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Activists Call on President Biden to End the Federal Death Penalty Before Leaving Office

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A conversation with Death Penalty Action Co-founder and Executive Director Abe Bonowitz. Now that Joe Biden is a lame duck president, activists are holding him accountable to make good on his promise to end the federal death penalty during his remaining six months as president. Biden’s election campaign in 2020 had pledged to end the federal death penalty and incentivize the remaining 27 states that still allow executions to do the same. While he made history as the first president in the United States to openly oppose the death penalty, there has been no movement to actually end federal executions during his nearly four years in office.

China | Former Primary School Principal Executed For Child Rape

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BEIJING, Nov 13 – A former principal of a primary school in Gansu province was executed through lethal injection on Nov 7, following a death penalty sentence for rape and sexually molesting minors.

Jiupai News, a Hubei province-based news portal, reported on Sunday that Zhang Longji, the former principal, was sentenced to death for raping five girls aged 8 to 12 and sexually molesting 17 girls aged 8 to 14.

These crimes occurred during his tenure as a director of teaching and discipline and later as principal in a local primary school in Jingning county, Gansu province.

The Pingliang Intermediate People’s Court, after due legal process, found Zhang guilty of rape, imposing the death penalty along with lifelong deprivation of political rights. He was also convicted of child molestation, receiving an additional 10-year prison sentence.

The court decided to enforce the death penalty and lifelong deprivation of political rights due to the severity of the crimes.

Despite Zhang’s appeal against the court’s decision, the High People’s Court of Gansu rejected it, upholding the death sentence. 

The Supreme People’s Court later approved the decision, leading to the execution on Nov 7.

Local education authorities have initiated assistance and support for the affected students, although specific details remain confidential due to the involvement of minors. 

The affected school has been dissolved and merged with another, as reported by Redstar News, a Sichuan province-based news portal.

Source: China Daily, Staff, November 13, 2023


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Location: Gansu, China
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