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Arkansas Supreme Court Decision Allows New DNA Testing in Case of the ​“West Memphis Three,” Convicted of Killing Three Children in 1993

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On April 18, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided 4-3 to reverse a 2022 lower court decision and allow genetic testing of crime scene evidence from the 1993 killing of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis. The three men convicted in 1994 for the killings were released in 2011 after taking an Alford plea, in which they maintained their innocence but plead guilty to the crime, in exchange for 18 years’ time served and 10 years of a suspended sentence. 

Nigeria: 67 Yr-Old Man On Death Row for 18 Yrs Freed

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Kaduna — Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State has granted amnesty to Mr Lasisi Yusuf, a 67-year-old convict, who has been on death row in Kaduna prison for nearly 18 years.

This followed intensive advocacy efforts by Avocats Sans Frontieres France, ASF, France.

Lasisi, a Kogi State indigene, was arrested over charges of culpable homicide and sentenced to death in 1996 by a Kogi State High Court. He was transferred to Kaduna Prison in 1997 and has been on death row since then.

Lasisi's case was taken up by ASF France through the medium of its Saving Lives, SALI, project, which is targeted at promoting international standards on human rights in Nigeria generally and, the restrictive pronouncement of capital punishment and abolition of death penalty specifically.

Other detainees who were released from incarceration owing to the legal intervention of ASF France include Zuwaira Tukur, Fatima Haruna and Mohammed Isyaku, all of whom were also charged for capital offences in Kaduna State.

Statistics collated for 2013 alone show that over 140 death sentences were handed down in Nigeria bringing the total figure of those on death row so far to approximately 1,200.

A total of 140 detainees on death row in Nigeria are currently benefitting from the free legal services being offered by ASF France on the platform of the SALI Project.

Speaking on the objective of the SALI Project, ASF France Head of Office, Angela Uwandu, said: "What we are aiming for is the protection of the rights of humans whether they are inmates in prison or citizens on the street. The governor must be commended for making a decision that might very well be a sterling example for others who have such powers to emulate.

"ASF France is determined to continue its objective of contributing to the legislative and legal changes towards a restrictive application of capital punishment in Nigeria."

Source: allAfrica, April 11, 2014
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