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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.
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Iran | Prisoner Executed in Shiraz

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Iran Human Rights (IHR); September 30, 2020: A prisoner sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, has been executed at Shiraz Central Prison. 

According to Iran Human Rights, on the morning of 27 September, a male prisoner was executed at Shiraz Central Prison (Adelabad). 

His identity has been established as Ali Ahmadi, a Kazeroud native who had been sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

Ali Ahmadi was arrested for murder in 2018 and had remained behind bars until his execution.

At the time of publication, his execution has not been announced by domestic media or official sources in Iran.

According to Iran Human Rights’ annual report, 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, September 30, 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: Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
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