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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Florida airport mass killer Esteban Santiago won't face death penalty

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Esteban Santiago
An Iraq veteran accused of a deadly shooting rampage inside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport last year agreed Tuesday to plead guilty and serve a life sentence under a deal that would spare him a possible death sentence.

Five people were killed and six wounded in the rampage Jan. 6, 2017.

Esteban Santiago, 28, responded "Yes, your honor" when asked by Federal Judge Beth Bloom asked if he understood the proposed deal. Bloom ordered a mental evaluation to ensure Santiago is competent to make that decision, setting a hearing for May 23.

Santiago was charged with five counts of causing death at an international airport, six counts of airport violence resulting in serious injury, five counts of causing death during a violent crime and six counts of using a firearm during a violent crime, according to the indictment.

Convictions could have resulted in the death penalty, although no federal inmates have been executed since 2003.

Santiago flew from his home in Alaska to Florida on a one-way ticket on the day of the shooting, according to an indictment. His 9mm handgun was stored in a checked bag he retrieved from baggage claim and loaded in a nearby bathroom. Airport video shows him emerging and starting firing randomly until he ran out of ammunition and surrendered to a Broward County Sheriff's deputy.

The motive for the attack was murky. Santiago was briefly hospitalized for psychiatric care two months before the airport shooting after telling the FBI in Anchorage that he was hearing voices urging him to support the Islamic State terrorist group, The Miami Herald reported. He said the CIA was pressuring him to watch training videos. 

After the shooting, Santiago told authorities he had been "programmed" by the government and inspired by the Islamic State. In court Tuesday, lawyers for Santiago said he was remorseful and prepared to serve his prison time.

Prosecutors said U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions signed off on the plea agreement and that shooting victims' family members supported the decision.

Source: USA Today, The Associated Press, May 1, 2018


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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Location: Florida, USA
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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.
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Japan | Death-row inmates' lawsuit targeting same-day notifications of executions dismissed

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The Osaka District Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by death row inmates that claimed same-day notifications of executions violate the Constitution — the first ruling of its kind. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the government in hopes of sparking a wider discussion on the rights of death row prisoners. They also sought ¥22 million in compensation and plan to appeal to a higher court.
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Texas | State district judge recommends overturning Melissa Lucio’s death sentence

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Iran | Probable Child Offender and Child Bride, Husband Executed for Drug Charges

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 15 2024: Marjan Hajizadeh and Esmail Hassaniani, a couple sentenced to death for drug-related charges in a joint case, were executed in Zanjan Central Prison.  Marjan is reported to have been 16 at the time of arrest, which IHRNGO is working to confirm. If verified, she will be the first child offender executed for drug charges since 2014. She was also a child bride forced into marriage.
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U.S. Supreme Court to hear Arizona death penalty case that could redefine historic precedent

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Iraq postpones vote on bill including death penalty for same-sex acts

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Alabama lawmakers reject bill which would allow some death row inmates to be resentenced

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