International Death Penalty News 2024, Issue 35: China, Iran, Malaysia, United States of the America

China

In September 2022, Li Jianping was sentenced to death for corruption, Bribery, embezzlement, and engaging in organized crime.  Sixty-four-year-old Li, a former official for the Chinese Communist Party, was convicted of embezzling $421 in the nation’s largest-ever corruption case.  Most recently, The Higher People’s Court of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region turned down Li’s most recent appeal.  His appeal will now be sent to the Supreme People’s Court for final review.  

Iran

On Thursday, August 22, 2024, 33-year-old Vahid Abbasi was executed in Nahavand Prison. Vahid was arrested about three years ago and charged with murder.  He was convicted and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind.  Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional and mitigating evidence is rarely considered.  After conviction, the family of the victim chooses if they will grant the condemned forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money).  There is no limit on the amount of diya a family can demand and if the defendant cannot pay the sum, they are executed.  Vahid’s execution has not yet been announced by state officials or the media.

On Saturday, August 24, 2024, an Afghan national identified only as Fahim, was executed in Isfahan Central Prison.  Fahim was around 30 years of age at the time.  He was arrested about three years ago and convicted of murder.  Fahim was then sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind.  His execution has not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Saturday, August 24, 2024, 45-year-old Abbas Rashidi was executed in Qazvin Central Prison.  He was convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.  Before his arrest, he worked as a painter and had two children.  State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Monday, August 26, 2024, the first public execution of the year was carried out.  Twenty-one-year-old Amirreza Ajam Akrami was executed on a street in Shahroud.  The man was convicted about one year ago of murdering a lawyer and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind.  Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional and mitigating evidence is rarely considered.  After conviction, the family of the victim chooses if they will grant the condemned forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money).  There is no limit on the amount of diya a family can demand and if the defendant cannot pay the sum, they are executed. 

On Monday, August 26, 2024, four men were executed in Tabriz Central Prison.  The men have been identified as Shapour Hosseini, 32-year-old Mohebollah, 27-year-old Moshref, and Irfan Abdolazizi.  Shapour, an Iranian national, Mohebollah, an Afghan national, and Moshref, also an Afghan national, were all convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.  Irfan, an Iraqi national, was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind.  None of the executions have yet been reported by state officials or the media.  

On Monday, August 26, 2024, 25-year-old Barkatali Sanjarani was executed in Zahedan Central Prison.  Barkatali, a Blauch ethnic minority, was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind.  Under Iranian law, all killings are considered intentional and mitigating evidence is rarely considered.  After conviction, the family of the victim chooses if they will grant the condemned forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money).  There is no limit on the amount of diya a family can demand and if the defendant cannot pay the sum, they are executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

Malaysia

The death penalty has been reinstated for Khairuanuar Baharuddin, a former police corporal who is convicted of murdering his two-year-old stepdaughter, Hanis Amanda, on November 6, 2015, in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur.  Bruises had been discovered on Hanis, who claimed  Baharuddin had given them to her.  Baharuddin was first convicted and sentenced to death in March 2021.

On Monday, August 26, 2024, the Court of Appeals commuted the death sentence of 35-year-old Firdaus Ismail to 40 years in prison and 12 strokes of the rotan, or cane.  Firdaus was initially convicted and sentenced to death for murdering his 63-year-old mother Faridah Mat Hashim on September 19, 2018, and leaving her body in a septic tank.  When Firdaus was sentenced to death, the punishment was mandatory.  That law has since been amended and the prosecutor chose not to seek the death penalty again.

United States of America

On Thursday, August 29, 2024, Loren Cole was executed by the state of Florida.  Loren was convicted of murdering 18-year-old John Edwards on February 18, 1994, in the Ocala National Forest in Florida.  

During the final months of Donald Trump’s presidency, 13 federal executions were carried out.  Now, as he again runs for the office of President of the United States, he has signaled that, if elected, he will once again resume federal executions and expand the crimes that are eligible to receive a sentence of death.  Trump has announced that he supports the death penalty for those convicted of sex trafficking women and children.  He has also expressed support for sentencing those convicted of drug trafficking to death as a means to reduce the drug problem in the United States.  He also supports executions for those convicted of murdering police, US Border Patrol officers, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.  Finally, Trump has also expressed support for speeding up trials and appeals for the men and women on death row, saying they should not languish for 15 years on death row.  

By contrast, Donald Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris has not commented on capital punishment.  During her tenure as district attorney and California attorney general, she spoke out against capital punishment, refused to pursue it for a cop killer, promised to enforce the law, and sought to keep death row inmates on death row.  When she ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, she said she would issue a moratorium on executions if elected.  

Opponents of capital punishment are calling on President Joe Biden to fulfill his promise to end the federal death penalty before leaving office.  While running for president in 2020, Biden promised to end federal capital punishment and incentivize all states to follow his example.  There are currently 40 individuals on federal death row, and activists are seeking to have their sentences commuted.  Shortly after beginning his term as President, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on federal executions, however, Garland has continued to seek and retain federal death sentences in certain cases.  Additionally, for the first time in 20 years, the Democratic Party has omitted its opposition to the death penalty from the national platform.  

On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, 30-year-old Wade Wilson was sentenced to death in Florida.  Wilson, nicknamed the “Deadpool Killer” was convicted in June of murdering 35-year-old Kristine Melton and 43-year-old Diane Ruiz in 2019.   Attorneys for Wilson attempted to argue that he should be granted leniency due to his troubled background, issues from his adoption, brain damage from drug addiction, and altered mental state due to drugs at the time of the crimes.  These arguments were rejected and Wilson’s crimes were determined to be “heinous, atrocious, and cruel” with one murder being premeditated.

A woman could be sentenced to death in Pennsylvania if she is convicted of murdering six-and-a-half-week-old Leon Katz.  The woman is also accused of abusing Leon’s twin brother Ari.  Twenty-nine-year-old Nicole Virzi, a PhD student, was visiting a friend in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when her friends discovered Ari had an injury to his groin and scratches on his face.  They took him to a hospital while Virizi babysat Leon.  According to Virizi, Leon fell while she went to get him a bottle.  When she picked up she saw a large bump on his head and called the paramedics, who rushed him to the hospital.  He was pronounced dead on June 15, Father’s Day.  An examination determined both children were abused.  Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office is seeking a death penalty, however, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has refused to sign any death warrant during his time in office.  

Officials in South Carolina have announced that they are prepared to carry on executions via lethal injection, firing squad, and the electric chair.  This announcement was made around the time it was also announced that South Carolina has scheduled its first execution in over 13 years.  Freddie Owens has been given an execution date of September 20, 2024.  He has until September 6, to choose his method of execution, with the electric chair being the default option. Owens is convicted of murdering 41-year-old Irene Grainger Graves on November 1, 1997, in Greenville, South Carolina.  He is seeking to have his execution stayed.

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