death penalty

The European Union has welcomed Fiji’s decision to abolish the death penalty through the RFMF Amendment Act of 2015.

EU Ambassador to the Pacific, Andrew Jacobs, says this is a big step forward for the nation as Fiji prepare to commemorate World Day against the Death Penalty on Saturday.

He adds that it’s important to continue to push for the abolishment of death penalty worldwide- as it represents an inhumane, degrading treatment.

Broward County prosecutor Gregg Rossman said Moscatiello hired a mob hit man to fatally shoot Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis in 2001 during a dispute over the SunCruz Casinos fleet of gambling ships. Trial evidence showed that Moscatiello is a reputed member of New York's Gambino crime family.

Premeditated murder for financial gain is among the aggravating circumstances that can warrant a death sentence under Florida law. The jurors are to recommend to a judge what sentence to impose.

Lawyers for Dylann Roof argue in papers filed Thursday they want all documents, reports, witness statements and recordings the state plans to use in its case. The request is a fairly routine in a criminal case.

State prosecutors have said they will pursue the death penalty against Roof in the June 17 shootings of nine black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church.

Solicitor Scarlett Wilson read a statement during a Thursday afternoon news conference, just hours after filing court papers saying she would pursue the death penalty against 21-year-old Dylann Roof. She took no questions but said not all of the victims' families agreed with her decision.

But a detective who helped break the case scoffed at the appeal Monday, saying Roderick Nunley should have been put to death long ago.

Nunley and a co-defendant were accused of kidnapping Ann Harrison as she waited for a school bus in Kansas City, then raping and killing the girl in 1989. If the courts don't step in, the 50-year-old Nunley will be lethally injected at 6 p.m. Tuesday and become the sixth inmate executed this year in Missouri.

In a sharply divided 4-3 ruling, the court declared the death penalty violates the state's constitution, "no longer comports with contemporary standards of decency and no longer serves any legitimate penological purpose."

The decision clears the way for a last plea from both sides, including what is expected to be gripping and emotional testimony from victims about the harm and suffering Holmes caused with his slaughter.

After those arguments, the jury will make its final decision on whether the 27-year-old should die by lethal injection or spend the rest of his life in prison.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours, starting Thursday after Holmes' parents made an emotional plea to spare their son's life because he is mentally ill. A court spokesman said the decision will be announced at 12:30 p.m. MDT.

During a brief arraignment in federal court, defense attorney David Bruck said that he couldn't advise his client, Dylann Roof, to enter a guilty plea without knowing the government's intentions.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant then entered a not guilty plea for Roof, 21, who faces federal charges including hate crimes, weapons charges and obstructing the practice of religion.