US: The American media reports that thousands of Iranians cheered, whistled and clapped as a serial killer was publicly executed in Iran last week.Mohammad Bijeh, 22, was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering 21 people - was flogged, stabbed, cursed, slapped and finally hanged from a crane in the main square of Pakdasht, 20 miles south of the capital Teheran. Handcuffed and shirtless, Bijeh was first lashed 100 times by judiciary officials using electrical cables, then hung by a crane.
The brother of one of his victims lunged from the crowd and stabbed him in the back, drawing blood.
Bijeh, sank to his knees but remained silent throughout the ordeal. To cries of "God is Great" and "Make him spin so he will suffer more", he was lifted high into the air by a crane. He writhed and throttled for several minutes, slowly dying from strangulation.
"Today's execution will reduce my suffering," said one of the victim's fathers. "This is my happiest day," another yelled out. "Turn him around, make him swing," screamed a victim's family member. The crane crew obliged and Bijeh's body began swinging from side to side, causing both his shoes to fall off.
The above horror details were reported in the American media. But what the American media fails to report is that the same cheers, claps and executions happen on a weekly basis in the USA (The World Role Model for Human Rights).
There are no public executions in America - the dirty work is done behind closed prison walls with a dozen or so witnesses. As the condemned prisoner is pumped with poisons, he slowly suffocates to death.
Outside the prison, the crowds sing and dance like clowns at a circus. "I would like to see them suffer before they are executed," say many victims' family members.
Indeed, many condemned prisoners have done just that suffered. The worst of the worst was Tommy Smith. He was not pronounced dead until one hour and 20 minutes after his execution began. Because the execution team could not find suitable veins in Smith's arm, they had to insert an angio-catheter into his heart - That took 35 minutes.
Smith remained conscious throughout the whole ordeal. After the lethal chemicals begin flowing into his veins and after eighteen violent convulsions, Smith was pronounced dead.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, three thousand deaths-in-custody (does not include homicides) are reported in the USA - each year.
By ACADP posted 21 March 05
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Here come de Judge - Time to Leave [266]
There have always been examples of rulings and interpretations that have supported the saying "The law is an ass". This is increasingly the case, because even the best intentioned judges are now facing an avalanche of new technologies and social change. But, it is no good making excuses for the judiciary and continuing to accept their strange interpretations. We must recognise that not only judges but the whole legal system will struggle more and more. In the end the whole system will become a farce. This is the way empires end.
