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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 | Man Executed in Rajai Shahr Prison

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Iran Human Rights (IHR); July 15, 2021: Afshin Gheidar who had been sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Rajai Shahr Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least one prisoner was executed in Rajai Shahr Prison on the morning of July 14. 

His identity has been established as Afshin Gheidar, who had been sentenced to qisas on murder charges.

The number of executions on Wednesday is likely to have been higher. Another prisoner,  Mehdi Ghanbari, was also executed on murder charges at the same prison on July 10. 

At the time of writing, Afshin Gheidar’s execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

According to Iran Human Rights’ Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 211 of the 267 people executed in 2020 were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for "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, July 15, 2021


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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: Gohardasht, Karaj, Alborz Province, Iran
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