Iran | Execution of young man ‘vengeful and cruel’

The execution of Shayan Saeedpour today in Iran for a crime committed as a child is further proof of the authorities’ total disregard for the right to life, said Amnesty International.

Iranian officials executed Shayan Saeedpour, 21, this morning in the central prison in Saqez, Kurdistan province. A criminal court in Kurdistan province had sentenced him to death in October 2018 after convicting him of murder. The conviction was in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man during a fight in August 2015. Shayan Saeedpour was 17 years old at the time.

“Shayan Saeedpour’s execution was vengeful and cruel,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The use of the death penalty against Shayan - a child with a long history of mental illness - was strictly prohibited. By proceeding with his execution despite international opposition, the Iranian authorities have yet again made a mockery of juvenile justice.

“The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and its use against people who were below the age of 18 at the time of the crime is banned under international law. Our annual Death Penalty report shows that Iran is one of a small minority of countries in the world that still use the death penalty against people in that category. This is abhorrent and must stop.”

Amnesty International today published its annual Death Penalty report, highlighting that although there had been a fall in the total number of global executions, Iran remained the world’s second most prolific executioner after China.

Escape from prison and retaliatory execution

Shayan Saeedpour was among dozens of prisoners who had escaped from the central prison in Saqez in late March amid protests and riots over the authorities’ failure to adequately address fears over the spread of coronavirus in Iran's prisons. He was re-arrested around 3 April.

Amnesty International believes his execution may have been an act of retaliation by the local prosecution authorities, intended to deter other prisoners from attempting similar escape plans.

According to information gathered by Amnesty International, the prosecutor general of Saqez had repeatedly pushed for the execution in recent days, and even urged the family of the deceased not to grant him pardon.

Under Iranian law, the family of the murder victim has the right to grant pardon to the individual sentenced to death in exchange for “blood money”. The implementation of sentences falls under the office of the prosecution.

Background

Shayan Saeedpour had a history of mental illness and had been diagnosed with impulse control disorder. Amnesty International understands that, despite his young age, the Legal Medicine Organization of Iran had stated in a submission to the trial court that Shayan Saeedpour had attained “mental maturity” at the time of the crime and “could distinguish between right and wrong”.

Shayan Saeedpour’s family and lawyer disputed the assessment, saying that he had not intellectually matured at the time of the crime. Shayan Saeedpour’s lawyer had also raised concerns that the trial court had not taken into account his diagnosis with impulse control disorder.

Juvenile offenders on death row

Iran is one of the last counties in the world that continues to use the death penalty against people who were under 18 years of age at the time of the crime.

In 2019, Amnesty International recorded the execution of at least four individuals in Iran who were under the age of 18 at the time of the crime. Their names were Amin Sedaghat, Mehdi Sohrabifar, Amir Ali Shadabi and Touraj Aziz (Azizdeh) Ghassemi.

Amnesty International is concerned that there are at least 90 juvenile offenders on death row in Iran.

The organisation opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception because it violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Source: amnesty.org, Staff, April 21, 2020

⚑ | 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

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an execution warrant for 74-year-old prisoner William “Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital to the hospice wing of the prison. After his attorneys raised serious concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating physical health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to temporarily stay the execution so Mr. Thompson’s competency can be evaluated on October 1. If he is found competent, his execution remains scheduled for October 13.

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death. Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months.

Texas House chairman wants child rapists eligible for death penalty

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Under current Supreme Court precedent, states cannot execute someone for raping a child if the victim survives. That’s not stopping State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-McKinney. “We’re going to have a debate in this building behind me about the death penalty being on the table for any Texan who rapes a child,” Leach, the chair of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, said. Leach made the comments while hosting a news conference supporting his client, abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire.

Israel | Ben Gvir discusses death penalty for Neveh Tzuf terrorist hours before Yom Kippur

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the Neveh Tzuf terrorist during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two hours before the start of Yom Kippur on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the terrorist responsible for the attack in Neveh Tzuf during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had reportedly convened the meeting in response to the security situation in the West Bank following the Sunday terror attack.

Tennessee Supreme Court denies stay for death row inmate Christa Pike

(TNND) — As Tennessee prepares for a Sept. 30 execution, the Tennessee Supreme Court has denied death row inmate Christa Gail Pike’s request to stop it. The court rejected Pike’s challenge to the state’s lethal-injection protocol, finding that her thrombocytosis diagnosis, a condition involving elevated blood platelets, did not show the execution would violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Texas set to execute second man convicted in 2005 South Texas triple murder

Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey is scheduled to die Wednesday, one week after the state executed his co-defendant for the same killings. Texas is scheduled to execute a man on Wednesday for the 2005 shooting deaths of three people during a botched robbery in a small South Texas town, just one week after the state put his co-defendant to death for the same crime. Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey, 41, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

Philippines | President Marcos Grants Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso

President Marcos Confirms Decision to Grant Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso after more than a decade. On Friday (September 25, 2026), the President confirmed the decision during a visit to Guiuan, Eastern Samar. According to him, the pardon was officially signed the previous day, marking a major development in the case.

Florida | Tomasz Kosowski found guilty of murder after representing himself in death penalty case

Tomasz Kosowski sat each day alone at the defense table, wearing orange jail garb and rubber sandals with socks. In a rare and largely unprecedented move for a death penalty case, Kosowski represented himself, waiving his right to a jury trial and allowing a judge in Pinellas County, Florida, to decide his fate. Prosecutors presented the state’s case over six days, laying out for the judge how the former plastic surgeon accosted Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of his law office on a Tuesday morning, and Cozzi was never seen again.

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed." SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.

Tennessee | Christa Pike Requests Clemency Ahead of September 30 Execution Date; Experts’ Amicus Brief Points to ‘Substantial Risk’ of Re-traumatization

Lawyers for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, filed a 226-page clemency petition with Governor Bill Lee, asking him to commute her death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole ahead of her September 30 execution date. Ms. Pike’s clemency petition outlines the case her team has built over decades of appeals: her actions at 18 years old cannot be separated from a childhood marked by repeated rape, sexual abuse, and neglect that went unaddressed by the adults and state systems meant to protect her. Once incarcerated, Ms. Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog