Capital Punishment

Panel Seeks End to Death Penalty for New Jersey

By LAURA MANSNERUS
Published: January 3, 2007
TRENTON, Jan. 2 � A legislative commission recommended on Tuesday that New Jersey become the first state to abolish the death penalty since states began reinstating their capital punishment laws 35 years ago. Its report found �no compelling evidence� that capital punishment serves a legitimate purpose, and increasing evidence that it �is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency.�

The report, whose lone dissenter was the original author of the state�s modern death penalty statute, came a year after New Jersey joined Illinois and Maryland in imposing moratoriums on executions, and amid growing unease among politicians and the public about capital punishment.

Eight other states, including New York, have also suspended executions in recent years, most because of court decisions. Maryland had lifted its moratorium in 2003, after a year, but a court essentially reinstated it last month.

Death penalty experts said that New Jersey was the first state to receive an official recommendation that capital punishment be abandoned, and it lands in a state where legislators have a Democratic majority along with a Democratic governor who supports repeal of the statute.

The governor, Jon S. Corzine, embraced the report on Tuesday. �As someone who has long opposed the death penalty,� he said in a statement, �I look forward to working with the Legislature� to carry out the recommendations.

Posted on Campaign to End the Death Penalty

By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor
Published: 28 December 2006

The Bush administration welcomed the confirmation of the death penalty against Saddam Hussein, reopening the divide with the European Union and the United Nations, which are opposed to execution.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, said Saddam should not be hanged for crimes against humanity because his trial had been flawed and was marred by political interference by the Iraqi government.

A spokeswoman for Amnesty said: "We are against the death penalty as a matter of principle but particularly in this case because it comes after a flawed trial."

Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Programme at Human Rights Watch, said: "Imposing the death penalty, indefensible in any case, is especially wrong after such unfair proceedings. That a judicial decision was first announced by Iraq's National Security Adviser underlines the political interference that marred Saddam Hussein's trial."

Iraq's US-appointed interim government reinstated the death penalty in August 2004, causing friction with its coalition partner, Britain. The former top British representative in Iraq, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, said the UK would not participate in a tribunal or legal process that could lead to execution.

A Foreign Office spokesman said yesterday that while the execution of Saddam was "a matter for the Iraqis", Britain remained opposed to the death penalty, and had made representations to the government on that score.

I have been emailing with people back and forth about the Hussein execution. One of those people, Dan Jacoby, is one of our contributors at The Daily Gotham. He pointed us an article he wrote two and a half years ago about Where, Not When and may I add, why wasn't Hussein tried by the World Court.

There's a lot of buzz about when the Bush administration is going to turn Saddam Hussein over to some American-appointed Iraqi interim governing body. The question people should be asking, however, is not when we're going to turn him over, but where, and to whom.
Slobodan Milosevic was the tyrannical leader of a country who attacked his neighbors, slaughtered thousands of people, and was eventually captured. He was quite properly turned over to the World Court in The Hague to stand trail for crimes against humanity. Saddam Hussein deserves the same fate. But we're not going to send him to Holland, we're keeping him in Iraq.

Why?

[...]

Chances are neither of these is the real reason for not turning Hussein over to the proper authority. Chances are that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others are afraid of what will come out in a real, public trial.

As if on cue, CNN is reporting Bush's comments on the execution : He considers Hussein's demise as the end of a fair trial and the beginning of Iraq's new democracy.

Riverbend is a woman I don't read as much as I should because she makes me cry every single time I take a glance at her blog. She is the most powerful voice coming out of Iraq and the one that seems to be holding on to the little sanity that is left in that country.

End of Another Year... | Baghdad Burning:

What has me most puzzled right now is: why add fuel to the fire? Sunnis and moderate Shia are being chased out of the larger cities in the south and the capital. Baghdad is being torn apart with Shia leaving Sunni areas and Sunnis leaving Shia areas- some under threat and some in fear of attacks. People are being openly shot at check points or in drive by killings… Many colleges have stopped classes. Thousands of Iraqis no longer send their children to school- it's just not safe.

Why make things worse by insisting on Saddam's execution now? Who gains if they hang Saddam? Iran, naturally, but who else? There is a real fear that this execution will be the final blow that will shatter Iraq. Some Sunni and Shia tribes have threatened to arm their members against the Americans if Saddam is executed. Iraqis in general are watching closely to see what happens next, and quietly preparing for the worst.

This is because now, Saddam no longer represents himself or his regime. Through the constant insistence of American war propaganda, Saddam is now representative of all Sunni Arabs (never mind most of his government were Shia). The Americans, through their speeches and news articles and Iraqi Puppets, have made it very clear that they consider him to personify Sunni Arab resistance to the occupation. Basically, with this execution, what the Americans are saying is "Look- Sunni Arabs- this is your man, we all know this. We're hanging him- he symbolizes you." And make no mistake about it, this trial and verdict and execution are 100% American. Some of the actors were Iraqi enough, but the production, direction and montage was pure Hollywood (though low-budget, if you ask me).

Prolific cartoon creator Joseph Barbera dies at 95 - USATODAY.com, or yabba-dabba-doo Joe.

Argus Leader Media - News | Son: Dad back at work 'sooner rather than later', or he's not dead yet.

Penguins offer evidence of global warming - Yahoo! News, or how Adelie Penguins are memorializing the death of Antartica with their southern shuffle.

Graham to decide burial site with wife - Yahoo! News, or how not to raise children to be vulture-like money-grubbing bastards; 'cause you know the one son who wants them at the museum wants to sell tickets to their cript. Family values my ass.

Independent Online Edition > Crime| Litvinenko detectives may follow German toxic trail, or how in blog's name do you smuggle ten million dollars worth of polonium to kill a Russian spy?

2nd baby dies of virulent bacterium - Los Angeles Times, or another good reason to have your baby anywhere but a hospital.