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. 

India: Capital punishment to two for gang-rape and murder of six-year-old

Published
Two persons convicted for the gang-rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Ayodhya were awarded capital punishment by a special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court on Saturday. 

The incident happened in a village under Ayodhya’s Bikapur police station limits on November 11, 2014.

Superintendent of police (SP), Ayodhya, Ashish Tiwari said, “The competent court awarded death sentence to two persons -- Santosh Nat and Tejpal Nat -- considering the gang rape and murder of the child as a rarest of the rare case. Trial against two more accused in the case is still pending due to stay on proceedings against them by the Allahabad high court. Their trial will be pursued separately.”

He said the trial of Santosh and Tejpal had been moving slowly due to non-effective monitoring in the case. “The case was taken up on priority and included in the top ten cases of sexual offences against minors in the district. It was pursued by the court monitoring cell on a daily basis since August, which resulted in its conclusion now,” said Tiwari.

The SP said that the court pronounced death sentence for Santosh and Tejpal under the charge of murdering the child (section 302 of the Indian Penal Code) after gang-raping her and slapped a penalty of ₹50,000 on each. “Life sentence was awarded to them under charges as per sections 376-A (causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of victim) and 376-D (gang rape) of the IPC and a penalty of ₹ 25,000 each was slapped on them. The court also pronounced life sentence for them under section 377 (unnatural sex) of the IPC and imposed penalty of ₹25,000 on each. They also got seven years’ imprisonment and a penalty of ₹ 10,000 each under section 201 of the IPC (concealment of crime),” he said.

Tiwari said that cases under the POCSO Act were taken up on top priority by the court monitoring cell of the district. “Four more people were awarded life sentences in similar cases since August this year,” he said.

TODDLER’S RAPE IN BAREILLY: MAN GETS LIFE SENTENCE


In an example of swift delivery of justice, a special POCSO court on Saturday awarded life sentence to a 40-year-old man for raping a two-year-old girl in Bareilly district on October 14.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Bareilly, Shailesh Kumar Pandey, said the court convicted and awarded life imprisonment to Yaad Ram for raping the toddler in an area under the CB Ganj police station limits. “A penalty of ₹1 lakh was also slapped on the convict. The court of Additional District Judge Sunil Yadav pronounced the judgement within 14 working days,” he said.

The SSP said the police acted swiftly in the case, registering the FIR within two hours of the incident and arresting the accused in a few hours. “Investigation officer Bachchu Singh collected all evidences and filed the chargesheet within a week on October 21. The court framed the charges the very next day. The court examined 13 witnesses before pronouncing the judgement on Saturday,” said Pandey.

He said that all legal proceedings were completed and justice was delivered to the victim and her family within 32 days of the incident. “This was due to effective investigation by the police as well as regular monitoring by the district government counsel Puneet Kumar Pathak,” said the SSP.

OTHER RECENT CONVICTIONS


September 19, 2019: A special POCSO court in Agra awarded death penalty to a 50-year-old man who raped and murdered his seven-year-old daughter on November 25, 2017. The statements of the convict’s two teenage sons became the basis for the judgement.

August 30, 2019: A POCSO court in Auraiya awarded life sentence to a 22-year-old man, Shyam Veer, for raping a four-year-old girl on August 1, 2019. The entire process of filing the chargesheet and the court trial was completed within 29 days.

Source: hindustantimes.com, Staff, November 17, 2019


⚑ | 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

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

Alabama SC approves second nitrogen gas execution

Published
Image
The Alabama Supreme Court has authorized the execution of a second inmate by nitrogen gas, months after the state became the first state to put a person to death with the previously untested method. Justices granted Attorney General Steve Marshall’s request for an execution date for Alan Eugene Miller, who survived a 2022 lethal injection attempt.
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

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

Iran | 10 Men Executed in 2 Days in Isfahan Prison

Published
Image
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 1, 2024: Ten men including an Afghan national, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison over two days. Seven were on death row for drug-related offences and three were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Isfahan Central Prison (Dastgerd) on 28 April. They were sentenced to qisas for murder but their identity has not been established at the time of writing.
Read more