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Petition Tag - death penalty
1. Free Iranian Blogger Vahid Asghari, Sentenced To Death For "Hosting Blasphemous Websites"!!! 
Reporters Without Borders: Arrested at Tehran Airport on 11 May 2008, Vahid Asghari, an Information Technology student in India, has been in "temporary detention" for close to four years. Yesterday, January 7, 2012, Vahid Asghari was sentenced to death by Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court with Judge Salavati presiding.
Ever since its creation by the Revolutionary Guards in March 2009, the Organized Crime Surveillance Center has played an active role in tracking down and arresting outspoken netizens.
Shortly after its creation, the center announced the dismantling of a “malevolent” online network in March 2009 and the arrests of several website moderators. Their photos and “confessions” were posted on the centre’s website, Gerdab (www.gerdab.ir), a few days later. They reportedly admitted to links with websites that criticized Islam and the government, and to their intention of “misleading” Iranian youth by publicizing porn sites. They also confessed to participating in a plot supported by the Americans and Israelis.
On 17 June 2009, two days after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection triggered a wave of street protests, the center issued a communiqué announcing that it had noted “several cases of websites and personal blogs posting articles inciting disturbances of public order and urging the population to rebel.”
Detainees have been subjected to long periods of solitary confinement and to torture to obtain confessions that are used in their trials. Asghari, a leading target of the “network dismantling” policy, is one of the victims of such abuses. Aged 24 and an ICT student in India, he was arrested on 11 May 2008 at Tehran airport for possessing several credit cards.
He was held in solitary confinement for seven month and was mistreated and tortured to make him confess to organizing a pornographic network that blasphemed Islam and criticized the government in order to pervert Iranian youth. And what was Asghari’s crime? Hosting websites, including the sites of government opponents.
“I was beaten with a stick for hours and hours while blindfolded and handcuffed,” he wrote in a letter to the president of the 15th chamber of the Revolutionary Court on 17 October 2009. “With a knife against my throat, I was threatened with death and rape. I and my family were insulted. I was forced to make a confession and sign it. They then videoed my confession and broadcast the video with the national television station’s complicity although I was legally presumed to be innocent.”
According to article 168 of the constitution, defendants prosecuted on political charges should be given public, jury trials but most of the trials have been held behind closed doors. Their lawyers are often sidelined and denied access to the case files and in some cases defendants were not told they had been tried and condemned. Asghari said in his letter: “I have never seen my lawyer and, even in court, I did not have the right to say hello to him.”
Asghari also wrote: “I was alleged to have received money from abroad as a result of Google advertising on the websites I hosted. I was accused of insulting the Shiite Imams and the Prophet because of their content. And I was forced to say that Hossein Derakhshan was an agent of both the Iranian ministry of intelligence and the CIA.”
2. Mandatory Death Penalty on any severe violent crime
I believe that to more effectively prevent violent crimes in the United States there should be a mandatory death penalty on any severe violent crime, such as murder, rape, child molestation, attempted murder and armed robbery.
I believe that this would not only solve our overcrowded jails, but also severely deter violent crime.
3. GIVE THE DEATH PENALTY TO ALL CHILD ABUSERS
Children, are the last remaining angels on our planet. The inhumane monsters that abuse them, must be stopped.
The only way to stop the action of abuse, that goes beyond human imagination, is to fight the evil with evil: DEATH PENALTY in every corner of the earth.
HELP ME TO MAKE THIS REAL. NOTHING MATTERS, NOT EVEN EARTHQUAKES, before this action of stopping abuse....
Thank you.
4. Toughen laws for repeat violent offenders
A recent front page story of a violent criminal (Mark Garfield Moore aged 27) with 22 previous violent crimes was featured in the Toronto Sun. He has been charged with 54 offences including 4 first degree murder charges. He smiled as his charges were read.
This is happening in Canada far too often. He will likely receive a life sentence if found guilty. This is not justice. Prisons are not punishing. A prison should be a place so horrific the thought of going back is enough to prevent further offence. A person like this should be put to death.
5. Stop Execution of Assad Taghizadeh
Assad Taghizadeh, an Iranian park ranger employed by Iran's Department of Environment, was on duty enforcing the national law at Dena preserved Area when confronted a group of 5 armed Illegal hunters who had hunted a wild goat.
According to Mehr News Agency, Illegal hunters fired at the park rangers when they were chased. At which point, Assad fired back at them in self defence, using his licenced firearm, that resulted the death of one of the illegal hunters unintentionally.
Mr Taghizadeh was tried for manslaughter in 2007 and found guilty. He was consequently sentenced to Death Penalty and his sentence has been approved by Iran's supreme court which is feared to take place in early future.
According to RAHANA, lack of appropriate firearms and legal training for rangers by Iran's Department of Environment (Employer Liability) could have also contributed to death of the hunter.
Iran's Shria based penal code permits Retribution (Qesas) and this has been demanded by the victim's family however numerous attempts to seek their pardon of Mr Taghizadeh have rendered fruitless.
It is worth mentioning that in the last 30 years, 110 park and forest rangers were killed and 450 others were handicapped In Iran in the line of duty as stated by Iran's Research Institute of Forests and Ranges.
Sources:
RAHANA: http://www.rahana.org/archives/44988
Mehr News Agency: http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=1165447
Research Institute of Forests & Ranges: http://rifr.blogfa.com/post-249.aspx
اسد تقی زاده محیط بان ایرانی در سال ۱۳۸۶ دریک درگیری با پنج شکارچی غیر قانونی مسلح در منطقه حفاظت شده دنا که یک کل وحشی را در ارتفاع سه هزار متری شکار کرده بودند، درگیر شد و پس از اینکه شکارچیان مسلح به سمت محیط بانانی که آنها را تعقیب می کردند شلیک کردند، در دفاع از خویش بسوی یک نفر از آنان شلیک نمود که متاسفانه منجر به فوت شکارچی گشت. این محیط بان به جرم قتل غیر عمد، محاکمه و حکم قصاص وی صادر شد که توسط دیوان عالی کشور نیز تایید شد .خطر اعدام وی در آینده نزدیک وجود دارد. با امضای این پتیشن خواهان توقف اعدام، تجدید نظر در پرونده و ابطال حکم غیر منصفانه و غیر انسانی اعدام هستیم.
The execution of Troy Davis has alerted many people around the world and in the U.S. to the crying injustice of the death penalty as a form of judicial punishment.
Troy Davis has been on death row for about eighteen years now. However, there is a lack of evidence that he is guilty so he may well be innocent.
In this time, execution dates have been announced and changed. Often when the execution date is fixed, they will change it and tell him that he is not going to be executed.
However, his execution date has been fixed for 21/9/11 and he may be innocent!
8. ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY IN IRAN: 10,000,000 SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN
In the past 32 years, the Iranian fascist regime has executed tens of thousands of Iranians--mostly prisoners of conscience and members of minority religious groups. We believe that no one is entitled to take another person's life. This motivated us to start a 10,000,000-signature campaign to abolish death penalty in Iran.
در طی سی و دو سال گذشته رژیم حاکم بر ایران به نام دین دهها هزار ایرانی را اعدام کرده است که اکثر آنان دگر اندیشان مذهبی و زندانیان سیاسی بوده اند. ما معتقدیم تنها خداوند است که جان میدهد و حق دارد جان بگیرد. این کمپین به منظور جمع آوری حد اقل ده میلیون (10000000) امضاء برای لغو قانون اعدام در ایران راه اندازی شده است. به ما بپیوندید
9. Death Penalty in South Africa - Referendum
Violent crime in South Africa, as in many countries, has risen dramatically over a number of years.
We, the citizens of South Africa, request that a Referendum be held to gauge the Public opinion on the return of the Death Penalty for violent crime in our country.
10. Overturn the Death Sentence of Iranian Christian Youcef Nadarkhani for "Apostasy"
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, lawyer for Youcef Nadarkhani, a Protestant Christian pastor charged with apostasy, refuted reports by some media outlets that his client’s death sentence has been upheld. “Fortunately, on Tuesday, 27 June, Youcef Nadarkhani’s death sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court in Qom and it is on hold until Mr. Nadarkhani repents [i.e. renounces his Christianity]. But still, in this ruling it has been stipulated that in case Nadarkhani does not repent, his case file would once again be sent back to the lower court in Rasht. In a way, a complete overturning of the apostasy verdict depends on Nadarkhani’s repentance,” he told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
“Because apostasy is not mentioned in Iran’s penal code, and apostasy is not considered a crime, then the court has to consider Mr. Nadarkhani’s case in the context of [the crime] ’insulting the Prophet of Islam.’ In this respect, since my client has not made any insults, he can tell the same to the court. Anyhow, that is all in the future and has to do with my client’s explanation. I am hoping that the death sentence will never be confirmed,” said Mohammad Ali Dadkhah about his client’s repentance.
Previously, family members and associates of Nadarkhani told the Campaign that officials from the Judiciary and the Ministry of Intelligence tried to force the pastor to repent and renounce his Christian conversion. So far, Nadarkhani has maintained that he has never done anything against Islam and will not renounce his faith. “Pastor Youcef has not budged,” said a close associate of his from Rasht.
Youcef Nadarkhani is a 32-year old pastor who was born to Muslim parents. He converted to Christianity at the age of 19. Before his arrest in October 2009, Nadarkhani led a congregation of about 400 Christians in Rasht. The congregation is part of a nationwide evangelical group called the Church of Iran, many of whose members have been arrested and prosecuted since 2009. On 23 August 2010, Nadarkhani’s apostasy death sentence was upheld by Branch Eleven of the Appeals Court of Gilan Province. Nadarkhani is currently being held in Rasht Prison, where he was able to visit with his wife in March, after having not seen each other in a long time. Ever since he has once again been denied visitation with his family.
NOTE: Pastor Nadarkhani's lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, mentioned above, has himself been sentenced to nine years in prison for his work as a human rights lawyer. He is appealing this draconian sentence. Please also sign the petition calling for the overturn of this illegal sentence: http://t.co/t5W99kc
If the death penalty is carried out, it will be the first official hanging for apostasy and conversion to Christianity in the last twenty years.
On December 3, 1990, Pastor Hussein Sodmand was hanged in Mashhad Prison for refusing to give up his Christian faith. Pastor Sodmand is the only priest who has been officially executed by the Islamic Judiciary Branch for apostasy and conversion to Christianity.
11. Death Penalty for Child Sex Offenders
It is 2011 and Australia is still in the dark ages when it comes to the sentencing of criminals, in particular those who commit sex crimes against children.
In a recent trial a judge in Victoria sentenced a woman who had incestual sex with her son for and allowing her husband to repeatedly molest her daughter for five years and three months and ordered she serve two years and three months before being eligible for parole.
This message shows the Australian public as well as the rest of the world that sex offences against children are not of much concern to our judicial system.
We need to call on the PM to bring back the death penalty and harsher sentencing for sex offenders.
12. Derryn Hinch should Not be sent to Prison
Derryn Hinch is someone who put the safety of others ahead of his own self preservation he is now being handed a death sentence if sent to prison please do not let this happen voice your opinions...
13. Lundbeck stop supplying drugs for US death rows
This is the text of an open letter which we will be sending to a major medical journal or newspaper to try and get Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals to stop supplying US death rows with Pentobarbital for use in executions. To date, their stated position is that Lundbeck oppose the death penalty and it is too difficult to interrupt the supply chain. This is not true, as stated in the letter.
PLEASE only sign this letter if you are a medical professional. If you are NOT a medical professional, feel free to cut and paste the letter and send direct to Mr Wiinberg at Lundbeck via e-mail ASCH@Lundbeck.com
Ulf Wiinberg (c/o Anders Schroll: ASCH@Lundbeck.com)
H. Lundbeck A/S Ottiliavej 9
DK-2500 Copenhagen Valby
14. Fighting Capital Punishment
Our introductory sociology class at Truman State University is working on a project for social change. We have chosen capital punishment as our focus for change because our group feels that it is inhumane and against an individual's right to life.
Also, despite capital punishment being a hot topic for political debate, it is important to remind the public of factors playing into the death penalty that make it a dark stain upon our justice system.
Our reasons for fighting capital punishment are these:
1. It is an unnecessary strain on our economy. The greatest costs associated with the death penalty occur prior to and during trial, not in post-conviction proceedings. Even if all post-conviction proceedings (appeals) were abolished, the death penalty would still be more expensive than alternative sentences.
AND
2. Racism and classism is prevalent in the sentencing to death row. Blacks accused of killing white victims were five times more likely to be charged with capital murder than blacks accused of killing black victims. Also, Defendants with public defenders or court-appointed attorneys --reflecting poverty level income--were 73% more likely to be sentenced to death by juries in capital trials than were defendants who paid for private attorneys.
I'm Michael Flinner #V-30064 a forty yr old Jewish White male, presently in San Quentin state Prison, San Quentin, CA. 94964. I am an inocent victom of the California justice system. I have a deticated family and a couple of volenteers who maintain the Death Row Inmate webpage, a anti-death penalty grass roots effort.
Please chk out this website. www.deathrowinmate.org and my family on twitter @ActivistFather @deathrowinmate
Both of these twitter authors are updated almost daily.
16. End the export of British drugs for executions
Since 1976, 1173 people (September 2009) have been executed in the USA. THe majority of these executions were by lethal injection. Most procedures require the use of three drugs: sodium thiopental; pancuronium bromide and potassium bromide.
Last year, the charity Reprieve found that the British company Dream Pharma were exporting sodium thiopental for use in executions. This eventually led to the buisness seretary banning the drugs export.
However there are no controls on the export of the other two drugs and there is growing evidence that companies may be planning to export these drugs to America.
It's time to stop the use of British drugs for executions which deny basic human rights and threaten to execute innocent individuals (over 100 people have been released from death rows across the USA since 1976)
Join the petition today... before we have an innocent man's blood on our hands.
17. Free Hadi Abedi Bakhoda, a very ill political prisoner!
Hadi Abedi Bakhoda is a political prisoner of the 1980s on charges of supporting the main Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). He was tortured and shot by the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), when arrested.
His spinal cord was damaged in such a way that he now cannot walk and is in a wheelchair since the incident. The shooting also damaged other organs including his kidneys and his bladder that had failed totally. Since then, he suffers from debilitating physical complications as a result of his injuries. Abedi Bakhoda's wife and Mehri Javan Mahjub (a former prisoner) were arrested and sent to Lakan Prison. His brother, Hormoz, was executed by the Iranian regime on similar charges.
Branch One of the Revolutionary Court condemned Hadi Abedi-Bakhoda for two years imprisonment in 2009 (he then was transferred to the Lakan prison in Rasht in Nov 2009) even if he was not capable of imprisonment due because of his severe physical infirmities. The coroner's office, prison clinic and other health institutes confirmed this fact at the time and also demanded his release but the Intelligence Ministry and the Revolutionary Court have never paid attention to his conditions, therefore, he was transferred to prison.
Hadi Abedi-Bakhoda is sent to hospital only when his conditions become very critical, but ultimately because of his fragile health, they are forced to give him sick-leave.
According to Human Rights Activists in Iran, on Monday May 23, 2011, the Revolutionary Court of Rasht (Branch One) summoned Hadi Abedi-Bakhoda to notify him that the lash ruling against him would have been carried out despite his health conditions (his bladder was not functioning properly and he was suffering from a severe kidney disorder) and did not even consider the fact that he was in a wheelchair: he then received 51 lashes for the alleged crime of not reporting to the Lakan prison in Rasht on time when he was hospitalized during a sick-leave.
18. Return the Death Penalty for Police Killers
With the Murder of Metro Toronto Police Sgt. Ryan Russell on Wednesday January 12, 2011 and the March 3, 2005 Murder of 4 RCMP Officers in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, it is well-past time to reinstate the Death Penalty in Canada for those convicted of Murder or Manslaughter of any on-duty Police Officer.
19. Death sentence for murderer of Zahra Baker
Zahra Baker was murdered and dismembered.
Zahra, who had bone cancer that forced her to use a prosthetic leg and hearing aids, was reported missing by her father and stepmother Oct. 9. They said she was last seen in her bed at their home in Hickory.
Zahra was born in Australia and moved to North Carolina about two years ago, after her father, Adam Baker, met his soon-to-be wife, Elisa Baker, online.
Zahra's friends and relatives in Giru, Australia, described her as an outgoing, happy girl despite the cancer, and said she didn't want to come to the U.S.
"Investigators, agents, officers and staff who worked on this case are devastated that we were not able to find Zahra alive and bring her home safely," said Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins.
20. Halt the hanging of Mohammad Reza Haddadi, convicted at age 15!
We are urgently calling on the Iranian authorities to halt the imminent execution of Mohammad Reza Haddadi, who could face death by hanging any of these following days for a murder he allegedly committed when he was 15 years old.
Mohammad Reza Haddadi was sentenced to death in 2004 for the murder of Mohammad Bagher. He confessed the killing initially but during the trial he retracted it and said he’d made it because his two co-accused would have given his family money if he had done so. Mohammad then denied having taken part in the murder, and there are reports of his co-defendants supporting his claims of innocence and withdrawing their testimony implicating him in murder.
Mohammad Reza Haddadi’s family was told by judicial officials (04-07-2010) that they should arrange a last visit to their son before his execution already organized for the day after at Adelabad prison in the city of Shiraz.
Despite this, his death sentence was confirmed by Iran's Supreme Court in July 2005. Since then, his execution has been scheduled several times.
This repeated threat of imminent execution hanging over Mohammad Reza Haddadi, is no less than a form of torture. The threat of execution must be lifted now, once and for all.
Mohammad Reza Haddadi must not be executed for a murder that he is alleged to have committed when only 15 years old.
The execution of juvenile offenders is prohibited under international law, including Article 6(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a state party.
21. Help support the abolishment of death penalty around the world
We aim to raise the issue of death penalty being used from around the world. From the age of 13 people are being killed for crimes.
From the lethal injection to stonings we need to stop this.
22. Death Penalty for Scott Abbott
On March 7, 2009, the lives of four innocent people were taken by the hands of a deranged man. This did not only affect the lives of those four people, it affected the lives of many. Now there are several children without parents, brothers and sisters without siblings, moms and dads left anguished at the loss of their child, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents, and friends all holding a huge void in their hearts all because Scott Abbott selfishly took the lives of Jerri Lynn Cole, Josh Gilleo, Nika Sandlin, and Chad Gilbert. October 4, 2010, began grand trial. After five days of deliberation, the jury rendered a verdict. Scott Abbott was GUILTY, but it was not until the following Monday that Scott was sentenced, by the jury, to life without parole.
On December 1, 2010, Judge Mac Parsons will make a final ruling. With this petition, we hope to gain many signatures by those who support death penalty, especially, for this case. Neither of the four deserved to die the way they did, it was gruesome and inhumane. Now that they are gone, they can no longer speak for themselves. Please help us be their voice by signing this petition in hopes that Judge Parsons will see that not only did this impact a few people, instead, this horrific crime has affected a community, a state, a nation, and a world of people.
23. PLEASE HELP AN INNOCENT MAN ON DEATH ROW IN UTAH
We all recognize that society has the right and moral duty to protect the public good. If the death penalty truly protected us, then it could be justified. But, the fact of the matter is that it has been a gross failure. It has neither protected the innocent nor deterred the guilty. Indeed, it has cheapened human life and dignity.
Even if we can be certain that an individual subject to the death penalty is guilty to a moral certainty, as the late Governor of California, Edmund G. Brown, who had extensive experience with its implementation, in conducting prosecutions as California Attorney General, and in dispensing clemency as Governor, said “it is invoked too randomly, too irregularly, too unpredictably and too tardily to be defended as an effective example warning away wrongdoers.”
In the countries and states in which the death penalty has been abolished there has been no increase in the homicide rate, and, indeed, in comparison to some other states they seem somewhat lower. In point of fact, studies show that almost half of those executed had never suffered a prior felony conviction. I find myself in total agreement with Governor Brown: Not a single execution has ever halted the sale of a single gun or restrained a moment’s blind range.
Quite aside from the lack of deterrence value, there always looms the ugly possibility that innocent individuals may be condemned to death. No error made by a government can compare with the horror of executing an innocent person. This is no idle fear. Professor Scheck and his Innocence Project, and his invocation of DNA evidence in capital cases has shown that this has happened despite the good faith of our courts and juries.
In their classic study, Michael L. Radelet, Hugo Adam Bedau, and Constance E. Putnam recount in alarming detail the mistaken identities, perjured witnesses, overzealous prosecutions, and negligent police work that led to more than 400 people being erroneously convicted or capital or potentially capital crimes in this country between 1900 and 1991, before DNA testing became available.
We may have the best criminal justice system in the world, but there is no way to rectify a mistake once an individual is executed. A habeas corpus petition cannot be submitted from a grave. In short, there is no remedy and no way to eliminate the risk of error in our system except to abolish the death penalty.
24. Thou shall not kill: End lethal injection death penalty USA
God said thou shall not kill for a reason. I think it should be obeyed besides that innocent people are jailed all the time and usa is a free country where everyone's opinion and ways should be ok.
But by sentencing people to die it is revenge it is saying its ok to want someone to pay for it instead of accepting what has happened and forgiving and teaching the person that it was wrong to do.
25. URGENT! Save Sakineh Mohammadi from being Stoned to Death in Iran
*Updates:
Iranian woman has not been executed, official says
Iranian women 'in slavery': stoning woman's lawyer
Petition: Free Sakineh's son Sajjad, lawyer Houtan Kian, and two German Journalists
Jailed Iranian Woman's Son Reported Missing
Final verdict not yet decided on Iranian woman sentenced to stoning
Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani: My mother is innocent
Lawyer: Woman facing stoning in Iran has been whipped
Son seeks proof Iranian stoning case 'on hold'
Iran: Woman's stoning sentence on hold
Iran orders 99 lashes for woman facing execution, rights group says
Final verdict postponed for Iranian woman facing stoning
Sakineh Mohammadi was forced to "confess" on TV
* SAKINEH IS IN DANGER OF STONING OR ANOTHER METHOD OF EXECUTION
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case review postponed; final judgment will be made in 20 days
Islamic Republic judiciary authorities to decide Sakineh’s case on July 21
Children of Sakineh Ashtiani Mohammadi, have written a letter! MUST READ!
** June 23, 2010: SAKINEH HAS ASKED FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO FORGIVE HER, THEY [[[[[REJECTED!!!!]]]]] PLEASE KEEP SIGNING, AND SPREAD THE NEWS ABOUT HER! WE CAN SAVE HER!
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Radio Free Europe | Radio Liberty
A lawyer and activist close to the case of an Iranian woman convicted of adultery say she may soon be stoned to death, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.
Women's rights activist Soheila Vahdati spoke to Radio Farda on June 17 about the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Ashtiani, who has two children, has been imprisoned in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz since 2005.
Vahdati says Sakineh was earlier sentenced to 99 lashes in 2006 for having "illicit relationships." The sentence was subsequently carried out and her case was closed.
But authorities later charged Ashtiani with murder. Prosecutors alleged that Ashtiani and her boyfriend had killed her husband.
In making the murder case against Ashtiani, activist Vahdati says the court "illegally" reopened the adultery case against Ashtiani. It was the second time Ashtiani would be tried for the same alleged adulterous conduct.
According to Vahdati, Ashtiani was sentenced to be stoned to death for the same alleged act of adultery for which she earlier had been convicted to 99 lashes. It is not clear when she was sentenced.
While denying the charges against her, Ashtiani has asked the authorities for a pardon.
According to activist Vahdati, Ashtiani told the authorities, "if I have done any wrong, I repent."
Her clemency request was rejected.
Lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie, who represents Ashtiani, also maintains her innocence. Writing on his personal blog, the lawyer described Ashtiani's stoning as imminent and said his client will be executed "for an offense she has not committed."
According to Article 83 of the Laws of Islamic Punishment in Iran, ratified in 1991, the penalty for adultery is death by stoning.
However, murder is not punishable in Iran by stoning. Murderers who receive the death sentence are hanged.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Fear_For_Iranian_Woman_Facing_Death_By_Stoning_/2075376.html
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**Facebook (for Sakineh): www.Facebook.com/SaveSakineh
26. Bring the death Penalty to Canada for sex offenders with multiple convictions
In 1998 while on parole for the sexual assault of an Abbotsford woman, Dean Zimmerman was sent back to jail for severally beating his pregnant wife. In 2005, after being granted early release once again by the Canadian National Parole Board, Zimmerman sexually assaulted a 24-year-old Edmonton woman by holding her captive, tying her up and sexually assaulting her for nine hours.
In 1994 Franklin Shane Dorfer was convicted of breaking into the home of a 69 year old Victoria woman, raping and robbing her. He then broke into a second home and robbed a 71 year old woman. Three years later while out on parole Franklin Dorfer was jailed for six months for a Port Coquitlam break-and-enter. In 2004 he was back on the streets. Shortly thereafter, Dorfer was sentenced to two years in jail for break-and-enter and possession of stolen property. Once again, Dorfer received early parole and is now accused of breaking into the home of an 89-year-old woman in Nanaimo and sexually assaulting her.
In 2005 Brian Edward Abrosimo was arrested for the sexual assault of an 11 year old girl, only days after finishing a six month conditional sentence (served in the community) for assault. Abrosimo has a court history that spans 18 years and includes two previous sexual assault charges, as well as numerous theft, assault and firearm convictions.
In 2004 sexual offender Michael William Gardiner, was released on statutory release in Hamilton. Thirteen days later he sexual assaulted a Hamilton woman, stabbing her multiple times.
In 2005 Colin Daryl Fuson was returned to jail after he was discovered crouching in the shadows in a North Vancouver driveway. Fuson is a violent sexual offender with more than 30 criminal convictions, including break-and-enter and sex offences against adult and teenage females.
In 1999 Clifford Howdle was released on statutory release in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Upon his release, Howdle raped three women over a 36-hour period.
In 2004, convicted sex offender Charles Jamieson left his halfway house in East Vancouver. He then raped five people in Vancouver over a ten day period before being apprehended.
In 2004 Lawrence Sharpe was released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent beating that left a man brain damaged. Twice during his sentence Sharpe received statutory release from the National Parole Board. Both times Sharpe violated the conditions of his release and ended up back in jail. One month prior to the completion of his sentence the National Parole Board declared Sharpe an unmanageable risk to society, yet no further action was taken to keep him behind bars. Sharpe was released and now stands charged of killing two Regina men.
In 1999 Trevor James Fontaine was sentenced to 5 years in prison for sexual assault and attempted murder. Out on parole four years into his sentence, Fontaine befriended Vanderhoof woman Misty Franklin. He then stabbed her in the back of the neck. The 24 year old mother of two is now a quadriplegic and is kept alive by a ventilator.
In 1988 Eli Ulayuk was convicted of manslaughter. After being granted full parole in 2004 he murdered his Yellowknife parole officer Louise Pargeter during their first meeting.
In 2004 Eric Fish walked away from a Vernon halfway house. Six weeks later, 75 year old Bill Abramenko was beaten during a home invasion and later died in hospital. Fish was charged with this murder, and is the prime suspect in the murder of another Vernon resident, 60-year-old Jeffrey Drake. Drake was killed two weeks after Fish left the halfway house, his body found in Okanagan Lake a month later.
In 1997 convicted killer and young offender Serena Nicotine was transferred to a community home in Saskatoon while serving her sentence. Nicotine along with Catherine McKenzie, another young offender, murdered homeowner Helen Montgomery (who had no knowledge that the girls were violent offenders) by hitting her over the head with a cast iron frying pan and stabbing her 15 times.
The Statistics
Many repeat offender statistics in Canada are deceptively low. One of the reasons for this is that Corrections Canada excludes provincial statistics from their rates (federal and provincial correctional departments do not currently share information with one another). An offender serving time in a federal jail who had previously served time in a provincial jail would not be labeled a repeat offender. Out of 310,000 convictions in 2002-03 only 4281 offenders were sentenced to a federal prison. In addition, Correctional Services statistics do not take into account conditional sentences or other non-prison sentences, which have grown in popularity. Finally, Correctional Services rates do not include offenders that have been free for more than three years. In light of these factors, it is easy to see just how misleading these statistics can become.
The few studies that do attempt to track prior convictions across jurisdictions peg recidivism at alarmingly high rates. Six out of every ten convicted offenders aged 18 to 25 in 1999/2000 had at least one previous conviction, according to a new pilot study of court-based recidivism in seven provinces and two territories. Among these repeat offenders, 72% had multiple prior convictions. Nine out of ten offenders sentenced to a federal corrections facility (meaning at least a two year sentence) had at least one prior conviction either in adult or youth court. (Source: Statistics Canada)
The Problem
Dangerous and violent offenders terrorize our communities time and time again. These criminals leave victims in their paths of destruction. Victims like Misty Franklin, the 24 year old mother of two who will spend the rest of her life as a quadriplegic.
These criminals also tie up valuable police time. Officers often have a good idea who is a risk to re-offend and then must go out of their way to try to protect society from these criminals. When a crime is committed police time and resources are further tied up in searching for and arresting repeat offenders and compiling evidence against them.
What our justice system lacks, among other things, is the idea that multiple convictions should result in longer or even permanent sentences. Both our courts and our parole boards are enabling long and active criminal careers.
The same pattern repeatedly emerges. A criminal commits a crime, receives little or no jail time, is let out early if he or she does receive any jail time, offends again, once again receives little or no jail time, once again is let out early if he or she does receive jail time and once again re-offends. In some cases this cycle repeats dozens of times over several decades, creating countless new victims.
The Solution
Unlike certain justice issues, the solution to the problem of repeat offenders is a simple one.
YOU ARE A REPEAT OFFENDER WITH MULTIPLE CONVICTIONS YOU WILL BE SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON AND DEATH ROW.
Why let them back into a society that clearly they cant handle or be trusted, they are sick individuals and need to be scared into not doing these things otherwise, yes you will be in jail for the rest of your life and your eventual outcome is death.
This is not unkind this is just, Our children cannot speak for themselves so we have to make this change for them so that they maybe alittle safer and we can sleep at night knowing our justice system is protecting the innocent.
27. Fight To Get Anthony Kirkland The Death Penalty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wRuzWWVtIU&feature=player_embedded
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20100305/NEWS0107/3060327/
Anthony Kirkland is a SICK MONSTER who has taken the lives of at least 4 young women/girls (Kimya Rolison & Mary Jo Newton) has confessed to 2 of these crimes. He's already been convicted, served little time before being released into a "half way rehab house", where he was let go. Less than a week after leaving that Pogue House, he raped, murdered & burned 13 year old Esme Kenny.
How could Ohio's lawmakers, parole board FAIL US like this? Pedophiles,Sex Offenders,Serial Rapists & Serial Murderers CANNOT BE REHABILITATED SUCCESSFULLY.. They will ALWAYS Continue their sick, violent, disregard for human life kind of ways!!! AN EYE FOR AN EYE IS WHAT HE AND OTHERS LIKE HIM DESERVE-NOT "REHABILITATION", OR Getting off easy by Living in a Asylum where he can EASILY escape or be SET FREE AGAIN!
PLEASE SIGN THIS & Forward it to all of your friends and family ,those with daughters.. Don't allow this to happen again.
Thank You.
28. Abolish Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment is cruel and unusual treatment and in my opinion, is barbaric and extremely inhumane. Research has proven that capital punishment does not deter future crime of the general public and also does not reduce crime rates.
It does not make sense for a society to kill a convicted person who allegedly murdered an individual, in order to express society's disapproval for murder. It is a circular argument. We as a society, should also not be willing to take the risk of killing an individual who is innocent and wrongfully convicted of murder.
Everyday, many people are wrongfully convicted and that is not a risk, that I feel we should be taking. Many have later been proven to have been innocent, after being administered the death penalty. I propose, that the government abolish the practice of capital punishment because of these issues listed above.
29. Bring back the New York State Death Penalty
The Death Penalty is a vital tool that the Government of the State of New York could use to exact justice on criminals.
30. Grant Clemency to Death Penalty Victim Devender Pal Singh Bhullar
Devender Pal Singh Bhullar was sentenced to DEATH by the designated court of Delhi on 25th Aug 2001 and is at present 46 years. After completing his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Guru Nanak engineering College Ludhiana, in 1990, Bhullar started teaching in the same college and taught for more than a year. He belonged to a well settled educated family and his father was Section Officer in Punjab Audit Department and his mother was working as Supervisor in Rural Development Department of Punjab.
On 29th Aug 1991 an incident took place in the city of Chandigarh, where an attempt was made to kill the then SSP of the city, Sumedh Singh Saini and his car was hit by a remote controlled explosion and some of his security guards were killed. The Chandigarh police suspected that Devender Pal Singh Bhullar and his friends were behind the attack. When they could not find Devender Pal Singh, they abducted his father and his maternal uncle in December 1991 and they were tortured to death in police custody.( The CBI has now in the year 2008 registered a case against Sumedh Singh Saini IPS and his associate police officers for this crime on the orders of the Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh).The whole family of his was harassed by the police. An Engineer friend of Bhullar namely Balwant Singh Multani, whose father Darshan Singh Multani was a serving Indian administrative Service officer of Punjab was also abducted during the same time and detained in Chandigarh police custody by Sumedh Singh Saini, the said IPS officer and was also tortured to death( Punjab police made a story of his escape from police custody in Punjab, however the said theory has been disbelieved by the CBI in its enquiry on the basis of which CBI has registered a case under Section 364 of Indian penal Code ie. “Kidnapping or Abducting in order to murder” and other relevant offences).
On 10th Sept 1993 an incident took place in Delhi, where the car cavalcade of the then president of youth congress namely Maninderjit Singh Bitta was attacked by a remote controlled blast in which 9 security men got killed. The police of Chandigarh and Punjab were already looking for Devender Pal Singh Bhullar due to the Chandigarh blast incident and the police thought that the Delhi incident also had the same pattern of blast and so the Delhi police also starting looking for Bhullar.
Devender Pal Singh Bhullar although innocent, but fearing elimination by the police through Torture or Fake encounter with the police in order to save his life, under a fictitious name decided to go to Canada and while he was in transit at Frankfurt airport of Germany, was taken in custody on the basis of suspicion and after remaining in custody with German authorities for 1 month was ordered to be deported to India. Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar was handed over to the Indian Authorities at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi on 19.1.1995.
Upon reaching India, he was arrested and charged with carrying forged passport and false documents punishable under sections 419, 420, 468 and 471 of IPC and section 12 of Passport Act. During the police remand he was denied access to his Lawyer or relatives and he under duress was forced to make a confession before DCP, Delhi, on the basis of which he was booked in the case relating to a car bomb blast which took place in New Delhi in 1993, relating to the attempt to assassinate Mr Maninderjit Singh Bitta, the then President of All India Youth Congress(I). Although Bitta escaped with minor injuries, some of his guards and associates died. It was alleged that the act was committed by four persons who were named as accused in the case. Besides, Bhullar, Daya Singh Lahoria and two other persons were named in the case. Bhullar was convicted on the sole basis of his confession before the police, which was admissible as evidence under the special Law ie. Terrorist & Disruptive Activities Prevention Act, where as his co-accused who was also tried along with him ie. Daya Singh Lahoria was acquitted by the trial Court for lack of evidence, as the said confessional statement could not be read against him, since he was extradited from U.S and the U.S authorities at the time of his extradition had obtained an undertaking from the Indian authorities that Daya Singh would not be tried under the TADA, special Law. So since in offences tried under the Indian Penal Code, the confession statements made before the police officers are not admissible as evidence, Daya Singh Lahoria was acquitted on the same charges, in the same trial, where as Devender Pal Singh Bhullar was convicted.
Mr. Bhullar was tried by the designated court-I, Delhi, under TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act). He faced the trial for six years. He was sentenced to Death by the Designated judge, Delhi on 25 Aug 2001, simply on the basis of his alleged confession recorded by a Deputy Police Commissioner during the police remand, which was recanted by Bhullar at the very first opportunity as that was obtained by coercion and torture. The prosecution miserably failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and failed to produce any reliable witnesses. There was no eye-witness in the case, nor did anybody identify Devender Pal Singh as the person who planted the bomb in the car. Simply the police officials who recorded the confession were produced by the prosecution and the trial court convicted the accused purely on the basis of that confession.
It is essential mention over here that in the case relating to the Bomb blast in which Sumedh Singh Saini IPS officer of Punjab, who was in 1991 on deputation as SSP Chandigarh, Devender Pal Singh Bhullar was acquitted of his charges by the Designate court of Chandigarh on 1st Dec 2006, as the prosecution could not produce any evidence worthwhile for convicting Bhullar.
By convicting Devender Pal Singh Bhullar and awarding Death Sentence on the basis of the said confession, the trial court as well as Supreme Court not only committed a grave error of law, but also diverted itself from the usual practice and procedure laid down in other judgments under TADA. The confirmation of capital punishment upon Devender Pal Singh Bhullar and subsequent dismissal of his review petition by the Supreme Court vide the judgment dated 22.3.2002 and 19.12.2002, by a three judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, comprising, Mr.Justice M.B.Shah, Mr.Justice B.N. Aggarwal and Justice Arijit Pasayat in a case under TADA and there after dismissal of the review petition as well as curative petition by the same bench is grave injustice.
After Dismissal of his curative petition on 19th Dec 2002, the mercy petition of Bhullar is pending with the President of India since 14th Jan 2003. More than 6 years & 6 months have passed and Devender pal Singh Bhullar’s mercy petition is still lying undecided. Bhullar has faced slow death each day. As per the Doctors reports he is suffering from Depression since 4 Years, Hypertension since 6 Years and Arthritis and Cervical since 4 years. Out of the total 24 Hours of a day he spends almost 22 hours in his 7 x 9 feet cell, suffering a slow death as a condemned prisoner in the special cell No- 2 of Tihar jail No - 3 , New Delhi since 25th Aug 2001,ie. the day of his conviction.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has held through its landmark judgment titled Smt. Triveniben Vs State of Gujarat, as reported in AIR 1989 SC PAGE 1335, held as under:-
“Constitution of India, Articles 32 and 21 - Death sentence awarded by court - Undue delay in execution of death sentence - It entitles the condemned prisoner under Article 32 of Constitution of India to approach court that his death sentence be commuted to life imprisonment - No fixed period of delay, however, could be fixed to make the death sentence in-executable - The delay which could be considered to make the death sentence in-executable starts from the date the judgment by apex court is pronounced i.e. when judicial process has come to an end - The delay which is to be considered is the delay in disposal of mercy petitions or delays occurring at the instance of the Executive”.
The case of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar is worthy of sympathetic consideration by the Hon’ble President Of India and Bhullar deserves a compassionate approach by being granted clemency and conversion of his Death Sentence to Life Imprisonment on the ratio of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court also.
ARGUMENTS SEEKING CLEMENCY:-
1. Because, the most important point which cannot be lost sight of, is that the senior most judge of the bench, Justice M.B. Shah acquitted the accused of all the charges vide a dissenting judgment. But the two judges, Justice B.N. Aggarwal and Justice Arijit Pasayat passed the majority judgment and after confirming the death sentence, erred in bringing the present case within the ambit of “rarest of rare case”. The view taken by the court is absolutely irrational because of the non availability of corroborative evidence to prove a ‘defective’ confession. In one word, the judgment is erroneous and it has resulted in blatant violation of fundamental right of the accused to have a fair and impartial trial.
2. Because, the reasoning of the apex court that “proof beyond reasonable doubt should be a guideline, not a fetish”, is contrary to the basic principle of criminal jurisprudence that the prosecution has to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and any flaw or loose string may give benefit of doubt to the accused. The view taken by the court that procedure is only “a handmaiden and not the mistress of law” sounds to cover up the failures of prosecution case. No person having knowledge of criminal law can appreciate such a view. Another important question of law arose that when the co-accused Daya Singh Lahoria, named and alleged to have played an active role in the commission offence, in the confessional statement has been acquitted by the trial court, how the person who allegedly made the ‘defective’ confession can be convicted ? Can a statement be read in parts? Mr. Justice M. B. Shah rightly held that “the police failed to corroborate the confessional statement Devender Pal Singh Bhullar”, which is said to have made before them, this despite the fact that the accused retracted that statement and the independent witnesses produced by the police contradicted the confessional statement ascribed to the accused. Moreover, the police, in contravention of the law, failed to send the confessional statement at the earliest opportunity to the magistrate concerned.”
3. Because, the fact that there was no eye-witness or direct evidence to connect the accused with the crime except the ‘confession’, allegedly made by the accused to the police officer and that too not produced before the magistrate with due diligence, deserved benefit of doubt in favour of the accused.
4. Because, imposition of death penalty is a violation of fundamental human rights of life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. Both these rights are recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), other international and regional human rights instruments. Article 6(2) of the ICCPR states , “In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes.”
5. Because, the alleged attempt to assassinate Maninderjit Singh Bitta cannot be called a ‘terrorist act” as per Section 3 of the TADA Act, 1987. If at all it was committed, it was a criminal offence with intention to kill a particular person and not to create terror in the society, thus provisions of TADA have been wrongly applied in the present case.
