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USA | The execution I witnessed haunts me. Biden, clear death row before Trump returns: Opinion

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Under Trump, there were 13 executions in his last six months as president. Biden must clear death row now to stop that and what Albert Camus described as the most cold-blooded premeditated murder. On Jan. 14, 2021, I stood in a small chamber in the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, while the federal government carried out an execution. Relegated to a spot 6 feet away from the gurney, I prayed with Corey Johnson, the “Gentle Giant” as he was known on death row.  He was one of the last of 13 people executed under then-President Donald Trump, who carried out an unprecedented killing spree during the final six months of his presidency.

Bali Nine Scott Rush launches final appeal against death sentence

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Australian Federal Police are supporting Bali 9 drug mule Scott Rush's final appeal against his death sentence.

Rush's lawyers have lodged his long-awaited judicial review, also known as a PK, in Indonesia's Denpasar District Court.

The appeal pushes for a 15-year sentence for Rush (left), 1 of 9 Australians convicted over a 2005 plot to smuggle more than 8 kilograms of heroin out of Bali.

The appeal seeks to prove Rush was only a minor player in the plot and does not deserve the same punishment as ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, also on death row.

"He was just a courier," Rush's lawyer Frans Hendra Winata told AAP after lodging the appeal on Friday.

"He doesn't deserve to be put to death."

Rush was just 19 years old when he was arrested at Denpasar airport with more than a kilogram of heroin strapped to his body.

He was originally sentenced to life in prison before Indonesia's Supreme Court unexpectedly increased the penalty to death.

Of the 6 Bali 9 couriers, Rush, now 24, is the only one facing death.

His judicial review relies heavily on letters from former AFP commissioner Mick Keelty and current AFP deputy commissioner Michael Phelan.

Mr Keelty's letter, written before his retirement last year, makes it clear Rush was just a courier.

"There is no indication that Scott was an organiser or aware of the scale of the organisation behind the volume of drug importations," the letter said.

Mr Keelty and the AFP faced heavy criticism for tipping off Indonesian authorities about the Bali Nine, thereby subjecting them to possible death sentences instead of arresting them in Australia.

Rush's lawyers hope Mr Phelan will travel to Bali to testify personally in Rush's defence.

It is believed lawyers will call several other witnesses for fresh hearings in Bali before the appeal is sent to the supreme court for a decision.

That decision could come within months.

If the appeal fails, Rush will be forced to seek clemency from Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who typically shows no mercy to drug smugglers.

Chan and Sukumaran are also expected to launch their judicial reviews this year.

5 others - Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Michael Czugaj, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Than Nguyen - are serving life sentences and are also planning fresh appeals.

Courier Renae Lawrence is serving a 20-year sentence.

Source: AAP, July 16, 2010
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