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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.
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Iran: Convict hanged in Ardebil

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Iran Human Rights, November 12: One prisoner was hanged in Ardebil (northwestern Iran) early this morning.

According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary in Ardebil, a prisoner, whose name was not mentioned, was hanged early this morning in Ardebil Prison.

The prisoner was convicted of selling 332.5 grams of heroin.

At least 25 prisoners have been executed in the last five days in Iran.

Source: Iran Human Rights, November 13, 2012
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