African countries and the death penalty: A bad relationship they want to, but just can't, give up

Somalia executed three Islamist militants on August 3, 2014.

Even though the last official execution in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is known to have taken place in 2003, the country continues to reject recommendations to abolish the death penalty.

This is indicative of trends across Africa which indicate that the continent is slowly turning its back on the death penalty and executions, but it still can't quite let it go. This according to data obtained in the 2014 "Death Sentences and Executions" report by rights group, Amnesty International.

Compared to 2013, there was a total of 46 known executions in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 64 in 2013, representing a drop of 28%. These executions were carried out in just three countries; Equatorial Guinea (9), Somalia (14) and Sudan (23).

There was also a reduction in the number of countries that imposed death sentences - from 19 in 2013, to 18 in 2014. However, there was a sharp increase in the number of death sentences recorded but this can be attributed to mass rulings in Egypt and Nigeria which vastly increased death sentence rates worldwide.

At least 2,466 people are known to have been sentenced to death in 2014 - 1,168 of which are attributed to Egypt (509) and Nigeria (659) alone. In Egypt the report put the high numbers down to death sentences after mass trials that were grossly unfair. These death sentences followed referrals made by the court to the Grand Mufti, Egypt's highest religious official.

In Nigeria most death sentences imposed are for murder and armed robbery. However in 2014 military courts also imposed mass death sentences for mutiny and conspiracy to mutiny.

This despite Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a party, stipulating that "sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes".

Under international human rights standards, "most serious crimes" has been interpreted as being limited to crimes involving intentional killing. Since the charges against all the soldiers failed to meet the threshold of "most serious crimes" the death sentences are in violation of international human rights law.

Not letting go

However, by the end of 2014, even though there were at least 1,484 people under sentence of death, not a single execution was carried out. A trend which can be seen across the continent.

Kenya has an established practice of not carrying out executions although it continues to impose death sentences. No death sentences were imposed in Benin for the 4th year running, the last known executions in Benin were carried out in 1987.

Although there have been no executions since 1998, in Sierra Leone the death penalty is still retained for treason and aggravated robbery and is mandatory for murder.

In Malawi, even though the death penalty is applicable for certain crimes, the last known execution was carried out in 1992 and the country still won't consider abolition.

Death sentences were also not carried out in the Republic of Congo or in Ghana and though both countries have accepted recommendations to look into changes and abolishment of the death sentence, neither one implemented any. In Ghana however, President John Mahama commuted 21 death sentences to life imprisonment in commemoration of Ghana's 54th Republic Day Anniversary.

Meanwhile in Zimbabwe, according to government information no executions were carried out in 2014, despite 95 people being on death row. In fact, four people had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment and one person was exonerated.

Though it is certainly carried out in places, the death sentence has an almost ceremonial role - making a point when it is most needed, which is perhaps the reason why so many countries can't let it go.

After all, the power to wield the rule of law, along with people's lives, as a propaganda tool is perhaps the most useful when it comes to keep the citizenry in check - and, considering Nigeria's case of mutinying soldiers whilst fighting one of the country's greatest battles against the Islamist militants, Boko Haram - a government never knows when it might be needed.

Source: mgafrica.com, April 6, 2015

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Florida | Jury recommends death sentence for Jeffrey Crum in killing of 12-year-old girl

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — A Hernando County jury has recommended the death penalty for a 65-year-old man who was found guilty last week of raping and killing 12-year-old Jennifer Odom. Sentencing for Jeffrey Crum was held this week. Crum abducted Odom in 1993 after she stepped off her school bus in Pasco County. Her body was found in a Hernando County orange grove six days later.

Hanging of Osaka Arsonist is Japan’s First Execution Under Takaichi Government

As a majority of the international community has abolished capital punishment. Japan and the U.S. are the only two countries in the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations that put people to death. The execution of Takami Sunao—an arsonist whose 2009 attack in Osaka killed five—on August 21, 2026, was Japan’s first use of capital punishment in just over a year. Over a Decade from Sentencing to Execution Takami Sunao was executed on August 21, 2026 , for a 2009 arson attack at an Osaka pachinko parlor that killed five people. In July 2009, Takami poured gasoline on the floor of a pachinko parlor in Osaka and set it alight, killing 5 customers and staff members and injuring 10 more. While the defense argued that he was in a state of diminished capacity, the Supreme Court finalized his death sentence in February 2016. The execution took place 17 years after the initial crime and 10 and a half years after the death sentence was finalized.

Cartoons about Capital Punishment

More cartoons about capital punishment HERE

Spared execution eight times, oldest inmate in US dies at 101 after 76 years behind bars

Francis Clifford Smith was given his last meal eight times. But after being spared execution each time, he went on to be regarded as the longest-serving prisoner in the US before dying in June at 101 years old. Convicted of murder in 1950 when he was 25, he always maintained his innocence, those who knew him told the BBC. Andrius Banevicius, the public information officer for Connecticut's Department of Correction, recounted how Smith used to feed the birds while in Osborn Prison, earning him the nickname The Birdman of Osborn.

Israel builds execution chamber for Palestinians convicted of murder

In March, the Knesset approved legislation that calls for the execution of Palestinians convicted by a military court of killing Israelis Israeli authorities are preparing a prison wing—replete with an execution chamber—designated specifically for Palestinian prisoners convicted of murder, Israel’s i24NEWS channel reported Tuesday. The move comes after the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) approved legislation in March that calls for the execution of Palestinian prisoners convicted by a military court of murdering Israelis.

Japan executes man convicted of killing five in 2009 Osaka pachinko parlor arson

Japan on Friday announced the execution of a man convicted of killing five people after setting fire to an Osaka pachinko parlor in 2009, the first execution by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi 's government as the country faces growing calls for more transparency and the abolition of capital punishment. The Justice Ministry said Sunao Takami, 58, was hanged to death earlier Friday. Takami in 2009 set fire to the crowded pachinko parlor in Osaka by spreading gasoline and throwing a lit match, engulfing the building, killing five and injuring 10 others, Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said.

Florida executes William Frances Silvia

Florida executed its 13th death row prisoner of the year Tuesday evening amid the state’s aggressive use of the death penalty championed by Governor Ron DeSantis. William Frances Silvia, 61, who was convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife and injuring his mother-in-law in 2006, was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. after receiving the lethal three-drug injection at Florida State Prison. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Silvia was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the curtain to the death chamber went up. He remained relatively motionless with his eyes and mouth open throughout most of the execution while a priest sat at his feet and prayed.

Oklahoma executes Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez

Oklahoma has carried out 1 of 3 executions set for the same day in the United States in another sign of the resurgence of the death penalty in the country. Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez was pronounced dead at 10:13 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13, at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He was put to death by lethal injection for the murder of his common-law wife in 2003 at their Oklahoma City home. He admitted to police he shot her twice during an argument. Cuesta-Rodriguez, 70, did not fight for his life, stunning his attorneys in July when he told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board that he didn't want clemency. "It's time for me to pay for what I did," he said.

Alabama is trying a death penalty bait-and-switch

For a decade, Alabama death row inmate Jeffrey Lee has been clear that he does not want to be executed by lethal injection . But that is what awaits him on September 17 . He faces that prospect because the state has been enjoined from using nitrogen hypoxia , the alternative execution method he preferred, to put him to death. Having failed to show that its nitrogen hypoxia protocol is constitutionally acceptable, Alabama wants a do-over to force Lee to die by lethal injection as a result of its own failure. It should not get one. Alabama should only be able to put Lee to death if it can fix nitrogen hypoxia’s constitutional defects.

Texas | A Dangerous Man. At 18, Billy Joe Wardlow took a man’s life. Nearly 30 years later, the state still wants his.

Like any place humans gather, death row has a culture. Billy Wardlow says it's different in many ways from general population. One is in how new inmates are treated. "In [general population], the guys around you would try to find some way to exploit you," Wardlow said. "Death row, with a few exceptions, will often extend a hand of friendship to the 'new boot' so they can get on their feet ... Most of us get together and let each other know what we can send to the new guy." One of the cherished myths of those who support the death penalty is that it is reserved for the “worst of the worst,” those beyond redemption. Wardlow typically sends writing materials, food, clothes, and hygiene products. Recently, after receiving some of these items, a new inmate asked Wardlow what he owed him. "I told him to remember how guys helped him when he saw someone else new," Wardlow said. "Pay it forward, as the saying goes." Sending gift...

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