Death Penalty News

ISIS members (file photo) The Islamic State murdered 5 Syrian media activists as it continues its assault on the press, maintaining tight control of the message that comes out of regions under the terrorist group's control. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has viewed a video released by ISIS in Deir Ezzor, in eastern Syria. The video shows the execution of five media activists via 5 different, sadistic methods. The militants also issued a warning that any journalists or media activists opposed to the group and working to reveal their crimes are not safe, even outside of Syria. They cite the killing of Mohammed Zaher al-Shirqat. Shirqat worked for Halab Today TV, an independent satellite channel from Aleppo. He was shot in the neck at close range on the street in the Turkish city of Gaziantep in early April. He had previously received death threats from ISIS, who claimed responsibility for his murder. The United States condemned the killing. "Freedom...

The state of Arizona has eliminated its use of the sedative midazolam as one of the drugs it relies on in carrying out executions. Lawyers for the state said in a court filing Friday that its current supply of midazolam expired on May 31 and that Arizona's sources of the drug have dried up because of pressure from opponents of the death penalty. That leaves Arizona with other lethal-drug combinations, but the state's lawyers said they can't currently carry out executions because it has no access to supplies of pentobarbital and sodium thiopental. The status of the state's lethal-injection drug supplies were revealed Friday in a court filing in a lawsuit that challenges the way Arizona carries out the death penalty. Executions in Arizona were put on hold after the July 2014 death of convicted killer Joseph Rudolph Wood, who was given 15 doses of midazolam and a painkiller and who took nearly 2 hours to die. His attorney says the execution was botched. ...

Court OKs execution but requires wait; AG won't ask for a rush 1 of Arkansas' execution drugs will expire before a court decision upholding the state's execution law goes into effect, and might be impossible to replace. A spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said Friday that she will not ask the state's Supreme Court to expedite finalizing its Thursday ruling that upheld Arkansas' execution secrecy law and drug protocol. The executions of 8 people are waiting for that ruling. Generally, rulings are final 18 days after opinions are issued. Without the attorney general's request, the ruling takes effect July 11 - days after the state's supply of vecuronium bromide, a paralytic the state uses in executions, expires. "After careful consideration and analysis, the attorney general has decided not to seek an expedited mandate from the court. But once the court issues the mandate, the attorney general is fully prepared to ...

John Wayne Conner Conner was sentenced to die 34 years ago John Wayne Conner was scheduled Friday to become the sixth man executed in Georgia this year - a record number since the death penalty was reinstated here 40 years ago. The time for his lethal injection for the 1992 murder of a drinking buddy was set for 7 p.m. on July 14. Conner's scheduled execution comes as the pace of executions in Georgia is increasing. Yet, death sentences are being rendered in Georgia murder trials less often. At this time, Conner is the only death row inmate who has exhausted his appeals, though several others are nearing the end of legal recourse. On Jan. 9, 198, Conner, Beverly Bates and J.T. White went to a party in Eastman, Ga., but when it was over they weren't ready to call it a night. So they returned to Conner's house to keep drinking. But Conner, then 26, and White, 29, needed more bourbon. They walked to a neighbor's house in hopes of getting a ri...

Lindsay Sandiford (center) knitting with other inmates in a Kerobokan prison cell As she marks what could be her final birthday, sources close to death row gran Lindsay Sandiford say she isn't about to be executed. The convicted Redcar drug mule will spend her 60th birthday today in the squalid Indonesian prison she's languished in since she was sentenced to death in 2012. There were fears that the birthday would be her last, with reports she may be among one of 16 people shot following the Muslim holiday of Eid. However a supporter, who has flown to Bali to be with her on her birthday, has told the Gazette "Lindsay is not listed for execution." Christie Buckingham of Bayside Church jetted in from Australia to spend time with her friend during what she said was a "very sensitive time" for the grandmother. "At this stage she is concentrating on getting her appeal in place," she added. Another senior source close to the c...

The husband of a British-Iranian woman who has been detained without charge in Tehran for 83 days has spoken of his anger over the Foreign Office's handling of the matter, saying he feels "gamed" by officials who value trade above the welfare of British citizens and objected to his going public with the case. Richard Ratcliffe told the Guardian he felt trade relations had been prioritised over the welfare of his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and their 2-year-old daughter Gabriella. "I don't think Nazanin and Gabriella's case, nor any of the others, is a top priority at the moment," he said, referring to 4 other British passport holders he understands are being detained in Iran. "The top priority of the Foreign Office is trade." Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation as a project manager, was arrested at Tehran's international airport by members of the country's Revolutionary Guard on 3 April. She h...

A new report by the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime fails to mention the use of the death penalty for drug crimes, despite a surge in executions of alleged drug offenders in countries where the UN agency funds counter-narcotics police. UNODC unveiled its 2016 World Drug Report today (23 June) and warned that the number of drug users has risen worldwide. However, the 174-page document included no reference to the increased number of death sentences and executions in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.  While the UNODC’s report lamented the number of deaths from drugs overdoses, it made no reference to the 638 alleged drug offenders who were hanged in Iran last year, up from 367 in 2014. UNODC recently announced a new $20m funding deal for Iranian drug operations, which will support law enforcement training and equipment that has previously been linked to arrests and executions. Earlier this year 56 countries, including all 28 EU member states, signed a ...

Philippine Police Officers President-elect Rodrigo Duterte Wednesday stressed the need to revive the death penalty, which he said, would serve as "retribution" for those who committed crimes. He said those who insist that death penalty is not a deterrent to crime do not understand his position on the issue. "The death penalty might be a deterrence to commit a crime but that is one school of thought," Duterte said. "Death penalty to me is the retribution. It makes you pay for what you did," he added. The death penalty was abolished in 1987 during the time of President Corazon Aquino but was revived in 1993 under President Fidel Ramos. Crimes that were punishable by death include murder, rape, kidnapping and drug trafficking. Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a devout Catholic, signed a law abolishing capital punishment in 2006. Duterte reiterated that he would not hesitate to kill those who seek to destroy the youth,...

Philippine National Police officers An Austalian arrested for selling ecstasy in the Philippines may fall afoul of 'shoot-to-kill' president-elect Rodrigo Duterte's promise to impose the death penalty on all drug crimes. Damian John Berg and Canadian national Jeremy Eaton were arrested yesterday after being linked by Philippines police to a drug syndicate importing prohibited substances from Europe. Philippines police allege the pair were selling ecstasy at a youth concert in Manila last month where 5 party-goers died of drug overdose. It's a tough time to run afoul of the law in the Philippines. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has vowed he will put snipers in the streets, insisting his citizens must learn to fear the law - even smoking bans. The 71-year-old, due to be sworn-in on June 30, says his goal is to 'end crime' within 3 to 6 months of taking office. Capital punishment is to be applied to crimes involving murder, robbery, ra...

The Ministry of Justice yesterday responded to EU calls to abolish capital punishment by saying that Taiwan's justice system is moving toward that goal in the long term, adding that a high percentage of Taiwanese still favor the death penalty for certain crimes. Taiwan, China, Japan and the US were among the nations criticized in the Council of the EU's Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2015, which was released on Monday. The report said that 101 countries have abolished the death penalty, as the EU reaffirmed "its opposition to the death penalty and use of all diplomatic tools at its disposal to advance the cause of worldwide abolition." "The EU deplored the continuing use of the death penalty in various parts of the world: Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Belarus, Egypt, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the USA were a particular focus of attention," it added, as the EU urged these nations ...

Pablo Ibar The Spaniard of Basque descent has already spent 16 years on death row, after a conviction in the 1990s for a triple-homicide The State of Florida has announced its decision to ask for capital punishment for Pablo Ibar, despite the Florida Supreme Court having vacated a death penalty sentence from the year 2000 and ordered a new trial. Ibar, a Spanish citizen of Basque descent, was convicted of a 1994 triple homicide of a nightclub owner and 2 models. He has already served 22 years in prison, 16 of them on death row. Andres Krakenberger, a spokesman for the Pablo Ibar Association Against the Death Penalty, told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that the defense had received the state's notification. He said the decision was "predictable," though it has caused "profound disappointment," given that the prosecution is pressing charges against someone who has "clear proof of his innocence." Krakenberger said Ibar was...

Texas death row, Polusnky Unit, Livingston, TX Attorneys for death row inmate Rodney Reed have filed a supplement to the Feb. 2015 brief seeking a retrial on his death penalty case, arguing that new evidence has come their way that further indicates that Reed is not responsible for the April 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. The brief, filed June 7 to the Court of Criminal Appeals and Reed's trial court in Bastrop, points to a conflicting detail in the timeline of former Giddings Police Officer Jimmy Fennell, Stites' fiance and the man Reed defenders believe is actually responsible for killing Stites. Since Fennell first gave his official statement to police 2 days after Stites' body was found, the understanding was that he spent the night of April 22 at home with his fiancee - beginning at 8pm or 8:30 - and that he slept through her early morning departure for work at H-E-B. (Fennell testified in court to this chronology, as well.) But according to a recent interview ...

Oklahoma death chamber Jurors on Wednesday chose the death penalty as punishment for an Oklahoma City man convicted of raping his girlfriend and her friend before fatally beating the friend. The Oklahoma County jury deliberated less than an hour. Last week, the jurors found Albert Ray Johnson, 49, guilty of 1 count of 1st-degree murder, 1 count of assault and battery with intent to kill, 2 counts of forcible oral sodomy, 2 counts of 1st-degree rape, 2 counts of forcible anal sodomy, 2 counts of kidnapping and 1 count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. After convicting Johnson last week, the jury chose life in prison as punishment for each count except the count of murder. Jurors on Wednesday decided the punishment of death for the murder count after listening to closing arguments. Prosecutors said Johnson forced his girlfriend to invite over a female friend so he could "rape and kill" her. Johnson was accused of threatening to kill his girlfr...

Meth bust by Indonesian police (file photo) The Medan District Court on Wednesday decided on capital punishment for 4 Indonesians convicted of smuggling 270 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from Malaysia to North Sumatra. The 4 defendants are businessmen Ayau and Daud, alias Athiam, from Bengkalis, Riau, Lukmansyah, a security guard in Dumai, Riau, and Jimmy Syahputra, a resident of Deli Serdang, North Sumatra. The panel of judges found that they violated the Narcotics Law, which carries a maximum penalty of death for traffickers. "The defendants are proven to have conspired to traffic narcotics. With all the evidence, the judges rejected their defence and ordered the death penalty," said presiding judge Asmar while reading out the verdict on Wednesday night. In October, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), along with the Dumai Customs Office, foiled the smuggling in Medan, North Sumatra. Almost 300 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, locally kn...

Rodrigo Duterte The Catholic Church in the Philippines will petition the new president against reintroducing the death penalty in the country, according to Fides. The president of the Episcopal Conference of the Philippines, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, said he will seek a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte to urge him to stop his plans to reintroduce the death penalty. Several bishops have challenged Duterte's plan to submit a measure to Philippine Congress to restore the death penalty, which was abolished in 2006. He hopes to apply it for offences including drug offences, rape, robbery, car theft and corruption. The Archbishop of Lipa, Ramon Arguelles, disputed Duterte's claim that the death penalty is a deterrent towards crime. He said he hoped the move "does not happen, especially while the Church celebrates the year of mercy". Speaking at the Sixth World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Oslo last week, Pope F...

Watching a public execution in Iran (file photo) On Wednesday, June 22, coinciding with a visit by the Iranian regime's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to France and the Netherlands, and simultaneous with the global conference against the death penalty with the participation of more than 90 countries in Oslo, officials of the mullahs' regime in Iran have sent 2 prisoners by the names of Farzad Bizhani and Farhad Souri in Sanandaj Prison (western Iran) to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions. On this very day the criminal public prosecutor in the city of Mashhad (northeastern Iran) requested hand amputation verdicts for 3 prisoners accused of robbery (state Tabnak website - June 22). Continuous executions, torture and floggings even during the holy month of Ramadan, considered amongst Muslims in Iran and all Islamic countries as a month of tolerance, kindness and benevolence, brings an end to the myth of moderation within the religious, fas...

Chinese police officers rehearsing execution procedures (CNN) A new report claims that China is still engaged in the widespread and systematic harvesting of organs from prisoners , and says that people whose views conflict with the ruling Chinese Communist Party are being murdered for their organs. The report -- by former Canadian lawmaker David Kilgour, human rights lawyer David Matas, and journalist Ethan Gutmann -- collates publicly reported figures from hospitals across China to show what they claim is a massive discrepancy between official figures for the number of transplants carried out throughout the country. They blame the Chinese government, the Communist Party, the health system, doctors and hospitals for being complicit. "The (Communist Party) says the total number of legal transplants is about 10,000 per year. But we can easily surpass the official Chinese figure just by looking at the two or three biggest hospitals," Matas said in a statement. ...

The mercy plea of 2 convicts, who killed 8 members of a family including a physically disabled youth in Jharkhand nearly 9 years ago, has been rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee. The President has rejected the plea of the convicts-- Mofil Khan and Mobarak Khan, officials said today.  The duo had in June 2007 killed Haneef Khan with sharp-edged weapons when he was offering prayers at a mosque in Makandu village under Lohardaga district in the state. After killing him, they murdered his wife and his 6 sons which included the disabled youth.  A case was registered by the local police against Mofil and Mobarak and 2 other assailants. Following the probe, a local court there had given death sentence to all the accused. However, the Jharkhand High Court had upheld death penalty to Mofil and Mubarak and modified the sentence to life term for the 2 others. The Supreme Court in its final judgement in October 2014 also upheld the death penalty given to the convict...

For the 4th time in 2 months, the United States Supreme Court today overturned an Alabama death penalty case in which EJI challenged the conviction and sentence affirmed by state courts. This time, the Court reversed because of concerns about racial bias in jury selection. Christopher Floyd was tried by an all-white jury in Houston County, Alabama, where African Americans comprise 27 % of the population. The prosecutor, Doug Valeska, has a documented history of racial discrimination in jury selection. The prosecution marked African American potential jurors with a "B" on its list of jurors to remove, then removed 10 of 11 qualified black prospective jurors. 1 of the black jurors barred from jury service provided answers to all of the prosecution's questions during jury selection, but the prosecutor said that she did not respond to any questions and so he could not provide a race-neutral reason for removing her. EJI argued on appeal that because the prosecutor...