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First Third Of 2024 In Saudi Arabia: Executions Rise By 189% And Portend Another Bloody Year. At Least 71 Currently Facing Execution.

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Since the beginning of 2024 until the end of April, the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 55 individuals. This figure constitutes a 189% increase compared to the executions in the first third of 2023, which witnessed 19 executions. The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights views these numbers as a clear indication of the Saudi government's continued approach towards executing and issuing death sentences, and that the promises made in recent years have become elusive.

Death-row clemency fight in Louisiana turns to control of state pardon board

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Last month, a state judge in Baton Rouge ordered the Louisiana Board of Pardons to hire a fresh slate of lawyers to handle a massive stack of clemency bids from death row.

The judge, Richard “Chip” Moore, found that Attorney General Jeff Landry, now governor-elect, was conflicted when he canned the board’s attorneys and hired new ones to fight the mass filing from 55 of 56 condemned prisoners.

Governor-elect Jeff Landry speaks during a press conference Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at Russo Park, the UL-Lafayette baseball stadium, in Lafayette, La.

But on Friday, the board is set to consider rehiring Landry’s chosen firm, Sher Garner, while tapping another law firm, Rodrigue & Arcuri, with close political ties to Landry.

Indeed, Rodrigue & Arcuri was already at work on Thursday, filing an opposition in federal court to a legal challenge that seeks to force the pardon board to conduct swift hearings on those clemency applications. Each of the 55 prisoners is asking for Gov. John Bel Edwards to convert their sentences to life in prison. Only the governor can grant such mercy, and only on the recommendation of the board, which he appoints.

A devout Catholic, Edwards came out this year against capital punishment, saying it runs counter to his “pro-life” beliefs. His words helped spur the mass clemency filings, which Landry opposes and has sued to stop along with several district attorneys, while asserting control over the pardon board. The board now argues that Edwards, in an Aug. 9 letter requesting swift pardon hearings for those prisoners, never actually ordered them.

Gov. John Bel Edwards asked the Louisiana Pardon Board to expedite commutation requests from the state's death row inmates.

In response to Edwards' letter, the pardon board initially had scheduled pardon hearings over 4 fall dates for the first 20 death row applicants.

With Sher Garner in place as its lawyers, the board instead approved a settlement on Sept. 29 that limited those dates to “administrative” hearings only. The board would then decide if those prisoners were eligible for full pardon hearings, which couldn't happen for another 60 days. The result: only five applicants received administrative hearings, on Oct. 13, and the board rejected all five.

Still, Moore found that Landry went too far in replacing the board's lawyers, calling it an illegal "end around," while finding that Landry was conflicted. The judge ordered the board to “hire its own lawyer subject to approval of the governor and attorney general.” But he also left open the door for the board to rehire Sher Garner.

A recent federal lawsuit alleges that the board violated the prisoners’ rights when it cut the settlement deal to deny them full hearings. Francis Abbott, the board's executive director, did not return messages on Thursday for comment.

Cecelia Kappel of the Capital Appeals Project, which filed the clemency petitions, accused Landry of plotting to "shamelessly hijack the clemency process, which has long been a failsafe of our criminal justice system.”

The hiring of Rodrigue & Arcuri, she said, “appears to be a grotesque joke, particularly in light of a prior finding that required the Board’s counsel to be independent of AG Landry.”

The principals of Rodrigue & Arcuri, Laura Rodrigue and Blake Arcuri, are both former Orleans Parish prosecutors. Rodrigue's father is former Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, who now heads Landry’s criminal division.

Rodrigue also founded Bayou Mama Bears, a political advocacy group that teamed with Landry during the COVID-19 pandemic to fight mask and vaccine mandates.

Landry this week named Rodrigue as co-chair of a "transition council" focused on crime and pubic safety.

Rodrigue & Arcuri often represents sheriffs offices against civil rights claims, and it has represented the state in the past. Sher Garner has represented both Landry and Edwards in the past.

Arcuri declined to comment Thursday. Landry’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Edwards' office.

Advocates for death-row prisoners are hoping a court will order the board to put on full pardon hearings, but time is running short for them. Landry, a Republican who won the governor's race without a runoff, takes office Jan. 8.

Source: nola.com, Staff, November 3, 2023

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Location: Louisiana, USA
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First Third Of 2024 In Saudi Arabia: Executions Rise By 189% And Portend Another Bloody Year. At Least 71 Currently Facing Execution.

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Since the beginning of 2024 until the end of April, the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 55 individuals. This figure constitutes a 189% increase compared to the executions in the first third of 2023, which witnessed 19 executions. The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights views these numbers as a clear indication of the Saudi government's continued approach towards executing and issuing death sentences, and that the promises made in recent years have become elusive.
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