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Tag: executions

  • Ohio Executions Temporarily Halted By Judge

    There will be no executions carried out in the state of Ohio until after August 15th.

    This two and a half month window of time was granted by a federal judge so that arguments over the state’s new lethal injection methods could continue.

    The legal fight is being waged over the decision of Ohio to increase the dosage of the lethal injection drugs among other adjustments.

    The state uses two different drugs, injected simultaneously, during lethal injection procedures.

    The changes follow the highly controversial execution of Dennis McGuire, who took twenty six minutes to die during his January 16th execution.

    Ohio has responded by upping the amount of sedatives and painkillers given to prisoners being executed.

    Though the state stands by its method of executing McGuire (he gasped multiple times during his final minutes), it announced in April that the changes were meant “to allay any remaining concerns” about inhuman execution methods.

    The continued existence of a death penalty in the United States is coming under increasing scrutiny from abroad and domestically. In truth, it has long been a controversial and divisive subject:

    The state of Washington moved to halt the method indefinitely and others are considering it.

    Much of the controversy stems from the beliefs that it’s wrong for the state to take a life and that the methods used are cruel and painful.

    According to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, despite his unusual execution, McGuire “did not experience pain, distress or air hunger after the drugs were administered.” He was reportedly unconscious minutes after being given the fatal injection.

    From his court in Columbus, Ohio, federal judge Gregory Frost on Tuesday allowed for executions to be temporarily halted as filings are being made.

    Executions scheduled for July and early August will be pushed back to later dates.

    Ronald Phillips will see his execution date pushed back for the second time.

    Phillips was set to die July 2nd after being sentenced for the 1993 murder and rape of Sheila Marie Evans, his then girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Oklahoma Execution Was Inhumane, Says White House

    In a press conference held earlier today, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the botched execution of Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett “fell short of the humane standards required when the death penalty is carried out,” according to the AP.

    He went on to say that everyone could see that this was the case.

    On Tuesday evening, Lockett died of a heart attack after waking up mid-execution.

    According to the timeline, Lockett’s execution began at 6:23 pm. Ten minutes later, he was determined to be unconscious. A few minutes after the paralytic was administered, Lockett began moving and attempting to speak.

    “Lockett grimaced and tensed his body several times over a three minute period before the execution was shielded from the press. After being declared unconscious ten minutes into the process, Lockett spoke at three separate moments. The first two were inaudible, however the third time he spoke, Lockett said the word ‘man,’” says one eyewitness account.

    By 7:06, Lockett was declared dead due to an apparent heart attack.

    The news flooded Twitter, and shortly after Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin issued a stay of execution for another death row inmate, who was set to be executed later that evening.

    “I have asked the Department of Corrections to conduct a full review of Oklahoma’s execution procedures to determine what happened and why during this evening’s execution of Clayton Derrell Lockett,” said Fallin. “I have issued an executive order delaying the execution of Charles Frederick Warner for 14 days to allow for that review to be completed.”

    For anti-Death Penalty advocates, the botched execution is another cruel example of a broken system. As supplies of lethal injection drugs become more and more scarce (mostly due to hesitant pharm companies), states like Oklahoma have been forced to adopt alternative drugs–drugs that are oftentimes held from pubic knowledge. There are worries that these drugs are unable to provide a humane death, although some would argue that there is no such thing even with the standard cocktail.

    On Twitter, death penalty advocates pointed to the fact that Lockett’s crime, for which he was sentenced to death, involved the brutal death of a young woman whom he shot and then watched as she was buried alive.

    There’s no doubt that this latest incident will spur fierce debate–even more so now that the White House has weighed in on it. It’s worth noting that the White House and President Obama’s official position on the Death Penalty is that it should be allowed, but only reserved for the most heinous of crimes. He does, however, feel that the Death Penalty has been proven to do little to deter crime.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kim Jong-un Executed His Uncle’s Entire Family

    For those who ever harbored doubts (compliments of Dennis Rodman) about the cold and calculating leader of N. Korea can rest assured, he is a cold and calculating man.

    Aljazeera news reported today, that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the execution of his uncle’s entire family. The family includes children and relatives, some serving as ambassadors to Cuba and Malaysia, according to South Korea’s state news agency, Yonhap.

    Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, was once a powerful North Korean military general under Kim’s father, Kim Il-sung. He was said to be the catalyst to Kim’s rise to power.

    Jang was was executed last month as divisions between him and his nephew Kim widened, and until recently, was regarded as the second-most powerful figure in North Korea. The execution was based on charges he tried to overthrow the government.

    Kim referred to Jang as “worse than a dog” and “human scum” in his announcement of his execution, which he said was for treachery and betreyal.

    “Extensive executions have been carried out for relatives of Jang Song-thaek,” an anonymous source said to Yonhap in a report published on Sunday. “All relatives of Jang have been put to death, including even children.”

    The executed relatives include Jang’s sister Kye-sun, her husband and ambassador to Cuba, Jon Yong-jin, the ambassador to Malaysia, Jang Yong-chol, who is Jang’s nephew, as well as his two sons, sources said.

    The two ambassadors were recalled to Pyongyang in early December. The sons, daughters and grandchildren of Jang’s two brothers were all executed, the source told Yonhap.

    One source said that some relatives were dragged out of their houses and shot in front of a crowd.

    South Korea’s state news agency did not specify when they were killed.

    Image via YouTube

  • California Executions Moratorium Upheld, Again

    In 2006, a U.S. Distroct Court judge in California ruled that if a lethal injection execution was performed incorrectly, it could lead to cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited by the eighth amendment to the U.S. constitution. Since that time, no execution of a prisoner has taken place in California, and the issue has been tied up in courts. This week, the de-facto moratorium on California executions was once again upheld in court.

    According to a Los Angeles Times report, a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld a decision finding that California did not properly meet public disclosure requirements for revised lethal injection procedures. The ruling was unanimous. The state still has the option of appealing the decision to the California Supreme Court.

    The ruling reportedly found that California corrections officials failed to adequately inform the public of possible alternative execution styles. In particular, the court found officials failed to justify its policy of using a three-drug method of lethal injection, rather than others, such as a one-drug method that a California state expert had recommended.

    The Times reports that California’s death row now includes more than 700 inmates. Those inmates are now more likely to die from suicide or natural causes than from execution.

  • Oklahoma Execution Carried Out as Supreme Court Remains Silent

    The execution of an Oklahoma death row inmate took place as planned at 6:00 pm on Tuesday. According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the inmate, Michael Hooper, had tried to escape his death sentence by challenging Oklahoma’s lethal injection process. On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Hooper’s request for a stay of execution. Hooper’s is the fourth execution to take place in Oklahoma in 2012.

    Hooper was sentenced to death for killing his former girlfriend, Cynthia Lynn Jarman, and her two children, 5-year-old Tonya and 3-year-old Timmy, in December of 1993. According to the AP, Hooper shot each victim twice in the head and buried their bodies in a shallow grave on the outskirts of Oklahoma City.

    According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections website, the state switched to executing prisoners using a specific kind of lethal injection when Oklahoma’s method of old method of execution was ruled unconstitutional in 1972. The state has executed 176 men and three women since 1915. 82 of those executions were by electrocition, 96 were by lethal injection, and one federal prisoner was hanged.

    (image)Oklahoma’s lethal injection method utilizes three executioners, each of whom administer one specific drug through intravenous lines in both of the prisoner’s arms. The first drug used is sodium thiopental or pentobarbital, which causes unconsciousness. The second is vecuronium bromide, which stops respiration. The third, potassium chloride, stops the prisoner’s heart.

    Hooper’s family and the family of his victims watched the execution from behind windows in a viewing room adjacent to the execution chamber. The AP recounts that Hooper’s last words, spoken to family members, were, “I love you all.”

    (Photos courtesy the Oklahoma Department of Corrections)

  • Iranian Court Upholds Death Sentence For Web Developer

    The highest court in Iran has upheld a death sentence for a web developer for “being part of a ‘network of decadence on the Internet.’”

    Specifically, the Iran’s Supreme Court maintains, is that Saeed Malekpour, a Iranian-born 35-year-old who is a permanent resident of Canada, developed and promoted porn sites. Malekpour was visiting Iran to visit his ailing father when he was detained by a plain-clothes officer upon arriving to the country. The Guardian reports that his connection to the porn sites is questionable as the site managers were using photo-loading software Malekpour developed. Malekpour says that they used his software without his knowledge yet Iran extracted a televised confession from Malekpour that formed the basis for his conviction. Malekpour, however, recanted his confession in a letter he wrote in prison and stated that his confession had been made “under duress” (A link and excerpt of Malekpour’s letter can be found below).

    Radio Free Europe spoke to Malekpour’s sister, Maryam Malekpour, after Iran confirmed his death sentence.

    “All of Saeed’s activities were within the law,” Maryam Malekpour said. “He didn’t commit anything illegal. Saeed just wrote a computer program that could have been used by these immoral websites or any other website. Unfortunately, without his knowledge, the program was sold and used to upload photos on these immoral websites.”

    Maryam Malekpour went on to tell Radio Free Europe that she found the court process to be a farce as it lacked a computer specialist who could corroborate her brother’s defense. Additionally, she agrees that his confession is counterfeit. “All the evidence they have against him is from his confessions,” she said told Radio Free Europe. “Saeed was in solitary confinement for about one and a half years and was under extreme physical and emotional pressure. For sure, anyone who is in this condition and wants it to end will confess to anything they’re asked.”

    In order to help spread information about Saeed Malekpour throughout the Internet, United for Iran put together a short video about Malekpour’s plight:

    Malekpour’s fate within the Iranian legal system has been tumultuous and unpredictable since his arrest. Iran Human Rights Voice issued a press release in summer 2011 “the Supreme Court had ‘quashed the death sentence.” The release continues, though, and says that “the Supreme Court declared months later it was unable to reach a voting decision on Saeed’s case due to existing discrepancies in the file that required resolving.” Eventually, after deciding to ignore the fact that the confessions were falsified or and even being unable to determine whether the trial was fair, one Iranian judge re-issued the death sentence.

    On Twitter, supporters posted articles and implored others to take action in order to save Malekpour’s life.

    (image)@SaberiRoxana
    Roxana Saberi    Please take action for Canadian resident Saeed Malekpour, who faces imminent execution in Iran: http://t.co/LX70ULGN(image) 12 hours ago via Facebook · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Doggpoundradio
    Hip Hop Gone Wild    Release Saeed Malekpour, Iranian-Canadian, Tech Expert, in danger of Death Sentence! – Sign the Petition http://t.co/hjOloWSl(image) 1 hour ago via Tweet Button · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@pavlin
    pavlin    Imprisoned Tech Expert Saeed Malekpour Writes of Torture : http://t.co/w8STGxon(image) 2 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@darakerr
    darakerr    An Iranian court ruled that software developer Saeed Malekpour is to be executed shortly, get more of the story here: http://t.co/4GuVAr9z(image) 8 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@drewerydyke
    Drewery Dyke    #iran must halt execution of Saeed Malekpour; cycle of arrests inc Marzieh R, Parastou D & Saham B says #Amnesty http://t.co/Zi4eBtVg(image) 19 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    As mentioned already, Persian2English provided a translation of a letter that Malekpour wrote last March detailing the physical and psychological torture he has been subjected to since his “arrest”:

    My name is Saeed Malekpour. I was arrested on October 4, 2008 near Vanak Square (in northern Tehran) by plainclothes agents who did not present an arrest warrant or identification. The arrest resembled an abduction. Afterwards, I was handcuffed, blindfolded and placed in the back of a Sedan. A heavy-set agent leaned his weight on me by positioning his elbow on my neck, and forcing my head down throughout the ride. They transferred me to an undisclosed location they called the “technical office.” When we arrived, a few agents severely beat me and verbally abused me. While I was handcuffed and blindfolded, they forced me to sign a few forms that I was unable to read. As a result of the physical assault, my neck was aching for several days and my face was swollen from the punches, slaps, and kicks. That night, I was transferred to ward 2-A of Evin prison. I was placed in a solitary cell 2m X 1.7m (6’2? X 5’8?) wide. I was only allowed to leave the cell twice a day at specified times for some fresh air. However, I was blindfolded during the times I left the cell. The only time I was allowed to remove the blindfold was in my cell.

    ~

    On one particular day, One of those very days, as a result of being kicked, punched, and lashed with cables on my head and face, my face became very swollen. I lost consciousness several times, but each time they would wake me up by splashing water on my face [and continued with the torture]. That night, they returned me to my cell. At the end of the night, I realized my ear was bleeding. I banged on the door of my cell, but nobody came. The next day, while half of my body was paralyzed, and I was unable to move, they took me to the Evin prison clinic. The doctor, after seeing my condition, emphasized that I should be transferred to a hospital. However, I was returned to my cell instead, and I was left on my own until 9:00pm. Three guards eventually transferred me to Baghiatollah hospital.

    On our way to the hospital, the guards told me I was not allowed to give my real name, and ordered me to use the alias Mohammad Saeedi. They threatened me with severe torture if I did not follow their orders.