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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.

Group hopes to stop executions in Ohio, delivers petition with 100,000 signatures

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A petition with nearly 100,000 signatures
A group delivered petition with nearly 100,000 signatures to the Governor's
office, hoping to stop executions resuming in Ohio. July 24, 2017.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nearly a dozen anti-death penalty groups are hoping nearly 100,000 signatures will get Ohio Governor John Kasich to put the state's first execution in more than three years on hold.

Ronald Phillips, 44, is scheduled to die Wednesday for raping and beating his girlfriend's young daughter in Summit County in 1993.

"Any death penalty case has some pretty tough, terrible circumstances. You could also look at who is serving a life sentence without parole today and there really is no difference," said Kevin Werner, Executive Director with Ohioans To Stop Executions.

Phillips date with death was put on hold in 2014, after a federal judge stopped all state lethal injections, when a botched execution involving Dennis McGuire, who raped and killed a woman, gasped for breath after being given two drugs designed to take his life.

"Frankly, we don't have confidence, that the same mistakes made in the past won't be made again," said Werner.

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections says it's made changes to its execution protocol to prevent further mishaps. A third drug has now been added to the lethal injection cocktail.

Monday, the group dropped off nearly 100,000 signatures to the Governor's office, requesting Kasich doesn't go through with resuming the state's death penalty.

"Ohio doesn't need the death penalty anymore, most of the capital punishment cases end up with life in prison without parole, or less," said Werner.

Equal Justice U.S.A., The American Civil Liberties Union in Ohio, and Amnesty International, among the groups that gathered signatures that were delivered to Kasich. ABC 6/FOX 28 contacted Kasich's office after the signatures were dropped off. A spokesman for the governor says he has no plans to change his decision.

The Governor will be skipping opening day of the fair to monitor events in Lucasville at the statehouse

Last week, Phillips legal team made a second appeal to the US Supreme Court requesting an emergency stay of his execution claiming he was under 21 at the time of the murder. Phillips was 19 when he killed his young victim.

Source: ABC 6, July 24, 2017

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