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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 | Unidentified Teenager Executed in Sabzevar

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 24, 2023: State media have reported the execution of an unnamed 18-year-old man for murder in Sabzevar.

According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, a young man was executed in Sabzevar on 24 November. 

The exact location of the unnamed man’s execution has not been specified. 

He was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

The defendant was accused of killing another man during a street altercation. His forced confessions were previously aired with his 16-year-old co-defendant who received a prison term. 

According to state media, the unnamed defendant was sentenced to a public execution. It is not clear whether he was hanged publicly or in Sabzevar Prison.

Those charged with the umbrella term of “intentional murder” are sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) regardless of intent or circumstances due to a lack of grading in law. 

Once a defendant has been convicted, as the plaintiffs, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, November 24, 2023


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Location: Sabzevar, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran
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