Indonesia: Judges' comments raise hopes for Bali Nine duo

The Indonesian court that heard the final legal appeals of death row inmates Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran (left) has raised the Bali 9 members' chances of being spared death by firing squad.

A written declaration that the right to life ''must not be ignored, reduced [or] taken away by anyone'' made by a panel of 3 judges was sent from Denpasar District Court to the country's Supreme Court last month.

Based on that opinion, and the evidence of the hearings summarised by the judges, the Supreme Court will make the final verdict on the Bali nine members' attempt to have the death penalty reduced to 20-year prison terms. The decision is expected within a few months.

The six-point concluding opinion, obtained by The Age, backs most of the arguments put to the court by the pair's legal counsel and notes that many other countries no longer have the death penalty.

''Human rights constitute the most basic of rights inherent to man and is universal and eternal. Therefore, it must be protected, defended and must not be ignored, reduced [or] taken away by anyone,'' the judges said.

They pointed to the 1945 constitution, which they said explicitly stated that everybody had the right to life.

While capital punishment still exists in Indonesia, including for narcotics offences, the judges said the death penalty should only be imposed for ''the most serious crimes'' under the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights signed by the Indonesian government.

Chan and Sukumaran, both from Sydney, were detained along with 7 other Australians in Bali in 2005, and later found guilty of organising the smuggling of 8.1 kilograms of heroin to Australia.

Unlike other members of the Bali nine syndicate, they have faced the death penalty from the outset and have had that sentence upheld in all previous appeals, hurt by their refusal to admit their guilt or co-operate with authorities on the advice of their previous legal team.

However, the two men confessed their crimes before the judges in their most recent trial, expressing their contrition in Indonesian courts and testifying that they were working hard to reform their lives.

Their rehabilitation was endorsed by testimony from the governor of Bali's Kerobokan prison, Siswanto, who praised them for organising computer, graphic design and other classes for Indonesian inmates at the penitentiary. Siswanto also expressed his desire that their lives be spared.

The judges picked up on this point, saying the ''condition of the perpetrator'' must be considered.

However, the Denpasar judges dismissed an argument from the duo's lawyer that they only ''attempted'' the crime of drug exportation because the drugs were intercepted at Bali airport before the drug mules boarded their plane back to Australia.

Just what weight the Supreme Court gives to the Denpasar judges' opinion remains to be seen. The court is also considering an appeal from Scott Rush, the other member of the Bali 9 on death row.

If the appeals fail, the 3 Australians can appeal directly to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for clemency.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has lobbied Dr Yudhoyono on behalf of Chan, Sukumaran and Rush.

Source: The Age, January 31, 2011

Right-to-life ruling may save Bali pair from firing squad

The chances of the Bali nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran being spared death by firing squad have improved significantly after the Indonesian court that heard their final legal appeals found the right to life ''must not be ignored, reduced or taken away''.

The striking declaration in support of the sanctity of life was made by a panel of three judges in a written opinion sent from Denpasar District Court last month to the Supreme Court.

Based on the opinion and evidence summarised by the judges, the Supreme Court will make the final verdict on the men's bid to have the death penalty reduced to a 20-year jail term.

The decision is expected in months.

The 6-point concluding opinion, obtained by the Herald, backs most of the arguments put by the pair's lawyer and notes that many other countries no longer have the death penalty. ''Human rights constitute the most basic of rights inherent to man and is universal and eternal. Therefore, it must be protected, defended and must not be ignored, reduced, taken away by anyone.''

While capital punishment still exists in Indonesia, the judges said such a penalty should be imposed only for ''the most serious crimes'' under the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights signed by Indonesia.

Chan and Sukumaran, both from Sydney, were detained with 7 other Australians in Bali in 2005 and later found guilty of organising to smuggle 8.1 kilograms of heroin to Australia.

Unlike other syndicate members, the pair have faced the death penalty from the outset and have had that sentence upheld in all previous appeals, hurt by their refusal to admit guilt.

However, the 2 confessed their crimes before the judges in the most recent hearing. Their rehabilitation was endorsed by the governor of Bali's Kerobokan prison, Siswanto, who said he wanted their lives spared.

The judges dismissed an argument from their lawyer that they only ''attempted'' the crime of drug exportation because the drugs were intercepted at Bali airport before the drug couriers boarded their plane to Australia.

If the appeal fails, the Australians can appeal to Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, for clemency.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, January 31, 2011

_________________________

Use the tags below or the search engine at the top of this page to find updates, older or related articles on this Website.

Comments

Florida executes Michael Tanzi

Florida on Tuesday executed a death row inmate described by one local detective as a "fledgling serial killer" for the murder of a beloved Miami Herald employee. Florida executed Michael Tanzi on Tuesday, 25 years after the murder of beloved Miami Herald employee Janet Acosta, who was attacked in broad daylight on her lunch break in 2000. Michael Tanzi, 48, was executed by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison in Raiford and pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. ET.

South Carolina executes Mikal Mahdi

Mikal Mahdi, 42, was executed for the 2004 murder of 56-year-old James Myers A man facing the death penalty for committing two murders was executed by firing squad on Friday, the second such execution in the US state of South Carolina this year. Mikal Mahdi, 42, was executed for the 2004 murder of 56-year-old James Myers, an off-duty police officer, and the murder of a convenience store employee three days earlier. According to a statement from the prison, "the execution was performed by a three-person firing squad at 6:01 pm (2201 GMT)," with Mahdi pronounced dead four minutes later.

Afghanistan | Four men publicly executed by Taliban with relatives of victims shooting them 'six or seven times' at sport stadium

Four men have been publicly executed by the Taliban, with relatives of their victims shooting them several times in front of spectators at a sport stadium. Two men were shot around six to seven times by a male relative of the victims in front of spectators in Qala-i-Naw, the centre of Afghanistan's Badghis province, witnesses told an AFP journalist in the city. The men had been 'sentenced to retaliatory punishment' for shooting other men, after their cases were 'examined very precisely and repeatedly', the statement said. 'The families of the victims were offered amnesty and peace but they refused.'

USA | Why the firing squad may be making a comeback

South Carolina plans to execute Mikal Mahdi on Friday for the murder of a police officer, draping a hood over his head and firing three bullets into his heart. The choice to die by firing squad – rather than lethal injection or the electric chair – was Mahdi’s own, his attorney said last month: “Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils.” If it proceeds, Mahdi’s execution would be the latest in a recent string of events that have put the spotlight on the firing squad as a handful of US death penalty states explore alternatives to lethal injection, by far the nation’s dominant execution method.

I spent 16 years in solitary in South Carolina. This is what it did to me. | Opinion

South Carolinian Randy Poindexter writes about the effects 16 years of solitary confinement had on him ahead of South Carolina’s planned execution of Mikal Mahdi , who spent months in solitary as a young man. For 16 years, I lived in a concrete cell. Twenty-three hours a day, every day, for more than 3,000 days, South Carolina kept me in solitary confinement. I was a young man before I was sent to solitary — angry, untreated and unwell. I made mistakes. But I wasn’t sentenced to madness. That’s what solitary did to me. My mental health worsened with each passing day. At first, paranoia and depression set in. Then, hallucinations and self-mutilation. I talked to people who weren’t there. I cut myself to feel something besides despair. I could do nothing as four of my friends and fellow prisoners took their own lives rather than endure another day of torturous isolation.

South Carolina | Man who ambushed off-duty cop to face firing squad in second execution of its kind

Mikal Mahdi, 48, who was found guilty of killing an off-duty police officer and a convenience store worker, is the second inmate scheduled to executed by South Carolina's new firing squad A murderer who ambushed and shot an off duty police officer eight times before burning his body in a killing spree is set to become the second person to die by firing squad. South Carolina's highest court has rejected the last major appeal from Mikal Mahdi, 41, who is to be put to death with three bullets to the heart at 6pm on April 11 at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. Mahdi's lawyers said his original lawyers put on a shallow case trying to spare his life that didn't call on relatives, teachers or people who knew him and ignored the impact of weeks spent in solitary confinement in prison as a teen.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog