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Indonesia | 14 years on death row: Timeline of Mary Jane Veloso’s ordeal and fight for justice

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MANILA, Philippines — The case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking, has spanned over a decade and remains one of the most high-profile legal battles involving an overseas Filipino worker. Veloso was arrested on April 25, 2010, at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin. She was sentenced to death in October – just six months after her arrest. Indonesia’s Supreme Court upheld the penalty in May 2011.

Texas inmate Kimberly McCarthy granted 60-day reprieve

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The planned execution of a female inmate in Texas has been postponed for 60-days by a judge in the Lone Star state.

The execution, which was planned for after 6 p.m. this evening would have been the first time in over two years a female inmate would have faced the death penalty.

Kimberly McCarthy, 51, was sentenced to death for the 1997 robbery, beating and fatal stabbing of her 71-year-old neighbour Dorothy Booth - she was due to receive a lethal injection.

State District Judge Larry Mitchell issued a reprieve for 51-year-old Kimberly McCarthy less than five hours before she could have been taken to the death chamber for the 1997 slaying of a neighbor.

Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Shelly Yeatts says McCarthy's execution date now is April 3.

McCarthy's lawyers contend the jury that convicted her of murder was improperly selected on the basis of race. McCarthy is black. Her jury was made up of 11 whites and one black person.

Source: Huffington Post, January 29, 2013
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