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Biden Has 65 Days Left in Office. Here’s What He Can Do on Criminal Justice.

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Judicial appointments and the death penalty are among areas where a lame-duck administration can still leave a mark. Donald Trump’s second presidential term will begin on Jan. 20, bringing with it promises to dramatically reshape many aspects of the criminal justice system. The U.S. Senate — with its authority over confirming judicial nominees — will also shift from Democratic to Republican control.
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Murder trial opens for ex-Tehran mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi

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Mohammad Ali Najafi
TEHRAN: The high-profile trial opened Saturday of a former Tehran mayor charged with murdering his wife, Iranian media reported. Prominent reformist Mohammad Ali Najafi appeared in a Tehran criminal court, accused of shooting his second wife Mitra Ostad at their home in the Iranian capital.

The charge sheet read out in court included murder, assault, battery and illegal possession of a weapon.

The prosecutor also read out a statement from the former mayor, who claimed his wife once threatened him with a knife during one of their frequent arguments.

Ostad’s body was found in the bathtub after Najafi turned himself in and confessed to killing her on May 28, according to Iranian media.

Her family has appealed for the Islamic law of retribution to be applied - an “eye for an eye” form of punishment that would see the death penalty served in this instance.

Najafi’s trial, which was adjourned until July 17, has drawn coverage in state media where scandals related to politicians rarely appear on TV.

A mathematician, professor and veteran politician, Najafi has previously served as President Hassan Rouhani’s economic adviser and education minister.

He was elected Tehran mayor in August 2017, but resigned the following April after facing criticism from conservatives for attending a dance performance by schoolgirls.

Najafi married Ostad without divorcing his first wife, unusual in Iran where polygamy is legal but socially frowned upon.

There have been calls by ultraconservatives for Najafi to be tried without favoritism from the judiciary, with some claiming the case shows reformists’ “moral bankruptcy.”

Reformists, meanwhile, have criticized the conservative-dominated television of biased coverage and of highlighting the case for political ends.

Source: Agence France-Presse, Staff, July 15, 2019


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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: Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
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