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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.

South Dakota sets execution for man in prison guard's death

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Rodney Berget
A man who pleaded guilty to the 2011 killing of a South Dakota prison guard is set to be executed in the fall, the state's attorney general said Wednesday.

Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a statement that Rodney Berget, 56, is scheduled to be executed between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3. 

Jackley's office said the warden of the state penitentiary will choose the specific time and date, which will be announced within 48 hours of the execution.

Circuit Court Judge Bradley Zell issued a warrant of execution for Berget, who would be the 1st person put to death in South Dakota in roughly 6 years.

"We will be ready to carry out the order of the court," Department of Corrections Secretary Denny Kaemingk said in a statement.

Berget pleaded guilty in April 2012 to killing Ronald "R.J." Johnson in a failed prison escape attempt in April 2011 along with fellow inmate Eric Robert, who was executed in 2012.

An attorney for Berget wasn't immediately available to comment to The Associated Press. Berget's mental status and death penalty eligibility have played a key role in court delays.

Berget in 2016 appealed his death sentence, but later asked to withdraw the appeal against the advice of his lawyers, the Argus Leader reported.

"I want this to be the last day I appear in court," Berget said at a September 2016 hearing.

The last execution in South Dakota was the lethal injection of Donald Moeller on Oct. 30, 2012, for the killing of Becky O'Connell.

State Department of Corrections policy says lethal injections involve 1 to 3 drugs, depending on drug availability and the date of the prisoner's conviction. State law makes a drug supplier confidential.

Robert Dunham, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, said U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers have distribution policies that prohibit the sale of their medicines for non-therapeutic uses. 

The "secrecy" provision in South Dakota law raises serious questions about how the drugs are obtained, Dunham said.

"The big problem is that with secrecy we can't have any assurances," Dunham said. "Given the history of behavior of many of the states that have carried out executions, 'Trust me I'm the government,' is not a satisfactory explanation."

Source: Associated Press, August 13, 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: South Dakota, USA
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