A court in Pakistan today stayed the execution of a paraplegic man who was set to hang tomorrow (Wednesday).Abdul Basit, 43, was convicted and sentenced to death for murder in 2009. In 2010, he contracted tubercular meningitis in prison, which left him paralysed from the waist down. Despite being unable to stand,
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Justice Stephen BreyerBreyer makes the case against "unusual" punishmentsWhen the Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor a controversial lethal-injection drug, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote an impassioned dissent. He argued that not only was the specific drug combo unconstitutionally cruel, but the
The Home Office is refusing to reveal the true extent of secret funding to Pakistan which risks implicating the UK in a wave of executions currently underway.Human rights organization Reprieve has brought proceedings before the Information Rights Tribunal (IRT) challenging ministers’ refusal to27
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The first 6 months of 2015 have seen starkly contrasting developments on the death penalty. While the bad news has been very bad, the good news has been very good.THE BAD1. Indonesia resumed executions.The year began on a tragic note when Indonesia, ignoring pleas from around the world, put 627
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New photographs have emerged showing Islamic State militants throwing yet another man off a building accused of being gay.In the images, which have not been verified, hundreds of other militants carrying weapons gathered on the main street in the Iraqi town of Mosul to watch the execution.In one
"The Indonesian government has fought a long battle to save the maid andhad managed to get the execution delayed several times since her conviction."The much-publicized case of Satinah binti Jumadi Ahmad, 41, an Indonesian maid jailed in Saudi Arabia since 2009 for killing her employer's wife and26
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Opponents of the death penalty and the sponsor of a bill changing North Carolina's execution laws on Thursday debated how much transparency the public needs into the process.The state Senate could vote as soon as next week on legislation clarifying executions are exempt from state requirements for
Yet another video has been released by ISIS showing the brutal execution oftwo men accused of being gay.The latest video from ISIS, shot in Palmyra, shows two Syrian men be thrown off a building before being stoned to death.According to local journalist Zaid Benjamin, the men were accused of
Tunisia's parliament approved Thursday imposition of the death penalty for "terrorist" crimes, despite opposition from rights groups and a de facto quarter-century moratorium on executions.Lawmakers were voting during the 2nd of 3 days of debate on a bill aimed at beefing up powers to confront a
Pawan Kumar, hangman, IndiaThe fact that our legal system is skewed against the poor and marginalized is well-known. And to that extent, it's only expected that they get harsher punishment than the rich. But here are figures that tell the full story.A first of its kind study, which has analyzed23
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The Pakistani authorities have handed a death warrant to a mentally ill man, in what will be one of the first executions in the country since hangings were paused for Ramadan.A so-called 'Black Warrant' handed down this morning confirms a new date of next Tuesday (28th) for the hanging of Khizar
Dexter LewisOpening statements began Monday in the murder trial of Dexter Lewis, who is charged with stabbing 5 people to death in a Denver bar, marking the start of a rare death penalty case in Denver.It's the 1st time Denver prosecutors have tried a death penalty case since 2001, and
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The Tennessee Supreme Court says the death penalty is constitutional, so there must be a constitutional way to carry it out. But attorneys for 33 death row inmates say lethal injection isn't one of them.In a trial that began July 7, the inmates' attorneys have been trying to prove the injection of27
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When Pakistan resumed executions after the massacre of 134 pupils at an army-run school last December, the government promised hangings would help deter Islamist militants.A Reuters analysis of 180 people hanged since late December, however, shows that fewer than 1 in 6 were linked to27
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The poll also found that Colorado voters support the death penaltyA Quinnipiac University poll released Monday shows Colorado voters oppose tougher gun control laws, especially among men and Republicans.The poll showed voters oppose such laws 56-39 %, with a 80-18 % opposition among Republicans27
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Labor has formally condemned Indonesia's execution of Bali 9's Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.The party's national conference on Sunday passed a resolution that "condemns these executions in the strongest possible terms" and commits a future Labor federal government to push for a global
Yakub MemonIndia's Supreme Court said Friday that it would hear a last-ditch appeal by a death-row prisoner whose case has renewed questions about capital punishment in the world's 2nd-most populous nation.The court said it would hear arguments for clemency Monday in the case of Yakub Memon, who
Attorney General M. PrasetyoAfter executing over a dozen drug convicts amid international outrage since January, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) claims that it has yet to schedule a third round of executions, following the most recent one in April.Attorney General M. Prasetyo said on Friday24
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Public execution in Saudi Arabia (file photo)Riyadh: Saudi Arabia carried out its first execution in five weeks on Thursday after a pause for Ramadan, beheading one of its citizens convicted of a double murder.Sayir Al Rasheedi was found guilty of fatally shooting two Saudi brothers
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Darkness at Noon: Public Hanging in IranIran is thought to have executed nearly 700 people in the first half of 2015, according to reports compiled by Amnesty International that far exceed the 246 deaths officially declared by authorities in Tehran.The human rights charity
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Richard GlossipTime is running out for Richard Glossip.In June, the United States Supreme Court rejected his appeal challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection in a heartbreaking 5-4 decision. Now, he's scheduled to die in Oklahoma's death chamber Sept. 16.In any other year, the court's23
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Dylann RoofWASHINGTON — The gunman who killed nine people at a South Carolina church in June plotted his attack for months, choosing his target because it was a nationally known historically black church, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said on Wednesday as she announced federal hate crime22
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The expected arrival date of 2 drugs to be used in executions has come and gone - a month ago.But Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes said Monday he is still confident the state will get the sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide that are 2 of 3 drugs in28
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NCRI – Nine prisoners were on Monday hanged collectively in a detention center in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran.Also on Monday two other prisoners, identified as Saeid Ganji and Firouz Nouri-Majd, were hanged in Iran’s notorious Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj.The hangings bring to at least 27 the27
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2 Iranian men were hanged on Sunday in the main prison in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran.The 2 men, originally from Iran's Sistan-va-Baluchestan Province, south-eastern Iran, had been imprisoned in Bandar Abbas for the past 2 years.Their hanging followed the execution on Saturday of 3 men in a
Pakistan today set an execution date of August 7th for Shafqat Hussain, who was convicted as a juvenile following days of police torture.Shafqat was under 18 when he was convicted and sentenced to death in 2004 having been tortured into giving a false ‘confession’. The Pakistan government has27
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Three prisoners were hanged to death in a compound at Ilam Central Prison on Saturday morning, according to the Public Relations Department of the Province of Ilam quoting Ilam's Chief Justice.The prisoners, announced as A.K., R.A., and N.SH, were reportedly executed for the mutual kidnapping and
Richard Glossip: on death row for 18 years,always maintained his innocence"It's a long shot, but the Breyer dissent was inviting people to challenge the death penalty. They just accepted the invitation."Someone has taken up Justice Stephen Breyer's invitation to challenge
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A severely disabled prisoner on Pakistan's death row has been told he will be executed next Wednesday (29th).Abdul Basit, 43, was convicted and sentenced to death for murder in 2009. In 2010, he contracted tubercular meningitis in prison, which left him paralysed from the waist down. Despite being24
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NCRI - The clerical regime in Iran on Wednesday hanged 10 prisoners collectively in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, west of the Iranian capital Tehran.This shocking group execution in Gohardasht, also known as Rajai Shahr Prison, comes a week after the henchmen of the religious dictatorship raided and23
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The United Arab Emirates on Monday announced new legislation imposing harsh sentences including the death penalty for crimes related to religious hatred and Sunni extremism.A presidential decree criminalises any act that stirs religious hatred and also prohibits discrimination "on the basis of
An Australian was jailed for one year Thursday after he was caught smoking a marijuana joint on a beach in Bali.Nicholas James Langan, 25, was arrested on popular Batu Bolong beach in January after he was found smoking the drug with an Indonesian who worked as a driver at a hotel. Marijuana
Asia Bibi: on death row since 2010 over blasphemy chargesPakistan's top court on Wednesday stopped execution of a Christian woman who had been on death row since 2010 over blasphemy charges, lawyers said.Asia Bibi, a 50-year-old, was arrested in Nankana district in
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Shafqat HussainA statutory human rights watchdog in Sindh, Pakistan has called for a halt to the impending execution of Shafqat Hussain, in order for allegations of torture and his young age at the time of sentencing to be examined.In an opinion published today, the Sindh Human Rights Commission