support for his legal team, and the aftermath of his execution has been a "whirlwind" said Taylor, the director of South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

A second South Carolina death row inmate chooses execution by firing squad

Columbia, S.C. — A South Carolina death row inmate on Friday chose execution by firing squad, just five weeks after the state carried out its first death by bullets. Mikal Mahdi, who pleaded guilty to murder for killing a police officer in 2004, is scheduled to be executed April 11. Mahdi, 41, had the choice of dying by firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair. He will be the first inmate to be executed in the state since Brad Sigmon chose to be shot to death on March 7. A doctor pronounced Sigmon dead less than three minutes after three bullets tore into his heart.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog