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Arkansas Supreme Court Decision Allows New DNA Testing in Case of the ​“West Memphis Three,” Convicted of Killing Three Children in 1993

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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. 

Iran | Prisoner executed in Urmia

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Iran execution
Iran Human Rights (IHR); August 17, 2020: A prisoner sentenced to qisas (retribution in-kind) for murder was executed in Urmia Central Prison (also known as Darya Prison) this morning.

According to Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Urmia Central Prison this morning. 

The prisoner’s identity has been established as Arsalan Yasini, around 32, who was on death row for murder.

Yesterday, IHR reported that he had been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for the implementation of his sentence.

Informed sources had previously told IHR that Arsalan had been behind bars since 2011 on charges of "murdering his grandparents" and had been sentenced to qisas (retribution in kind) at the request of his father.

However, new information made available to IHR shows that Arsalan’s father had in fact passed away some time ago and his paternal aunt was the one present during the execution.

According to Islamic law, once the courts have found a defendant guilty of murder, the victim’s family have the option of qisas (retribution in kind), diya (receiving monetary compensation), or pardoning the perpetrator. 

Such cases involving murder within the family create complex dynamics and issues.

At the time of publication, the execution of Arsalan Yasini has not been announced by the domestic media or officials in Iran.

According to Iran Human Rights’ annual report on the Death Penalty in Iran, at least 225 of the 280 of those executed in 2019 were charged with "premeditated murder."

As there are no legal distinctions made between murder and manslaughter, whether voluntary or involuntary in Iran, those charged under the umbrella term of “premeditated murder” will receive the death penalty regardless of intent and the circumstances.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, August 17, 2020


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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: Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
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