Death Penalty News

The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that physicians cannot be punished by the State Medical Board for taking part in executions. The Medical Board had adopted a policy in January 2007 that their physician's code of ethics would be violated by a doctor taking part in an execution, subjecting practitioners to having his or her medical license revoked. This policy conflicted with the state law that requires a physician’s presence at all executions, effectively putting North Carolina’s executions on hold. Writing for the majority, Justice Edward Thomas Brady wrote, "[The Medical Board's] position statement exceeds its authority . . . because the statement directly contravenes the specific requirement of physician presence." In the dissenting opinion, Justice Robin Hudson wrote, "The position statement is a valid exercise of [the Medical Board's] statutory authority. Any change in that authority – which is the practical effect of the majority opinion – is a...

The last time we checked in on law and justice in Collin County, Texas, Matthew Goeller had almost single-handedly stopped an execution less than two hours before it was scheduled to begin. The former assistant district attorney had sworn under oath in an affidavit that the trial judge in Charles Dean Hood’s capital murder case in 1990 had been having an illicit affair with the prosecutor in the case. Goeller’s belated act of courage - he had known about the affair for decades before he went public with the information - has begun to force the state of Texas, grudgingly it seems, to do the right thing. Hood’s scheduled execution was postponed. An appellate court authorized an honest review of the unthinking conduct of former judge Verla Sue Holland and former prosecutor Thomas S. O’Connell, Jr. On Friday, a judge formally confirmed Goeller’s story. Holland, the judge, and O’Connell, the prosecutor, “were involved in an intimate sexual relationship prior to Hood’s capital murder trial,”...

Are you ready for Abu Ghraib, Act II? Five years ago, people around the world were sickened by photographs that surfaced showing U.S. troops abusing Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Act I resulted in an avalanche of congressional hearings, 15 Pentagon probes and courts-martial. More than 400 U.S. troops — but no senior officials — went to jail or were otherwise punished. Congress passed the Detainee Treatment Act to try to prevent future atrocities. But now a new batch of photographs, perhaps hundreds of images, of prisoners being abused is about to be made public. It comes at a time when the debate over prisoner mistreatment is still roiling America's political and public conscience. The new photographs are being made public in a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union. And the Pentagon, after fighting, and losing, three federal court reviews of the matter, has waved the white flag and is now preparing to release the pictures. Some of the photographs are offic...

The government has intervened in the case of a British woman facing the death penalty in Texas, the Foreign Office has confirmed. Linda Carty (pictured) was sentenced to death in 2002 for her part in the abduction and murder of a 25-year-old woman after a trial campaigners say was "catastrophically flawed". Last week, the UK government sent an amicus brief to the US Appeals court complaining of lack of notification of the woman's arrest and trial and "ineffective counsel". A Foreign Office spokeswoman added that it will make representations against the use of the death penalty. Carty, 50, was arrested and later convicted in connection to the kidnap and murder of Joana Rodriguez, who was seized alongside her four-day-old son by three men on 16 May 2001. The baby was later found unharmed in a car, but Rodriguez was found dead, having suffocated after having duct-tape put over her mouth and a plastic bag placed around her head. At the subsequent trial, prosecutors...

2 men beheaded in Saudi Arabia at the weekend were minors when they committed the crimes, Amnesty International said on Monday, condemning the executions as 'deplorable.' The London-based rights organisation said 2 of 5 men beheaded Sunday were convicted of offences, including the abduction and rape of children, theft and consumption of alcohol and drugs, committed when they were 17 years old. 'Yesterday's beheadings are a deplorable addition to Saudi Arabia's grim tally of executions,' said Philip Luther, Amnesty's deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa programme. 'It is cruel and inhumane to put anyone to death, but it is particularly outrageous to do so when the executions take place after grossly unfair procedures and when they take the lives of individuals accused of committing crimes when they were still minors.' The Saudi government announced that 5 criminals were beheaded Sunday in the western city of Medina, bringing to 34 the t...

"Texas long ago decided that the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens. While we respect our friends in Europe, welcome their investment in our state and appreciate their interest in our laws, Texans are doing just fine governing Texas. " Spokesperson for Governor Rick Perry (photographed) on EU call for halt to Texas executions, August 2007 1. a ‘pointless and needless’ deprivation of life On the evening of 9 January 2001, 37-year-old Jack Clark was taken from his prison cell in Texas, USA, and killed. This calculated killing was conducted by state government employees. It was not necessary. It could have been stopped. While deemed lawful by the courts, in the end it was a political choice to carry it out. Although such a killing could have, and has, occurred in a number of other US states both before and since – indeed one was carried out in Oklahoma on that same evening – it would not have happ...

Iran may be hanging up to 600 criminals a year as its use of the death penalty intensifies, a lawyer acting for many of the countrys death row prisoners has said. Mohammad Mostafaei, who is campaigning to save 25 prisoners sentenced to death for crimes committed as minors, said he believes the true number of executions far exceeds estimates given by international human rights groups. "I have calculated there were at least 400 executions last year, but it could be 500 to 600," he said. There are no official figures for Iran's application of capital punishment, which campaigners say ranks 2nd only to China's. Amnesty International puts last year's number of executions at 346, up from 317 in 2007. It says 150 have taken place already this year, an average of more than 1 a day. Mostafaei's estimate follows the execution of Delara Darabi, 22, who was hanged on May 1 for allegedly murdering a wealthy elderly relative when she was 17. She initially admitted the murde...

Iran Human Rights, May 8: Two people were hanged in the Iranian city of Shiraz, reported the state run Iranian news agency ISCA news today. According to the report they ere identified as "A. M-" and "A.R." 29 and 36 years old respectively. Both of them were convicted of drug trafficking. At least 22 people, among them one minor and two women have been executed in the first week of the month of May 2009 in Iran. Source: Iran Human Rights, May 9, 2009

An Alabama man who busted out of jail 16 years ago and fatally shot a police officer and another man in the midst of a crime spree was executed by lethal injection this evening in South Carolina's execution chamber. Thomas Treshawn Ivey was executed shortly after 6 p.m. Friday for killing Tommy Harrison, a 38-year-old Orangeburg police sergeant. The 34-year-old Union Springs, Ala., man had pursued all of his state appeals. Ivey becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in South Carolina and the 42nd overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1985; Ivey becomes the 283rd condemned inmate to be put to death in the state's history. Ivey becomes the 25th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1161st overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. Sources: The State & Rick Halperin, May 9, 2009

Asia is a major source of opium and heroin for the world market, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. Consequently, across Asia, most countries have adopted a severe stance against drug-related crime, and heavy penalties -- including capital punishment -- have been widely adopted. Afghanistan Offenders who possess, use, or traffic illegal drugs in Afghanistan face severe penalties and can face lengthy jail sentences and large fines. Australia The possession, use, or trafficking of illegal drugs in Australia can have severe consequences, with convicted offenders subject to long jail sentences and hefty fines. Bangladesh Those convicted of drug offences face mandatory prison sentences, even for small amounts of illegal drugs and can suffer the death penalty. Brunei imposes a mandatory death penalty on some drug offenses. Lesser penalties include long prison sentences and corporal punishment. Cambodia The punishment for offences even involving "soft drugs...

May 3, 2009: 12 people were hanged in Iraq. There had been no executions in the previous 18 months. The Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) believes that another 115 prisoners may face execution in the near future. Source: BBC, 06/05/2009

May 6, 2009: Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded two Yemeni men convicted of fatally shooting a third Yemeni expatriate during a robbery. The Interior Ministry said the two Yemenis executed were part of a larger gang that specialised in armed theft. Source: Boston Herald, 06/05/2009

Iran Human Rights, May 7: Five people were hanged in the prison of Kerman, south-eastern part of Iran, reported the state run Iranian news agency Fars today. The Five were convicted of drug smugling and were identified as: "Saeed D.", "Sattar N.", "Mahmood M.", "Majid P." and "Sarvar V.". The report didn’t mention whether the executions took place yesterday May 6. or today May 7. Source: Iran Human Rights, May 7, 2009

"There are so many more Troy Davises. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me." Martina Correia has spearheaded the fight for justice for her brother, Troy Davis, who has spent 18 years on Georgia's death row despite overwhelming proof that he is an innocent man. Troy has faced three execution dates in two years, and won a stay each time. Despite facing a battle with breast cancer herself, Martina has led a national and international struggle to win justice for Troy. At the National Convention of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty last fall, Martina gave brief remarks and then read a statement from Troy. Good evening. My name is Martina Correia, and I'm from the distant planet of Georgia. For those of you who don't know about my brother, Troy Anthony Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing an off-duty police officer. He was trying to help a homeless man. Someone went and told the police that my brother had shot and killed this police of...

Iran Human Rights, May 6: According to reliable sources in Iran, one woman and three men were hanged in Tehran’s Evin prison early this morning. The woman identified as Zeynab Nazarzadeh (28) was convicted of murdering her husband. According to the human rights defender, Asieh Amini’s personal blog, the minors Safar Angooti and Amir Khaleghi were not executed this morning. Official Iranian radio and TV reported that ten people were scheduled to be executed this morning. Iran Human Rights is investigating details about the others who were executed this morning. Source: Iran Human Rights , May 6, 2009

Iran Human Rights, May 4: Eight people were hanged in the prison of Taibad (eastern Iranian province of Khorasan) reported the website belonging to Iranian police news center. The executions were taken place at 9 pm on Saturday May 2 inside the prison of Taybad. All those executed were convicted of drug trafficking and none of them were identified by their names. Source: Iran Human Rights, May 4, 2009

Iran Human Rights, May 4: Three days after execution of Delara Darabi in the prison of Rasht, there are reports from Iran indicating that two other minor offenders are scheduled to be executed on Wednesday May 6. in Tehran. According to Mohammad Mostafaei, lawyer of several Iranian minors on the death row, the two minors scheduled to be executed on Wednesday are Amir Khaleghi and Safar Angooti. Amir Khaleghi (18) is convicted of an alleged murder when he was 16 years old. According to his lawyer, Amir was heavily drunk (from the alcohol he bought from a drug store) when he got involved in a street fight which led to a stabbing injury in the chest of another boy identified as Ali Malekpour (who later died). Amir was scheduled to be executed on February 22, but it was postponed after orders from the Iranian judiciary. The other minor offender scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, Safar Angooti (19), is convicted of a murder when he was 17 years old. Iran has ratified UN’s conv...

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday that it would decide the constitutionality of giving juveniles who commit crimes other than murder a sentence of life in prison without the chance of release. The nation's high court agreed to hear two Florida cases, one involving a 13-year-old convicted of raping an elderly woman and the other involving a 17-year-old who took part in an armed home-invasion robbery while on probation for an earlier violent crime. Their lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court and argued that life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole, for juveniles whose crimes did not involve murder violated the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court in 2005 abolished the death penalty for juveniles. The justices will consider in the 2 cases whether to extend that ruling to sentences of life without parole for juveniles convicted of crimes other than murder. The justices are expected to hear and then decide the 2 cases during their upc...

An effort to repeal Colorados death penalty law stumbled Monday in the State Senate after 2 hours of sometimes anguished and angry debate, leaving the bill in limbo and supporters scrambling to find votes as the end of the session looms this week. The Colorado House voted in support of repeal, by a single vote majority, last month. In their debate, lawmakers focused on questions of deterrence, certainty or doubt in the age of genetic evidence, and, far from least in the mix, money in a time of shrinking government resources. As proposed, the bill would have redirected about $1 million now devoted to death penalty costs to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for investigating unsolved crimes known as cold cases. But the amendment that passed on a voice vote Monday pledged new money for cold cases popular with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle but made no mention of the death penalty. Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly. "They got what they wanted, and we got...

For nearly 3 decades, Joe Amrine could only dream of life on the other side of his prison cell. But brutal reality now threatens the survival of this freed man, warping his dream into a nightmare. Now the 53-year-old stares into a daily struggle he never faced in prison. Jobless, he has no money for life's necessities. For food he relies on food stamps; for housing he sleeps on his sister's couch; for transportation the bus system, when he can scrounge the change; and, most prized, a cell phone, which frequently is turned off due to his inability to pay the bill. The phone represents Amrine's only contact with potential employers, and the outside world. He's spent his freedom searching for a job and waiting to begin his life on the other side of cell bars. For years, he was a victim of the justice system, a system that worked as designed when he was found guilty of stealing at age 17. But that same system went awry, says Amrine, when he was falsely convicted of murderin...