Death Penalty News

A federal jury in Detroit has declined to order the death penalty for a man convicted of killing an armored-truck courier during a heist in 2001. Timothy O'Reilly will serve life in prison without parole. Michigan's Constitution forbids the death penalty in state court, but it's an option for murders prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department in federal court. The jury said Wednesday it failed to reach an unanimous verdict on life or death, so the judge will automatically impose a life sentence. The same jury three weeks ago found O'Reilly guilty in the fatal shooting of Norman "Anthony" Stephens, who was restocking ATMs in the middle of the night at Dearborn Federal Credit Union in Dearborn. Stephens was shot in the back and legs before O'Reilly and others got away with $204,000. Source: WNDU.com , August 26, 2010

Bali Nine Scott Rush Bali Nine drug smuggler Scott Rush has appeared in a Denpasar court at the start of his final appeal against his death sentence. Rush told the court he has nightmares about facing the firing squad and how long it will take him to die. He apologised to the court and to his family for the unnecessary suffering he has caused. Rush also said he wants to become an ambassador against drugs and hopes he will be given a chance to show that he has changed his ways. "I want to show that I am a living example of how drugs destroy lives and cause family distress," he said. His appeal has been bolstered by letters from the Australian Federal Police , stating Rush played only a minor role in the Bali Nine drug smuggling ring. His previous appeal against a life sentence was answered with the death penalty, but this time his lawyers say their case is much stronger. It is Rush's last chance to have a court cancel his death sentence. The Queenslander was on...

Singapore President S R Nathan A 9-member family delegation on behalf of death row inmate Yong Vui Kong travelled all the way from Sandakan to deliver their petition requesting clemency to Singapore President S. R. Nathan, Tuesday. However, the President was not present to meet them to receive the petition as well as 107,904 signatures from concerned Malaysians and others, despite having made prior arrangements. They were also not allowed to use the front entrance but deliver their petition through the back of the Istana. Istana Security Police Officer, Marcus Chong, received the petition on behalf of the President. The family members were Yong's father, Yong Kwong Keong, 59, paternal uncle Yong Kwong Chun, 60, and his wife Mary Liew, 54, and Yong's siblings, Nyuk Yin, 33, Yun Sang, 31, Nyuk Chu, 30, Yun Leong, 25, Yun Chung, 24, and Vui Fung, 20. Yong's mother, Liaw Yung Khan was not present as she is said to be depressed. The petitioners were clad in T-shirts urging...

The Ohio Parole Board has voted against clemency for Kevin Keith (left), a 46-year-old African American man who is facing execution on 15 September. He maintains that he did not commit the three murders for which he was sentenced to death. The Ohio Governor will now consider his petition for clemency. On 19 August, the Ohio Parole Board published its unanimous decision recommending that Governor Ted Strickland deny clemency to Kevin Keith. The Board said that, in a case such as this in which the prisoner asserts their innocence, “we believe that considerable deference should be afforded to the findings of the jury and trial court as well as subsequent… reviews.” The Board’s recommendation to the Governor is non-binding. Governor Strickland has already said that he finds aspects of Kevin Keith’s case “troubling”. Kevin Keith was sentenced to death in May 1994 for the murders three months earlier of Marichell Chatman, her seven-year-old daughter Marcha...

PETALING JAYA: The clemency appeal for convicted Malaysian drug mule Yong Vui Kong, who is slated to be hanged in Singapore, has been extended. Originally scheduled for tomorrow, the hearing has been postponed to a later date. Save Vui Kong Campaign (SKVC) coordinator Ngeow Chow Ying told FMT that Changi prison authorities had given a letter to Vui Kong's Singaporean legal counsel M Ravi regarding this. "The (Singapore) High Court in their decision has extended the deadline until Vui Kong's appeal is disposed of in the Court of Appeal," she added. The appeal is against a court ruling two weeks ago that the power to grant pardons rests with the Cabinet, and not the president, under the Constitution. Yong, 22, was slapped with the death penalty for smuggling 47 grams of heroin into Singapore. Caught in 2007, he was 18 at the time, making him eligible for capital punishment. Yesterday, Yong's six siblings, who were split up after their parents divorced, reunite...

Swiss campaigners who won clearance to seek a referendum on reintroducing the death penalty have withdrawn their application only a day later. They said they did not really believe in capital punishment, but wanted to highlight what they called a bias towards criminals over victims. Under Swiss law, citizens can force a referendum on almost any issue if they collect 100,000 signatures. The death penalty was abolished in Switzerland in 1942. The government said on Tuesday that the campaigners could begin the process to initiate a referendum on bringing it back. The campaigners had claimed to want to reintroduce capital punishment for murders involving sexual abuse, particularly of children. But on Wednesday the group, apparently made up of private individuals related to a victim, said the initiative had been a way of airing their grievances. They called for further debate and for politicians to intervene. Source: BBC News , August 25, 2010

The Abolition Movement thanks Sis Marpessa for sharing this touching, painful and moving story. We always say that when someone is executed, that execution creates another victim's family. If you wonder if this is true, read this sister's words. Share her pain. Then take the emotions these words generate and transform that into energy to fight to end all state killings. Testimony from Shakeerah R. Hameen February 10, 2005 I am writing this testimony because I feel that the public is entitled to know how an execution affects not only the offender’s family, but the guards, lawyers, and all those involved. On May 21, 2001 my husband, Abdullah Tanzel Hameen, was murdered by the State of Delaware. My mother-in-law and I were among the many witnesses that stood by and watched this murder occur. The day was beautiful; there was a warm breeze, a clear sky and the brightest sunshine you ever wanted to see. As I opened my eyes to this magnificent day I realized the irony in the be...

Troy Davis A federal judge Tuesday denied Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis' innocence claim after a rare hearing. The ruling against Davis sets the stage for Georgia officials to move forward with executing him for the 1989 shooting death of Mark MacPhail, an off-duty Savannah police officer. In June, U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. heard 2 days of testimony from witnesses seeking to cast doubt on Davis' conviction. The Supreme Court ordered the hearing for Davis a year ago. Davis has been spared from execution 3 times as his attorneys pushed their argument that new evidence showed police ignored MacPhail's real killer as they rushed to pin the shooting on Davis. For more than a decade, Davis has sought to present in open court his claims of innocence, including the testimony of 7 key prosecution witnesses who have recanted or contradicted their trial testimony. Davis' innocence claims have attracted international attention, including former Pr...

Yong Vui Kong Yong Vui Kong, 22, is a citizen of Malaysia who was arrested for the charge of trafficking 47 grams of heroin and sentenced to be hanged. Yong Vui Kong is just 22 years old and he was caught in Singapore. Malaysia is doing everything possible to save the young man’s life but so far the situation is not going in the right direction. Yong Vui Kong is due to be hanged on 26th of August. The case is very complex and the petitions that are sent to the higher officials of Singapore are not yet being responded to. Before this Yong Vui Kong appealed through his Singapore lawyer M. Ravi that the death sentence that is ordered upon him is an absolutely wrong and unjust punishment and it goes against humanity. His appeal was heard in the court but later dismissed. Now Yong Vui Kong is waiting for his fate and anything could happen any time. Though Malaysia is doing a lot to save this young man’s life they are not doing enough and not fast enough. There are just two days till t...

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has given Indonesian authorities all the information it has on Bali Nine drug mule Scott Rush ahead of his final death penalty appeal. Rush was one of nine Australians convicted over the 2005 attempt to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin from Bali to Australia. The 24-year-old was originally sentenced to life in prison but Indonesia's Supreme Court later substituted the death penalty. Rush's final appeal against the sentence will happen on Thursday. AFP Commissioner Tony Negus on Tuesday said the organisation had provided the Indonesian courts with all the information it had about Rush's role in the plot. "We have responded to requests to provide more information about the role individuals have played in this case," Mr Negus told reporters in Brisbane. "... it is up to the Indonesian courts to make a determination but we are happy to provide what support we can to give them, the full range of material we have. "We h...

GENEVA — Swiss death penalty advocates can start collecting signatures for a referendum on whether to restore capital punishment in the Alpine republic after almost 70 years, the government said Tuesday. An announcement in the federal bulletin said the documents submitted by campaigners meet formal legal requirements. The group now has until Feb. 24, 2012, to collect the 100,000 signatures needed to call a popular vote on reintroducing the death penalty for murders involving sexual abuse, the announcement said. Switzerland eliminated capital punishment from its criminal statutes in 1942. The last civilian to be executed in Switzerland was beheaded in 1940. The death penalty remained part of Switzerland's military law until 1992, though the last executions took place by firing squad in 1944. Authorities have yet to examine whether the death penalty would be constitutionally legal and in line with Switzerland's international obligations, including the European Convention on H...

Governor Edward G. Rendell today signed execution warrants for Kenneth Hairston, Cletus Rivera and Jerry Chambers. The 3 inmates are held at the State Correctional Institution at Greene. Hairston, 59, of Allegheny County, was convicted of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder and sentenced to death for killing his wife, Katherine, and their teenage autistic son, Sean, in June 2001. He is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, Oct. 19. In August 2008, Rivera, 28, was convicted of the shooting death of Reading police officer Scott Wertz. Officer Wertz was pursuing Rivera after responding to an altercation outside of a local convenience store in August 2006. Rivera was believed to have fired gunshots during the fight. Rivera's execution is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 20. Chambers, 38, was sentenced to death in May 2005 for murdering 3-year-old Porchia Bennett in Philadelphia on Aug. 16, 2003. His execution date is scheduled for Thursday, Oc...

Amnesty International today condemned the execution of 4 men in Equatorial Guinea, all convicted of attempting to assassinate the country's President. José Abeso Nsue, Manuel Ndong Anseme, Alipio Ndong Asumu and Jacinto Michá Obiang were executed on 21 August immediately after being convicted by a military court in the country's capital Malabo. "These men were convicted after an unfair trial, sentenced to death and executed with chilling speed without having the slightest opportunity to appeal their sentence," said Erwin van der Borght, Africa Director at Amnesty International. The 4 men had been living as refugees in Benin for many years, when Equatorial Guinean security forces abducted them in January 2010. The former military officers were then secretly detained in Black Beach prison in Malabo, where they reportedly "confessed" to the attack on the presidential palace on 17 February 2009. Amnesty International received reports th...

After an audit of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) conducted by former FBI agents at the request of North Carolina's attorney general, it was revealed that officials withheld blood evidence affecting 269 defendants.  The report listed three death penalty cases that resulted in executions. Although each of the executed defendants confessed to the crimes, such confessions are sometimes suspect and evidence withheld by the state might have at least led to a lesser sentence.  Desmond Carter, who was executed in 2002, was represented by attorneys who were inexperienced and unqualified to handle his capital case. The attorneys never evaluated and challenged the SBI evidence, only assuming the evidence was true.  Another impacted case was that of John Hardy Rose, who confessed to killing his neighbor. Ken Rose, his attorney (no relation), said there was doubt as to whether his crime was premeditated or impulsive. Rose said he believes previously undisclosed negative re...

Yong Vui Kong PETALING JAYA: Support is pouring in for Yong Vui Kong, who is scheduled to be hanged in Singapore for a drug trafficking charge. As of yesterday, a petition calling on the republic to spare the 22-year-old Sabahan from capital punishment , was inked by 96,622 people. ( Please click on the above link to sign the online petition. ) Yong's final appeal for clemency is scheduled to be heard on Thursday. Organized by the Save Vui Kong Campaign (SKVC), the petition saw 40,138 Sabahans lending their support. Another 25,112 came from West Malaysia while 2,200 Singaporeans had also backed the clemency plea. The remaining 29,172 were online signatures. The petition was also inked by 44 Malaysian MPs and 15 senators. They included the likes of Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali and DAP supremo Karpal Singh. “We believe (that) granting Yong (his) clemency is in line with Singapore’s interests,” said SKVC coordinator Ngeow Chow Ying, adding that Yong was a changed man now. “H...