FEATURED POST

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Pakistan to execute paraplegic next week, as hanging of mentally-ill prisoner postponed

Published
A severely disabled prisoner on Pakistan's death row has been told he will be executed next Wednesday (29th).

Abdul Basit, 43, was convicted and sentenced to death for murder in 2009. In 2010, he contracted tubercular meningitis in prison, which left him paralysed from the waist down. Despite being unable to stand, and reliant on a wheelchair, a 'Black Warrant' issued this morning confirms he will be hanged next week.

In a mercy petition to the President of Pakistan, Abdul's lawyers have argued that as the Pakistan Prison Rules of 1978 - the statute regulating executions - does not provide alternative procedures for the hanging of a disabled prisoner, the execution would amount to cruel and unusual punishment, and would breach Pakistani and international law.

News of Abdul's warrant for execution came as a last-minute stay was issued for Khizar Hayat, a prisoner suffering from severe mental illness who was to be hanged on Tuesday (28th). Khizar has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, and is held in a hospital cell, reportedly unable to understand his situation. The execution of prisoners suffering from mental illness is prohibited by Pakistani and international law.

Some 180 prisoners have been hanged in Pakistan since the resumption of executions in December 2014. Among the prisoners to have faced the gallows have been others suffering from mental illness, juveniles, and many who may have been innocent of the crimes of which they were convicted.

Commenting, Kate Higham, Pakistan caseworker at human rights organization Reprieve, said: "In less than a week, we've seen the authorities in Pakistan attempting to execute mentally ill and disabled prisoners. While the stay of execution granted to Khizar Hayat this morning is extremely welcome, it is appalling that the authorities still see fit to hang a paralysed man next week. Pakistan's wave of executions is nothing but a cruel and pointless spectacle, and must be halted immediately."

Source: Reprieve, July 25, 2015

Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com
Location: Pakistan
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.
Read more

Could Moscow attack suspects face execution in Belarus?

Published
Image
After the deadly terrorist attack at Moscow's Crocus City Hall, some Russian politicians are debating trying the suspects to Belarus, which still has death penalty. But it's not that simple. The terror attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall has ignited debate about the reintroduction of the death sentence in Russia. Given that 140 people died and more than 500 were wounded at the concert hall on March 22, 2024, emotions are running high.
Read more

Iran | 9 prisoners executed in a single day

Published
Image
9 prisoners of drug charges executed in the central prisons of Kerman, Chabahar and GhezelHesar According to the Iranian Human Rights Society website, on Sunday, April 21st, 2024, 9 prisoners including, Baloch and Kurdish drug suspects were executed in the central prisons of Kerman, Chah bahar, and GhezelHesar.  
Read more

Bill Moves Forward to Prevent Use of Nitrogen Gas Asphyxiation in Louisiana Executions

Published
Image
There’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430. When Louisiana legislators approved the use of nitrogen gas asphyxiation as an execution method during a second special legislative session in February, the move attracted national attention; not the least because it has only been used in the U.S. once. That’s when Alabama executed convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith on January 25th of this year. Now there’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430.
Read more

Punjab | Woman sentenced to death for kidnapping, burying toddler alive

Published
Image
Neelam sentenced to death for burying toddler alive after kidnapping her, in a rare and heinous crime. The court found her guilty of murder and destruction of evidence, causing outrage in society. LUDHIANA: Over two years after the brutal murder of a toddler, the woman who killed her was sentenced to death by a local court. The convict had buried her neighbour’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter alive. 
Read more

Alabama lawmakers reject bill which would allow some death row inmates to be resentenced

Published
Image
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - An Alabama House committee rejected a bill that would have impacted sentences for dozens of death row inmates. The proposal would have required courts to resentence people sentenced to death by a judge who overrode a jury’s recommendation of life in prison. That practice was outlawed in 2017. Representative Chris England passionately argued it should be retroactively applied for more than 30 death row inmates who were sentenced to death over a jury’s recommendation.
Read more