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Iraq execution rate now world's fourth-highest: Amnesty report
Iraq's growing use of the death penalty since its reinstatement in 2004 has given the country the fourth-highest execution rate in the world - surpassed only by China, Iran, and Pakistan - according to a report released Friday by Amnesty Inter (More) |
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Ethiopia court drops genocide charges against 100 people, releases 25
An Ethiopian court on Monday dropped genocide and treason charges against more than 100 people charged involved in 2005 political protests, and released from prison 25 detainees, including several journalists, after acquitting them on all charges. (More) |
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Federal appeals court denies jurisdiction over US citizen facing Iraqi death penalty
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Friday that it lacks authority to interfere with an Iraqi court conviction and pending death sentence for US citizen Mohammad Munaf , and could not grant a w (More) |
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Iraq prosecutors urge death penalty for 'Chemical Ali'
Iraqi prosecutors Monday sought the death penalty for Ali Hassan al-Majid [JURIST news archive; BBC profile], the cousin of Saddam Hussein known to Western media as "Chemical Ali" for allegedly using poisonous gas to clear Kurdish village (More) |
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Death penalty repeal bill fails in New Hampshire House
The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted Tuesday to reject proposed legislation which would have effectively ended the death penalty in the state. Had it passed, the proposed law would have set the maximum penalty for capital crimes at li (More) |
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Virginia death penalty extension bills vetoed by governor
Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced Monday that he has vetoed five bills promoting the death penalty . House Bill 2750 and House Bill 2347 sought to make the murder of a judge and the murder of a witness in a criminal case, respectively, (More) |
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Supreme Court considers 'inflammatory' penalty arguments in capital case
The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments Wednesday in the case of Roper v. Weaver [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], 06-313, a case in which the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit overturned (More) |
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France signs extradition treaty with China despite death penalty record
France signed an extradition treaty with China Tuesday in Paris over the objections of human rights groups that oppose China's use of the death penalty. After signing the treaty, Justice Minister Pascal Clement explained that France may refus (More) |
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Ramadan hanging prompts disavowal, denunciation
The hanging of Saddam-era Iraqi vice-president Taha Ramadan before dawn Baghdad time Tuesday drew a disavowal from the United States and condemnation from Russia as the international community reacted to an execution that UN officials and rights g (More) |
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Ex-Saddam VP faces Iraq execution
Former Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive] will be hanged Tuesday, according to Iraqi legal sources quoted by wire services Monday afternoon. The Iraqi government has scheduled the execution despite de (More) |
Supreme Court upheld discriminatory districting
On June 10, 1946, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld uneven congressional districting plans in Colegrove v. Green. The case challenged an Illinois districting plan that concentrated voters into large districts in the center of the state and did not balance for population. The Court reasoned that districting was a political question for the states to decide without judicial interference. This opinion was overturned less than 20 years later in Baker v. Carr, which set judicial standards for invoking political question doctrine.
Learn more about political question doctrine from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law.
