Search Results for: Clemency

“It a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” —   Macbeth  When asked to imagine the stereotypes associated with Texas, one might conjure images of barbecue, big trucks, and cowboys. But perhaps a more apt image would be that of injustice undergirding execution. As it all too frequently has in the [...]

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Amnesty International reiterated its calls to stop the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama by nitrogen hypoxia. The date for execution has been set for January 25, 2024. In urging Alabama to cancel the execution, Justin Mazzola, a researcher at Amnesty International, stated: The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, [...]

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US President Joe Biden reduced eleven non-violent drug prison terms and pardoned potentially thousands of marijuana possession offenses under federal law or in Washington, DC on Friday. Biden used his pardon power authority under Article II of the US Constitution to pardon the offenders. This power is limited to federal offenses, and the president cannot [...]

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The High Court of Justice of Suriname upheld on Wednesday a 20-year prison sentence for former President Desi Bouterse in connection with the December 1982 murders of 15 political opponents during his regime. Bouterse, who served as president of the sovereign state from 2010 to 2020, initially rose to power as Suriname’s de facto leader from [...]

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An attorney representing political activist Ahmed Douma took to social media Saturday to announce the activist’s release, made possible by a presidential pardon. Douma had endured a decade of incarceration within the confines of Egyptian state penitentiaries. Douma was resentenced to 15 years in prison by the Cairo Criminal Court in 2019 after initially being [...]

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A Texas court Tuesday postponed inmate Andre Thomas’ execution date to allow his legal team to prove that he is not competent to be executed. After confessing to a triple murder in 2004, Thomas gouged his eyes out and claimed divine direction for his crimes. Thomas has been considered “seriously mentally ill” since the incident. Further, [...]

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Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Here, one of them discusses new Criminal Code provisions explicitly authorizing Belarusian officials and soldiers to be put to death for committing “treason to the state”. For privacy and security [...]

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Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Here, one of them discusses the circumstances of three women currently held as political prisoners in Belarus. For privacy and security reasons, we are withholding the name of the correspondent [...]

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President of the University of Tehran Dr. Seyed Mohammad Moghimi Thursday announced procedures for disciplining students who do not wear proper hijab. In the statement, Moghimi affirmed the university’s commitment to “pluralistic viewpoints, scholarly theorizing and scientific dialogue.” However, Moghimi tempered these ideals when he said that too many viewpoints may cause social conflict. Other [...]

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Missouri Tuesday executed Amber McLaughlin, an openly transgender woman, by lethal injection. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, McLaughlin is the first openly transgender person to be executed in the US. Missouri Governor Mike Parson refused to grant clemency stating, “McLaughlin’s conviction and sentence remain after multiple, thorough examinations of Missouri law. McLaughlin stalked, [...]

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