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Japan | Hakamada found religion, but then felt under attack by ‘the devil’

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Editor's note: This is the last in a four-part series on letters that Iwao Hakamada wrote while on death row. About a decade after cursing God, Iwao Hakamada was baptized Catholic at the Tokyo Detention House on Dec. 24, 1984. “Since I have been given the Christian name Paul, I am keenly feeling that I should be aware of the greatness of Paul.” (June 1985)

Colorado: Aurora theater shooting prosecution team adds death penalty expert

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James Holmes
An attorney with experience in death-penalty cases has been added to the prosecution team on the Aurora movie theater murder case.

Daniel Zook will take an in-courtroom role in the prosecution of theater shooting suspect James Holmes, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said. While working at the district attorney's office in El Paso County in the 1990s and early 2000s, Zook prosecuted 4 death-penalty cases. One of those cases resulted in a death sentence - though that sentence was later changed to life in prison because it was decided by judges and not a jury.

"Dan is the most experienced death penalty prosecutor in the state of Colorado and a national expert on these cases," 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler said in a statement. "He brings a wealth of talent to our office and will be a valuable addition to our team."

Zook will join a prosecution team that already includes 4 attorneys - 3 who have been handling the bulk of the casework and another who specializes in issues related to victims.

Holmes faces 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and other offenses in connection with the July 20 shootings that left 12 people dead and another 58 wounded by gunfire. Prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek the death penalty in the case.

Source: The Denver Post, January 31, 2013
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Missouri | Man Facing Execution Next Month Is Hospitalized With Heart Problem

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20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

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The following document is a written record of convicted killer Hamida Djandoubi's last moments before he was guillotined in a Marseilles prison on September 10, 1977. This written record -- dated September 9 -- was written by a judge appointed to witness the execution. Djandoubi's execution was the last execution carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. Then-President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who had voiced his "loathing for the death penalty" before he was elected to office, flatly turned down Djandoubi's appeal for clemency and chose to let "Justice run its course", as he did on two previous instances ( Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977). Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was executed in Marseilles' Baumettes prison in September 1977. The following text was writ
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