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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.

California: Man accused of shooting couple in gated Palm Desert community is victims' grandson

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Calle Las Brisas in Palm Desert, where two people were shot dead on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019
The man charged with shooting a husband and wife in a gated Palm Desert community was identified by prosecutors on Thursday as the couple's grandson.

Frank Castro III, 32, is charged with shooting to death Frank Castro, 83, and Carolina Castro, 81.

Riverside County District Attorney's Office spokesman John Hall identified the relationship between the suspect and victims on Thursday. He provided no motive for the killings.

They were found slain in their home on the 43-000 block of West Calle Las Brisas on Sept. 11 in the Desert Breezes community.

The grandson pleaded not guilty last week to killing the victims. 

Castro was arrested after deputies arrived at the community about 2 p.m. on Sept. 11 while responding to a call of shots fired, according to the sheriff's department. 

After arriving, deputies detained Castro and found his grandparents inside the residence. 

Castro faces two counts of murder and a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, Hall said. 

He also is eligible for the death penalty. 

A decision whether to seek the death penalty will be made at a later time by District Attorney Mike Hestrin, according to Hall.

He remains at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside without bail, according to county jail records.

Castro, who pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday, has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. 

Source: desertsun.com, Shane Newell, September 19, 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: Palm Desert, CA, USA
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