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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 | Executions in Hamedan, Shiraz, Rasht

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 21, 2024: Alireza Yarmohammadi, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Hamedan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 17 November. His identity has been established as 22-year-old Alireza Yarmohammadi from Malayer who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Alireza was arrested for murder four years ago and was 18 at the time offence. He had defended and saved himself against rape by several people and had later found a gun and killed the person. In the past four years, Alireza was taken to the gallows twice.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

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, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness. Crucially, while an indicative amount is set by the Judiciary every year, there is no legal limit to how much can be demanded by families of the victims. IHRNGO has recorded many cases where defendants are executed because they cannot afford to pay the blood money.

In 2023, at least 282 people including two juvenile offenders and 15 women, were executed for murder charges, the second highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 20% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2023, Iran Human Rights also recorded 857 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.

Execution in Shiraz


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 20, 2024: Amrollah Dehghan, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Shiraz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 20 November. His identity has been established as 39-year-old Amrollah Dehghan, a Shiraz native who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Amrollah Dehghan was arrested for the murder of two brothers over farm land five years ago and received two qisas sentences.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Executions in Rasht


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 20, 2024: Mehdi Gilani and Mohammad Hossein Naderi, two men on death row for drug-related charges, were executed in Rasht Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 16 November. Their identitites have been established as Mehdi Gilani from Rasht and 29-year-old Mohammad Hossein Naderi from Lahijan.

Mehdi was arrested three years ago and Mohammad Hossein was arrested two years ago. They were sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court in separate cases.

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020. In the first six months of 2024, at least 147 people were executed for the charges.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, November 20-21, 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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