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Photographing the Community on Tennessee’s Death Row

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From 2010 to 2015 I was incarcerated in Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, the Tennessee prison that houses death row for the men’s system. On one side of a gate, 250 of us lived in a “support staff” unit working maintenance, landscaping, kitchen service or whatever else kept the facility operational. On the other side of the gate were maximum-security prisoners and those in protective custody, and a unit just for the condemned.

Kazakhstan MPs suggest removing death penalty from Criminal Code

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Death penalty may be removed from the Kazakhstan's Criminal Code. Such a suggestion has been made in the country's Majilis (lower chamber), Tengrinews reports.

"We believe there is a unique possibility to take a sound decision to completely remove death penalty from the Criminal Code", some majilismen said when unveiling draft amendments into the Criminal Code.

In December 2003 Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev introduced an unlimited moratorium on capital punishment. From 1990 to 2003 there were 536 executions carriedty out in Kazakhstan. Currently about 100 people are serving life-long sentences.

According to Johan Merkel, Vice General Prosecutor, the General Prosecutor's Office doesn't support full abolishment of capital punishment.

"I heard no arguments in favor of abolishment [of death penalty] apart from the argument that having death penalty in the list of punishments is a sign of backwoods mentality (...) Then let us classify the USA as a backwoods mentality nation [they do apply capital punishment]", Mr. Merkel said.

He emphasized that the state should have a clear-cut mechanism to protect its own citizens. "Why should we neglect the rights of the bereaved [for justice]? (...) Kazakhstan's courts are cautious when applying this measure [actually replaced with a life-long sentence], although there are some truly spine-chilling crimes [that are widely believed to deserve capital punishment]. The General Prosecutor's Office will never support the full abolishment; although, this measure might be renounced for some crimes", he said.

Majilismen representing the People's Communist Party are in favor of further applying capital punishment. "We do emphasize that capital punishment is not a silver bullet. We believe that terror acts, premeditated murders (...) should be penalized with capital punishment. There should be a strong warning for every potential criminal that committing a certain crime s/he risks her or his life. The fear of being executed is a strong deterrent", Majilisman Vladimir Kossarev of the People's Communist Party commented.

Earlier Mr. Merkel said that the country's Constitution doesn't allow to fully abolish capital punishment.

Source: TengriNews, January 23, 2014
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