We stand for mercy: Australia's top legal minds sign petition calling for clemency for Chan and Sukumaran

More than 140 of Australia's leading law professors, deans and academics have signed a petition pleading with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to use his constitutional powers to spare the lives of the Bali 9 pair, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

In ultimately deciding on clemency we believe the Indonesian Government should give the strongest consideration to the remarkable rehabilitation history of the 2 condemned.

Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Sydney, Mark Findlay, said the response from the legal fraternity over the past 24 hours has been "astonishing in its commitment and its concern".

"We are not lecturing the Indonesians, but rather we want to commend their prison system which seems to have assisted in the remarkable rehabilitation of our 2 fellow citizens," he said.

The petition says the academics seek the Indonesian president's mercy, "not as critics of Indonesia, or its legal system, nor of Indonesia's right to take the strong but ultimately humane action against drug traffickers who bring misery and addiction to many".

"While opposing capital punishment as cruel and inhuman we also condemn the exploitation which the drug trade represents," the petition says.

The academics say the Republic of Indonesia has earned growing respect and approval among the international community for its demonstrated commitment to protecting human rights, and has made an important contribution to human rights protection globally as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

"President Widodo himself has been a strong advocate for human rights, with the advancement of human rights a central plank in his 2014 presidential election campaign," the academics say.

"The deaths of Chan and Sukumaran would be a tragedy for them, and their families, while not addressing the underlying causes of the drug trade in Indonesia.

"In contrast, sparing the lives of these 2 young men, who have demonstrated remorse for their crimes and have been rehabilitated during their lengthy imprisonment, would be a signal of strength and mercy, an affirmation of President Widodo's deep commitment to human rights.

"Presidential clemency would serve as a turning point and opportunity for Indonesia to achieve its overriding national interest - combating the drug trade. It would do so by being a rallying call for Australia and other countries in the region to develop and implement an effective regime to stamp out the damaging drug trafficking trade once for all."

Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran

The petition includes the following statement signed by more than 140 academics:

"As lawyers, concerned academics and professionals, we join to speak out against the impending and tragic execution of our fellow citizens in Indonesia. We do not see this punishment as either an issue of national sovereignty or of just desserts.

"The Australian police gave up these 2 men to a capital punishment jurisdiction as part of an operation which could have led to prosecutions and trials in Australia where the death penalty is not an option.

"Capital punishment is said to be qualified by mercy. In ultimately deciding on clemency we believe the Indonesian Government should give the strongest consideration to the remarkable rehabilitation history of the 2 condemned. In opposing these executions we are not seeking to criticise the judicial process of another country.

"However, we want to see justice tempered with humanity. Right-minded Australians share the abhorrence of misery and addiction associated with drug abuse and the shameful trafficking trade. That said, nothing in our view can justify the killing of 2 men in circumstances such as these. At this final hour we add our voices to the calls for the death sentences to be commuted and for Australia and Indonesia to join in other ways to fight the harmful health consequences of drug abuse in all its forms."

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, February 25, 2015

Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com

Arizona | Man who murdered pastor crucifixion style requests plea deal after parents killed in plane crash

Adam Sheafe, the California man who admitted to killing a New River, Arizona, pastor in a crucifixion-style attack, has asked prosecutors to offer him a plea deal that would result in a natural life sentence rather than the death penalty he had previously sought. Advisory council attorneys representing Sheafe sent a formal plea offer to prosecutors this week, about two weeks after his father and stepmother died in a plane crash at Marana Airport on April 8, according to 12 News. Sheafe, 51, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of William Schonemann, 76, pastor of New River Bible Church, who was found dead inside his home last April.

US Department of Justice announces decision to resume federal executions

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday that it will resume the federal use of capital punishment and that it is seeking death sentences against 44 defendants. DOJ also said that it will use firing squads, electrocution, or nitrogen asphyxiation if the drug used in lethal injection is unavailable. The announcement follows the Restoring and Strengthening the Federal Death Penalty report, published on April 24. The report is especially critical of the moratorium on federal executions, ordered by Attorney General Merrick Garland in July 2021, to remain until the death penalty could be conducted “fairly and humanely.” Garland was concerned about the federal lethal injection protocol, which uses only one drug, pentobarbital, and the possibility that it causes “unnecessary pain and suffering.” In response to Garland’s moratorium and concerns, President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row, leaving only three prisoners.

China | Man sentenced to death for murder executed in Yunnan

Tian Yongming, who was initially sentenced for a series of violent crimes and then had his sentence changed to death early this year, has been executed in Yunnan province following approval from China's top court. The execution was carried out by the Intermediate People's Court in Yuxi, Yunnan, on Tuesday, with local prosecutors supervising the process. Before the execution, Tian was allowed to meet with his family members. The case dates back to September 1996, when Tian was sentenced to nine years in prison for the rape and attempted murder of his sister-in-law. After his release on July 15, 2002, he plotted revenge against the woman. On the night of Nov 13, 2002, he broke into her home armed with a knife.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Florida executes Chadwick Scott Willacy

STARKE, Fla. -- A Florida man who set his neighbor on fire after she returned from work to find him burglarizing her home was executed Tuesday evening. Chadwick Scott Willacy, 58, received a three-drug injection and was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1990 killing of Marlys Sather. It was Florida's fifth execution this year. The curtain to the execution chamber went up promptly at the scheduled 6 p.m. time, and the lethal injection got underway two minutes later, after Willacy made a brief statement.

Iran to execute first woman linked to mass protests after ‘forced confessions’

Bita Hemmati and three others have been sentenced to death for 'collusion' and 'propaganda.' Advocates claim the charges are baseless, citing a secretive process and state-televised interrogations. Iranian authorities are preparing to execute Bita Hemmati, the first woman sentenced to death in connection with the mass protests in Tehran in late December and January, according to the US-based non-profit the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Judge Iman Afshari, of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, sentenced Hemmati, her husband, Mohammadreza Majidi Asl, and Behrouz Zamaninezhad, and Kourosh Zamaninezhad to death on the charge of “operational action for the hostile government of the United States and hostile groups,” in addition to discretionary imprisonment period of five years on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security.”

Tennessee | Man set to be executed files motion claiming DNA evidence will exonerate him

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Attorneys for death row inmate Tony Carruthers filed a motion in Shelby County Criminal Court seeking immediate DNA testing on evidence they claim will prove his innocence in a 1994 triple murder. Carruthers is scheduled for execution on May 12. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murders of 24-year-old Marcellos Anderson, 17-year-old Delois Anderson, and 21-year-old Frederick Scarborough. Prosecutors at trial alleged the victims were buried alive in a Memphis cemetery as part of a drug-related robbery.

Florida Schedules Two Executions for Late April

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has directed the Florida Department of Corrections to move forward with two executions scheduled for late April 2026, marking a significant ramp-up in the state's use of capital punishment. The scheduled deaths of Chadwick Willacy and James Ernest Hitchcock follow a series of landmark judicial rulings that have kept both men on death row for decades.

Singapore executes man for trafficking 1kg of cannabis

SINGAPORE — Singaporean authorities executed Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj at Changi Prison on Thursday, April 16, 2026, following his 2019 conviction for importing 1,009.1 grams of cannabis. Bamadhaj, 41, though some reports have cited his age as 46, was arrested on July 12, 2018, during a routine search at the Woodlands Checkpoint. Officers discovered the narcotics wrapped in plastic and hidden within his vehicle as he attempted to enter Singapore from Malaysia. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the threshold for the mandatory death penalty involving cannabis is 500 grams, a limit this shipment exceeded by more than double.

Florida | Man avoids death penalty in Daytona Beach triple murder

Jerome Anderson shot and killed Antoine Melvin, 42, John Burch, 65, and Patrick Lassiter, 35, in 2023. A man pleaded no contest to a triple-murder in Daytona Beach and was sentenced April 20 to three consecutive life terms in prison as part of a plea deal in which he avoided a possible death sentence. Jerome Anderson, 41, was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the 2023 triple-slaying. Anderson pleaded no contest to the three first-degree murder charges April 20 and, in exchange, Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak agreed not to continue to pursue the death penalty.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog