Vietnamese court sentences 73-year-old Vietnam-born Australian woman to death for trafficking heroin

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4gSfCOkrWCebVcv8e4dA0zrBWzxGmnUPGZU-xXWcEhwXJgPM56P_ixBcx63Zgmm3j6ZGtXjuAhm2jNBezfz8i8xMbR_YsOu3ImV5Je8fEnaFo9_KN-MGqrdxt9SAqrpCzxyHtC99BTw/s1600/Nguyen+Thi+Huong%252C+73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty of smuggling 2.8 kg of heroin." border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4gSfCOkrWCebVcv8e4dA0zrBWzxGmnUPGZU-xXWcEhwXJgPM56P_ixBcx63Zgmm3j6ZGtXjuAhm2jNBezfz8i8xMbR_YsOu3ImV5Je8fEnaFo9_KN-MGqrdxt9SAqrpCzxyHtC99BTw/s400/Nguyen+Thi+Huong%252C+73.jpg" title="The People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty of smuggling 2.8 kg of heroin." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty of smuggling 2.8 kg of heroin.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced a 73-year-old Vietnam-born Australian woman to death for trafficking heroin hidden in bars of soap, several state-run media outlets reported on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty on Wednesday of possessing 36 bars of soap stuffed with 2.8 kg (6 lb) of heroin in her baggage as she was boarding a flight to Australia in December 2014, the Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Court officials and Australian diplomats in the city could not be reached for comment about the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was "concerned that an Australian citizen has been sentenced to death in Vietnam" but added that under Vietnamese law the woman can appeal the sentence "so there is still some way to go before this legal process concludes".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We will continue to provide consular assistance and support to the woman and her family. Universal opposition to capital punishment is a long-established policy of Australian governments," a department spokesperson said in an email.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and news portal tuoitrenews.vn reported that Huong had said she was given the soap as a gift by a woman, identified only as Helen, while they were on a trip to the coastal city of Vung Tau.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Huong told the court she wanted to take them to Australia as gifts and was not aware of what they contained.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper, controlled by the city's police, said Huong had failed to prove that the other woman was real.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The court ruled that the offence was "extremely dangerous to the community" and found her guilty. She now faces death by lethal injection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Tuoi Tre newspaper published a photo of Huong covering her mouth with her hands as she was taken from the court after the verdict. Huong has 15 days in which to appeal against the death sentence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The death penalty is applied in communist Vietnam in cases of trafficking of 100 grams of heroin or more. In late 2013, Vietnam adopted the use of lethal injections for capital cases instead of firing squads.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Reuters, June 30, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Asia Australia Drug trafficking Vietnam Women Vietnamese court sentences 73-year-old Vietnam-born Australian woman to death for trafficking heroin

The People's Court found Nguyen Thi Huong guilty of smuggling 2.8 kg of heroin. A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced a 73-year-old ...

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Japan: Capital punishment for a minor

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlkJtujhRginAGLtsc-uM_P5tF3vO5-or0Kf3TUk6hyBaC56OpL2E-QtD7kElcHG3CHlrYWVyXfW7lv1P9hGp0TRJEbgTMZwTo_wZaYm5i0Jlo3vcL3CpgUbwB_wpwl8dpCPOnMA2KPk/s1600/Tokyo+execution+chamber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Death chamber at Tokyo Detention Center" border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlkJtujhRginAGLtsc-uM_P5tF3vO5-or0Kf3TUk6hyBaC56OpL2E-QtD7kElcHG3CHlrYWVyXfW7lv1P9hGp0TRJEbgTMZwTo_wZaYm5i0Jlo3vcL3CpgUbwB_wpwl8dpCPOnMA2KPk/s400/Tokyo+execution+chamber.jpg" title="Death chamber at Tokyo Detention Center" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Death chamber at Tokyo Detention Center</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the death sentence given in a lay judge trial to a 24-year-old man for murders he committed when he was a minor raises questions about the lay judge trial system and capital punishment. These include whether the lay judges correctly understood the spirit of the Juvenile Law in sentencing the defendant to death. It was the 1st death sentence handed down on a minor in a lay judge trial.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The murders took place in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, in 2010 when Yutaro Chiba was 18 - meaning he fell under the purview of the Juvenile Law. Chiba was convicted of entering his ex-girlfriend's house and stabbing to death the girl's sister and a female friend of the girl with a butcher knife, seriously injuring a male friend of the sister and abducting the girl. Prosecutors said Chiba killed the victims because they were trying to separate him and his former girlfriend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since Chiba pleaded no contest to the key facts presented by the prosecution, the severity of punishment was the main issue in the trial, which was handled by a team of three professional and 6 lay judges, at the Sendai District Court. In its November 2010 ruling, the court said that in view of the heinousness of his crimes, the fact that Chiba was a minor at the time did not constitute sufficient reason to avoid capital punishment. The decision was upheld in 2014 in an appellate trial handled solely by professional judges at the Sendai High Court.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The district court trial lasted 11 days. 5 hearings were held and the judges spent two days deciding on the penalty. During the trial, Chiba's lawyers argued that he was mentally immature, that his crimes were not premeditated and that a doctor's record of his examination pointed to the possibility that he could be rehabilitated. A legitimate question is whether the judges had enough time to examine the family environment of the accused and whatever reflection he had over his crimes. It must be asked whether the judges had fully considered and discussed the prospect of his rectification, in view of the Juvenile Law's main principle of helping problem youths achieve rehabilitation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chiba's family was fatherless. Under the Juvenile Law, a family court can send a minor to prosecutors if its judges deem such a move is appropriate. But the law also says that in examining the behavior of a minor and his or her personal history and family environment, a family court should use the expertise of medicine, psychology, pedagogy and other branches of learning. Regarding a crime committed by a minor who is under the age of 18, a court cannot hand down a death sentence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Supreme Court and the Justice Ministry should consider whether lay judge trials, whose durations tend to be short, are suitable for handling serious crimes committed by minors. They also should think about whether it is appropriate to have lay judges participate in trials that may result in giving the death penalty because experience shows that handing down such a sentence puts an enormous psychological burden on lay judges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1983, the Supreme Court adopted a criterion comprising nine factors for sentencing someone to death, which said in a nutshell that a court can hand down the death penalty only when it is unavoidable in view of the gravity of the crimes of the accused. Under this criterion, the age of defendants when they commit their crimes was considered a key factor in trials involving minors. But this trend changed when the Supreme Court in 2006 remanded the case involving the 1999 murder in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture, of a 23-year-old woman and her baby daughter by a boy - who had just turned 18 - to the Hiroshima High Court. The Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for him in 2012.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The judges in the Sendai trial are likely to have followed the trend set by the top court's handling of the Hikari case. In supporting the lower court rulings, the Supreme Court's First Petty Bench in a 5-0 ruling pointed out that in view of the serious nature of the crimes - that 2 people were murdered out of the accused's selfish motive - his criminal responsibility was extremely heavy even though he was a minor when he committed the murders and had no prior record.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tendency to impose tougher punishment on crimes committed by minors appears to have set in. Through revisions of the Juvenile Law, the minimum age at which minors can face criminal punishment has been lowered from 16 years of age to 14 and the upper limit for a fixed prison term was raised from 15 years to 20. The Supreme Court and the Justice Ministry should rouse public discussions on whether imposing stricter punishment, including hanging, on minors will really contribute to reducing crimes by providing concrete data as well as information on how other countries cope with crimes by minors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Editorial, The Japan Times, June 24, 2016<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Related articles:</b><br /><ul><li><a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2016/06/japan-bar-association-chief-criticizes.html#ixzz4ClYR4bJE" target="_blank">Japan: Bar association chief criticizes naming of man sentenced to death</a>, June 20, 2016</li><li><a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/search/label/Japan#ixzz4ClYnWSla" target="_blank">Japan: Death penalty to stand for man over 2010 murder as minor</a>, June 17, 2016</li></ul></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Asia Japan Juvenile offenders Lay judges Japan: Capital punishment for a minor

Death chamber at Tokyo Detention Center The Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the death sentence given in a lay judge trial to a...

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Report: China still harvesting organs from prisoners at a massive scale

<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguO6TiitVFRqWUA4PEFBQJgwpcLkiMRi1e226ibCyz8otTwUOvaX9jit6nMGrN9CEI-Sm-LP5LLsNeQFOzawZvc0cxxOI7EG01cgjCcewrzEz7xnjot2v3Gcq2wIFZuI1eS61xJE5BejA/s1600/China-death-penalty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chinese police officers rehearsing execution procedures" border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguO6TiitVFRqWUA4PEFBQJgwpcLkiMRi1e226ibCyz8otTwUOvaX9jit6nMGrN9CEI-Sm-LP5LLsNeQFOzawZvc0cxxOI7EG01cgjCcewrzEz7xnjot2v3Gcq2wIFZuI1eS61xJE5BejA/s400/China-death-penalty.jpg" title="Chinese police officers rehearsing execution procedures" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese police officers rehearsing execution procedures</td></tr></tbody></table>(CNN) A new report claims that China is still engaged in the widespread and <a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.fr/search/label/Transplants" target="_blank">systematic harvesting of organs from prisoners</a>, and says that people whose views conflict with the ruling Chinese Communist Party are being murdered for their organs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The report -- by former Canadian lawmaker David Kilgour, human rights lawyer David Matas, and journalist Ethan Gutmann -- collates publicly reported figures from hospitals across China to show what they claim is a massive discrepancy between official figures for the number of transplants carried out throughout the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They blame the Chinese government, the Communist Party, the health system, doctors and hospitals for being complicit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The (Communist Party) says the total number of legal transplants is about 10,000 per year. But we can easily surpass the official Chinese figure just by looking at the two or three biggest hospitals," Matas said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The report estimates that 60,000 to 100,000 organs are transplanted each year in Chinese hospitals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the report, that gap is made up of executed prisoners, many of them prisoners of conscience locked up for their religious or political beliefs. China does not report its total number of executions, which it regards as a secret.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The report's findings stand in stark contrast to Beijing's claim that, since the beginning of 2015, China has moved from almost completely relying on organs from prisoners to the "largest voluntary organ donation system in Asia."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At a regular press conference Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has "strict laws and regulations on this issue."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"As for the testimony and the published report, I want to say that such stories about forced organ harvesting in China are imaginary and baseless -- they don't have any factual foundation," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The National Health and Family Planning Commission, which oversees organ donations in China, did not respond to a request for comment for this piece.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Secret transplants</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the report, thousands of people are being executed in China in secret and their organs harvested for use in transplant operations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So who is being killed? The authors say mainly imprisoned religious and ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, underground Christians, and practitioners of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While much of China's organ transplant system is kept secret, official figures show that 2,766 volunteers donated organs in 2015, with 7,785 large organs acquired.<br /><br />According to Amnesty International, "tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been arbitrarily detained" since the government launched a crackdown on the practice in 1999.<br /><br />China regards Falun Gong as a "cult" and claims followers engage in "anti-China political activities."<br /><br />"The government considers Falun Gong a threat to its power, and has detained, imprisoned and tortured its followers," says Maya Wang, China researcher for Human Rights Watch.<br /><br />The report says detained Falun Gong practitioners were forced to have blood tests and medical exams. Those test results were placed in a database of living organ sources so quick organ matches could be made, the authors claim.<br /><br />This massive supply of organs served to benefit hospitals and doctors, making for an ever growing industry.</div><br /><b><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/23/asia/china-organ-harvesting/index.html" target="_blank">Click here to read the full article</a></b><br /><br />Source: CNN, James Griffiths, June 23, 2016<br /><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

Asia China Transplants Report: China still harvesting organs from prisoners at a massive scale

Chinese police officers rehearsing execution procedures (CNN) A new report claims that China is still engaged in the widespread and systemat...

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Japan: Bar association chief criticizes naming of man sentenced to death

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjb1lmtiJ1Yf8_m7BvppgJDsgF90G5hZ2E6szy9UYfsoQ82HXMmyN1B2HPfQ7XiYFbPKbqHJDXTgGoe7QlrMOxqx3Qu1TVnyxVfJjaB3KpNAa91zAYrgsMvfAlNpiceQZvscRDzP-DmDY/s1600/Osaka+Prison+cell+block+where+prisoners+are+held+in+solitary+confinement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Typical death-row cell, Osaka Prison" border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjb1lmtiJ1Yf8_m7BvppgJDsgF90G5hZ2E6szy9UYfsoQ82HXMmyN1B2HPfQ7XiYFbPKbqHJDXTgGoe7QlrMOxqx3Qu1TVnyxVfJjaB3KpNAa91zAYrgsMvfAlNpiceQZvscRDzP-DmDY/s400/Osaka+Prison+cell+block+where+prisoners+are+held+in+solitary+confinement.jpg" title="Typical death-row cell, Osaka Prison" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical death-row cell, Osaka Prison</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">TOKYO — The head of the Japanese bar association on Friday criticized news organizations that reported the name of a man sentenced to death for a double murder committed when he was a juvenile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It is regrettable that the news reports violated the juvenile law, which bans publishing articles and photographs that could identify a juvenile delinquent,” Kazuhiro Nakamoto, president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The statement was issued after the Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings that sentenced to death the man who was 18 when he killed two women and seriously injured a man in 2010.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Major newspapers including the Asahi, Yomiuri and Nikkei, as well as Kyodo News published the man’s name on the grounds that the opportunity for rehabilitation ends when a death penalty is finalized, and the name of a person to be executed by the state should not be kept confidential.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some other major newspapers, including the Mainichi and the Tokyo Shimbun, reported the Supreme Court decision without revealing the name of the man to be executed, saying the chance for his rehabilitation remains due to the possibility of amnesty or retrial.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nakamoto said the dignity and the constitutionally guaranteed right to the pursuit of happiness of a minor are not terminated with the finalization of a death sentence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“While it is needless to say that constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression is important and it is necessary to report the details of a crime in order to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents, it cannot be said the real name and photo of a minor are indispensable factors for news reports,” the national bar association head said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/bar-association-chief-criticizes-naming-of-man-sentenced-to-death" target="_blank">Japan Today</a>, June 18, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Asia Japan Juvenile offenders Media Japan: Bar association chief criticizes naming of man sentenced to death

Typical death-row cell, Osaka Prison TOKYO — The head of the Japanese bar association on Friday criticized news organizations that reported ...

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Philippines: Legal & international complications over the death penalty

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhstEr204g0CXz541o00JhwFvqAredBV1Jjjjl8s6iEbA15PfLyzovyrEd3ktbiYebuqhmY7ujQur-d4Jrf7nbmcHoG67SrsKH-XJEjMwxes_Tn3F6qmFih3wLPRxq5FMwLFdvBNJ_A-w/s1600/Duterte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rodrigo Duterte" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhstEr204g0CXz541o00JhwFvqAredBV1Jjjjl8s6iEbA15PfLyzovyrEd3ktbiYebuqhmY7ujQur-d4Jrf7nbmcHoG67SrsKH-XJEjMwxes_Tn3F6qmFih3wLPRxq5FMwLFdvBNJ_A-w/s400/Duterte.jpg" title="Rodrigo Duterte" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rodrigo Duterte</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">IN 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a "moratorium on the use of the death penalty" in member countries around the world. The resolution proposed a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty in the future. It was passed by a vote of 104 in favor - the Philippines among them, with 54 against, and 29 abstentions. A subsequent resolution in 2008 was adopted with increased support from 106 states, with 46 against, and 34 abstaining.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2010, the General Assembly approved a new resolution drafted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, by a broader margin of support - 109 votes for, 41 against, and 35 abstentions. The resolution renewed its call on "states that still maintain the death penalty to progressively restrict its use, reduce the number of offenses for which it may be imposed, and to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. States which have abolished the death penalty are called upon not to reintroduce it."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Philippines became the 1st country in Asia to abolish the death penalty when it incorporated in the Constitution of 1987, in the Bill of Rights, Article III, Section 19(1): "The death penalty shall not be imposed unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress thereafter provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua." In 1993, however, following a series of crimes described as heinous, RA 7659 reimposed the death penalty for 46 crimes, to be carried out by lethal injection, no longer by electric chair as before.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After 7 executions in 1999, President Joseph Estrada issued a moratorium on executions in observance of the "Jubilee Year" of the Roman Catholic Church. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo lifted the moratorium following a rise in drug trafficking and kidnappings, "to sow fear in the hearts of criminals." But no further executions were actually held, as the administration issued reprieves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today, the incoming Duterte administration has announced that it will renew executions as part of its campaign against crime, preferably by hanging. Secretary of Justice Emmanuel Caparas, however, has pointed out that the Philippines approved the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at abolition of the death penalty in 2007. In the absence of a withdrawal mechanism in the protocol, he said, once a state ratifies it, the death penalty cannot be reintroduced without violating international law.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The outgoing Aquino administration has urged the incoming Duterte administration to conduct a thorough study of the issue in view of these complications involving international law and international relations. There could be sanctions, such as withholding of international cooperation and aid. A referendum on the issue has also been suggested - this would help to determine the people's - not just the officials' - views on this most critical issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: tempo.com.ph, June 16, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Abolition Asia Death Penalty Restoration Philippines Referendum Rodrigo Duterte United Nations Philippines: Legal & international complications over the death penalty

Rodrigo Duterte IN 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a "moratorium on the use of the death penalty" in member coun...

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China: Man who killed 6 people during a shooting spree in Shanghai executed

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_4jNIwCBsE7lyXmMcS-yjY5P3BM4RC1mQ6dD6kkZ0yiOzTrq801Bdpc5fGyQ9U-mf_PHmDKb-dsLa9K6BN6xut4GCjTTMt33uh7IugUnJp8xrd2TG77odcFli-X75Dy22ryG8m0PXEY/s1600/Fan+Jieming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fan Jieming" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_4jNIwCBsE7lyXmMcS-yjY5P3BM4RC1mQ6dD6kkZ0yiOzTrq801Bdpc5fGyQ9U-mf_PHmDKb-dsLa9K6BN6xut4GCjTTMt33uh7IugUnJp8xrd2TG77odcFli-X75Dy22ryG8m0PXEY/s400/Fan+Jieming.jpg" title="Fan Jieming" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fan Jieming</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">A man who killed six people and injured four others with guns and an iron pipe in Shanghai three years ago has been executed, a local court said on Tuesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fan Jieming, 65, was sentenced to death by Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court for murder, robbery, and forcible seizure, illegal purchase and possession of guns last July.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the court, Fan had a dispute at a chemical factory in the city's Baoshan District on June 22, 2013, before beating a colleague to death there with an iron pipe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He then took a hunting rifle from his dormitory and asked a driver to take him to another district. He killed the driver on the way and took the vehicle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At a nearby military barracks Fan killed a guard and took his gun. He then returned to the plant and shot dead another three people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fan also seriously injured three people and slightly injured another. He was captured by police the same day and put on trial in January, 2014.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Xinhua, June 15, 2016</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Man who killed six executed</span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A man who killed 6 people, including a soldier, and injured 4 others in Shanghai in 2013, has been executed by the Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court, the court announced today.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fan Jieming, 65, was convicted of murder and robbery, and illegal possession of guns, was given the death penalty in July last year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 6 who died during the shooting spree included 4 of Fan's colleagues, with whom he had disputes over company matters, an unlicensed taxi driver, a military sentinel from whom he stole the gun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Shanghai Daily, June 15, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div></div></div>

Asia China China: Man who killed 6 people during a shooting spree in Shanghai executed

Fan Jieming A man who killed six people and injured four others with guns and an iron pipe in Shanghai three years ago has been executed, a ...

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Inmate's Sudden Execution Reignites Death Penalty Controversy in Taiwan

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIi7liABMsgfrgHWVMULePj-NSBfvjREETng98RwZGYET0h0YgZ1zOt3IrQM0KshM3oK5CuGzFMHKFZeF7w_YC2Od1JD0YD9pHBZYEB5AW_brCxLNONnE1BzAhu5jNv8rEa9BRTaH4ph4/s1600/Cheng+Chieh+Taiwan+Subway+killer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cheng Chieh" border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIi7liABMsgfrgHWVMULePj-NSBfvjREETng98RwZGYET0h0YgZ1zOt3IrQM0KshM3oK5CuGzFMHKFZeF7w_YC2Od1JD0YD9pHBZYEB5AW_brCxLNONnE1BzAhu5jNv8rEa9BRTaH4ph4/s400/Cheng+Chieh+Taiwan+Subway+killer.jpg" title="Cheng Chieh" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheng Chieh</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Taiwan’s former justice minister has stirred up controversy over the death penalty in Taiwan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“There was nothing extraordinary about his life, because every person’s life is invaluable, and every soul has the same high significance.” Such were the words of Taiwan’s former Justice Minister Luo Ying-shay, after she approved the execution of death row inmate Cheng Chieh last month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Uproar ensued.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Twenty-three at the time of his death, Cheng had gone on a stabbing spree on Taipei’s metro two years ago, taking four lives and injuring over 20. He was dubbed the “Monster of the Metro” by local media outlets including Apple Daily and the United Daily News, and showed little to no remorse in both interrogation and the trials that followed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In late-April, he received a death sentence. <a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.fr/2016/05/taiwan-executes-subway-killer.html" target="_blank">Nineteen days later, he was dead</a>. It was what Cheng had longed for: during interrogation, he informed prosecutors that he had set out to kill people so he would be given death penalty in return. “I wanted to commit suicide, but I’m afraid it would hurt too much.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.fr/2016/05/taiwan-supreme-prosecutors-office.html" target="_blank">crudeness of the excuse</a> was not lost on the Taiwanese people, many of whom called for his death online.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A week before the new government stepped into office, the Ministry of Justice held a press conference, shortly after Luo decided to carry out Cheng’s death sentence at night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His lawyer and family had not been notified, and Luo’s reasoning was that, “If we announced the execution beforehand, none of the death penalties would be carried out. Relevant people would only continue to seek retrials and extraordinary appeal.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luo’s reasoning was shocking: it sounded like the Justice Minister had created her own loophole in the judiciary system to defy the legal procedure every Taiwanese citizen is granted by law.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luo ordered Cheng’s immediate death because, even behind bars, he posed as an “immense threat to the society’s stability and security,” and his death would serve as a reminder for those tempted to kill for the same reasons.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite Cheng’s unacceptable rationale for his actions and long history of demonstrating a love for violence (as shown on his blog and in conversations with classmates), many people in Taiwan also saw Luo’s sudden order to execute Cheng as an atrocity. Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty executive director Lin Hsin-yi spoke to the media shortly after Cheng’s death, saying that, “We can not allow the government to decide if the need for procedural justice is essential under different circumstances.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Inexcusable Abandonment of Due Process?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As brutal as the crime had been and as important as it was to remind the community that such actions would not be overlooked, Cheng deserves to be walked through the complete judiciary procedure with his legal team and his family deserves to be notified before his death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">How long should the government wait, from the moment when a death sentence is finalized until the actual execution? In Cheng’s case, the government has chosen the simplest and most “convenient” manner by which to end one of the most complex social issues existing, said Taiwanese lawmaker Tuan Yi-kang.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tuan supports the abolition of Taiwan’s death penalty. Those who were against abolition were quick to blame the anti-death camp for several homicide cases that occurred in the two years following Cheng’s crime, saying that potential murderers are on the prowl because they knew the government does not take the death penalty seriously.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It may, of course, take many generations to accept the relatively newer concept of a judiciary system that forgoes the death penalty. It may take possibly even longer for this concept to be adopted and implemented; but, in the meantime, the government should look into Cheng’s case, hopefully turning this negative incident into a positive lesson for Taiwanese society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Killing people on the metro is an act of violence and so are the gunshots that rang through the night Cheng died. The state is granted the right to carry out this specific type of violence because it is codified in the law – law that is solidified by social recognition. Nevertheless, this does not change the nature of the violence enacted by the state.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luo has denied vehemently that Cheng’s life became a pawn in Taiwan’s most significant power exchange in history, but in the eyes of many, she has proven to the people that top government officials have no respect for the law or for a human life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2016/06/inmates-sudden-execution-reignites-death-penalty-controversy-in-taiwan/" target="_blank">The Diplomat</a>, Katherine Wei, June 13, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Asia Taiwan Inmate's Sudden Execution Reignites Death Penalty Controversy in Taiwan

Cheng Chieh Taiwan’s former justice minister has stirred up controversy over the death penalty in Taiwan. “There was nothing extraordinary a...

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China's SC orders retrial of Nie Shubin, convicted of rape & murder and executed 21 years ago

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTv8GbC5OAlUSUiwMu3giO6RmR1pwbZQ-nI7hRf_Hbw79YmHcaw96E8ift4B7UXI3ctEWUaf0H-0xD514blk5_DrNWw14wq7fUpq3FjJowdbMI4hboSr6xVodUXWxOgcgrIGvDrYC7pXk/s1600/Nie+Shubin+%2528file+photo%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nie Shubin (file photo)" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTv8GbC5OAlUSUiwMu3giO6RmR1pwbZQ-nI7hRf_Hbw79YmHcaw96E8ift4B7UXI3ctEWUaf0H-0xD514blk5_DrNWw14wq7fUpq3FjJowdbMI4hboSr6xVodUXWxOgcgrIGvDrYC7pXk/s320/Nie+Shubin+%2528file+photo%2529.jpg" title="Nie Shubin (file photo)" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nie Shubin (file photo)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The Supreme People's Court has ordered a retrial of a man executed 21 years ago, according to Xinhua News Agency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.fr/search/label/Nie%20Shubin" target="_blank">Nie Shubin</a>, a worker in Shijiazhuang, northern China's Hebei Province, was put to death in April 1995 when he was 20 years old for allegedly raping and killing a woman in a cornfield.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nie was convicted of intentional rape and murder on March 15, 1995 by the intermediate people’s court in Shijiazhuang. In addition to having all of his political rights taken away for both crimes he was given a death sentence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In December 2014, the Supreme People’s Court, in accordance with a request from the Higher People's Court of Hebei Province and in the spirit of related laws, appointed the Higher People's Court of Shandong Province to conduct a review of the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Accordingly a panel of five judges conducted in depth document review with other parties along with proper verification of the autopsy of the victim to see whether or not there were bone fractures. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several trips were made to Hebei etc. to conduct investigations and talk with the appellee and their lawyer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The new panel decided that there was not enough evidence to prove Nie Shubin was guilty, with many doubts in the aspects of time and tools used in the crime as well as causes of death. It is not possible to rule out that perhaps another person did the crime. Accordingly, they suggested a re-trial with affiliated parties.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Supreme People's Court agreed with their opinion and in compliance with article 242 and 243 of the People’s Republic of China criminal procedural law the case is to be brought into reconsideration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Supreme People's Court will organize a collegiate bench and maintain a just attitude and conduct a hearing based on the facts and criterion of law, and a verification letter of the re-hearing was presented to Nie Shubin’s mother. Results will be presented to the public in a timely manner. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0608/c98649-9069859.html" target="_blank">People's Daily Online</a>, June 8, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">China orders retrial of murder case of man executed 21 years ago</span></b></div><br />More than 2 decades after a young Chinese man's execution, the country's supreme court on Wednesday informed his mother of a new trial, shining a spotlight on an old murder case viewed by many as a symbol of the fatal flaws in China's criminal justice system.<br /><br />Calling the evidence for the conviction and sentencing in 1995 of 20-year-old Nie Shubin "unreliable and incomplete," the Supreme People's Court ordered the case to be retried "openly and fairly" - but did not give a trial date.<br /><br />The court statement alluded to the biggest twist in the case: Another man later confessed to the crimes -- raping and killing a woman -- that Nie was executed for.<br /><br />"Major questions exist in terms of when and how the defendant allegedly committed the crimes as well as how the victim died," it said. "The possibility that another person may have committed the crimes cannot be ruled out."<br /><br /><b>A mother's fight for her son</b><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvOJILrPpSQ1n_DsjiT5ZtqqHoOo47073SgN8uhwIIcCVavFCRHLPXROGm8PEa6Chiufl3RVVtea_2kLzAuTk9vCvctP8w0X8vTveZzSjtiZyASYogtngizuNxbhIQG5lXmaGll4s7Paw/s1600/Nie+Shubin%25E2%2580%2599s+mother+visits+his+grave+and+makes+offerings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nie Shubin’s mother visits his grave and makes offerings" border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvOJILrPpSQ1n_DsjiT5ZtqqHoOo47073SgN8uhwIIcCVavFCRHLPXROGm8PEa6Chiufl3RVVtea_2kLzAuTk9vCvctP8w0X8vTveZzSjtiZyASYogtngizuNxbhIQG5lXmaGll4s7Paw/s400/Nie+Shubin%25E2%2580%2599s+mother+visits+his+grave+and+makes+offerings.jpg" title="Nie Shubin’s mother visits his grave and makes offerings" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nie Shubin’s mother visits his grave and makes offerings.</td></tr></tbody></table>"I'm very excited about the development," Zhang Huanzhi, Nie's 72-year-old mother, told CNN by phone Thursday. "I'll visit his grave soon to tell him that Mom's efforts all these years weren't in vain -- and justice will prevail in your case."<br /><br />When CNN last met Zhang in her small village in 2011, the farmer from Hebei Province was still fighting in earnest to exonerate her son, making countless journeys to the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang -- some 320 kilometers (200 miles) southwest of Beijing.<br /><br />"I bike to the closest bus stop and then take a 2-hour ride to the provincial high court," said Zhang back then. "As long as I can still move, I'm not giving up."<br /><br />Zhang goes to court whenever she catches a break between tending the cornfield and feeding her livestock.<br /><br />Zhang hopes the government would do whatever it takes to protect other families from the kind of anguish she has suffered.<br /><br />Nie Shubin was executed in 1995 for raping and killing a woman. A decade later, another man confessed to the same crimes.<br /><br />Zhang hopes the government would do whatever it takes to protect other families from the kind of anguish she has suffered.<br /><br />Many have viewed Zhang's plight -- and the case involving her only son -- as an egregious example of widespread police torture, deficient due process and lax review of death sentences.<br /><br />For years, Zhang kept hitting a wall and even the People's Daily -- the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party -- ran a scathing commentary in September 2011 that asked: "In a case where someone was clearly wronged, why has it been so difficult to make it right?"<br /><br />"Rehabilitation means little to the dead, but it means a lot to his surviving family and all other citizens," it said. "We can no longer afford to let Nie's case drag on."<br /><br />Zhang was dealt with a blow in 2013 when the Hebei high court ruled that, despite his confession, a man named Wang Shujin was not the perpetrator in the Nie case.<br /><br />Hopes were rekindled when the supreme court the following year ordered the high court in another province to review the case.<br /><br />Zhang's lawyers were allowed to examine the case files last year, and said they discovered multiple forged signatures, and evidence of provincial authorities in Hebei pressuring Wang to recant his confession through mental and physical abuses.<br /><br />China has long insisted it is ruled by law, stressing that its judicial system bans evidence obtained through torture and increasingly limits the death penalty.<br /><br />Still, it executes more people than all other countries of the world combined. Human rights group Amnesty International estimates the figure -- considered a state secret -- to be in the thousands every year.<br /><br />Many experts also argue that, with the ruling Communist leadership more concerned about maintaining social stability, ordinary citizens and lawyers alike face a repressive legal environment in which criminal suspects do not enjoy the right to silence.<br /><br /><b>Persistence pays off</b><br /><br />Zhang's refusal to stay quiet, fortunately, has finally made a difference in Nie's case.<br /><br />She now seals her most treasured possessions in a plastic bag: 2 old photos and several legal documents.<br /><br />"He was about 19 and it was taken right here in our courtyard," she told CNN 5 years ago, pointing to the fading color prints of her shy stuttering son beaming for the camera.<br /><br />Nie was taken into custody not long after the photos were taken and would never see his mother again.<br /><br />Zhang said local police, during their several visits to question the family and search the house, never told her why they had detained her son. Court documents cited "tips from local residents" but did not elaborate.<br /><br />Authorities tried Nie behind closed doors and barred the parents from the courtroom, but Nie told a lawyer hired by his family that he was beaten into a confession on his 6th day in jail.<br /><br /><b>Lone quest for justice</b><br /><br />7 months after he was first detained, the government executed Nie -- without notifying his parents.<br /><br />After the initial shock, Zhang had to endure more agony to locate her son's remains and deal with a failed suicide attempt and subsequent half-paralysis of her husband, who was devastated by Nie's execution.<br /><br />Living off her husband's meager monthly pension, Zhang has learned to take care of the family by herself.<br /><br />Carefully laying the contents from her plastic bag on a table, Zhang described in 2011 each legal document as she recounted her 6-year lone quest for justice: a copy of the verdict against Nie that detailed his "crimes;" a 2007 letter from the Supreme People's Court in Beijing instructing the Hebei high court to "process" her appeal; and most importantly, a printout of a written statement by Wang's lawyer on his client's confession.<br /><br />"The cold reality doesn't offer us ordinary people much hope -- so why do I keep pursuing?" Zhang asked back then.<br /><br />"I don't want to hold anyone responsible, I don't want government compensation, and I don't want the judge to bring back my son alive -- but one thing I must have is his innocence."<br /><br />Source: CNN, June 9, 2016<br /><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Asia China Exoneration Innocence Nie Shubin Posthumous Torture China's SC orders retrial of Nie Shubin, convicted of rape & murder and executed 21 years ago

Nie Shubin (file photo) The Supreme People's Court has ordered a retrial of a man executed 21 years ago, according to Xinhua News Agency...

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