FEATURED POST

Arkansas Supreme Court Decision Allows New DNA Testing in Case of the ​“West Memphis Three,” Convicted of Killing Three Children in 1993

Published
Image
On April 18, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided 4-3 to reverse a 2022 lower court decision and allow genetic testing of crime scene evidence from the 1993 killing of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis. The three men convicted in 1994 for the killings were released in 2011 after taking an Alford plea, in which they maintained their innocence but plead guilty to the crime, in exchange for 18 years’ time served and 10 years of a suspended sentence. 

A new bill in the Indian parliament

Published
Indian flag
In Pakistan, juveniles are on death row and there is no data available that figures the exact number of juveniles on death row and those incarcerated

A renowned Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha for the abolishment of the death penalty in India for all crimes. The bill opined that death penalty is not a solution or deterrence to crimes. Until today no one from Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has commented on mentioned bill. In his Bill, Tharoor stated that the Indian Penal Code shall be amended and when it is possible the death penalty must be replaced with life imprisonment.

The timing of the Bill is crucial since just last week the Parliament introduced death penalty for those who engaged in sexual activities which children under the age of twelve. The anti-capital punishment Bill is not the first of its kind to be brought to the Parliament. The India Law Commission (ILC) has already recommended that the death penalty should only be used in terrorism related cases and it must be abolished for other offences. Moreover International Law prohibits capital punishment being used on juveniles, despite the nature of their crime.

However despite such strict restrictions, countries such as Iran have executed juveniles on numerous occasions in clear violation of these laws. In Pakistan juveniles are on death row and there is no data available that figures the exact number of juveniles on death row and those incarcerated.

In my opinion having such discussions in the Indian Parliament is fruitful for the diversity of opinion, and the democratic process. However Pakistan and Bangladesh are two countries where this practice is common and the number of executions per year are cringe worthy. Sadly- in Pakistan the question of capital punishment has never been discussed or been open to change on a national level. Even though the death penalty was abolished in 2008- it was brought back in 2014. Moreover lower courts in Pakistan award a remarkably high number of death penalties, a fraction of those are actually approved by the High Court.

Source: dailytimes.com.pk, Sarmad Ali, August 30, 2018. The writer is an attorney based in Lahore.


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

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



"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: India
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

Arkansas Supreme Court Decision Allows New DNA Testing in Case of the ​“West Memphis Three,” Convicted of Killing Three Children in 1993

Published
Image
On April 18, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided 4-3 to reverse a 2022 lower court decision and allow genetic testing of crime scene evidence from the 1993 killing of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis. The three men convicted in 1994 for the killings were released in 2011 after taking an Alford plea, in which they maintained their innocence but plead guilty to the crime, in exchange for 18 years’ time served and 10 years of a suspended sentence. 
Read more

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

Published
Image
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.
Read more

Utah requests execution of death row inmate

Published
Image
SALT LAKE CITY — The state of Utah requested on Tuesday that a man who’s been on death row for almost 25 years be executed. Taberon Honie was convicted of the murder of his ex-girlfriend’s mother in 1999. In the death warrant application, the state’s lawyers said Honie used up his appeals and there is no longer any legal reason to stop Honie’s execution.
Read more

Cuba Maintains Capital Punishment to "Deter and Intimidate"

Published
Image
Aware that only the use of terror and force keeps it in power, the Cuban regime makes it clear that if necessary, it will not hesitate to kill. HAVANA TIMES – Inflation, misery, the lack of medicine, and power outages, which were the triggers for previous demonstrations, are worsening daily in Cuba. Given the possibility that these protests may occur again, the regime has threatened the death penalty for those who participate in demonstrations considered “illegal.”
Read more

Iranian Political Prisoners Condemn Looming Execution Of Rapper Toomaj Salehi

Published
Image
A group of high profile political prisoners in Iran have denounced the death sentence handed down to dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi, calling it a sign of Iran's "inhuman nature and deep corruption." Earlier this week, an Iranian revolutionary court sentenced the outspoken artist to death for his songs supporting the nationwide protests of 2022, charges that his lawyer, Amir Raeisian, claims he had previously been acquitted of.
Read more

Four More Prisoners Executed in Iran

Published
Image
Authorities of the Islamic Republic executed four more prisoners over the weekend as death penalties continue to rise in the country. The Iran Human Rights Organization reported that three inmates were executed on April 27 in Tabriz Prison for drug-related offenses. The inmates were identified as Amir Moharrami, 36, Davoud Namyari, 33, and Sohrab Hokmabad. 
Read more