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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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Amnesty International: Save Satinah Ahmad from execution in Saudi Arabia

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Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad
Time is running out for an Indonesian woman, in Saudi Arabia, who could be executed for the murder of her employer as early as 3 April.

41-year-old Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad confessed to striking and killing her employer, Nura al-Garib, in self-defence, after the woman attempted to smash her head against a wall.

Nura al-Garib’s family has requested diya (compensation or 'blood money') of 7 million riyals (AUD$2 million) in exchange for sparing Satinah Ahmad's life.

If full payment is not received by 3 April, the execution, possibly by beheading, will be carried out.

Foreign workers suffer greatly in Saudi Arabia. Some go unpaid. Some are beaten or even raped. If arrested, they're subjected to trials conducted solely in Arabic without translation and many have no money for a lawyer or family to turn to for help.

Without the resources to protect and defend themselves, migrant workers like Satinah Ahmad are at great risk of execution if they end up in the Saudi Arabian justice system.


Source: Amnesty International, March 2014
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