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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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Saudi executes, crucifies Yemeni murderer

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Riyadh: Saudi authorities on Wednesday beheaded a Yemeni man and then crucified his body after he was convicted of murdering a Pakistani national, the kingdom's interior ministry announced.

The Yemeni citizen Mohammad Rashad Khairi Hussain killed a Pakistani, Pashteh Sayed Khan, after he committed sodomy with him, said a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

The Yemeni was also convicted of carrying out a series of attacks and robberies.

The execution in the southern city of Jizan was followed by crucifixion, implemented by the ultra-conservative country for serious crimes.

The beheading brings to 28 the number of people put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year.

In 2012, the kingdom executed 76 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The US-based Human Rights Watch put the number at 69.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law.

Source: Agence France-Presse, March 27, 2013


Yemeni Man Beheaded and Crucified for Male Rape, Murder, Theft

April 15, 2013: A religious court in Saudi Arabia has executed and crucified a Yemeni man who robbed, raped and killed a Pakistani male migrant worker.

Saudi Arabia’s ministry of interior released a statement saying Mohammed Rashad Hussein, a Yemeni national, has been executed and crucified.

He was accused of murdering Sayed Khan, a Pakistani migrant worker.

He attacked him, stole from him and raped him before killing him.

The statement, released two weeks ago, was reported in some Arabic media but wasn't repeated in any English based media.

It added Hussein was trying to pick up men and harass them in-order to rape them in the city of Jizan, in the extreme south west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It also said that a court investigated and then convicted Hussein for multiple crimes, including banditry, theft, sodomy and murder, according to Sharia law, but did not specify the method of execution (if beheading or firing squad).

Ali, a 32-year-old gay law student in Jeddah told Gay Star News: ‘What the guy did was totally criminal and wrong, although I could not verify any other details than what has been reported by the Saudi press.

‘As for the act of male rape, sodomy, if a man was to rape a woman he would be treated in the same severity, so it is an aggravating factor but not itself the reason for the severe sentence.

‘Rape, along with violent robbery and drug dealing can be very severely punished by a public execution and crucifixion.

'The majority of capital punishments carried out in the Kingdom are involve public shooting or beheading, it is very likely the man was beheaded with a sword and then crucified, but I could not verify this either.

‘Most of those put to death are not Saudi citizens but migrant workers.

‘As a human rights advocate I do not support the death penalty.

‘I also think Saudi Arabia’s excessive sexual repression has a great deal to answer for, it is sadly not unheard of that men, out of extreme sexual frustration, do harass attempt to rape men and women.’

Source: gaystarnews.com, April 15, 2013

Related videos:
Saudis behead, crucify Sudanese man for robbery, rape and murder
Apr 21, 2012

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia beheaded and crucified a Sudanese man in Riyadh on Friday after he was convicted of raping, robbing and killing a woman, the interior ministry announced. ... Source: GulfNews, AFP, April 20, 2012 ...
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