Iraq postpones vote on bill including death penalty for same-sex acts
Baghdad, Iraq Reuters Iraqi lawmakers postponed voting on Monday on a bill that includes the death penalty or life in prison for same-sex relations – a measure that diplomats from Western countries said could have serious consquences for Iraq’s political and economic ties if it goes through. Parliament was in session on Monday, with the […]
Essay: The death penalty says more about us than the condemned
US death row pastor JOE INGLE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says the death penalty is a “barbaric practice no matter how you package it”…
Alabama gasses prisoner with nitrogen in first new execution method in decades
Updated: 5pm (AEDT) Atmore, Alabama Reuters Alabama on Thursday executed convicted murderer Kenneth Smith, who held his breath in vain as officials asphyxiated him with nitrogen gas, the first use of a new method of capital punishment since lethal injections began in the US four decades ago. Smith, convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire, was a […]
First US nitrogen-gas execution may constitute torture – UN rights office
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The UN human rights office on Tuesday called on the US state of Alabama to halt its first planned execution of a prisoner by nitrogen gas asphyxiation this month, saying it could amount to torture and violate US commitments under international law. Kenneth Smith, convicted for a murder-for-hire committed in 1988, is […]
Vatican, other faith leaders join in push for end of death penalty in US state of Louisiana
United StatesRNS The Vatican has joined US faith leaders and anti-death penalty activists in supporting the Louisiana Governor’s desire to clear the death row cells in his state. Governor John Bel Edwards, a Catholic Democrat, called in August for the Louisiana Board of Pardons to reconsider applications for clemency of 56 prisoners on the state’s […]
Ghana’s parliament votes to abolish the death penalty
Accra, GhanaReuters Ghana’s parliament on Tuesday voted to abolish the death penalty, making the country the latest of several African nations that have moved to repeal capital punishment in recent years. A girl walks past a flag of Ghana outside the Cape Coast Castle, in Ghana, on 28th July, 2019. PICTURE: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko/File photo No-one […]
Uganda accuses West of blackmail in its response to anti-LGBTQ law
Kampala, Uganda Reuters Uganda on Tuesday condemned the Western response to the East African country’s new anti-LGBTQ law, considered one of the harshest in the world, and said sanctions threats from donors amounted to “blackmail”. The law signed by President Yoweri Museveni carries the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, an offence that includes transmitting HIV […]
Essay: Replacing vengeance with mercy in our death penalty policy
KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says the troubling case of Andre Thomas in the US invites a closer look at all the factors that play a part in the death penalty…
Offering succour: Spiritual advisers offering final comfort in execution rooms
JIM SALTER, of Associated Press, reports from St Louis in the US…
Pope denounces Iran death penalty following protests
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis on Monday broke his silence on the nationwide protests convulsing Iran, denouncing the recourse to the death penalty there and seemingly legitimizing the rallies as demonstrations “demanding greater respect for the dignity of women.” Francis made the comments in an annual speech to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, a foreign policy speech the pope delivers at […]