United Nations Declaration (Articles 1 - 30):

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Incoming UN chief names three women to top posts

Incoming UN chief names three women to top posts
Nigerian Minister of the Environment Amina Mohammed, seen in 2015, will be the UN's number two official (AFP Photo/Mireya ACIERTO)

Sustainable Development
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."
"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)
(Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" Managed Business, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)


The Declaration of Human Freedom

Archangel Michael (Via Steve Beckow), Feb. 19, 2011

Every being is a divine and eternal soul living in a temporal body. Every being was alive before birth and will live after death.

Every soul enters into physical life for the purpose of experience and education, that it may, in the course of many lifetimes, learn its true identity as a fragment of the Divine.

Life itself is a constant process of spiritual evolution and unfoldment, based on free choice, that continues until such time as we realize our true nature and return to the Divine from which we came.

No soul enters life to serve another, except by choice, but to serve its own purpose and that of the Divine from which it came.

All life is governed by natural and universal laws which precede and outweigh the laws of humanity. These laws, such as the law of karma, the law of attraction, and the law of free will, are decreed by God to order existence and assist each person to achieve life’s purpose.

No government can or should survive that derives its existence from the enforced submission of its people or that denies its people their basic rights and freedoms.

Life is a movement from one existence to another, in varied venues throughout the universe and in other universes and dimensions of existence. We are not alone in the universe but share it with other civilizations, most of them peace-loving, many of whom are more advanced than we are, some of whom can be seen with our eyes and some of whom cannot.

The evidence of our five senses is not the final arbiter of existence. Humans are spiritual as well as physical entities and the spiritual side of life transcends the physical. God is a Spirit and the final touchstone of God’s Truth is not physical but spiritual. The Truth is to be found within.

God is one and, because of this, souls are one. They form a unity. They are meant to live in peace and harmony together in a “common unity” or community. The use of force to settle affairs runs contrary to natural law. Every person should have the right to conduct his or her own affairs without force, as long as his or her choices do not harm another.

No person shall be forced into marriage against his or her will. No woman shall be forced to bear or not bear children, against her will. No person shall be forced to hold or not hold views or worship in a manner contrary to his or her choice. Nothing vital to existence shall be withheld from another if it is within the community’s power to give.

Every person shall retain the ability to think, speak, and act as they choose, as long as they not harm another. Every person has the right to choose, study and practice the education and career of their choice without interference, provided they not harm another.

No one has the right to kill another. No one has the right to steal from another. No one has the right to force himself or herself upon another in any way.

Any government that harms its citizens, deprives them of their property or rights without their consent, or makes offensive war upon its neighbors, no matter how it misrepresents the situation, has lost its legitimacy. No government may govern without the consent of its people. All governments are tasked with seeing to the wellbeing of their citizens. Any government which forces its citizens to see to its own wellbeing without attending to theirs has lost its legitimacy.

Men and women are meant to live fulfilling lives, free of want, wherever they wish and under the conditions they desire, providing their choices do not harm another and are humanly attainable.

Children are meant to live lives under the beneficent protection of all, free of exploitation, with unhindered access to the necessities of life, education, and health care.

All forms of exploitation, oppression, and persecution run counter to universal and natural law. All disagreements are meant to be resolved amicably.

Any human law that runs counter to natural and universal law is invalid and should not survive. The enactment or enforcement of human law that runs counter to natural and universal law brings consequences that cannot be escaped, in this life or another. While one may escape temporal justice, one does not escape divine justice.

All outcomes are to the greater glory of God and to God do we look for the fulfillment of our needs and for love, peace, and wisdom. So let it be. Aum/Amen.


Pope Francis arrives for historic first US visit

Pope Francis arrives for historic first US visit
Pope Francis laughs alongside US President Barack Obama upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, on September 22, 2015, on the start of a 3-day trip to Washington (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)


Today's doodle in the U.S. celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech on its 50th anniversary (28 Aug 2013)

'Love is love': Obama lauds gay marriage activists in hailing 'a victory for America'

'Love is love': Obama lauds gay marriage activists in hailing 'a victory for America'
The White House released this image, of the building colored like the rainbow flag, on Facebook following the supreme court’s ruling. Photograph: Facebook

Same-sex marriage around the world

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

Merkel says Turkey media crackdown 'highly alarming'

Merkel says Turkey media crackdown 'highly alarming'
Reporters Without Borders labels Erdogan as 'enemy of press freedom'

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Showing posts with label Justice Systems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justice Systems. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Zelensky tells UN to 'act immediately' on Russia or close

Yahoo – AFP, Philippe RATER, April 5, 2022

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, addresses a meeting of the United Nations Security
Councilin New York City on April 5, 2022 (AFP/TIMOTHY A. CLARY) (TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged the United Nations to "act immediately" or "dissolve yourself altogether" during a blistering address Tuesday in which he showed harrowing footage of dead bodies -- including children -- he said were victims of Russian atrocities. 

Likening Russia's actions in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities to violence carried out by "terrorists" such as the Islamic State group, Zelensky called on the 15-member Security Council -- which aims to ensure international peace and security -- to expel Russia "so it cannot block decisions about its own aggression, its own war." 

Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the Council, has a veto, which it has repeatedly wielded to block resolutions and negotiations on the global stage. 

That means it cannot be expelled from the body, as it would simply veto any vote or recommendation by the Security Council to do so. 

"If there is no alternative ... then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether," Zelensky continued. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to close the UN? ... If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately." 

Bearded and dressed in his now trademark military green T-shirt, Zelensky, speaking remotely from Kyiv, gave a chilling rendition of the atrocities he said were carried out by Russian troops against civilians in Bucha, a town outside the Ukrainian capital. 

Bucha had been occupied by Russian troops, but when they withdrew recently Ukrainian authorities and independent international journalists including AFP found bodies of people in civilian clothing, some with their hands tied behind their backs. 

Zelensky aired a graphic, 90-second clip of what he said were images from towns including Bucha and the southern port of Mariupol. 

The footage showed partially uncovered dead people, including children, in shallow graves, several bodies in a courtyard and dead people with hands tied behind their back slumped towards a wall. 

"Now the world can see what the Russian military did in Bucha," Zelensky said. 

"They were killed in their apartments, houses, blowing up grenades, civilians were crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars in the middle of the road, just for their pleasure. They cut off limbs... slashed their throats," he said. 

"Women were raped and killed in front of their children, their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressors did not hear what they wanted to hear from them. 

"This is no different from other terrorists such as Daesh ... and here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council," he said, using another acronym for the Islamic State group. 

"Accountability must be inevitable," he said, claiming that "hundreds of thousands" of Ukrainians had also been deported to Russia. 

Moments later Russia's ambassador, in his own comments, rejected the claims entirely. 

'No witnesses' 

Addressing his remarks directly to Zelensky, Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow places "on your conscience the ungrounded accusations against the Russian military, which are not confirmed by any eye witnesses." 

At least one witness has told AFP of watching Russian soldiers shoot a man in cold blood in Bucha. 

Russia has claimed that images presented by Ukrainian authorities to show there had been a massacre in Bucha were fake, or that the deaths occurred after Russian soldiers pulled out of the areas.

 It has not offered evidence, and satellite imagery has shown bodies there for weeks, before Moscow withdrew its troops from the town. 

Nevertheless Nebenzia repeated those claims, telling the council: "You only saw what they showed you. You couldn't ignore the flagrant inconsistencies in the version of events which are being promoted by Ukrainian and Western media." 

He also denied Zelensky's allegation of mass deportations. 

Since the invasion began "over 600,000 people have been evacuated to Russia, including over 119,000 children," Nebenzia told the body. 

He said the evacuations were "voluntary," not "coercion or abduction." 

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, sparking outrage across the world and displacing millions of Ukrainians.

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Justice eludes slain Saudi critic as crackdown persists

Yahoo – AFP, Anuj Chopra, October 1, 2019

The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's consulate in
Istanbul one year ago sparked global outrage, much of it directed against de f
acto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (AFP Photo/Yasin AKGUL)

Riyadh (AFP) - Global outrage over Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder has dissipated a year after the killing, but justice remains elusive with opaque trial proceedings and the government cracking down on dissent.

Seeking to draw a line under one of its worst diplomatic crises, Saudi Arabia has put 11 unidentified suspects on trial for the murder in its Istanbul consulate last October, with five of them facing the death penalty.

But the murder is said to have involved a 15-man team of Saudi agents, and both the CIA and a UN special envoy have directly linked de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the killing, a charge the kingdom denies.

Conspicuously absent from the closed-door trial that began in January is Saud al-Qahtani, the royal court's media czar and a close confidant of the prince, who was sacked over his suspected role in the affair.

In the latest court session in July, one of Khashoggi's relatives challenged Qahtani's absence and demanded that he be summoned to testify, two Western officials privy to the information told AFP.

It was unclear what prompted the appeal or whether the Saudi court will accept it.

Saudi Arabia has put 11 suspects on trial for Khashoggi's murder but the hearings are 
held behind closed doors and the names of the defendants have not even been 
released (AFP Photo/OZAN KOSE)

But the request to bring in Qahtani –- who gained influence during Prince Mohammed's mercurial rise to power -- marks a stunning development in a trial thought to be tightly controlled by the state, one of the officials said.

Qahtani has long elicited fear in the kingdom, earning nicknames such as "troll master", "Mr Hashtag" and "lord of the flies" for managing an electronic army to defend the crown prince's image and intimidate his perceived critics.

Qahtani has not appeared in public since the murder and his whereabouts are unknown, sparking speculation over whether the kingdom is protecting him or keen to discipline him separately.

'Attempt to scapegoat'

Officials from the US, which has imposed sanctions on Qahtani for his part in the "planning and execution" of the operation that led to the murder, are known to have urged the crown prince to sever ties with him.

But a rupture may be complicated by the fact he is thought to be privy to sensitive state secrets.

"The removal and subsequent low profile of Saud al-Qahtani... can be seen not as a genuine step at reform, but as an attempt to scapegoat a high level official in order to give the impression Saudi is changing," Marc Owen Jones, a research fellow at Britain's Exeter University, told AFP.

Khashoggi's family have accepted the condolences of the Saudi government 
but have denied reports of a settlement (AFP Photo/Handout)

It remains unclear when the trial will conclude. The Saudi media ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Diplomats from the UN Security Council's permanent members –- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US –- as well as Turkey are allowed to attend as observers of the Saudi legal proceedings that are held entirely in Arabic.

They are not allowed to bring interpreters and are usually summoned at short notice, Western sources say.

Khashoggi's family, who are permitted to attend the trial, have rejected reports of a settlement with the Saudi government.

His son said on Twitter Tuesday that he has "full confidence" in the kingdom's judicial system and criticised "enemies in the East and West" who he said were exploiting the case to undermine the country and its leadership.

'No space for criticism'

Speaking to CBS's 60 Minutes ahead of the anniversary, Prince Mohammed denied ordering Khashoggi's killing, but said he "took full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia".

Loujain al-Hathloul, who is among nearly a dozen women activists 
arrested in Saudi Arabia last year, remains in custody where she 
says she has been subjected to electric shocks, flogging and 
groping (AFP Photo)

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings whose independent probe found "credible evidence" linking him to the murder and attempted cover-up, dismissed that defence.

"He is only taking corporate responsibility for the crime, which goes without saying," she told AFP.

Meanwhile, numerous critics of the crown prince remain imprisoned or are on trial.

Saudi authorities recently offered to release jailed activist Loujain al-Hathloul in exchange for her video testimony denying she had been tortured and sexually harassed in prison, according to her family.

Hathloul, among nearly a dozen women activists arrested just weeks before the kingdom lifted the ban on female motorists last year, has accused interrogators of subjecting them to electric shocks, flogging and groping.

The government vigorously denies the charge.

Since the murder, the Saudi king has sought to elevate the experienced old guard, widely seen to be sidelined by the young crown prince, to temper what critics describe as his rash policy decisions.

"There have been arrests of other intellectuals and activists and certainly no space for criticism of the leadership has been opened," said Kristin Diwan, from the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

"The overall direction of policy is unchanged."

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

US teen sex trafficking victim granted clemency over murder

Yahoo – AFP, Nova SAFO, January 7, 2019

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, pictured in Nashville in 2014, said Cyntoia
Brown had been given "too harsh" a sentence (AFP Photo/Jason Davis)

Chicago (AFP) - A US trafficking victim serving a life sentence for killing a man who bought her for sex when she was a teenager was granted clemency Monday following a celebrity-backed viral campaign for her freedom.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said Cyntoia Brown, now 30, had been given "too harsh" a sentence for the 2004 murder of a real estate agent in the city of Nashville.

Johnny Allen had picked up Brown, who was 16 at the time and a runaway under the influence of a dangerous pimp, and taken her to his home for sex.

The ex-Army sharpshooter allegedly showed off his firearms and "grabbed" Brown forcefully between her legs. She said she shot him in fear for her life.

A jury convicted Brown of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery, and she was given life with the possibility of parole after serving at least 51 years in prison.

Calling the case "tragic and complex," Haslam granted clemency under the condition of a 10-year parole. Brown will be released on August 7 after undergoing training on returning to society.

"Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16," Haslam said in a statement.

"Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life."

Without the governor's intervention, Brown would have remained in prison at least until 2055.

Kim Kardashian West, seen in New York in December 2018, has lauded Brown's
"courage" (AFP Photo/Roy Rochlin)

In a statement released by her attorneys, Brown thanked her supporters and the governor and promised to "do everything I can to justify your faith in me."

"My hope is to help other young girls avoid ending up where I have been," she added.

Prison transformation

Brown earned a high school degree while incarcerated and was on track to complete her college education this year. The governor's office said numerous prison employees and volunteers attested to her personal growth.

"Her transformation, when given the opportunity, is nothing short of miraculous," her attorneys Charles Bone and J Houston Gordon said in a joint statement.

"She is truly a remarkable young woman with so much to offer this world and will now have that chance."

Brown's case was featured in a 2011 documentary, and was the subject of a social media campaign involving multiple celebrities who advocated for clemency, saying she should have been treated as a traumatized child victim of sex trafficking.

"Cyntoia never should have been sentenced so harshly to begin with, and we can't lose sight of the fact that she is still receiving an excessive 10 years' probation," the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted in response to the clemency news.

"The fight against harsh sentencing laws goes on."

Last month, actress Ashley Judd implored her home state's governor to grant clemency by saying Brown "deserves our empathy and your mercy."

In response to the governor's action, reality star Kim Kardashian, who has previously described Brown as a victim with "the courage to fight back," tweeted simply: "Thank you Governor Haslam."


US President Barack Obama speaks as he tours the El Reno Federal  Correctional
Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma, July 16, 2015 (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)

Related Articles:


Woman who spent 23 years on US death
row cleared (Photo: dpa)



Friday, August 25, 2017

Wrongly jailed 'satanic' daycare couple gets $3.4 mn

Yahoo – AFP, August 24, 2017

The Kellers were freed from prison that year, but not fully cleared of the charges
against them until last June, when prosecutors finally declared them innocent

A US couple wrongly jailed for 21 years on charges of sexually assaulting children as part of a satanic cult, received $3.4 million Wednesday from the state of Texas, months after prosecutors acknowledged their innocence.

Operators of a daycare facility, Dan and Fran Keller were at the center of a sensational case in 1991, accused by children of abuse and dark rituals that included dismembering babies and torturing pets.

Authorities later acknowledged that the children were improperly interviewed, triggering false memories, amid a climate of fear fueled by a belief around the nation that satanists were preying upon children.

The physician who claimed to have discovered physical evidence of abuse also acknowledged in 2013 that he had made a mistake in assessing the source of one of the children's injuries.

The Kellers were freed from prison that year, but not fully cleared of the charges against them until last June, when prosecutors finally declared them innocent.

By Texas law, both are entitled to $80,000 compensation for each year they spent in prison. They picked up a $3.4 million payment on Wednesday, their lawyer Keith Hampton told AFP.

"They are happy," Hampton said.

The couple had been living in poverty since their release, unable to find work in their advanced age and with their past legal troubles, according to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.

"This means we don't have to worry about pinching pennies on Social Security, and late bills. It means we will actually be free. We can start living -- and no more nightmares," Fran Keller, 67, told the newspaper.

She broke down in tears Tuesday in front of news cameras as she found out on the phone that the state would provide compensation.

"I really would like an apology from the state. But since we're not going to get it verbally, this will be good enough," the American-Statesman reported Fran Keller as saying.

Between 1991 and mid-2016, Texas had paid 101 wrongfully convicted prisoners $93.6 million, according to the Texas Tribune.

Related Article:


Wednesday, August 23, 2017

US convict granted stay of execution after new DNA evidence

Yahoo – AFP, Nova SAFO, August 22, 2017

This Missouri Department of Corrections photo shows death-row inmate Marcellus
Williams (AFP Photo)

hicago (AFP) - With only hours to spare, the governor of the US state of Missouri on Tuesday halted the execution of a man whose lawyers argued new DNA evidence exonerated him of a 1998 murder.

Governor Eric Greitens stayed the execution of Marcellus Williams, 48, who was convicted of fatally stabbing a woman more than 40 times during a robbery at her home in the Midwestern state.

Williams was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Tuesday, but the governor ordered the formation of an investigative panel to reconsider the facts of the case.

"To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgment of guilt," Greitens said.

The governor planned to appoint a five-member board of inquiry that would include retired judges, who would have subpoena power to re-examine witnesses and evidence.

Williams' attorney claimed new testing of the knife used to commit the murder found another person's DNA on the weapon but none of Williams' DNA. The DNA testing was not available during the time of the original trial.

"The new DNA technology called touch DNA has developed a male genetic profile on the knife handle, that was the murder weapon, that does not match Marcellus Williams', so that we believe that totally exonerates him of the murder," attorney Kent Gipson told AFP.

Non-DNA evidence

State prosecutors contend there is enough other evidence to assure Williams' guilt, including the victim's personal items recovered from the condemned man's car.

The initial trial also relied on testimony from two witnesses, Williams' former girlfriend and a cell mate, who both said the convict admitted to the murder. Prosecutors say the cell mate knew details of the crime that were not made public.

Only hours before the governor's stay, the state attorney general's office insisted that they were confident of Williams' guilt "based on the other, non-DNA, evidence in this case."

In court filings during an earlier appeal, prosecutors dismissed the new DNA evidence, saying "it would be unsurprising" that other people's DNA would be on the kitchen knife used for the murder.

"It would not have been unreasonable for (Williams) to wear gloves during the burglary and subsequent murder," prosecutors wrote in explaining why his DNA was not on the knife.

Gipson appealed to the US Supreme Court Monday night, asking for a stay. The state's supreme court last week denied a similar request.

Race a factor?

Death penalty opponents had rallied to Williams' cause, sending a petition with more than 187,000 signatures to the governor. They claimed race was a factor in the African American man's conviction.

"African American men like Marcellus are arrested and convicted at significantly higher rates than any other ethnic group," the group Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty wrote in an online petition.

Reconsideration of a death penalty case due to DNA evidence is rare. Most death sentences that are reversed are due to findings of prosecutorial or police misconduct, said Robert Dunham of the watchdog group Death Penalty Information Center.

"Very often what you'll see is a prosecutor or police deciding they'd gotten the right guy, and ignoring the leads that would have taken them to somebody else as a possible suspect," Dunham told AFP.

"Governor Greitens did the right thing. Executing Marcellus Williams without meaningfully considering his evidence of innocence would have been intolerable and indefensible," he said.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rocks US political scene

The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has sent shock waves through the US political establishment. Both parties are now gearing up for a confirmation battle in the Senate in an acrimonious election year.

Deutsche Welle, 14 February 2016

  
President Barack Obama has made clear that he intends to nominate a Supreme Court successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in his sleep at the age of 79 on Saturday.

But it remains to be seen whether any nominee can win confirmation in the Senate, where conservative Republicans hold a 54-46 majority.

Without Scalia the court loses its arch conservative, with the Republican-leaning judges losing their 5-4 advantage. An Obama appointee would likely give the court a liberal majority, which would impact all cases involving social issues, such as abortion rights and discrimination, as well as consitutional issues, such as gun control and health care.

The late Justice Antonin Scalia
After Obama praised Scalia as "one of the towering legal figures of our time," he nonetheless vowed to fulfill his constitutional responsibility to name a successor and called on the Senate to do the same.

"I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. There will be plenty of time for me to do so, and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote," he said. "These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone. They are bigger than any one party. They are about our democracy."

Republicans vow to block

But the Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, wasted no time brushing aside the president's plans.

"The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice," McConnell said in a statement. "Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president."

President Barack Obama
But Obama has a folder full of potential nominees and is expected to act swiftly. What is unclear is the path he will take. He could nominate a demonstrably liberal candidate or go with a more moderate one.

The more liberal candidate is sure to be rejected by the Senate, but could be used as grist for the Democrats to inflame their base as they seek to hold on to the White House and win back the chamber.

To some extent, though, the same could be said for Republicans as they fight to hold on to their majority.

Obama's options

A more moderate left-of-center candidate could possibly win confirmation if Obama can peel off four Republican senators, which is possible.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell
This year's Senate election is a difficult one for Republicans. They have 24 seats to defend, including six in battleground states that Obama won twice.

Those senators could be at risk of losing re-election if they rejected a moderate Supreme Court nominee.

Scalia's death occurred just hours before the latest Republican presidential debate, where there was virtual unanimity on what the Senate needed to do. Donald Trump, the former reality TV show host and current conservative frontrunner, summed it up succinctly.

"It's up to Mitch McConnell and everyone else to stop it," Trump said. "It's called delay, delay, delay."


Friday, August 14, 2015

Connecticut's top court rules death penalty unconstitutional

The top court in the US state of Connecticut has ruled the death penalty unconstitutional. The court found that the death penalty amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment."

Deutsche Welle, 13 Aug 2015



The ruling, handed down by Connecticut Supreme Court in the state capital, Hartford, on Thursday came as a result of an appeal filed by the legal defense team of Eduardo Santiago, one of 11 convicts who had been on death row there.

His lawyers successfully argued that the abolishment of the death penalty, which was passed in 2012 to be applied only to crimes committed from that moment on, should also apply to Santiago. The prisoner was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 2005, after being convicted of murder in 2000.

"We are persuaded that, following its prospective abolition, this state's death penalty no longer comports with contemporary standards of decency and no longer serves any legitimate penological purpose," the judges wrote in Thursday's ruling.

"For these reasons, execution of those offenders who committed capital felonies prior to April 25, 2012, would violate the state constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment," they added.

Constitution 'violated'

"We hold that capital punishment, as currently applied, violates the constitution of Connecticut," they concluded.

Shortly after the ruling was handed down, the state's Democrat governor, Dannel Malloy, said none of the 11 inmates on death row would be executed.

"We will continue to look to the judicial system for additional guidance on this rule," he said. "It's clear that those currently serving on death row will serve the rest of their lives in a Department of Corrections facility with no possibility of ever obtaining freedom."

The state last carried out an execution in 2005, when serial killer Michael Ross was put to death.

Monday, August 10, 2015

US cinema shooter escapes death penalty

Yahoo – AFP,  Jeanie Stokes, August 8, 2015

James Holmes, the gunman who stormed a Batman movie premier and 
killed 12 cinemagoers escaped the death penalty but will likely spend the 
rest of his life behind bars (AFP Photo/RJ Sangosti)

Centennial (United States) (AFP) - The American gunman who stormed a Batman movie premiere and killed 12 cinemagoers escaped the death penalty but will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

A Colorado jury failed to unanimously agree on execution for 27-year-old former graduate student James Holmes, obliging the judge to impose a sentence of life without parole.

Last month, the killer had been convicted on 12 counts of murder in the first degree and scores more charges including murder, attempted murder and explosives possession.

But defense counsel argued he has a mental illness and urged jurors to show clemency, an appeal apparently heeded by at least one of the panel of nine women and three men.

Media vehicles fill a parking lot outside of the Arapahoe County Justice Center 
before the announcement of the sentence in the James Holmes Aurora theater
 shooting case on August 7, 2015 in Centennial, Colorado (AFP Photo/Dustin Bradford)

On each of the 12 murder counts that could have merited the death penalty, the jury said in a statement read to the court: "We do not have a unanimous final sentencing verdict on this count."

District Judge Carlos Samour thanked jurors for their service and set August 24 to 26 as the dates for Holmes's formal sentencing.

Holmes attacked the packed premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" at the Century 16 theater in Aurora on July 20, 2012, spraying bullets into the dark auditorium.

Clad in body armor and with peculiar dyed-orange hair, he fired hundreds of rounds before police halted a spree that left 12 people dead, including a six-year-old child.

Three years later, in July of this year, he was convicted on 165 charges, the jury rejecting the defense's argument that he was not guilty because of his mental illness.

Robert Sullivan, grandfather of the youngest victim, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, criticized the jury.

"They didn't buy his sanity ... and then they bailed at the end. No, I’m sorry," Sullivan said. "It's not justice. Our loved ones are still gone."

The prosecution had argued that Holmes should be executed through lethal injection.

"He picked the time, manner and method of their deaths. Does he deserve a life sentence for that?" District Attorney George Brauchler said in his closing arguments Thursday.

"This is about justice."

People walk up to the entrance of the Arapahoe County Justice Center before the
 announcement of the sentence in the James Holmes case on August 7, 2015 in
Centennial, Colorado (AFP Photo/Dustin Bradford)

'Easier to kill a monster'

But Assistant Public Defender Tamar Brady disagreed, arguing before the jurors began their deliberations that "justice without mercy is raw vengeance."

She also objected to Brauchler's characterization of the defendant as "evil."

"It is easier to ask you to kill a monster than to ask you to kill someone who is mentally ill," Brady said. "This tragedy was born of disease."

Twice previously in the 15-week trial, jurors had rejected the mental illness defense.

First they found Holmes guilty rather than not-guilty by reason of insanity. Then they found that mental illness was not a mitigating factor in the shootings.

In the closing hours of deliberations the jury reviewed a 45-minute, silent video of the gruesome crime scene -– a theater auditorium littered with bullets, bodies, popcorn, blood and gore.

But finally they were unable to agree a sentence.

Holmes, who was wearing khaki pants and a blue shirt in court, looked calm and had his hands in his pockets. He showed no reaction to the verdicts on Friday.

After a guilty verdict in Colorado death penalty cases, jurors are asked to deliberate three times as to whether the appropriate punishment is death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

People embrace after a verdict was delivered in the trial of James Holmes at 
the Arapahoe County Justice Center on July 16, 2015 in Centennial, Colorado
(AFP Photo/Theo Stroomer)

During the guilt or innocence part of the trial, jurors heard from several of the 70 survivors who were injured in the shootings.

Holmes was also found guilty on 140 counts of attempted murder and will be sentenced on those charges at a later date.

Colorado has executed a prisoner by lethal injection only once since 1977, rapist and murderer Gary Lee Davis in 1997.

There are currently three people on death row in the state, amid signs that the official mood is moving against capital punishment.

In May 2013, Colorado's Governor John Hickenlooper said it was unlikely he would ever allow the execution of one of those, convicted killer Nathan Dunlap.

Hickenlooper granted Dunlap an indefinite reprieve, citing doubts about the fairness of Colorado's death penalty.