FEATURED POST

As clock ticks toward another Trump presidency, federal death row prisoners appeal for clemency

Published
Image
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office is putting a spotlight on the U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, which houses federal death row. In Bloomington, a small community of death row spiritual advisors is struggling to support the prisoners to whom they minister.  Ross Martinie Eiler is a Mennonite, Episcopal lay minister and member of the Catholic Worker movement, which assists the homeless. And for the past three years, he’s served as a spiritual advisor for a man on federal death row.
Post a Comment

Iran | Prisoner Executed in Sanandaj Prison

Published
Iran Human Rights (IHR); October 21, 2020: A prisoner sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for “premeditated murder during the course of an armed robbery” has been executed in Sanandaj Central Prison.

According to the Iran Human Rights, this morning, Wednesday, October 21, a male prisoner was executed in Sanandaj Central Prison. 

The prisoner, whose identity was established as 28-year-old Shahram Takhsha, was on death row on the charge of “premeditated murder during the course of an armed robbery.”

Previously, an informed source had told IHR: “Shahram Takhsha was arrested two years and eleven months ago on charges of murder during an armed robbery with his brother Shahriyar. Shahram was arrested after being shot in the leg and sentenced to death as the primary defendant and his brother sentenced to 40 years in prison as his accomplice.”

IHR had reported that Shahram had been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution on Sunday.

HRANA News Agency, which first published the news, wrote of Shahram Takhsha's health condition: "Shahram Takhsha was shot and wounded during his arrest and has since been in prison without any medical attention until he was taken limping for execution this morning.”

At the time of publication, the execution of this prisoner has not been announced by the domestic media or officials 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, October 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
Location: Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, Iran
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

Biden Has 65 Days Left in Office. Here’s What He Can Do on Criminal Justice.

Published
Image
Judicial appointments and the death penalty are among areas where a lame-duck administration can still leave a mark. Donald Trump’s second presidential term will begin on Jan. 20, bringing with it promises to dramatically reshape many aspects of the criminal justice system. The U.S. Senate — with its authority over confirming judicial nominees — will also shift from Democratic to Republican control.
Read more

Alabama executes Carey Dale Grayson, carries out nation's 3rd nitrogen gas execution

Published
Image
ATMORE, Ala. — An Alabama man convicted in the 1994 killing of a hitchhiker cursed at the prison warden and made obscene gestures with his hands shortly before he was put to death Thursday evening in the nation's third execution using nitrogen gas. Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was executed at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama. He was one of four teenagers convicted of killing Vickie DeBlieux, 37, as she hitchhiked through the state on the way to her mother's home in Louisiana. The woman was attacked, beaten and thrown off a cliff.
Read more

Singapore executes third drug trafficker in a week

Published
Image
Rosman Abdullah’s execution was the eighth this year in the city state, seven for drug trafficking and one for murder Singapore on Friday hanged a 55-year-old man for drug trafficking, its narcotics enforcement agency said, the city state’s third execution in a week as the United Nations called for a halt. The UN and rights groups say capital punishment has no proven deterrent effect and have called for it to be abolished, but Singaporean officials insist it has helped make the country one of Asia’s safest.
Read more

Indonesia | Bali Nine prisoners to be sent home

Published
Image
The news comes after a request from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The five remaining Bali nine* prisoners currently serving life sentences in Indonesia for drug trafficking are set to return to Australia at the request of Anthony Albanese. The Prime Minister made the plea during talks with new president Prabowo Subianto at the APEC conference in Peru, The Australian reported on Friday.
Read more

As clock ticks toward another Trump presidency, federal death row prisoners appeal for clemency

Published
Image
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office is putting a spotlight on the U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, which houses federal death row. In Bloomington, a small community of death row spiritual advisors is struggling to support the prisoners to whom they minister.  Ross Martinie Eiler is a Mennonite, Episcopal lay minister and member of the Catholic Worker movement, which assists the homeless. And for the past three years, he’s served as a spiritual advisor for a man on federal death row.
Read more

Missouri bishops urge state to refrain from executing convicted child-killer next month

Published
Image
St. Louis, Mo., Nov 22, 2024 / 15:05 pm - Missouri’s bishops are urging the state to forgo executing a man next month who was convicted of the 2007 abduction, rape, torture, and murder of a 9-year-old girl. Police said Christopher Collings confessed to killing Rowan Ford after raping her on Nov. 3, 2007. The murder took place in rural Stella, Missouri, in the far southwest corner of the state. 
Read more

Singapore | Imminent unlawful execution for drug trafficking

Published
Image
Ahead of the scheduled execution of a man for drug-related offences, in violation of international law and standards, in Singapore on Friday 22 November, Amnesty International’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said:  “The upcoming execution of Rosman bin Abdullah underlines the chilling determination of the Singapore authorities to continue to implement the death penalty. Singapore is among a handful of countries still executing people for drug-related offences, in violation of international human rights law and standards. This must stop immediately. 
Read more

Mary Jane Veloso to return to Philippines after 14-year imprisonment in Indonesia

Published
Image
BACK IN 2010, overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia. She was convicted of drug trafficking after being caught carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin in Yogyakarta. She was then given the death penalty despite pleading innocence – saying that she was only a victim of human trafficking.  Initially, she started working as an OFW to give her children a better life. As per her lawyer Agus Salim, she had gone to Dubai to work as a domestic helper, but returned to Manila before the end of her contract because she was allegedly almost raped.
Read more

USA | Pro-Trump prison warden asks Biden to commute all death sentences before leaving

Published
Image
Ron McAndrew is a former Florida State Penitentiary warden A pro-Trump former Florida prison warden who oversaw executions is urging President Biden to commute all federal and military death sentences before leaving office. "I voted for President Trump in all of his campaigns, and I agree with him on most of his positions, but not the death penalty," Ron McAndrew, former warden of the Florida State Penitentiary, wrote in a letter to the outgoing president. "I have written to President Trump personally to ask him to stop calling for more executions."
Read more