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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 | 9 Executions in 2 days

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According to reports received by Iran Human Rights Monitor, the Iranian judiciary carried out the execution sentences of 9 individuals on Saturday and Sunday, July 20th and 21st, in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, and Diezelabad Prison in Kermanshah.

Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj


On Sunday, July 21, 2024, four prisoners named Davoud Barahoui, Saeed Mohammadpour, Mehdi Aliakbari, and another prisoner were hanged in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. All four prisoners had been sentenced to execution on charges related to drug offenses.. Davoud Barahoui, a 47-year-old father of seven, belonged to the Baloch ethnic group and had been imprisoned since 2018. Mehdi Aliakbari, a 49-year-old married man with two children, was a resident of Tehran. He was arrested in Tehran in 2021 and sentenced to execution.

Diezelabad prison in Kermanshah


On Sunday, July 21, 2024, the execution sentence of a prisoner named Danial Kazeminejad was carried out at Diezelabad prison Prison in Kermanshah. He was accused of killing a member of the Revolutionary Guards named Sajjad Amiri in an armed clash in the Karnachi neighborhood of Kermanshah on June 10, 2023.Sajjad Amiri was a member of the Revolutionary Guards who had also been deployed to Syria. Government agencies referred to him as a “martyr and defender of security.”

Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz


On the morning of Saturday, July 20, 2024, the execution sentences of three men and one woman were carried out at Shiraz Central Prison. The identities of these prisoners were confirmed as Mansour Tavakoli, Hamed Shekaste, both 40 years old, who were both sentenced to execution on charges of “intentional murder.” The identity of the third prisoner was confirmed as Mohsen Ostovari.

Execution of a female prisoner (Adel Abad Prison)


On the morning of Sunday, July 21, 2024, the execution order of a female prisoner was carried out at Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz. This woman, whose name was Mahmoudi Nia (first name unspecified), was executed on charges of murder. Ms. Mahmoudi Nia had been arrested and sentenced to capital punishment for the murder of her fiancé. She was not willing to marry him and had been forced into the marriage by her family against her will.

Source: Human Rights Monitor, Staff, July 22, 2024

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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: Iran
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