Iran Hangs 29 People

July 27, 2008

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Iran Hangs 29 People
Iran hanged 29 people at dawn on Sunday after they had been convicted of murder, drug trafficking and other crimes, state run television reported. The hangings brought to about 150 the number of people executed in Iran so far this year. International human rights groups have accused Iran of making excessive use of the death penalty, but Iranian officials say capital punishment is an effective deterrent carried out only after all judicial proceedings are exhausted.

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MartiniLush 4 years 42 weeks

A good source for listings of people who were on death row, but innocent can be found at the Innocence Project. http://www.innocenceproject.org/

stephley 4 years 42 weeks

Here are names and information to support any claim that there are innocent people on death row: Kirk Bloodsworth, 43, was twice convicted of the girl's murder and sentenced to die. But after struggling for years to prove his innocence, he was cleared in 1993, becoming the first American freed from prison because of DNA evidence. Nicholas James Yarris, 42, of Philadelphia had been on death row for 21 years....half of his life. At a press conference, his lawyers, Peter Goldberger and Christina Swarns, announced that DNA testing has cleared him. In 2004, Ryan Matthew, convicted for the murder of a local convenience store owner in Louisiana, escaped the death penalty after prosecutors dropped all charges on the basis of DNA testing results. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has documented 123 death-row inmates who, since 1973, have been exonerated and freed before their executions. Officially, courts do not consider claims of innocence after a person has been executed. In the past, people attempting to prove innocence had to do so by re-examining the evidence and re-interviewing witnesses and investigators, with no finality granted them. ---- An Associated Press examination of what happened to 110 inmates after their convictions were overturned by DNA tests found that, for many of the men, vindication brought neither a happy ending nor a happy beginning. In reviewing the cases of the 110, all men, the AP found: - About half had no prior adult convictions, according to legal records and the inmates' attorneys. While some were picked up for questioning because they were known to police, many had never been in trouble before. - Eleven of the men served time on death row; two came within days of execution. - Slightly more than a third have received compensation, mainly through state claims. Some have received settlements from civil lawsuits or special legislative bills. For others, claims or suits are pending; and some had lawsuits thrown out or haven't decided whether to seek money. - The men averaged 10 1/2 years behind bars. The shortest wrongful incarceration was one year; the longest, 22 years. - Their imprisonment came during critical wage-earning years when careers and families are built. The average age when they entered prison was 28. At release, it was 38. - Their convictions follow certain patterns. Nearly two-thirds were convicted with mistaken testimony from victims and eyewitnesses. About 14 percent were imprisoned after mistakes or alleged misconduct by forensics experts. Nine were mentally retarded or borderline retarded and confessed, they said, after being tricked or coerced by authorities.

UnDave35 4 years 42 weeks

Racci - please show me one person who is on death row and isn't guilty.

stephley 4 years 42 weeks

In the end, IMO, you could give reams of retionalisations (i don't think I spelled that right) for our system - but it wouldn't prove it was better than Iran, just different. I don't support egregiously flawed systems that allow people to determine they can put other people to death.

lilkimbo 4 years 42 weeks

I do take offense to the idea that it's just bs, though. I could give you many specific examples of how the systems are different, I just didn't feel the need to create posts that would take hours to read.

lilkimbo 4 years 42 weeks

It's not just that we allow for more appeals, we also allow for a much better defense to begin with. Capital punishment is also an option in much fewer cases. But again, there's really no point in rehashing the same old arguments.

stephley 4 years 42 weeks

Surprise, I'm with Raci on this - saying our system is more 'complex' is trying to smooth over differences with b.s. We do allow more appeals, but otherwise, we're smugly patting ourselves on the back for nothing if we think we're better. But, it's a no-brainer that we would disagree on this.

lilkimbo 4 years 42 weeks

I you know anything about the Iranian justice system, then yes, it is more a lot more complex. But we're never going to agree, so there is no point in arguing.

raciccarone 4 years 42 weeks

It's not more complex. There are hundreds of people on death row all over the country who are innocent and most likely because they're either poor or a minority or both. It's the same old wine in different bottles whether in Iran or USA. State sanctioned murder will always kill the innocent as well as the guilty.

lilkimbo 4 years 42 weeks

Steph, the difference is that the legal system here is much more complex, allowing for alleged criminals to have a much greater defense and giving them many, many more chances to appeal convictions. Also, the only capital crimes here involve taking the life of another person.

raciccarone 4 years 42 weeks

I hope Texas can bring up our national average or we'll fall behind in executing people too.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

A lot of people here agree it's a deterent, so what's the biggie? Is it somehow more humane or civilized if you only do it one at a time?

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