Honour killing: Death sentence commuted for 5

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday commuted the death sentence awarded to five people in an honour killing case to 20 years imprisonment, while acquitting two men for lack of evidence.

A division bench of Justices S K Mittal and M Jeyapaul converted the death sentence, ordered by Karnal sessions court in March last year, to 20 years without remission in the case of honour killing of a young couple, Manoj and Babli. It acquitted two other persons, main conspirator Ganga Raj and Satish, for want of evidence. While Satish had earlier been awarded death sentence, Ganga Raj was awarded life imprisonment.

Coming down heavily on the Haryana Police for shoddy investigation in the matter, the court ordered disciplinary action against the investigating police officials. he couple, Manoj, 23, and Babli, 19, had married in 2007 against the wishes of their families. Manoj, who ran an electronics repair shop at Kaithal, eloped with Babli, resident of Karoran village in May 2007.

They were murdered the next month. Suresh, brother of Babli, Rajinder and Baru Ram (both uncles) and Gurdev and Satish (both cousins) were awarded the death penalty by Additional District and Sessions Judge Vani Gopal Sharma on March, 30 last year. Except Satish, who has been acquitted by the high court, the other four will serve 20 years in prison. The HC said that their term will be without remission. Mandeep Singh, a driver, who was convicted for abduction of the couple, has been given seven years in jail. However, Khap panchayat leader Ganga Raj, who was also convicted for murder along with the other five people, was acquitted. The convicted had conspired to kill the couple after a khap panchayat decision declaring their marriage invalid. Ganga Raj, a small-time political leader and Babli's relative, was part of the khap decision. After chasing the couple for days, Babli's relatives dragged them out of a Karnal-bound bus in June 2007, brutally murdered them and threw their bodies in a canal.

Source: Times of India, March 13, 2011

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Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signs death penalty ban, commutes 15 death row sentences to life

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn today signed into law a historic ban on the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates to life without parole.

Quinn signed the legislation in his Capitol office surrounded by longtime opponents of capital punishment in a state where flaws in the process led to the exoneration of numerous people sentenced to death.

"For me, this was a difficult decision, quite literally the choice between life and death," Quinn wrote in his signing statement. "This was not a decision to be made lightly, or a decision that I came to without deep personal reflection."

"Since our experience has shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment, I have concluded that the proper course of action is to abolish it," Quinn wrote. "With our broken system, we cannot ensure justice is achieved in every case."

"For the same reason, I have also decided to commute the sentences of those currently on death row to natural life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole or release," the governor wrote.

A small group of lawmakers also was on hand, including lead sponsors Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood, and Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago. Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago also attended. Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, who lobbied Quinn to sign the ban, was there.

The ban comes about 11 years after then-Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions after 13 condemned inmates were cleared since Illinois reinstated capital punishment in 1977. Ryan, a Republican, cited a Tribune investigative series that examined each of the state's nearly 300 capital cases and exposed how bias, error and incompetence undermined many of them.

Since then, Illinois approved reforms to the capital punishment system, including taping interrogations under a proposal forged by President Barack Obama when he served in the Illinois Senate. Only two days before leaving office in January 2003, Ryan commuted the death sentences of 164 prisoners to life in prison. Quinn and his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, kept the moratorium in place.

In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down death penalty statutes in 40 states, including Illinois. Five years later, Illinois reinstated capital punishment, and it has been among the 35 states that currently allow executions. Illinois could join New York, New Jersey and New Mexico, all of which have done away with the death penalty in the last three years.

The death penalty ban would take effect July 1.

Quinn did not have to immediately act on the 15 death row inmates, but chose to commute their sentences to life in prison.

One of them is Brian Dugan, sentenced to death for the 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico, of Naperville. Dugan had been serving two life sentences for two other rape-murder cases, but his death sentence brought a major chapter of a long-running, controversial case to a close. Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez — two of three men originally charged with the girl's murder — served years on death row before they were cleared.

As Quinn campaigned for governor last fall, he held firm to the moratorium as a way to see how well the reforms are working. The governor also said he supported the death penalty for the worst crimes.

Quinn made his decision after an intense lobbying effort from those on both sides of the issue.

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and other prosecutors urged Quinn to veto the ban and take a hard-line stance to keep the death penalty.

The governor also heard from anti-death-penalty luminaries including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sister Helen Prejean, a New Orleans nun whose time spent with a condemned inmate became the basis for the movie "Dead Man Walking."

Family members of murder victims also made emotional pleas. Among them was Cindy McNamara, whose daughter, Shannon, was murdered in 2001 while attending Eastern Illinois University.

Shannon McNamara was asleep in her locked off-campus apartment when she was raped, strangled, beaten and stabbed. Her body was left in the living room. A washcloth was stuffed in her mouth.

Former EIU student Anthony Mertz was convicted, becoming the first person sent to death row after Ryan emptied it.

"We have the death penalty for a reason," Cindy McNamara wrote in a letter to Quinn. "This is the reason!"

The Tribune examination found at least 46 inmates sent to death row in cases where prosecutors used jailhouse informants to convict or condemn the defendants. The investigation also found at least 33 death row inmates had been represented at trial by an attorney who had been disbarred or suspended; at least 35 African-American inmates on death row who had been convicted or condemned by an all-white jury; and about half of the nearly 300 capital cases had been reversed for a new trial or sentencing hearing.

Source: Chicago Tribune, March 9, 2011

Illinois Becomes 4th State in Four Years to Abandon the Death Penalty

Gov. Pat Quinn signs legislation

today ending the death penalty.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn took the final step today in ending the death penalty and replacing it with a sentence of life without parole. The law also requires that state funds used for the death penalty be transferred to a fund for murder victims’ services and law enforcement. The ban on capital punishment comes after an 11-year moratorium on executions declared by former Republican Governor George Ryan, and makes Illinois the 16th state to repeal the death penalty. It also marks the lowest number of states with the death penalty in more than 30 years.

"The Illinois repeal is an indication of a growing national trend toward alternatives to the death penalty, and an increased focus on murder victims' families and the prevention of crime," said Richard Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center. "In light of our current economic climate, the public has increasingly recognized that resources used for the death penalty could be diverted to higher budgetary priorities, such as law enforcement and victims’ services."

Many murder victims’ families were among the strongest supporters of the Illinois repeal. In a letter to the Illinois General Assembly, murder victims' families wrote, "A legal system that wasn’t bogged down with committing tremendous resources on capital cases could prosecute and sentence countless other crimes and take dangerous people off the streets before they commit murder. Dollars saved could be put toward counseling for victims of crime or other services we desperately need as we attempt to get on with our lives." The letter was signed by more than 30 individuals who had loved ones murdered in Illinois.

The high costs of the death penalty were influential in the passage of the repeal. Conservative Republican Senator Dan Duffy of Lake Barrington said, "We have spent over $100 million of taxpayer money defending and prosecuting death row cases. The death penalty does not make our society safer, I believe. It has been an ineffective and expensive use of our scarce resources."

In the last few months, the death penalty has been under scrutiny in other states as well. Days after the Illinois General Assembly voted for the repeal, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, who as a Republican state legislator played an influential role in shaping the state’s current death penalty statute, stated: “I have concluded that it is exceedingly difficult for this statute to be administered in a fair and just way… Gov. [John] Kasich and the governors after him, I believe, need to consider commuting all of those sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and I think it's time for Ohio to at least entertain the discussion of whether or not we are well served by having a death penalty."

Across the country, use of the death penalty is declining as states are using alternative punishments like life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Death sentences in the United States have dropped by over 60% since the mid-90s. A recent poll conducted by Lake Research Partners showed that 61% of U.S. voters chose various alternative sentences over the death penalty as the punishment for murder. The same poll also listed the death penalty last in a list of priorities for state spending.

Since 1976, Illinois has carried out 12 executions. In the same period, 20 inmates have been exonerated from the state’s death row, the 2nd highest number in the United States. In 2003, 3 years after the moratorium was imposed, Governor Ryan issued a blanket commutation, reducing the sentences of 167 death row inmates to life and pardoning 4 inmates. Since then, Illinois has had 2 different commissions to study the death penalty and has implemented some reforms, yet continues to face an error-prone and costly system.

In the meantime, use of the death penalty has declined sharply in Illinois. In the 1990s, the state averaged over 10 death sentences a year. In 2009 and 2010, the state imposed only 1 death sentence each year.

Illinois is the 4th state in the last 4 years to abandon the death penalty. New Mexico and New Jersey voted to abolish the death penalty in 2009 and 2007, respectively. New York’s death penalty law was declared unconstitutional in 2004, and the last person was removed from death row in 2007. More states are expected to introduce legislation to repeal the death penalty in 2011, including possibly Connecticut, Kansas and Maryland.

Source: The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. DPIC was founded in 1990 and prepares in-depth reports, issues press releases, conducts briefings for the media, and serves as a resource to those working on this issue. DPIC is widely quoted and consulted by all those concerned with the death penalty. March 9, 2011


Statement of Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights

Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights congratulates Illinois Governor Quinn on signing into law the recently passed legislation abolishing the state's death penalty. We applaud the state's decision to redirect funds formerly spent on the death penalty to services for families of homicide victims and training of law enforcement personnel. As family members of murder victims, we know that each homicide is a theft of a unique, irreplaceable, deeply loved human life, representing a world of devastation for the victim’s surviving families.

A commitment to helping these victims' families and law enforcement personnel who work to protect us is a positive step forward for Illinois.

Source: MVFHR, March 9, 2011


Community of Sant’Egidio: 'Illinois has joined the world of civilization'

It is the 16th American state in which killing is not sanctioned by law

The Community of Sant’Egidio invites Governor Pat Quinn and a delegation of the state’s House of Representatives and Senate, along with American abolition activists, to celebrate the historic event at the Coliseum in Rome

Illinois became the 16th American state to have abolished the death penalty today after Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill approved by the two houses of the State Assembly. It was an exceptional and historic day in the United States. A ten-year process leading to a stop to executions in Chicago’s state thus drew to a close, with a large bipartisan majority confirming that the death penalty is an irremediably pernicious instrument for the judicial system.

On January 6, 2011, the House of Representatives of the state of Illinois voted 60-54 in favor of the definitive abolition of capital punishment. 5 days later, on January 11, the State Senate approved the proposal with a 32-25 vote. All that was needed was the endorsement of Governor Pat Quinn, who after weighing all of the elements at his disposal put his signature on the historic document.

Illinois is the third American state to have repudiated the death penalty in the last 4 years, following New Jersey and New Mexico. This unprecedented acceleration shows how the death penalty in the United States is in difficulty and is destined to become a weapon of the past. The development of historic dimensions came just a few weeks after a stop was put to the production of sodium thiopental one of the substances used in the U.S. for lethal injection, following a campaign spearheaded by the Community of Sant’Egidio and major anti-death penalty organizations, from Reprieve to Hands off Cain, and aided by the British and Italian governments.

The Community of Sant’Egidio closely followed the campaign launched the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty, coordinated by Jeremy Schroeder, as well as the initiatives of the entire American abolitionist movement It plans to celebrate the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois with a special event in Rome: the lighting of the Coliseum, international symbol of the global battle for a system of justice that respects human life at all times.

The development marks a decisive step toward abolition of the death penalty in the whole United States. In 2010 there was the lowest number of executions in the country since 1999: 46, representing a 12 % drop since the year before. 2010 was also the year in which the lowest number of death sentences were handed down in the United States since 1976: 114, 2/3 less than 15 years earlier, 1996, a record year for death sentences.

An unmistakable trend, a progressive structural decline, confirmed by the recent electoral victories of governors publicly opposed to capital punishment in California, New York State and Massachusetts. In Texas, which holds the record with 17 executions, there were less than 10 death sentences handed down. For the first time, an American judge challenged the constitutionality of the death penalty.

Precedents:

At the end of January 2000 former Governor George Ryan, a Republican, suspended all executions after it was shown that thirteen death sentences had been commuted since 1976, the year the death penalty was officially reinstated at the federal level, because the prisoners were proven innocent. That was 1 more prisoner than the 12 death row convicts proven guilty. These numbers represented an evident anomaly for capital punishment in the large American state, a manifest gap also present in all of the other states which maintain the death penalty.

The commission created by Ryan to shed full light on the dynamics of capital sentences in Illinois came to the conclusion, after 2 years of study, that no penal system can ever be so perfect as to rule out sensational judicial error. The death penalty, with its definitive and irreparable characteristic, thus inherently represents a premise for an extremely unjust punishment. Not only that. The commission also discovered how external factors, such as ethnic identity, social class, geography, the emotional susceptibility of public opinion, the ineptitude of defense lawyers, affect the use of the death penalty in the sentencing process.

In January 2003, near the end of his mandate, Governor Ryan commuted 167 death sentences to life imprisonment after discovering the large number of errors made in the respective trials. It was the 1st widespread amnesty ever declared in American death rows. Ryan’s successors kept the moratorium in effect. It was shown that it cost the state over 100 million dollars to support the few dozen remaining inmates on death row. Even for this reason alone, a growing number of American states are wondering if it is worthwhile to pursue the path of legal assassination.

Illinois “is no longer in the company of countries which commit the worst violation of human rights: it has joined the world of civilization, putting an end to the suppression of innocent lives”, commented Senator Kwame Raoul, one of the key sponsors of the anti-death penalty bill.

Source: Sant'Egidio, March 9, 2011


Capital punishment in the United States

The governor of Illinois on Wednesday signed a bill banning the death penalty in the state. The following are some facts and figures about the death penalty in the United States since 1977, when executions resumed following the lifting of a ban on the practice by the U.S. Supreme Court the previous year.

* There have been 1,242 executions in the United States since 1977. The peak year was 1999, when 98 were carried out, while no inmates were put to death in 1978 and 1980. The number of executions dropped 12 % last year to 46. 8 people have been executed so far this year.

* The year 2009, the last for which data is available, saw 112 death sentences imposed, the lowest number over the past three decades. The peak year was 1996 when 315 were handed down.

* The death penalty is sanctioned by 34 of the 50 states and the U.S. government and military -- not counting Illinois, where the ban will take effect July 1. Lethal injection is the main method used by all of the death penalty states.

* The Death Penalty Information Center said there have been 138 exonerations of death row inmates since 1973.

* Texas has been by far the most active death penalty state in the post-1976 era, with 466 executions. Virginia is a distant 2nd at 108.

* In 2008, the United States ranked fourth in the world in the number of executions carried out with 37. China carried out by far the most with 1,718, followed by Iran with 346, Saudi Arabia with 102, the United States, Pakistan with 36, and Iraq with 34.

Source: Reuters, March 9, 2011


Scott Turow: The conservative argument to abolish the death penalty

This week's abolition of the death penalty in Illinois is commonly viewed as a triumph for progressives. But some of the most persuasive arguments for doing away with capital punishment basically reflect conservative views. The last decade has seen many noted conservatives like George Will, Richard Viguerie and L. Brent Bozell III emerge as death-penalty opponents. One reason that abolition became a political possibility here was not simply because it attracted Republican votes in the House and the Senate, but because many conservatives have grown more ambivalent about the issue and less fierce in their opposition.

Here are some of the leading conservative arguments for ending executions.

The death penalty is one more government program that's failed.

This oft-quoted observation is an elaboration on comments and more than a clever turn of phrase by former Illinoisan, George Will, perhaps the nation's leading conservative columnist.

Illinois reinstituted capital punishment in 1977, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all prior statutory schemes as unconstitutionally arbitrary and capricious. We have now conducted a 33-year experiment in seeing whether death sentences can be meted out in a rational, proportionate fashion that has clearly failed.

I was a member of the 14-person Commission on Capital Punishment appointed by then-Gov. George Ryan in 2000 to study the death penalty. I started out ambivalent, because I knew there will always be certain murders and killers who will cry out for this ultimate form of retribution. But after two years I came to realize that we will never construct a capital system that functions with anything resembling fairness.

Despite decades of legislation and litigation aimed at establishing procedural bulwarks, the imposition of the death penalty in Illinois remained haphazard. Studies authorized by the commission found that, in Illinois, defendants were five times more likely to be sentenced to death if they committed their crimes in rural areas, as opposed to cities; twice as likely to be sentenced to death if they killed a woman; and 21/2 times more likely to be capitally sentenced for the murder of a white person, as compared to an African-American.

Worst of all is the institutional propensity to sentence innocent people to death. Since 1977, 20 people have been sentenced to death in our state only to be legally absolved of the murders that put them on death row. This reflects what I refer to as the paradox of capital punishment. We have lived with the illusion that we can reserve capital punishment for the so-called "worst of the worst," the most heinous, brutal or repetitive murders. What we have failed to realize is that those very crimes stir our deepest anxieties and outrage, and thus are hardest to deal with in the kind of rational, highly deliberative way that taking a life should require. As a result, police, prosecutors, judges and juries too often have engaged in a rush to judgment that ignores the presumption of innocence and has led now and then to the law's ultimate nightmare, condemning the innocent.

For conservatives who believe government is too large, too inefficient and too unwieldy to deliver health care, or even the mail for that matter, it should come as no surprise that government efforts to justly select those worthy of death has been a moral disaster.

The death penalty is a waste of money.

Study after study has shown that the death penalty costs far more than sentencing defendants irrevocably to life in prison without parole. That may seem counterintuitive because executions, of course, shorten prisoners lives. But the costs before that point overwhelm those savings. Most of the money is spent dealing with people like me — lawyers. Everyone recognizes that in U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's famous phrase, "death is different." We want to be sure that the condemned have enjoyed every legal right before they die, and as a result we have pyramided costs: 2 defense lawyers at trial —almost always government paid because capital defendants are overwhelmingly poor — and prosecutors to match them. Then there are the endless parade of appeals and post-conviction proceedings, which typically cost the state money for more than a decade.

Of course, if the death penalty clearly served a practical purpose like saving lives, these increased costs might be worth it. But in Illinois we have experienced a steady decline in our murder rate since Gov. Ryan first declared the moratorium on executions in January 2000 that has remained in place since. Murders in the vast majority of cases are impulsive acts by people who give no thought to getting caught. Thus the idea of deterrence is largely phantom. In a state that is now $15 billion in debt we cannot afford to throw good dollars after bad on a system that exists only to do a botched job of vindicating citizens' sense of moral outrage.

The death penalty is incomaptible with the notion of limited government.

In western Europe, all of our allies have outlawed the death penalty, most them taking that step after World War II. The reason was not so much popular opposition as historical experience. In Germany, Hitler had come to power as the result of his election, and proceeded to enact a series of tyrannical laws. The fact that the horrors of the World War II sprang directly from a democracy run amok persuaded European intellectuals and politicians that the state should never have the lawful power to kill.

In the United States, we are cheerfully oblivious to those risks and with good reason. From 1998 to 2001, for example, we saw one president impeached, another empowered without a popular majority, and our nation attacked by a pernicious foreign force; never once in any of those crises did we see troops in the street. The extraordinary durability of the American democracy is one of our greatest achievements, but it is naive to believe in Sinclair Lewis' phrase that it can't happen here. The conservative-libertarian view that says that the powers of government must be strictly limited supports drawing a clear line prohibiting a democratic government from ever lawfully killing any of the citizens from whom it draws power. That way a regime that vanished its political enemies or executed despised minorities would mark itself, whatever the legal rigamorole, as an outlaw.

At the end of the day, Illinois' abolition of capital punishment is part of an evolving national recognition that the death penalty is truly un-American.

Source: Scott F. Turow, a Chicago attorney and best-selling author, was a member of the Commission on Capital Punishment; Chicago Tribune, March 9, 2011


Statement from Governor Pat Quinn on Senate Bill 3539

Today I have signed Senate Bill 3539, which abolishes the death penalty in Illinois.
For me, this was a difficult decision, quite literally the choice between life and death. This was not a decision to be made lightly, or a decision that I came to without deep personal reflection.
Since the General Assembly passed this bill, I have met or heard from a wide variety of people on both sides of the issue. I have talked with prosecutors, judges, elected officials, religious leaders from around the world, families of murder victims, people on death row who were exonerated and ordinary citizens who have taken the time to share their thoughts with me. Their experiences, words and opinions have made a tremendous impact on my thinking, and I thank everyone who reached out on this matter.
After their guidance, as well as much thought and reflection, I have concluded that our system of imposing the death penalty is inherently flawed. The evidence presented to me by former prosecutors and judges with decades of experience in the criminal justice system has convinced me that it is impossible to devise a system that is consistent, that is free of discrimination on the basis of race, geography or economic circumstance, and that always gets it right.
As a state, we cannot tolerate the executions of innocent people because such actions strike at the very legitimacy of a government. Since 1977, Illinois has seen 20 people exonerated from death row. Seven of those were exonerated since the moratorium was imposed in 2000. That is a record that should trouble us all. To say that this is unacceptable does not even begin to express the profound regret and shame we, as a society, must bear for these failures of justice.
Since our experience has shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment, I have concluded that the proper course of action is to abolish it. With our broken system, we cannot ensure justice is achieved in every case. For the same reason, I have also decided to commute the sentences of those currently on death row to natural life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole or release.
I have found no credible evidence that the death penalty has a deterrent effect on the crime of murder and that the enormous sums expended by the state in maintaining a death penalty system would be better spent on preventing crime and assisting victims’ families in overcoming their pain and grief.
To those who say that we must maintain a death penalty for the sake of the victims’ families, I say that it is impossible not to feel the pain of loss that all these families share or to understand the desire for retribution that many may hold. But, as I heard from family members who lost loved ones to murder, maintaining a flawed death penalty system will not bring back their loved ones, will not help them to heal and will not bring closure to their pain. Nothing can do that. We must instead devote our resources toward the prevention of crime and the needs of victims’ families, rather than spending more money to preserve a flawed system.
The late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin observed, “[i]n a complex, sophisticated democracy like ours, means other than the death penalty are available and can be used to protect society.” In our current criminal justice system, we can impose extremely harsh punishments when warranted. Judges can impose sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Where necessary and appropriate, the state can incarcerate convicted criminals in maximum security prisons. These means should be sufficient to satisfy our need for retribution, justice and protection.
As Governor, I took an oath to uphold our state’s Constitution and faithfully execute our laws. Honoring that oath often requires making difficult decisions, but I have found none to be as difficult as the one I made today. I recognize that some may strongly disagree with this decision, but I firmly believe that we are taking an important step forward in our history as Illinois joins the 15 other states and many nations of the world that have abolished the death penalty.

Watch video (YouTube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BXG_ZyGRHQ&feature=player_embedded

Source: Illinois Government News Network, March 9, 2011


Ryan hails death penalty abolition, calling it ‘a long time coming'

Former Gov. George Ryan, who fought aggressively to abolish the death penalty after he left office — and who issued the moratorium against state executions when he was governor — dispatched this exclusive message to the Sneed column after Gov. Quinn signed historic legislation ending executions in Illinois.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Ryan, who is now serving a sentence for public corruption at a federal prison in Indiana.

“I’m so glad the legislation has finally passed and Gov. Quinn signed the bill. It’s the result of all the good work of those who fought long and hard in advance of anything I did to help bring this about. I just hope more states join in as well as the federal government.

“We now know with a moral certainty an innocent person will not be put to death in Illinois. I want to thank Gov. Quinn for making the right call."

Ryan’s son, Homer, who talked to his father Wednesday evening, told Sneed: “I was with my dad the night he made his decision to place a moratorium on executions in Illinois. This was not an easy decision, but it came down simply to killing an innocent person. There are flaws in every system but this is what really bothered him."

“I’m sure George was absolutely elated,” said Rob Warden, executive director of Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions. “It was very gracious of Gov. Quinn to give George credit during his press conference,” added Warden.

A somber note: “But you know . . . even though I’m absolutely elated and never thought I’d see this happen in my lifetime, there is something very surreal about it,” said Warden. “It all happened so quickly and without much [fanfare]."

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, March 9, 20011


Gov. Pat Quinn turned to Bible and writings of late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin for difficult death penalty decision


Gov. Pat Quinn turned to the Bible for wisdom. He drew strength from the writings of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. And he pored over the impassioned pleas from families of murder victims who begged him to give them a chance at closure.

Finally, after 2 months of struggling with what he said is the hardest decision he's had to make as governor, Quinn decided over the weekend to abolish the death penalty in Illinois and clear out death row.

"It is impossible to create a perfect system, free of all mistakes," Quinn said Wednesday, moments after signing the death penalty ban into law. "I think it's the right and just thing to abolish the death penalty and punish those who commit heinous crimes — evil people — with life in prison without parole or any chance of release."

The governor conceded he talked to few of the families of victims of the 15 murderers on death row, and he grasped for ways to console them.

"There are no words in the English language, or any language, to ease your pain," Quinn said soberly. "I want to tell them, it's impossible, I'm sure, to ever be healed. But we want to tell all of the family members, the family of Illinois … we want to be with you. You're not alone in your grief."

It was a legacy moment for Quinn, whose historic action might end up as the foremost achievement of a governor previously noteworthy for his succession of the impeached Rod Blagojevich.

Newly elected to his own term, Quinn's decision also caps a strong liberal shift for a state that had long been known for centrist, pragmatic politics. In the last few months, Democrats led by Quinn have imposed a major income-tax increase, legalized civil unions for same-sex couples and taken the death penalty off the books.

The political impact of those measures will play out in the coming years. Quinn already is being criticized by lawmakers and prosecutors who point out that violent criminals can now kill police officers and murder multiple victims without fear of losing their own lives.

Rep. Dennis Reboletti said the "big winners" were murderers on death row.

"The people of the state of Illinois aren't the winners," said Reboletti, R-Elmhurst.

A man of Catholic faith, Quinn cited Bernardin's own words: "In a complex, sophisticated democracy like ours, means other than the death penalty are available and can be used to protect society."

Life sentences to maximum security prisons, Quinn said, "should be sufficient to satisfy our need for retribution, justice and protection."

The governor called it impossible to create a justice system "free of all discrimination with respect to race or economic circumstances or geography" in a state where 102 separate state's attorneys impose different standards. And he weighed what's the appropriate justice for the worst killers against how Illinois exonerated 20 people once "in grave danger" of facing an irreversible punishment.

Pressed for a deeper explanation, Quinn acknowledged that child killer John Wayne Gacy, the poster boy for why Illinois has used the death penalty, committed the heinous crimes of an "evil man."

But Quinn said a system that risks killing an innocent man "cannot stand."

One of those whose sentence was commuted is Brian Dugan, sentenced to death for the 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico, of Naperville. Dugan had been serving 2 life sentences for 2 other rape-murder cases, but his death sentence for Nicarico's murder had seemingly brought a measure of closure to a saga seared into the collective minds of Chicago-area residents.

Yet that chapter did not end without exposing overwhelming human mistakes. Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez — two of three men originally charged with the girl's murder — served years on death row before they were cleared.

Quinn signed the bill in his office with only a handful of leading supporters, including the chief sponsors from each chamber, Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood, and Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago. The two clutched pens Quinn used to sign the legislation as they hugged behind the governor's wooden desk.

Tears welled in Raoul's eyes several minutes after Quinn defended his decision.

"God bless the state of Illinois. The light of God is shining," Raoul said. "Shining positively upon our state. This is a historic day. We enter into this business trying to have some impact on lives. There's no greater impact that you can have than to do something that will save a life."

Yarbrough said she once supported the death penalty but that the exonerations serve as a "painful and stirring reminder that death is an absolute penalty. Once imposed, there is no second chance, no reversal and no way to correct a mistake."

Exonerated former inmate Gordon "Randy" Steidl, who spent 17 years in prison, including 12 on death row, was among the death penalty opponents who praised Quinn.

"He made a decision today, a moral, righteous decision, when he realized that there are flaws in this system that almost took my life and 19 other men in Illinois," Steidl said.

Not everyone at the Capitol cheered, given the legislation cleared the General Assembly with only a few votes to spare in the waning days of a lame-duck session in January. Death penalty proponents already are seeking to reinstate capital punishment.

Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, predicted Quinn's actions would haunt him if he plans to run for re-election in 2014.

Quinn chose to focus on the arguments lawmakers gave when they approved the ban. He also deflected questions on how he campaigned last fall as a death penalty supporter. Quinn had kept in place the moratorium first imposed by Republican adversary and predecessor Gov. George Ryan, who cleared death row in 2003 by commuting to life in prison the death sentences for more than 160 inmates.

But Quinn hesitated when asked to draw comparisons between his actions and those of Ryan, who is serving time in federal prison for corruption. The governor said the 2 each followed their consciences.

"I think God wants you to do it that way," Quinn said.

Source: Chicago Tribune, March 9, 2011


Quinn ends death row at Pontiac prison

Pontiac Correctional Center

Gov. Pat Quinn signaled the end of Pontiac Correctional Center's role as home to Illinois' death row Wednesday.

Although state prison officials are not sure what will happen to the 22 cells reserved for condemned prisoners, the governor's decision to abolish the death penalty and commute the sentences of the 15 men on who reside there will symbolically and physically alter the makeup of the 140-year-old lockup.

Quinn's landmark move also will end Dwight Correctional Center's role as the designated death row for women and eliminate Tamms Correctional Center as the home of the state's execution chamber, last used in 1999 when Andrew Kokoraleis was executed by lethal injection.

The formal abolition will go into effect on July 1, meaning death row will technically remain in place until then.

The 15 residents of the gallery whose sentences were commuted to life in prison without the possibility of release eventually will be moved into other units.

"I know they will stay in a maximum-security facility," said Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sharyn Elman.

John Maki, executive director of the John Howard Association, a prison watchdog group, was on a team surveying Pontiac on Jan. 11 -- the day the Illinois Senate approved the death penalty abolition.

He said condemned prisoners were curious about what the abolition would mean for their sentences, which are served in isolation from the general prison population.

Elman could provide no timetable for when the prisoners would be moved out of their current cells, but Maki said the inmates should be prepared for significant changes, including possibly having to share a cell with another inmate.

"Their life in prison arguably gets worse," Maki said.

At least one state lawmaker said Pontiac officials should be given clear directions on what to do with the inmates.

"Those correctional facilities need to know what to do with those death row inmates and transition them to wherever they will be housed to comply with the law as it stands now," said state Rep. Jason Barickman, R-Champaign, who represents Pontiac.

Elman said it is too early to know how the emptied space will be used. For the most part, the section set aside for condemned inmates looks similar to the rest of the 1,650-inmate facility.

"It's basically indistinguishable from other parts of the prison," said Maki.

There is no official space dedicated to a female version of death row at Dwight because there were no women sentenced to death at the time of Quinn's action.

If there were, however, Elman said they too would be separated by sight and sound from other inmates.

Source: Bloomington Pantagraph, March 9, 2011
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China's decision to postpone execution of 3 Filipino drug smugglers “unprecedented” and “unusual”

Chinese mobile execution unit
training for lethal injections

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines thanked China yesterday for its “unprecedented” and “unusual” decision to postpone the execution of three Filipinos convicted for drug smuggling and to allow a review of their cases.

The development has raised hopes for a commutation of the death sentence.

In a statement, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said President Aquino made a timely decision to send a delegation to China led by Vice President Jejomar Binay to plead for clemency for the three Filipinos on death row.

Binay is the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ concerns.

“The President’s decision in sending Vice President Binay to China was timely. We welcome the postponement of the execution of the three Filipino nationals within the scope of Chinese law,” Romulo said.

Sources at the DFA said China had informed Binay of the Supreme People’s Court’s decision to review the cases of the three Filipinos.

Foreign Affairs officials said that while China’s decision to stay the execution of the Filipinos may be a “temporary victory,” they remained hopeful that the court would eventually commute the sentence.

“I’m very happy. This is unprecedented. It’s so unusual (postponement of execution). The Supreme Court assured Vice President Binay the decision on the case of the three Filipinos will be reviewed,” a DFA official said.

“Walang sinabi na hindi na itutuloy basta pending review ito. Sana huwag na matuloy ang execution (There was no mention of the execution being cancelled, but it’s under review. We hope the execution does not push through),” the official said.

“Very likely there will be an appeal of the decision,” another official said.

“If there’ll be commutation then it will be unprecedented,” he said.

“The Vice President made the right move. This is a victory for us, although temporary. To my memory, this was the only time China made such a decision. The biggest factor here is the presence of Vice President Binay,” another official said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu emphasized during a press conference in Beijing on Friday that Filipinos are rarely sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

Ma said the Chinese government attaches great importance to friendly relations with the Philippines.

“Since President Aquino came into office, through joint efforts, China-Philippine relations have entered into a new development stage with sound cooperation across the board. We hope and believe the Philippines will proceed from the overall interests of bilateral relations and properly handle relevant issue in a joint effort to maintain the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations,” Ma said.

“The line of communication between the two countries stays open and China is ready to keep in contact with the Philippines,” he said.

On Friday night, China ordered a stay in the execution of Ramon Credo, 42; Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, 32; and Elizabeth Batain, 38, following Binay’s meeting with Dai Bongguo, state councilor; Wang Shengjun, president of the Supreme People’s Court; and Zhang Zhijun, executive vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China’s court had scheduled Credo’s and Villanueva’s execution tomorrow and Batain’s on Tuesday.

“The two sides exchanged views on a wide range of issues concerning bilateral relations, including judicial cooperation. The two sides expressed the determination to work together and make joint efforts in further strengthening the relationship of strategic cooperation,” a joint Philippine-China statement read.

“The Philippines and China are determined to work together in the fight against transnational crimes, including drug trafficking,” it read.

Credo was convicted for smuggling 4,113 grams of heroin on Dec. 28, 2008 in Xiamen while Villanueva was meted the death penalty on Dec. 24 in the same year for smuggling 4,110 grams of heroin in Xiamen.

Batain was found in possession of 6,800 grams of heroin in Shenzhen and sentenced on May 24, 2008.

Elated

House leaders welcomed China’s decision but expressed hope for a commutation of the sentence.

The lawmakers also called for a review of the country’s policy on handling such cases as well as an investigation into why illegal drugs were able to slip out of the airport.

“I recognize the sovereignty of China over their territory and remain hopeful that the postponement of the execution becomes a permanent stay and commutation of sentence,” Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III said.

“Without condoning the acts of the Filipinos, who allowed themselves to be drug couriers, that gives us a brief sigh of relief. I just hope that the Chinese government would understand that they are not hardened criminals and were forced to do it because of poverty and commute the penalty to life imprisonment instead,” House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales said.

Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay is also pushing for a probe on how the drug mules were able to escape the scrutiny of airport personnel.

“The agencies in charge should be investigated and corrected right away so that we will not have kababayans caught and declared guilty of drug trafficking in other countries,” Magsaysay said.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo urged Filipinos wanting to work abroad “to be more circumspect and cautious.”

“The government should form a top caliber legal team to represent OFWs in similar situations and not depend on embassy officials or by themselves,” Castelo said.

Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas said the reprieve showed the goodwill and healthy relationships between the Philippines and China.

“If we had that death penalty and three Chinese nationals who were facing execution were granted reprieve by our government to accommodate a request from the Chinese government, how could our democratic media and public opinion react to such? I am just wondering, how would the members of both Houses of Congress, especially those in the minority, react?” Fariñas said.

“It (reprieve) means that President Aquino’s goodwill in the international community is very high. However, the efforts of the government to save the lives of our kababayans should not be interpreted to mean that we are encouraging drug trafficking,” Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said.

Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo congratulated Binay for his efforts and said the postponement has given the nation fresh hopes.

Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, chairman of the House committee on overseas workers affairs, said that despite the diplomatic breakthrough, the country’s foreign policy is now “hostage” to the fate of the three convicts.

“I think it’s a really positive development, but it is not a pardon or commutation of sentence. There is a downside to this in that, in a way, Philippine foreign policy is now hostage to the fate of the OFWs,” Bello said.

He observed that China has gained undue leverage from the development.

“The consideration that China may decide to carry out the executions may now hang as a sword of Damocles in our other dealings with that government,” Bello said.

He said the challenge facing the Philippine government is balancing national interest and the safety and welfare of Filipinos on the death row in China.

“The challenge for us is to delink our foreign policy toward China from the fate of our OFWs facing the death sentence,” Bello said. “This will be a real challenge.”

At the Senate, Sen. Loren Legarda, who chairs the committee on foreign relations, said China’s decision signified the country’s willingness to listen to appeals from the Philippine government.

But Legarda said the issue should compel the administration to step up its drive against human trafficking to put a stop to instances of Filipinos being used as drug mules by drug syndicates.

“We must look at the long-term solution by strengthening anti-human trafficking laws and not allowing our people to fall prey to syndicates and becoming drug mules,” Legarda said.

She said it was poverty that drove many Filipinos to engage in illegal activities like drug smuggling. But in many cases, they were only misled into serving as drug couriers.

For Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, treasurer of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, the development was “divine intervention.”

“Power of prayer moved the hearts of the people, there was divine intervention,” he said in a text message sent to Church-run Radio Veritas.

“Life is sacred and we should give opportunity to people who made mistakes to change, to start a new life. It is important that we constantly plead with the high officials in behalf of others, especially the poor,” he said.

He said he was still hoping the Chinese government would eventually agree to a commutation.

He also said the experience of the three Filipinos should serve as lesson to their countrymen that they should not engage in illegal activities.

Source: philSTAR.com, February 20, 2011

79 Pinoys on China death row

Apart from the 3 whose execution has been deferred, there are 79 other Filipinos awaiting their fate on China's death row, an overseas workers group said yesterday.

Migrante International said more than 120 other Filipino workers are also facing death sentences in other countries.

The group lauded the efforts of President Aquino in successfully halting the execution of the 3 Filipino workers in China.

However, the government should not give its "best shot" at the last minute in saving the lives of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on death row because "this is not a game," Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said.

"The Aquino government should waste no time to start, as early as this time, appealing to the Chinese government the commutation of the other 79 OFWs on death row, and also the more than 120 others in other countries," the group said.

Monterona said Migrante is presently handling the cases of eight Filipinos on death row and 121 others in jail in the Middle East. He said 13 of the Filipino workers jailed face drug-related offenses.

Since 2005, six Filipinos whose cases Migrante has handled have been executed, mostly in Saudi Arabia.

Monterona said every case of OFWs on death row must be treated with urgency by the Philippine government.

The case of the 3 OFWs, who were supposed to be executed on Monday and Tuesday, is a bitter reality to confront; efforts to save OFWs whose cases are punishable by death should start from the time a proper case has been filed and hiring the best legal defense team the government can provide," Monterona said, noting that most were victims of international drug syndicates.

Monterona suggested the launching of a national campaign involving all concerned government agencies to inform the public of the dangers of being victimized by international drug traffickers and syndicates.

"The foreign affairs department and various Philippine posts abroad must be ready to do their share in the campaign against drug trafficking and syndicates by swapping information and forging cooperation with the host government to combat this drug menace victimizing our dear OFWs," Monterona said.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada also suggested going after the principal players of the international drug cartel.

Estrada blamed illegal recruiters behind the plight of unsuspecting Filipino workers, mostly women, who are enticed to become "drug mules" or couriers of international drug syndicates.

The women are paid between $500 and $5,000 to swallow tubes containing the drugs, carry them hidden in their luggage or even dissolved and soaked into paper or books.

The lack of jobs at home is a major reason why women in particular resort to smuggling drugs.

Estrada said authorities must focus their attention on the personalities involved in enticing Filipino workers to transport illegal drugs.

Estrada noted most of the suspected drug mules are not even OFWs registered at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Alarming trend

Other lawmakers had sounded the alarm on drug mules in 2009.

Senators Pia Cayetano, Manuel Villar and Loren Legarda said there had been an increasing trend of using Filipino overseas workers and tourists as drug mules.

Villar recalled the case of Nilfa Dumalagan who was recruited by a Nigerian married to a Filipino woman to get a package from Peru.

Villar said Dumalagan had a tourist visa to Malaysia when she met the “recruiters” but she was able to escape the syndicate before embarking on her 1st stint as a drug mule.

According to Villar, the Nigerian drug cartels are one of the biggest and most notorious in global drug operations.

Villar had filed Senate Resolution 1192 citing that in 2008, 111 Filipinos were arrested for drug-related offenses in China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Villar said the Philippines ranks fifth in methamphetamine confiscation from 1998 to 2007, based from the United Nations' office on Drug and Crime 2009 World Drug Report.

Villar noted a majority of the arrests had stemmed from drugs stashed in luggage supposedly given to them by recruiters they met in a transit country, usually Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Laos or Vietnam.

The members of foreign drug rings give Filipino mules tickets and pocket money to travel to Hong Kong or to China with a promise to pay the carriers upon delivery of the drugs to their destination.

The Blas Ople Center also said there are now more than 500 drug cases involving Filipinos in different parts of the world, mostly in China.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said there was almost six hundred percent increase from the 16 people arrested in 2007 for drug related offenses.

Of those arrested in 2007 and 2008, a total of 22 are facing death sentence, 12 have gotten life terms while 11 have been made to serve 15 to 16 years prison terms.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III, who served as chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board, said there are about 200 cases involving Filipinos facing drug related cases in China.

Sotto also revealed a Nigerian drug syndicate operating with drug mules in China usually targets desperate Filipino workers with a promise of money and extension of their visa.

"That's why it's very inviting. They can renew their visa and it's given to them for free. And they even have money on the side," Sotto said.

Senator Cayetano revealed there are about 630 Filipinos detained in prisons abroad facing drug trafficking cases. China had the biggest number of detainees at 250, 75 of whom are already in death row.

Cayetano filed Resolution 282 in noting that 62 % or 6 out of every 10 Filipinos are detained abroad for drug trafficking.

On the other hand, the London-based Amnesty International (AI) revealed China had been relentless in carrying out executions of suspected drug traffickers.

The AI in its 2008 statistics disclosed that China posted over 1,700 executions carried out followed by Iran with only more than 340.

The AI slammed China for not being transparent as to the figures of executions it conducts every year. The organization based its statistics on publicized cases of Chinese executions.

The AI believes China has conducted many unreported executions.

The AI reported that in the 1990s, executions in China increased to 10,000 as its annual average.

In 1996, after an aggressive anti-crime campaign was carried out in China, there were 4,367, or roughly 12 people a day being executed, the AI said.

A report from the Associated Press also revealed that Chinese authorities also extend its firm stance on executions of foreigners in its jurisdiction.

AP recounts that in 2009, China has demonstrated its firm imposition of its verdict against 53-year-old Akhmal Shaik, a British national.

Shaik was charged for carrying four kilos of heroin to China and was condemned to death after a trial that lasted less than an hour.

Despite exhausting all legal remedies including his admission of mental instability, Shaik was executed in the same year that strained the relations between Britain and China.

The recent sojourn of Vice President Jejomar Binay however led to the stay of execution of the 3 Filipino workers who were supposed to be executed today and tomorrow.

The Philippines, in a joint statement with China said, "it fully respects China's law and the verdict of the SPC (Supreme People's Court)."

"The Philippines and China are determined to work together in the fight against transnational crimes. Including drug trafficking," the statement continued, thus leaving uncertain the fate of the 3 condemned Filipinos.

Source: Philippine Star, February 20, 2011
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Illinois: If gov bans death penalty, 15 on death row may die

Beyond deciding whether to abolish Illinois’ death penalty, Gov. Quinn faces a moral dilemma involving the fate of the 15 condemned killers now on death row.

The death-penalty repeal bill that narrowly passed the General Assembly last month would ban executions going forward. But it wouldn’t apply retroactively to those already sentenced to death, including condemned killers like Brian Dugan, who was convicted of the 1983 murder of Naperville 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico.

If Quinn signs the death-penalty abolition legislation, should he also spare the state’s current Death Row population from execution and commute their sentences to life in prison without parole?

Or, should he simply postpone a decision until a potential 2nd term or place it in the lap of a future governor since none of the inmates is likely to exhaust his appeals and face death until sometime after 2014?

On Friday, Quinn would not divulge his plans for the death-penalty legislation or whether he is considering a commutation for the 15 inmates now awaiting a death sentence as part of a possible bill signing.

"I'm going to make a decision on everything at the right time. It won’t be that long from now,” Quinn said during an appearance in Downstate Normal. “But I do think it’s important to have a period of reflection and review, and that’s what we’re doing."

But the lead legislative architects of the repeal and the Catholic Conference of Illinois believe Quinn should set aside the death sentences for everyone on death row, as former Gov. George Ryan did in early 2003, and commute the inmates’ sentences to life in prison without parole.

"That inconsistency just doesn't make sense," said Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), the repeal bill’s chief Senate sponsor. “Then you start killing people in a state that decided not to kill people."

Raoul said he does not know the full details of the 15 convictions or the investigations. But he said wrongful convictions have happened in the past — 20, he said — and will continue to happen in the future.

The caveat in the bill exists because the Legislature cannot constitutionally change a convicted person’s sentence retroactively, Raoul said. The Legislature can only affect future sentencing.

Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Chicago), and chief House sponsor of the bill, said life without parole would be a harsher sentence than execution for those unaffected by her legislation.

"I hear these stories about cable TVs and country clubs,” she said. “That’s not Illinois prisons. And death would be a relief."

Others, however, believe Quinn should leave intact the death sentences for those already convicted and sentenced since Ryan’s historic mass commutation.

One of those voices pushing to leave the death sentences in place comes from an unlikely source: Rolando Cruz, a former Death Row inmate who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Nicarico. Cruz was later exonerated after Dugan confessed to the crime.

"They don’t deserve their lives,” Cruz told the Chicago Sun-Times, referring most notably to child killers like Dugan now on Death Row. "There is no proof that they are innocent. Execute them."

Quinn's election opponent, Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), who voted no on the bill, said modern technology and research, like the advancement of DNA testing, strengthens the death-penalty system. Because of it, no reason exists to diminish the sentences of the current inmates, he said.

"No one has given me any evidence to show that they were unjustly convicted,” Brady said.

Quinn has until mid-March to act on the legislation.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 8, 2011

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Ohio justice calls for end of death penalty

An Ohio Supreme Court justice who helped write the state's death penalty law 3 decades ago is calling for an end to capital punishment in the state. 

Justice Paul Pfeifer was 1 of the leading proponents of Ohio's death penalty law as a state legislator in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Pfeifer also said Tuesday that Gov. John Kasich should consider commuting the death sentences of all inmates condemned to die to life without parole. 

Pfeifer, a Republican, was chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee as Ohio debated the capital punishment bill that became law in 1981. 

He says the recent decrease in death sentences is a sign society believes life sentences are punishment enough. 

Source: Associated Press, January 18, 2011

Scott Rush's bid to beat the death penalty has been boosted by a panel of Indonesian judges

Scott Rush

SCOTT Rush's bid to beat the death penalty has been boosted by a panel of Indonesian judges labelling his sentence "incorrect and inappropriate".

The secret legal opinion, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, was due to be sent from Denpasar District Court yesterday to the Supreme Court in Jakarta.

It is understood the opinion stated the Brisbane man's death sentence was too harsh for his crime as a heroin courier.

It comes as the Supreme Court confirmed another Bali Nine member, courier Martin Stephens, had lost his last appeal against his life sentence, saying there was no new evidence.

Stephens, who plans to marry Indonesian fiancee Christine Puspayanti behind bars in April, is "very sad and very upset" about the decision.

He was visited in jail yesterday by Ms Puspayanti, who later said Stephens could not understand why he was not given a second chance. In Rush's case, the legal opinion was a positive sign in his fight to win a reprieve from death row, where he has been since late 2006 when the Supreme Court, on appeal, increased his life sentence to death.

It is now judges of the same court, Indonesia's highest court, who will consider his appeal.

Interestingly, the judges recommended the testimony of Rush's two main appeal witnesses - former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty and current Deputy Commissioner Mick Phelan - be ruled out and put aside.

They said their evidence was not based "on what they have heard, seen and experienced by themselves".

Mr Keelty and Mr Phelan's evidence was used by Rush's defence team to argue they had the necessary "new evidence" to win a judicial review of the case and sentence.

They testified that Rush was a minor player and courier, had no knowledge of the wider syndicate and would have got a much lesser sentence had he been convicted in Australia but the Denpasar Court judges said, in their opinion, the evidence was not relevant.

Source: The Daily Telegraph, January 15, 2011 (local time)

Outgoing Tennessee Governor commutes death sentence of Harbison, pardons 22

Outgoing Gov. Phil Bredesen on Tuesday commuted a Tennessee inmate's death sentence to life in prison without parole and issued 22 pardons.

The Democratic governor acted during his last days in office to change the sentence of convicted murderer Edward Jerome Harbison.

"It's obviously a heinous crime, but when I compare it to others I don't think it rose to the level of a death penalty crime," Bredesen told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. "So I knocked it down one notch to life without parole. And that's enough said, I guess."

Bredesen, who leaves office on Saturday, said he had discussed the commutation with Republican Gov.-elect Bill Haslam.

"He was totally fine, I think he understands completely," he said. "He thought it was appropriate even though the execution would have happened on his watch."

Bredesen also exonerated 1 man, commuted the sentences of 3 inmates and issued 22 pardons.

Harbison was convicted in Chattanooga of the 1983 slaying of Edith Russell, a woman for whom he had done handy work. He initially confessed but later claimed he was forced to do that because police threatened to arrest his girlfriend and put her children in foster care.

The exoneration erases the conviction of James Green, who was arrested in 2006 and charged with abducting and groping a child. 2 years later, the alleged victim recanted the claims and the district attorney dropped the charges. Green served more than 2 years of a 16-year sentence before he was released.

Source: Associated Press, January 11, 2011

Missouri Governor Commutes Richard Clay's Death Sentence

Missouri's governor decided to spare a convicted murderer's life Monday, a little more than a day before the man was scheduled to die by injection for a 1994 killing.

Gov. Jay Nixon said in a statement that he was commuting the sentence for Richard Clay, 45, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Clay was convicted of killing Randy Martindale of New Madrid in 1994 but has maintained his innocence. Nixon's statement did not explain why the governor decided to commute the sentence, and in fact said that after an exhaustive review, the governor is "convinced of Richard Clay's involvement in the senseless murder of Randy Martindale" and finds "the evidence clearly supports the jury's verdict of murder in the first degree."

Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said the written statement "will be the extent of comment from the governor or his office."

It wasn't clear if Nixon's decision had anything to do with allegations last week by the American Civil Liberties Union that Missouri cut corners on execution rehearsals because of a national shortage of sodium thiopental, one of three drugs used in most executions. The ACLU said Missouri didn't use sodium thiopental in an October rehearsal aimed at determining if staffers understood how to properly administer the drugs - possibly to stretch a dwindling supply. Corrections officials said the state was adequately prepared for the execution.

Clay's attorney, Jennifer Herndon, said she and Clay were elated by Nixon's decision, but will continue to seek a new trial.

"I've always believed he is innocent and will continue to fight," Herndon said. "This is only the first step."

In a Monday interview before Nixon announced his decision, Clay told The Associated Press he was not optimistic the governor would halt the execution because Nixon was attorney general at the time of his trial and one of Nixon's assistants, Kenny Hulshof, aided in the prosecution.

"Mr. Nixon said there were no mistakes at that time, that Mr. Hulshof did a fine job and I had a fair trial," Clay said.

A spokeswoman for Hulshof, now a private attorney, said he was out of the state and not available for comment Monday.

Riley Bock, the New Madrid County prosecutor who handled the case along with Hulshof, said he had no problem with Nixon's decision and he continues to be convinced of Clay's guilt.

"Commutation is always on the table," Bock said. "The governor, that's his job to do whatever he thinks is right. End of case."

During Nixon's 16 years as attorney general, his office defended Missouri's death penalty in numerous appeals to the state Supreme Court. It also provided assistant attorney generals to aid local prosecutors pursuing the death sentence in murders.

After Nixon won election as governor in November 2008, a coalition of death penalty critics called for a moratorium on executions so Missouri's death penalty system could be studied. A Nixon spokesman said at the time that Nixon backed the use of the death penalty and that families of victims deserved closure and justice without lengthy delays in death sentences.

Commutation requests are common but rarely granted. The previous one in Missouri drew worldwide attention.

In 1999, then-Gov. Mel Carnahan heeded the request of Pope John Paul II during the pontiff's visit to St. Louis and spared the life of Darrell Mease hours before the scheduled execution. Carnahan, a Baptist, cited "the extraordinary circumstances of the pope's request."

In the interview with AP, Clay admitted he was no Boy Scout - but said he was no killer, either.

At the time of the killing, Clay already was facing a methamphetamine-related charge. He said he decided to start selling drugs again to pay off his attorneys in that case.

On May 19, 1994, Clay and his friend, Chuck Sanders, went to the home of Stacy Martindale to sell her drugs. The three were friends and Sanders was dating Martindale, who was estranged from her husband, Randy.

Clay said Randy Martindale showed up unexpectedly at the house, saw the men there, and told them to leave or he would call police. Stacy Martindale gave them the keys to her Camaro, and the men drove off, with Sanders behind the wheel.

Sanders didn't realize the car had struck a toy in the driveway. The toy became lodged under the car and caused sparks. A New Madrid police officer saw the sparks and pulled over the Camaro.

Clay said he panicked because he had meth and marijuana with him in the car, so jumped out and ran to a flooded field where he hid through the night. He still was hiding in the swampy area the next morning when he was surrounded by police. He said it seemed like a lot of manpower for a low-level drug suspect.

When he arrived at the sheriff's office, a detective asked, "Where's the gun?" Clay said he didn't understand.

"He said, 'Mr. Clay, we've got a serious problem here. You're being charged with first-degree murder.'"

Randy Martindale had been gunned down in the bedroom of his home. Authorities alleged Stacy Martindale wanted her husband dead and unsuccessfully tried to convince Sanders to do it. Authorities said she then turned to Clay.

Clay said he doesn't know who killed Randy Martindale. Stacy Martindale was convicted of second-degree murder for her role and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Source: KansasCity.com, January 10, 2011

Cuba Supreme Court Commutes Death Sentence

Humberto Eladio Real Suárez

HAVANA TIMES, Dec. 29 – The Supreme Court of Cuba decided to commute for a 30-year sentence Humberto Eladio Real Suárez’ death sentence. He was tried in 1994 for landing on the island with the aim of carrying out subversive actions against the government. This was the last of the maximum sentences that still remained in the Caribbean island nation, whose authorities have not applied it since 2003, reported IPS.

AP noted: “On Oct. 15, 1994, Real and six other members of a Florida-based exile group came ashore in northern Cuba, armed with assault rifles and other weapons. A man was killed, and the group was captured shortly thereafter. Real received the death penalty, and the others got lengthy prison sentences.”

Source: Havana Times, December 29, 2010

Cuba commutes death sentence against US man

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's Supreme Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentence against a Cuban-American who was the last person remaining on death row in the island nation, according to a veteran human rights activist.

Elizardo Sanchez, the head of the independent Havana-based Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said the court sentenced Humberto Eladio Real to 30 years in prison instead. Sanchez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that Real's parents informed him of the decision.

Earlier Tuesday, the state-run Cubadebate website posted a story saying the court was reviewing an appeal by Real, who was convicted of killing a man in a 1994 raid. Cubadebate did not immediately report the court's decision.

On Oct. 15, 1994, Real and six other members of a Florida-based exile group came ashore in northern Cuba, armed with assault rifles and other weapons. A man was killed, and the group was captured shortly thereafter.

Real received the death penalty, and the others got lengthy prison sentences.

Havana officials have said the group intended to carry out acts of sabotage and attacks on military units to destabilize the government of then-President Fidel Castro.

Cuba's constitution allows the death penalty, but for years the country has effectively had a moratorium on carrying out death sentences.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentences against two El Salvador men convicted for their roles in a deadly bombing campaign on tourist sites in the 1990s. Ernesto Cruz Leon and Otto Rodriguez were given 30-year prison sentences instead, leaving Real as the sole convict on death row in Cuba.

Human rights activist Sanchez hailed Tuesday's decision, adding "we regret that the (death) penalty remains on our penal code."

Source: AP, December 29, 10