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USA | Democratic Legislators Introduce Death Penalty Repeal Bills, Urge President Biden to Commute Federal Death Sentences

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Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate have called on incoming President Joe Biden to take quick action on his campaign pledge to end the federal death penalty. Legislators introduced three bills to abolish the federal death penalty and urged the President to issue executive orders to halt federal executions and commute the death sentences of those on federal death row. Citing the more than 170 people exonerated from U.S. death rows since capital punishment resumed in the U.S. in the 1970s, Biden’s official campaign platform on criminal justice advocated repealing the federal death penalty. With his inauguration, he became the first president to have been elected after supporting doing away with capital punishment. “Because we cannot ensure we get death penalty cases right every time,” the joebiden.com website said, “Biden will work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal government’s example.” Senat

Iran regime hanged 13 people today, including 1 man in public

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Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016
Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016
NCRI - Iran’s fundamentalist regime hanged at least 13 people, including one man in public, on Tuesday.

Six men were hanged collectively in the Central Prison of Urmia (Orumieh), north-west Iran, earlier on Tuesday, May 17.

They had been serving a prison sentence in Ward 15 of the jail on drugs-related charges.

They were identified as Naji Keywan, Nader Mohammadi, Ali Shamugardian, Aziz Nouri-Azar, Fereydoon Rashidi and Heidar Amini.

Also on Tuesday, a man was hanged in public in the north-eastern city of Mashhad. (PHOTOS below)

The victim, who was not named, was hanged at 7 am in the city's Mofatteh Square. His sentence had been upheld by the regime's Supreme Court.

Separately, the regime’s Prosecutor in Yazd Province told the state-run Rokna news agency that six people were hanged in the central Iranian province on Tuesday. Three of the victims were identified by their initials Ch. R., A. S., and A. B.

Commenting on the hangings, Ms. Farideh Karimi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and a human rights activist, on Tuesday said:

“At least 38 executions since the start of May, including three in public, are of deep concern. That’s to say there’s been one public execution every five days and two people hanged each day in the month of May. Sadly however what adds to our concern is that there has not been an appropriate response by the international community or human rights groups to the appalling state of human rights in Iran.”

The latest hangings bring to at least 89 the number of people executed in Iran since April 10. Three of those executed were women and one is believed to have been a juvenile offender.


Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016
Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016

Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016

Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016

Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016

Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016

Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016

Public hanging in Mashhad, Iran, May 17, 2016


Sources: NCRI, May 17, 2016

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