Death Penalty News

13 November, 1996. A Wednesday, not a Friday, but still not so lucky for Larry Lonchar . He was electrocuted just after midnight. I got to watch. The very next day they were going to kill Ellis Wayne Felker . We got his case stopped, but only for 24 hours. Then they killed him too.  Meanwhile the Feds re-arrested Clarence Smith. I’d spent years getting him exonerated and off death row in Louisiana, but the federal government had the power to charge him with the same things all over again, acquittal notwithstanding. All in all, not a great three days. Larry’s bipolar rollercoaster had taken in several crests and troughs. When he was depressed, he would periodically drop his appeals and ask to die. Each time the good state of Georgia would cut off his antidepressants, keen that he should follow through. We had come within 40 minutes of his execution four times – once within 58 seconds – before we got a stay. Each time he had been terrified, as the electric chair loomed clo...

Iran Human Rights, June 29, 2015: On Saturday Soheil Arabi, cyber activist, discovered through his lawyers that Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned his death sentence, pending a retrial. One of Arabi’s lawyers confirmed the news to Iran Human Rights. Arabi may still face execution if he is sentenced to death in the new trial, this was the fate web developer Saeed Malekpour suffered in 2011. Iran human Rights welcomes the news of the overturning of Soheil Arabi’s death sentence and calls for abolishing all laws in Iran that violate a citizen’s right to freedom of speech or expression. Source: Iran Human Rights , June 29, 2015 Related articles: - URGENT APPEAL for Iranian photographer Soheil Arabi sentenced ... Nov 27, 2014 ... An Iranian man has been sentenced to death for “insulting the Prophet of Islam”. Soheil Arabi has now had his sentence upheld by Iran's ... - Iranian Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence for Man Who ... Nov 25, 2014 ... Soheil Arabi was...

James E. Holmes DENVER, United States, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Lawyers defending Colorado mass murderer James Holmes this week began the difficult job of proving the Ph.D. candidate was insane when he ripped hundreds of bullets into a movie theater audience, killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. Their task will be difficult because two key psychiatrists already testified Holmes is mentally ill, but was not legally " insane" three years ago when he planned and executed one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history. If found "insane," Holmes' " not guilty by reason of insanity" plea will be upheld and he will spend the rest of his life incarcerated and avoid the death penalty. The defense's first psychiatrist, who called Holmes "insane," endured a blistering cross-examination Friday by lead prosecutor, Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler. Dr. Jonathan Woodcock interviewed Holmes twice, the first time just fou...

Anthony Graves (NBC News) -- A few weeks ago, Anthony Graves began hearing rumors that he was under consideration for a spot on the Houston Forensic Science Center's board of directors — a post that would put him in a position to help the city prevent wrongful convictions. Wrongful convictions like the one that put him on death row. The simple fact that he was being considered for the job was another form of vindication for Graves, who was exonerated in the murders of six people and released from a Texas prison five years ago. Since then, Graves has been traveling the country telling his story, urging people to press for reforms to the criminal justice system — including the death penalty. "I was excited about the opportunity because it lines up with the work I already do," Graves, 49, told NBC News. That appointment, submitted by Houston Mayor Anise Parker, became official on Wednesday, when the Houston City Council voted to put him on the nine-m...

A United Arab Emirates court sentenced an Emirati woman to death on Monday after convicting her of the jihadist-inspired murder of an American teacher, Abu Dhabi newspaper The National reported. Alaa Bader al-Hashemi was found guilty of stabbing to death teacher Ibolya Ryan, 47, in a shopping mall toilet, as well as "creating a handmade bomb" she placed in front of an Egyptian-American doctor's home, the paper said. The ruling was made by the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, which means it cannot be appealed. The attacks took place within hours of each other in the UAE capital on December 1. Hashemi was arrested by Abu Dhabi CID during a raid at her home three days after the incident. Hashemi "was also found guilty of sending money to Al-Qaeda in Yemen, knowing the funds would be used in terrorist acts," The National said. Hashemi, surrounded by four police officers, "showed no emotion as the verdict and sentence were announced,...

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo reiterated his tough stance on drugs at an event to mark World Anti-Narcotics Day on Friday, calling for a united front on the eradication of drug abuse. Citing a high incidence of drug abuse in the country and the debilitating impact on the nation's future, Jokowi called on relevant parties to step up their efforts in the war on drugs. "I believe, given drugs' destructive power, there is no other choice for us but to declare war against drugs," he said in a speech during the event at the State Palace.Jokowi has made tough drug policies a hallmark of his administration. Declaring a "drug emergency", he has called for the death penalty for drug dealers and rejected clemency pleas for convicted traffickers. Despite protests from human rights campaigners and the international community, his administration executed 14 convicts - including foreigners of multiple nationalities - in 2 groups in January and May...

An Upper Sharia Court, Rijiyar Lemo, in Kano, has sentenced 9 persons: Abdul-Inyas, Hajiya Mairo and 7 others to death for blasphemy against the Prophet of Islam. The trial was done in secret, and details of its proceedings are yet to be made public. Even the name of the judge who conducted the trial is being kept secret. The court initially said 2 people were convicted but a court official, who simply gave his name as Nasir (he declined to provide his full name) later said 9 people were sentenced. He declined to provide the names of the 7 others. The offence, committed in early June, triggered protest in Kano. The demonstration was however promptly quelled by law enforcement agents. The court where the trial began was burnt down prompting the authorities to assign the case to another court. A statement by the State Sharia Court of Appeal, signed by a man named Nasiru, said the 9 persons were found guilty under section 110 and section 382b of the Sharia P...

Middle Eastern country faced criticism for acts of torture against LGBTI people Saudi Arabia convicts homosexuality with anything from whipping to a death sentence. Saudi Arabia has said it will support human rights as long as they can still kill LGBTI people. Earlier this week, the country was heavily criticized during a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. It was pointed out that punishing homosexuality with life imprisonment, torture, chemical castration, whipping and the death penalty does not fit in with internationally recognized human rights protecting people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. But government officials have said calls for Saudi Arabia to support LGBTI rights were 'unacceptable' and a 'flagrant interference in its internal affairs'. Faisal bin Hasan Trad, Saudi Arabia's representative at the UN, said the country will not tolerate criticism of its human rights record. According to A...

Main gallows at Tokyo Detention Center TOKYO — A man convicted of murdering a woman in 2007 in Nagoya was executed on Thursday morning, Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa said. It was the first execution that Kamikawa has signed off on since becoming justice minister and the 12th since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012. Tsukasa Kanda, 44, was convicted along with accomplices Yoshimoto Hori and Yuichiro Hondo of killing 31-year-old Rie Isogai on Aug 24, 2007, in Aichi Prefecture.  The men, who met on a website set up to bring “crime-minded” people together, were convicted of abducting Isogai with the intention of robbing her. They then killed her to prevent her from testifying against them. Kanda and Hori were sentenced to death. Kawagishi received a life prison term in return for having turned himself in and providing evidence that aided the police investigation. Hori’s death sentence was commuted to life in prison, following an appeal. The...

This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a Georgia case, Foster v. Humphrey , in which an all-white jury sentenced a black man to death after prosecutors struck every black prospective juror in the case.  The Court will determine whether prosecutors violated the Court's 1986 decision in Batson v. Kentucky , which banned the practice of dismissing potential jurors on the basis of race.  In anticipation of the case, The New Yorker published an analysis of tactics used to evade Batson challenges by providing race-neutral reasons for striking jurors.  In Philadelphia, a training video told new prosecutors, "When you do have a black juror, you question them at length. And on this little sheet that you have, mark something down that you can articulate later....You may want to ask more questions of those people so it gives you more ammunition to make an articulable reason as to why you are striking them, not for race."  In the 1990s, prosecutors in No...

Serge Atlaoui in Cipinang prison in 2007 JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday a French citizen sentenced to death for drug offenses has exhausted all options in his legal fight to avoid execution. Ministry spokesman Aarmanatha Nasir said Indonesia will proceed "in accordance with the sentence that has been imposed against the convict," Serge Atlaoui. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said his government is "totally mobilized" in support of Atlaoui, 51, whose final appeal was denied on Monday by an administrative court in Jakarta.  Nasir said Indonesia has not received any specific requests from the French government following its statement in reaction to the rejection of Atlaoui's final appeal. He said Indonesia recognizes that governments have an obligation to protect their citizens when they get into trouble abroad but they must do so in compliance with local laws. Indonesia has executed 14 peopl...

Clearly not everyone who experiences a violent or abusive childhood goes on to commit heinous crimes. But what is glaringly apparent is that most of those who find themselves in prison for violent crimes have had some kind of trauma in childhood or adolescence. If we fail to catch these men (and women) in a safety net when they’re at their most vulnerable then we shouldn’t be surprised when that violence cycles back around. But we must acknowledge the fact that we have chosen to dispose of these broken souls rather than try to fix them. New studies show that trauma biologically alters the brains of young boys in ways that affect their adult behavior. Juan Ramirez grew up in poverty in the Rio Grande Valley, in a neighborhood infested with drug-and gang-related violence. By the age of 10 he’d started smoking marijuana and using inhalants. Within a couple of years he’d moved on to cocaine. By his middle teens he was drinking alcohol and smoking weed daily. A game he and hi...

Chinese police officers rehearsing lethal injection procedures SHENYANG, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Three people were executed Wednesday in the largest drug case to be heard in Liaoning Province, northeast China, a local court said. Ma Min, Yao Hongguo and Li Na were found guilty of smuggling 2,000 methamphetamine pills and 36 kilograms of the drug, the Liaoning provincial higher people's court said in a press release. Starting in May 2008, the three were involved in transporting drugs from the southern city of Shenzhen to sell in the city of Yingkou, Liaoning. They were arrested while collecting drugs from Yingkou Railway Station in May 2010. As three men were identified as the leaders of the drug gang they were given the death penalty, the court said. Police have stepped up investigations into on drug-related crimes over the past years. In Beijing, several renowned celebrities have been detained for taking drugs since last year. Since the beginning of 20...

Dylann Roof's arrest caught on dashcam video.   WASHINGTON — The Justice Department will likely file federal hate crime charges against the man suspected of carrying out a massacre at a storied black church in South Carolina, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday. Dylann Roof, 21, already faces nine counts of murder and could receive the death penalty in state court. But there is widespread agreement among officials at the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation that the shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston was so horrific and racially motivated that the federal government was obligated to address it, law enforcement officials said. F.B.I. analysts have also concluded “with a high degree of certainty” that Mr. Roof posted a racist manifesto online, which could be a key to any federal charges, a law enforcement official said. The website was registered in February under Mr. Roof’s name, but the name was made anonymous the following d...

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has given his first public statement since carrying out the April 2013 terrorist attack. “I would like to now apologize to the victims, to the survivors,” he told a Boston court shortly before being formally sentenced to death for the bombing. “I want to ask forgiveness of Allah and his creation.” He added: “I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering that I have caused you, for the damage I have done – irreparable damage. “In case there is any doubt, I am guilty of this attack, along with my brother,” Tsarnaev said, standing at the defense table, referring to his older brother Tamerlan, killed during the manhunt following the bombing. To the victims attending the hearing at the US district court, he said: “I pray for your relief, for your healing.” Tsarnaev’s voice occasionally faltered as he spoke, and he left meaningful pauses after each apology to the victims of the 2013 bombi...

Louisiana death row Executions in Louisiana are on hold for at least a year because the state doesn't have the drugs needed to put inmates to death, according to a court filing and a lawyer for a convicted child-killer. Lawyers for Christopher Sepulvado and the state Department of Corrections were supposed to be in federal court Thursday to schedule a trial on the constitutionality of Louisiana's method of execution. Instead, a federal judge on Tuesday delayed the trial and Sepulvado's execution - as well as 4 others on death row - until July 2016 as Louisiana tries to figure out how it can carry out the death penalty. This is the 2nd time in a year that the state has asked to delay the trial. States around the country have struggled to execute prisoners because of shortages of lethal injection drugs. In a few cases, it's taken an unusually long time for inmates to die from new drug combinations. In the motion to delay the hearing, Department of...

The number of inmates on Texas' death row is falling. At its peak in 1999, 460 men and women were living with a death sentence in Texas, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Today, there are 260. The reason for the decline isn't a rise in executions. In 2000, an all-time high of 40 inmates were executed in Texas, compared with 10 last year. So far this year, 9 inmates have been executed. The main reason is a drop in new death sentences. In 1999, 48 people were sentenced to Texas death row, according to BJS data. In 2008, that number was 9 - and has stayed in that range ever since. This year, there have been no new death sentences so far, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Kathryn Kase, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, a nonprofit organization of death penalty attorneys, said that zero is significant. "This is the longest we've gone in a calendar year in Texas without a new death ...

Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has confirmed death sentences for 2 suspected Saudi Al-Qaeda members convicted of murdering 4 Frenchmen in 2007, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. They had been sentenced by a special "terrorism" tribunal in January of last year, in verdicts now upheld by the highest court, the Arryadh daily said. The pair were convicted of shooting dead the French nationals -- 1 of whom was a teenager -- near the western city of Medina while they were on a desert excursion from their homes in the capital Riyadh. Another 12 men convicted of helping the attackers were jailed for between 3 and 23 years. Police killed the suspected mastermind of the attack, Walid Motlaq al-Raddadi, a 23-year-old Saudi, in Medina about 2 months after the murders. Authorities in the kingdom set up specialised courts in 2011 to try dozens of Saudis and foreigners accused of belonging to Al-Qaeda or of participating in a wave of attacks that swept the country fr...

D. Tsarnaev A US federal judge will formally sentence Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death at a court hearing today when the 21-year-old former student will be offered the chance to speak. Tsarnaev kept silent throughout his trial, which ended with the jury sentencing him to death on 15 May. Victims and their relatives are expected to address the court. Judge George O'Toole will then officially hand down the sentence, reached unanimously by the 12-person jury. Tsarnaev expressed little emotion throughout his 12-week trial despite harrowing testimony and grisly video footage. Neither has he expressed any public remorse, although a prominent Catholic nun, Sister Helen Prejean, who visited him in jail, said that he did to her. "No one deserves to suffer like they did," she quoted him as saying. The 15 April 2013 double bombings at the Boston Marathon were one of the worst assaults on American soil since the 11 September 2001 attacks. ...