Another Day to Die: Are Hopes that Indonesia will Abolish the Death Penalty Premature?

Kerobokan prison

The remissions of a pending death sentence against 2 Indonesians on death row awaiting hanging in Malaysia, has generated a ray of hope for the more than 130 Indonesians and foreigners now sitting on death row in Indonesian prisons.

Upon hearing that Heni Herawati and Indah Kumala Sarihad had their death sentences suspended, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said via his Twitter Account, "I express my thanks to the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, their lawyers and other elements of the government for their efforts and hard work."

According to Kompas.com, the President credits efforts by agencies of the Indonesian government in freeing more than 140 Indonesians imprisoned abroad from the threat of execution.

Calling on Indonesians to always abide by the laws of their host nations, the President hopes that there will be no future cases with citizens of the Nation charged with capital crimes.

A Double Edged Sword

The President admitted that whenever Indonesian Citizens are freed from the threat of the death penalty, those countries in turn request Indonesia to also suspend the death penalty in return. "For instance, they ask me to free or reduce the punishment of foreigners threatened with the death penalty in Indonesia," said the President in a subsequent Tweet.

In the case of Heni and Indah, the two women had their death sentence remitted after the Public Prosecutor in Kuala Lumpur withdrew drug possession charges against them. The State News Agency Antara reports that the Prosecutor's decision was based on a legal brief filed by a lawyer engaged by the Indonesian Embassy. The Prosecutor also demanded that the 2 women assume the role of lead witnesses.

On the same day, Heni and Indah were called to testify before the Supreme Court after which the Chief Justice remanded them to the care of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in order that they could be returned to Indonesia.

The 2 women were arrested on January 17, 2013 in the parking lot of a starred hotel in Kuala Lumpur and charged with violations of the narcotics law.

Indonesia's Crowded Death Row

There are approximately 134 people awaiting execution in Indonesian prisons. An estimated 55 of these are foreign nationals facing the ultimate punishment for drug offenses. Meanwhile, the number of Indonesian's under death penalties in foreign jails may number more than 400.

The president's Twitter statements, Indonesia's recent abstaining vote from an European Union vote against the death penalty, and statements made by senior officials - including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, suggest Indonesia may be slowly distancing itself from the death penalty.

Foreigners Awaiting a Firing Squad in Bali

Among those waiting execution in Bali are 3 foreign prisoners: A British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford; and Australians Myru Sukraman and Andre Chan.

All 3 are have exhausted an appeal process, meaning their last remaining hope of is the commutation of their sentence by the Indonesian President.

Will Pardons be Issued?

And while an apparent softening in Indonesia's stance in favor of the death penalty weighs in their favor, a President known for his irresoluteness and the pedictable pressures to look tough on crime in the run up to an election would make a change in the fortune of those on death row a very unexpected and welcome surprise.

Source: Bali Discovery, October 28, 2013

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

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