International Death Penalty News 2024, Issue 47: Indonesia, Iran, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America

Indonesia

In 2010, Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino national working overseas, was arrested on drug trafficking charges in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She was found to be carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin and was sentenced to death. Mary Jane became an overseas Filipino worker in the hopes of giving her children a better life. She first worked as a domestic helper in Dubai but left that job after allegedly being almost raped. She was then offered another job by a friend in Kuala Lumpur, however, after arriving she found that the job was no longer available. Her friend then gave her a suitcase that did not appear to have anything inside it. She was paid $500 to transport it, however, airport security found the heroin in the lining of the suitcase. After her arrest, Mary Jane was denied proper legal representation and access to a qualified translator. Since her sentencing, various efforts have been made by the Filipino governed to have her sentence reduced and to return Mary Jane to the Philippines. Those efforts have finally been successful and there is hope that she will be in her home nation by Christmas.

In April 2005, nine Australians were arrested for attempting to smuggle 18 pounds of heroin out of Indonesia. The group, later nicknamed the Bali 9, was headed to Australia. The two ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death. They were executed on April 29, 2015. Six others, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, and Martin Stephens received sentences of life in prison. The final member, Renae Lawrence, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His sentence was commuted in 2018. Also in 2018, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died in a hospital after battling stomach cancer. Now, arrangements have been made for the five remaining Bali 9 members to return to Australia. This is following a request from the Australian Prime Minister. The five could be returned to Australia within a month.

Iran

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Ghiam Safizadeh was executed in Jiroft Prison. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are classified as “intentional murder” and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the victim’s family chooses whether to grant forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the money is not raised, the inmate is often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported the execution.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Fathollah Rashidi was executed in Shiraz Central Prison. He was convicted and sentenced to death about two years ago on drug-related charges. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Mehdi Sharif and 40-year-old Hossein Faramari were executed in Kashan Prison. Both were arrested and convicted in separate drug-related cases. Their executions have not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 44-year-old Salar Shamipour Zardkhaneh and 46-year-old Ali Abedini were executed in Tabriz Central Prison. They were convicted and sentenced to death in separate murder cases. Details of their crimes were not reported. Under Iranian law, all killings are classified as “intentional murder” and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the victim’s family chooses whether to grant forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the money is not raised, the inmate is often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported their executions.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Omid Sheikh Kanlu Milan was executed in Urmia Central Prison. He was arrested about three years ago and sentenced to death on rape charges. Often, in cases of rape, those arrested are tortured into making false confessions which result in conviction. In many cases, defendants are also denied full access to a lawyer. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, four men were executed in Ghzelhesar Prison. They have been identified as Hamzeh Tarkashvand, Jafaar Rastegar, Jafar Rahsepari, and Mohsen Moradi. All four were convicted and sentenced to death on separate drug-related charges. Their executions have not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, four men and a woman were elected in Ghzelhesar Prison. While the woman has not yet been identified by name, the men were identified as Iraqi national Ahadi (known as Yatim), Sajad Shoja, Saman Bozorgi, and Afghan national Khaled Tajik. All five prisoners were convicted on separate murder charges and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are classified as “intentional murder” and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the victim’s family chooses whether to grant forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the money is not raised, the inmate is often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported their executions.

On Thursday, November 14, 2024, 32-year-old Reza Kardel was executed in Amol Prison. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are classified as “intentional murder” and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the victim’s family chooses whether to grant forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the money is not raised, the inmate is often executed. His execution has not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Friday, November 15, 2024, Amanj Azizi was executed in Urmia Central Prison. Azizi, a married Kurdish man, was arrested about eight years ago. He was convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Saturday, November 16, 2024, 33-year-old Sajad Karami was executed in Isfahan Central Prison. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are classified as “intentional murder” and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the victim’s family chooses whether to grant forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the money is not raised, the inmate is often executed. His execution has not yet been reported by state officials or the media.

On Sunday, November 17, 2024, 32-year-old Faraj Sarmadi was executed in Zanjan Central Prison. He was convicted and sentenced to death on rape charges. Often, in cases of rape, those arrested are tortured into making false confessions which result in conviction. In many cases, defendants are also denied full access to a lawyer. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Sunday, November 17, 2024, Parviz Barahouyi, Rahim Faghiri, and an unnamed third man were executed in Birjand Central Prison. Parviz was a Blauch ethnic minority and Rahim was a Kurdish father of three. All three men were convicted and sentenced to death on drug-related charges in separate cases. The men were allegedly executed without warning, which prevented them from having a final visit with their families. Their executions were not reported by state officials or the media.

On Sunday, November 17, 2024, 37-year-old Mostafa Moladi was executed in Khorramabad Central Prison. He was convicted of murder after his arrest five years ago and sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are classified as “intentional murder” and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the victim’s family chooses whether to grant forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the money is not raised, the inmate is often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

On Sunday, November 17, 2024, 46-year-old Shahrouz Alimorad was executed in Ardabil Central Prison. The father of two was arrested about three years ago and convicted of murder before being sentenced to qisas, that is, retribution in kind. Under Iranian law, all killings are classified as “intentional murder” and mitigating evidence is rarely considered. After conviction, the victim’s family chooses whether to grant forgiveness or demand qisas or diya (blood money). There is no limit to the amount of diya that can be demanded and if the money is not raised, the inmate is often executed. State officials and the media have not yet reported his execution.

Singapore

On Friday, November 22, 2024, 55-year-old Rosman Abdullah was executed by hanging at Changi prison. He was convicted of drug trafficking, specifically trafficking heroin. Abdullah is the eighth person to be executed in the nation so far this year and the seventh to be executed for drug trafficking. He was arrested in July 2010.

Thailand

Thirty-six-year-odl Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn has been sentenced to death for murder. She was convicted of murdering 14 friends over several years by putting cyanide in their food and drinks. Sararat, according to authorities, had a gambling addiction. Those poisoned were friends to whom she owed money. After killing them, she stole their jewelry and other valuables. Investigators initially believed the friends died of natural causes until one family insisted upon an autopsy, which discovered traces of cyanide in the body. This discovery led police to investigate other deaths, eventually leading to the arrest and now conviction of Sararat.

United States of America

On Thursday, November 21, 2024, Carey Grayson was executed by the state of Alabama. Carey was executed for his part in the murder of 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux on February 21, 1994, near Trussville, Alabama. He was pronounced dead at 6:33 pm local time.

In October, Robert Roberson was scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas. He was granted a temporary stay of execution after a subpoena was issued for his testimony before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. Roberson was to testify the day after his execution. Texas appealed the temporary stay and now the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that Roberson can be given a new execution date, as the Committee overstepped its power. The Court also noted that since Roberson’s testimony has been delayed, the new execution warrant should give them time to hear his testimony before his execution.

On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, Idaho Judge Steven Hippler ruled that Bryan Kohberger can face the death penalty. Kohberger has been charged with the deaths of four individuals at an apartment just off the University of Idaho campus. The murders occurred in November 2022. Since his arrest, Kohberger’s attorneys have been trying to stop the state from seeking the death penalty against their client. They have so far been unsuccessful.

On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, Judge H. Patrick Haggard sentenced 26-year-old convicted murderer Jose Ibarra to life in prison. Ibarra, originally from Venezuela who entered the United States illegally, was convicted of murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley. Laken was kidnapped and brutally murdered by Ibarra while she was out on a run on the campus of the University of Georgia. After Ibarra was arrested and charged, Deborah Gonzalez, District Attorney of Georgia’s Western Judicial Circuit, announced she would not be seeking the death penalty against Ibarra. Gonzalez has been outspoken about her opposition to capital punishment and vowed not to seek the death penalty against anyone while she served as District Attorney. Her decision sparked outrage, eventually leading to her being voted out of office in the most recent election.

On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, a jury in Tarrant County, Texas found Jason Thornburg guilty of murdering three individuals, dismembering them, and burning their bodies in September 2021. Thornburg claimed the murders were part of “ritualistic sacrifices.” Now that same jury must also decide if Thornburg will be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Thornburg confessed to the police and also confessed to eating parts of the bodies. After his arrest, he also confessed to murdering his roommate earlier in 2021, and of murdering his girlfriend in 2017 in Arizona. In order to sentence Thornburg to death, the jury must determine if he poses a future danger.

In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that those who commit crimes while under the age of 18, are not eligible to be sentenced to death. Lawyers representing Payton Gendron are now arguing that this ruling should be expanded to include those, like Gendron, who were 18 at the time of the crime. On May 14, 2022, 18-year-old Gendron drove out of his way to a Tops grocery store in a predominately Black area of Buffalo, New York, and opened fire. Ten individuals lost their lives and three others were injured. After investigation, Gendron was charged with murder, domestic terrorism, and hate crimes. While Gendron has been convicted and sentenced in New York, he also faces federal charges. He received multiple life sentences in New York, which does not have the death penalty. Under the federal charges, Gendron could be sentenced to death if convicted, however, his lawyers are attempting to remove that possibility. So far, no ruling has been issued on the request to expand the law to prevent those 18 years of age at the time of the crime from being sentenced to death.