FEATURED POST

Japan | Hakamada found religion, but then felt under attack by ‘the devil’

Published
Image
Editor's note: This is the last in a four-part series on letters that Iwao Hakamada wrote while on death row. About a decade after cursing God, Iwao Hakamada was baptized Catholic at the Tokyo Detention House on Dec. 24, 1984. “Since I have been given the Christian name Paul, I am keenly feeling that I should be aware of the greatness of Paul.” (June 1985)

Philippine lawmakers lose key posts after opposing death penalty

Published
Eleven Philippine legislators who voted against a bill to re-introduce capital punishment lost key posts in the country's Congress on Wednesday, in an apparent follow through of a threat by the house speaker to purge obstacles to the draft.

Those removed as lower house committee heads included allies of President Rodrigo Duterte and all were among the 54 lawmakers who last week voted against bringing back the death penalty on drug-related offences.

With 217 votes in favor, the bill passed in the third and final reading. It requires Senate approval before being passed into law.

The legislators' removal came just hours before Congress adjourned its session for a long summer break. A motion was presented to declare all key positions vacant, paving the way for opponents to the bill to be nudged out.

The most high profile casualty was Duterte loyalist and former president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who lost her position as a deputy speaker.

Arroyo had overseen the abolition of the death penalty as president in 2006, under pressure from the church. She stood by her decision to vote against bringing it back.

"The issue of the death penalty is unlike any other, in that it touches the core of each person's fundamental view of human life," she said in a statement.

"I believe that the issue required a vote based solely on conscience and the deepest of personal convictions."

Bringing back the death penalty has been a top priority for Duterte, who was swept to power on promises of a merciless war on drugs and crime. He has said he wants to execute 20 criminals a day, preferably by hanging.

The shake-up came two weeks after a similar event in the 24-seat Senate, when four legislators who supported a staunch critic of Duterte lost influential positions as committee heads, tightening the president's grip on power.

The changes in the lower house were expected as speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had warned those planning to vote against the death penalty bill would face repercussions.

Political analysts say the removal of the 11 lawmakers from those posts was also a move by Alvarez to cement his control over the 292-seat chamber amid speculation that Arroyo was eyeing his position.

Source: Reuters, March 15, 2017

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!
Location: Philippines
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

First Third Of 2024 In Saudi Arabia: Executions Rise By 189% And Portend Another Bloody Year. At Least 71 Currently Facing Execution.

Published
Image
Since the beginning of 2024 until the end of April, the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 55 individuals. This figure constitutes a 189% increase compared to the executions in the first third of 2023, which witnessed 19 executions. The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights views these numbers as a clear indication of the Saudi government's continued approach towards executing and issuing death sentences, and that the promises made in recent years have become elusive.
Read more

Cruel and Unusual: Documentary explores epicenter of Texas’ prison system

Published
Image
Every few years, from childhood until my late teens, my granddad would take me along with him to the small Texas town where he grew up—Normangee, population 522—to visit old relatives and even older graves. The drive took us up I-45, beyond the Houston sprawl, past pine forests, and eventually through Huntsville, epicenter of the state prison system. One of the city’s seven prisons was just off the interstate, and as we passed by I’d stare at the guard towers and barbed wire before turning my attention across the street to the Texas Prison Museum, which had its own mock guard towers in the parking lot. (“Prison” and “museum” were words that never seemed to go together.) Later, I learned that the museum’s central attraction was the wooden electric chair the state used for executions until 1964.
Read more

Missouri | Man Facing Execution Next Month Is Hospitalized With Heart Problem

Published
Image
David Hosier, who is weeks away from execution, is in a hospital after suffering what a Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman described as a “medical emergency." ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri death row prisoner who is due to be executed next month has been hospitalized because of a “medical emergency,” a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections said.
Read more

Tennessee | New law allows death penalty for child rape

Published
Image
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has approved legislation allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions, a change the Republican-controlled Statehouse championed amid concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court has banned capital punishment in such cases. Lee, a Republican, quietly signed off on the legislation last week without issuing a statement.
Read more

Iran’s Execution Spree Continues

Published
Image
On Saturday, human rights groups reported the execution of ten individuals in Iran, highlighting the country’s troubling rate of capital punishment.  Two women were executed for separate crimes, while eight men faced execution on drug-related charges. This incident underscores Iran’s position as a global leader in executions, particularly for drug offenses.
Read more

SCOTUS declines death penalty cases on jury selection, right to counsel

Published
Image
Over a written dissent by two justices, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a death penalty case asking them to weigh in on when jury selection begins and the defendant has a right to be present. The order in Sandoval v. Texas came as part of a list of orders from the justices’ private conference last week. The justices did not add any new cases to their docket for the 2024-25 term.
Read more