Zimbabwe: Joy for 10 Death Row Inmates

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa

Zimbabwe last week pardoned 10 inmates who were on death row after they requested for Presidential clemency while the remaining 80 will also survive the gallows if Government resolves to completely abolish capital punishment for all crimes, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.

He said this during Zimbabwe's presentation of its Human Rights National Report under the auspices of the Universal Periodic Review on Wednesday at the United Nations Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.

VP Mnangagwa who is in charge of the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs was responding to several calls from various countries who implored Zimbabwe to completely abolish the death penalty.

But VP Mnangagwa said while the country accepted the recommendation to abolish the death penalty at the last UPR in 2012, the majority of Zimbabweans who participated during the Constitution-making process said they wanted it retained.

He said Government was, however, undertaking nationwide public awareness campaigns to conscientise Zimbabweans on the effects of the death penalty.

VP Mnangagwa also dismissed claims by some countries that Zimbabwe had political prisoners and detainees.

"On the issue of the death penalty, may I share with you that for over a decade now, we have had no executions in Zimbabwe," said VP Mnangagwa.

"Currently, we have 90 inmates under death penalty and last week in our Cabinet, we received 10 petitions for clemency from the President and all the 10 were granted.

"We then decided that I, as Vice President responsible for the administration of justice, should put a paper on the question of the abolition of the death penalty, which we have to debate."

The Vice President said the new Constitution only imposed the death penalty on males aged between 21 and 70 years who are convicted of aggravated murder compared to the previous one that had a wider range of offences under, which one could be sentenced to death regardless of gender.

But representatives from several countries said it was critical that the country completely abolish capital punishment.

"We recommend that Zimbabwe completely abolishes the death penalty for all crimes and establish a moratorium on executions and to commute expeditiously death penalties by prison sentences," said a representative of Uruguay.

Portugal's representative said: "Portugal recommends Zimbabwe to establish a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to fully abolish it both in practice and in law in all cases and under all circumstances."

Representatives of Belgium and Slovenia said notwithstanding the Government of Zimbabwe's campaigns to conscientise citizens about the effects of the death penalty, it was important that capital punishment is immediately suspended.

Switzerland said it was concerned with the overcrowding and poor conditions in prisons and asked how Government intended to address the issue.

VP Mnangagwa said whenever the prison population exceeded holding capacity, Government came up with various interventions including the transfer of inmates from closed prisons to spacious farm prisons while others were released through Presidential clemency.

Source: allafrica.com, November 4, 2016

⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

China | Former Chinese senior banker Bai Tianhui executed for taking US$155 million in bribes

Bai is the second senior figure from Huarong to be put to death for corruption following the execution of Lai Xiaomin in 2021 China has executed a former senior banker who was found guilty of taking more than 1.1 billion yuan (US$155 million) in bribes. Bai Tianhui, the former general manager of the asset management firm China Huarong International Holdings, was executed on Tuesday after the Supreme People’s Court approved the sentence, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Who Gets Hanged in Singapore?

Singapore’s death penalty has been in the news again. Enshrined in law in 1975, a decade after the island split from Malaysia and became an independent state, the penalty can see people sentenced to hang for drug trafficking, murder or firearms offenses, among other crimes. Executions have often involved trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act, with offenses measured in grams. Those executed have included people from low-income backgrounds and foreign nationals who are sometimes not fluent in English, according to human rights advocates such as Amnesty International and the International Drug Policy Consortium.

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Florida executes Mark Allen Geralds

Mark Allen Geralds was convicted of killing a mother of two in Panama City Beach The state of Florida executed 58-year-old Mark Allen Geralds at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday at Florida State Prison, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He was convicted of the 1989 murder of a Bay County mother. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 7 signed a death warrant for Geralds. Geralds' last words were “I’m sorry that I missed you [unintelligible]. I love you everyday,” according to witness and journalist John Koch. Geralds was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery, burglary and grand theft auto in 1990. Shortly after his death warrant was signed, he waived his right to make any further appeals in court.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog