Prison killers, maybe the #1 reason to keep the Death Penalty

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*On death row
**Executed
#Died or committed suicide on death row, had sentence reduced or commuted or had sentence overturned and is awaiting retrial
DPE: Earlier crimes were Death Penalty Eligible in most states

Alabama
Bobby Ray Gilbert: Murdered fellow inmate (DPE)
Cuhuatemoc Hinricky Peraita: Murdered fellow inmate* (DPE)

Alaska
Raymond Cheely: Ordered bombing murder from prison
Karl Able: Murdered fellow inmate

Arkansas
Alvin Jackson: Murdered prison guard* (DPE)
Kenneth Williams: Murdered after escape* (DPE)

Arizona
Dwight Eaglin: Murdered corrections officer and fellow inmate during escape attempt * (DPE)
Randy Greenawalt: Committed murders after escape** (DPE)
Jeffrey Landrigan(AZ/OK): Murdered after escape*
Viva Nash(AZ/UT): Murdered after escape* (DPE)
Robert Vickers: Murdered fellow inmates while serving life and later on death row. (DPE)**

California
Clarence Ray Allen: Ordered murders from prison ** (DPE)
Michael Thompson: Gang leader, committed and ordered inmate murders, ordered murder from prison
Ramon ‘Mundo’ Mendoza: Killed fellow inmates, ordered inmate killings, killed after parole (DPE)
Joe ‘Peg leg’ Morgan: Gang leader, ordered inmate killings, ordered street murders

Colorado
Edward Montour: Murdered prison guard* (DPE)

Connecticut
John Barletta: Murdered fellow inmate

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Shannon Agofsky(Fed/TX): Murdered fellow inmate* (DPE)
Anthony Battle(Fed/GA): Murdered prison guard* (DPE)
Tyler Bingham(Fed/CA, CO and PA): Gang leader, killed and ordered inmate killings (DPE)
Joseph Ebron: Murdered fellow inmate* (DPE)
Clayton Fountain(Fed/IL): Murdered fellow inmate and prison guard (DPE)
Edgar Hevle(Fed/CO): Gang leader, ordered inmate killings (DPE)
Byron Mills(Fed/GA, CO and PA): Gang leader, killed and ordered inmate killings (DPE)
Cleo Roy(Fed/IL)(first murdered as juvenile): Murdered fellow inmate (DPE)
Thomas Silverstein(Fed/IL and KS): Gang leader, killed and ordered inmate killings (DPE)

Florida
Benny Adams: Murdered fellow inmate** (DPE)
Andrew Busby: Murdered fellow inmate *
Donald Dillbeck(Committed first murder as juvenile): Murdered while working outside prison*
Edward Kennedy: Murdered after escape**
Thomas Knight: Murdered prison guard * (DPE)
Norman Parker: Committed multiple murders after escape*
Raoul Jesus Roque: Murdered fellow inmate * (DPE)

Georgia
Warren Hill: Murdered fellow inmate

Idaho
Thomas Creech: Murdered fellow inmate* (DPE)

Illinois
Henry Brisbon: Murdered fellow inmate # (DPE)
Victor Ganus: Murdered fellow inmate # (DPE)
Evan Griffith (first murders committed as a juvenile): Murdered fellow inmate # (DPE)

Indiana:
Jay R. Thompson(first killed as juvenile): Murdered fellow inmate# (DPE)

Kentucky:
Alex Bennett: Murdered fellow inmate (DPE)
William Thompson: Murdered Corrections Officer during escape* (DPE)

Maryland
Kevin G Johns: Murdered fellow inmates (DPE)

Missouri
Martsay Boulder: Murdered fellow inmate** (DPE)
Robert O’Neal: Murdered fellow inmate**
Samuel D. Smith: Murdered fellow inmate**
Michael D. Taylor(first murdered as juvenile): Murdered fellow inmate# (DPE)

Montana
William Gollehon: Murdered fellow inmate, murdered inmates during riot* (DPE)
Terry Langford: Murdered inmates during riot** (DPE)
Douglas Turner(first murdered as juvenile): Murdered fellow inmate, murdered inmates during riot# (DPE)

Nebraska
David Dunster(First murdered as juvenile): Murdered fellow inmates in Nebraska and Montana* (DPE)

Nevada
James Prestridge: Murdered fellow inmate after escape

New Mexico:
Reis Lopez(First murdered as juvenile): Murdered corrections officer

New York
Lemuel Smith: Murdered corrections officer (DPE)
Donald Nash: Murdered fellow inmate (DPE)

Ohio
William Bradley: Murdered corrections staff member # (DPE)
Clarence Carter: Murdered fellow inmate* (DPE)
Keith Lamar: Murdered inmates and corrections officer during riot* (DPE)
Jason Robb: Murders inmates and corrections officer during riot*
George Skatzes: Murders inmates and corrections officer during riot* (DPE)

South Carolina
Donald Gaskins: Murdered fellow inmate** (DPE)
Kenneth Justus: Murdered fellow inmate* (DPE)

Tennessee
Stephen Hugueley(first murdered as juvenile): Murdered fellow inmate and prison counselor* (DPE)
Cecil Johnson: Murdered fellow inmate on death row (DPE)*

Texas
Jarmarr Arnold: Murdered inmate on death row** (DPE)
Rogelio Cannady: Murdered inmate * (DPE)
Ignacio Cuevas: Murdered during escape/hostage taking** (DPE)
Joseph Garcia: Murdered after escape *
Robert Pruett (first murdered as juvenile): Murdered corrections officer * (DPE)
Michael Rodriguez: Murdered after escape** (DPE)
James Scott Porter: Murdered fellow inmate** (DPE)
Ramon Matta: Murdered corrections officer# (DPE)

Utah
Troy Kell (UT/NV): Gang leader, murdered fellow inmate* (DPE)

Virginia
Dawud Mu’Min: Committed murder while on work detail outside prison walls **
Joseph Payne: Murdered fellow inmate# (DPE)
Robert Gleason: Murdered fellow inmates

Wyoming
James Harlow: Murdered corrections officer# (DPE)

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Ricardo Ortiz (TX) killed a fellow inmate with a heorin overdose in retalliation.

Around three out of four inmates (I'll have to go back and check each source) on the list were convicted of first degree murder, felony murder, 'murder with malice aforethought' or capital felony along with a slew of lesser murder, manslaughter and sex crimes. They were serving sentences ranging from 15-to-life to LWOP. A few on the list (Landrigan, Knight, Arnold, Langford) committed their prison murders while on death row. Bennie Adams and William Bradley had already been on death row for prior murders when their sentences were reduced to life by the 1972 Furman v Georgia decision. They then reoffended while serving their reduced sentences.

I don't know that you're accurate about Landrigan. He escaped while being held for second degree murder, and assaulted another inmate at that time, going on to kill someone while escaped, but in several sources I found nothing at all about him murdering while on death row.

The other three I'll give you. I knew nothing about them. Interestingly though, the prosecutor who prosecuted numerous inmates for the 1991 riots that Langford is a part of, now advocates the abolition of the DP in Montana. He claims that post-riot, they made many improvements to the security of the prison.

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A current member of death row in South Dakota affected many lives by what he did.

This death row inmate stabbed to death a man pleading for his life and then chuckled about it during his confession. The young man was a 22 year old young man who had his whole life ahead of him. He obviously wasn't lazy but was hard-working and just happened to come to work, while the place he worked at was being robbed. So no one could say he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Who knows what he might be today? The murderer is still on death row while the victim's family still waits to see if he'll even be executed. Because of this murderer's actions the doughnut shop eventually closed down because no one wanted to go in there anymore because of what happened. So he ruined the life of the business person who had given a job to a young person willing to work. I'm sure the owner, even though he wasn't related will live with the fact that someone was murdered in a business he owned and will probably always feel somehow responsible, even though it wasn't the owner's fault.

Now this current death row inmate isn't only trying to get off death row but he is trying to get his whole sentence overturned.
If anyone is vengeful it is this murderer and those who defend him.

Just think some people out there thinks this guy should be rehabilitated and put back in society.
-----------

I'll note you begin in 1965 (unless there was any others listed prior to the first on your list). 1965 - 2008 = 43 years, 61 murders = 1.4 per year.

I'll also note that all but three of those in prison murders committed by murderers were committed in DP states (and fed), and discounting the 8 fed, leaving 53, 26 of the remaining (in prison) murders were committed in prisons in states that are the most active DP states.

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You can do anything you want to the prison. That will not change the inmates inside of it.

Go back and read the details of Ortiz's case in the scheduled execution pages. Then tell me how improving the prison would have changed the outcome. Finally, you can tell me how many inmates he killed after his execution..

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1. I'm not interested in what other people think of California

2. The most severe punishment isn't LWOP but the death penalty. As such it is condign retribution for the act being punished.

3. Your argument boils down to: (a) executions make me feel bad (b) my feelings are more important than those of the collective; therefore (c) capital punishment is wrong

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Kentucky:
Alex Bennett: Murdered fellow inmate

Indiana:
Jay R. Thompson(first killed as juvenile): Murdered fellow inmate

More info: Thompson's initial death sentence was overturned because he was 17 at the time he and another man murdered an elderly couple during a home invasion. Thompson received only 4 years for the prison murder. His accomplice Dillon McDonald has since been released.

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Kentucky
William Thompson: Murdered Corrections Officer during escape* (DPE)

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Texas:
Ramon Matta: Murdered corrections officer# (DPE)

More Info: Matta murdered CO Minnie Houston in 1984 after she rejected his sexual advances. He was already serving 30 years for a double murder. He was sentenced to death but his case dragged on until his death from natural causes in 2000. Houston had prevented the escape of two death row inmates the year before, capturing them at gun point at the prison's outer perimeter.

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New Mexico:
Reis Lopez(First murdered as juvenile): Murdered corrections officer

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Federal
Joseph Ebron: Murdered fellow inmate* (DPE)

Ok. Hypothetical scenario. A murder takes place and the only evidence found at the scene is the murderer's DNA. There aren't any other clues.

Now the DNA is tested but the person is an identical twin. Only one of them did it.

Now the DNA is only going to put both twins at the scence.

Its the job of the forensic investigators to find other clues to narrow the suspects down. i.e. catching the murderer on camera, a fingerprint, a strong alibi and even a strong motive.

It should also be noted that DNA does not necessarily say that this person 100% did it. It just narrows it down so that it is a very low chance that someone else comitted the crime.

Take Roger Coleman for example. When they had his DNA retested his percentage rate for him to have done it was in the high 90's..I believe it was something like 98.9999 percent not a perfect 100. But it is safe to say that he did it.

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Yup....prison murder is a fine reason for the death penalty.

Another (of the many) reason to be pro-dp....is to encourage murderers to confess, to avoid the "wardens cocktail"...

My favorite though is the most undeniable reason of all...

"no executed murder EVER killed again....in, or out of prison!"

Arizonavet



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New York:
Donald Nash: Murdered fellow inmate (DPE)

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Tennessee
Cecil Johnson: Murdered fellow inmate on death row (DPE)*

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Victor Ganus, illinios. Murdered another inmate while serving LWOP for murder.

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Georgia:
Warren Lee Hill, murdered fellow inmate

Hill killed inmate Joseph Handspike with a board embedded with nails in 1990. Hill was serving life for a 1985 murder.

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Amrozi bin Nurhasyim the Smiling Assassin

Ali Amrozi bin Haji Nurhasyim (also known as Amrozi) (5 July 1962 – 9 November 2008) was an Indonesian executed for his part in the 2002 Bali bombings.
He was a native of Lamongan, East Java and was the fifth of 13 children. He attended the Al-Mukmin Islamic school founded by Abu Bakar Bashir along with his brothers Mukhlas and Ali Imron. Amrozi was born in Tenggulun, East Java in 1962. His family were strictly religious, following the Wahhabist school of Islam which has its roots in Saudi Arabia. Amrozis' grandfather established the first pesantren or Islamic boarding school in Tenggulun. His father Nur Hasyim taught his sons that Javanese customs were considered heresy under Islamic law and were therefore to be eradicated. Nur Hasyim was involved in the Indonesian independence struggle against the Dutch, often regailing his sons with tales of heroism by his fellow Muslims. Amrozi displayed little interest in school or religious studies. Police psychiatric reports undertaken after the Bali bombings describe him as "simple" and "shallow" and report that he was easily influenced by others. They describe him as having an immature personality and lower than normal intellectual capacity. Amrozis' brother, Ali Imron, reported that Amrozi was continually in trouble at school and at home, being banned and expelled by teachers and stealing items from his own home and selling them. He only made it to the second year of high school. At the age of 23 Amrozi married for the first time. He married a local girl. The marriage lasted only two years, producing a daughter. He attempted high school again but dropped out soon after. Seemingly without purpose and lacking direction he began vandalising Javanese graves in his village in an apparent attempt to gain approval from his strictly religious and respected father. He mortified his parents by desecrating the grave of a respected village elder, subsequently spending a week in police custody. Amrozis'elder brother Muklas was a respected member of a pesantren in Malaysia. Amrozi had not seen him for over ten years. He had been a stabilising influence to some degree in Amrozis' early adult years. Amrozi decided to visit Muklas but was initially shunned and rejected because of his errant ways. He was devastated by this and realised that to become accepted he needed to become a good Muslim. Amrozi ceased smoking and watching movies. He began praying five times a day in his efforts to gain the acceptance of Muklas. Muklas finally agreed to let him stay. Amrozi was talented with his hands and became the local repairman, fixing cars and mobile phones. By trade he became a mechanic and owned the van used in the Sari Club bombing. It was Amrozi who purchased the explosives.

2002 Bali bombing and trial
His two brothers Ali Ghufron (aka Mukhlas) and Ali Imron were also both involved in the 2002 Bali bombings. Mukhlas is suspected of converting Amrozi to militancy when the two were reunited in Malaysia in the late 1980s. Both of his brothers were also taken into police custody, and Mukhlas was executed with him.
Amrozi was allegedly motivated by his view of American foreign policy, which he deemed to have an imperialist agenda toward the Islamic world.
In an interview with the chief of investigations, General I Made Mangku Pastika, when asked about Amrozi's feelings toward the attack said:
“ "There is no regret at all for him [Amrozi]. Doing his duty to God, he shows no regret. He's very calm, very cool... proud of his activities." About the fact that most of the Westerners who died were Australians rather than the Americans that Amrozi has stated he was targeting, Mr Pastika stated, "He doesn't regret it but he is just unhappy" ”
Amrozi's seemingly nonchalant demeanour throughout his trial earned him nicknames such as "The Smiling Assassin", "The Smiling Bomber" and "The Laughing Bomber".
At the time of the bombing Bali was more popular as a tourist destination for Australians than it was for Americans.
Sentence and execution
On 7 August 2003, he was found guilty for his role in the Bali bombing and sentenced to death by firing squad. His execution was delayed for 5 years, due to legal technicalities: the law under which he was convicted was not in effect at the time of the bombing, and was ruled illegal by the Indonesian high court in July 2004. Originally incarcerated in Denpasar's prison, he was moved to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan in October 2005. While in prison, on 12 May 2008, he re-married his first wife, Rahma, in a ceremony which was conducted in his absence in his home village, while remaining married to his current wife.
Together with the two other bombers (Imam Samudra and his brother, Mukhlas) who received death sentences, he launched a constitutional challenge against the use of firing squads. Amrozi preferred beheading. In October 2008 he remained unrepentant and claimed revenge would be taken for his death.
During the month, his final appeals were rejected and the Attorney General's office announced that he would be executed by firing squad in early November 2008. According to a source in Indonesia's Attorney General Office, the executions were to be done before the end of Sunday, 9 November 2008. This was reportedly delayed from the original plan to allow a representative from the family to identify the body post-execution. From Amrozi's family, his younger brother, Ali Fauzi was sent as a representative of his family.
Amrozi, along with Imam Samudra and Huda bin Abdul Haq were shot on 00.15 local time on 9 November 2008. They were executed by firing squad. Despite his carefree demeanor throughout his trial and incarceration, he was reported to have been pale faced and shaking in the moments before his execution.
Just take a look at the case of one of the terrorists involved in the 2002 Bali Bombings, Amrozi A.K.A The Smiling Assassin:

12 October 2002 = Two bombs explode in the Kuta tourist strip on the Indonesian island of Bali. One hits Paddy's Irish Bar, and the second explodes in a van outside the nearby Sari club. A total of 202 people die as a result. A third bomb explodes near Bali's US consulate, but no one is hurt.

7 November 2002 = Indonesian police arrest the first suspect for the Bali bomb blasts, a mechanic called Amrozi bin Nurhasyim. Under questioning, he admits to playing a role in the attacks.

12 May 2003 = Amrozi goes on trial, charged with helping plan the attacks, as well as with buying the explosives and owning the van used in the bombings.

11 June 2003 = Appearing at Amrozi's trial, one of the Bali Bombers, Imam Samudra denies playing a direct role in the attacks, but says he could be "morally responsible".

30 June 2003 = Police catch another key Bali suspect, Idris - who is alleged to have organized accommodation and financed the attack. Prosecutors also announce that they are seeking the death penalty against Amrozi.

14 July 2003 = Amrozi tells the court that the attack had "positive aspects", because it encouraged people to re-embrace religion and weakened the corrupting influence of foreign tourists.

7 August 2003 = Amrozi is found guilty of helping plan and carry out the attacks. He is sentenced to death.

25 September 2003 = Lawyers for Amrozi lodge appeal against his death sentence, in a process expected to take years to resolve.

7 January 2004 = The Supreme Court rejects Amrozi's appeal. His lawyers say they will now file a judicial review, a process which could take months.

20 October 2005 = Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra will not seek presidential pardons, prosecutors say, and are "ready to be executed anytime soon".

21 August 2006 = The executions of Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra are postponed after they authorize their lawyers to file a last appeal.

7 December 2006 = Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra launch a last-ditch appeal against the death sentences. Their lawyers say they plan to argue that the men were found guilty on the basis of retroactive legislation.

25 September 2007 = Indonesia's Supreme Court rejects the final appeals of Imam Samudra and Mukhlas. A court official says the men had provided no new evidence to challenge earlier verdicts. An appeal by Amrozi was rejected earlier in September.

6 August 2008 = Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra appeal against their death sentences at Indonesia's constitutional court. Their lawyers say shooting does not guarantee instant death and can thus be deemed torture. They say the men should die by beheading or lethal injection.

21 October 2008 = Indonesia's constitutional court rejects an attempt by Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra to change the method of their execution.

24 October 2008 = The Indonesian attorney-general's office says Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra will be executed in early November.

3 November 2008 = Lawyers for Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra file a new appeal, saying they had not been properly informed of the Supreme Court's rejection of an earlier appeal.

8 November 2008 = Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra are executed by firing squad on the island prison of Nusakambangan.

Bali bomber and smiling assassin Amrozi died a coward

Cindy Wockner in Cilicap

November 10, 2008 05:38am

AMROZI, the smiling assassin, was not so brave when faced with his own death. His older brother Mukhlas was more defiant and praised God to the end.

And when the time came to be shackled hand and foot and led from their jail cells to the execution ground, the three Bali bombers accepted their fate without struggle.

Sources inside Batu prison and involved in the execution of Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Mukhlas, aka Ali Ghufron, and Imam Samudra, aka Abdul Aziz, yesterday revealed details of how the trio were put to death six years after their crimes.

One source said that of the three, Amrozi was the least brave and that as his end neared he looked "pale" and afraid.

He was also the quickest to die after all three were strapped to wooden posts and shot at the same time by firing squads.

His older brother Mukhlas was more defiant, repeatedly shouting "Allah Akbar" until his last moments. One source said that even as he was dying he praised God.

It was Amrozi who earned the contempt of Australians and the world when, after his arrest, he smiled for the cameras and took pride in the devastation caused.

When he was sentenced to death, he cheered and gave the thumbs up to judges, then to his victims' families.

The three men had known death was stalking them and, according to jail sources, seemed resigned to their fate.

At 11pm on Saturday, about 30 members of the paramilitary Brimob police, wearing balaclavas to hide their identity, went to the cells of the three men.

The three were shackled hand and feet, chains running from wrist to the ankle.

"They looked like they accepted their fate. They didn't struggle," one witness said.

As they were lead from their cells, their ankles were bound so tightly they had to shuffle.

The rest of the jail was quiet except for the bombers' exhortations of "Allah Akbar".

Other prisoners didn't join in. Several days earlier the bombers had said their goodbyes to prisoners and guards and asked for the traditional Muslim forgiveness.

"They were shouting but it was not really loud. The situation was quite calm. Not all three of them were shouting (Allah Akbar) at once. It was separately, one then the other," another source said.

The bombers had been praying all afternoon and when the officers came to collect them, Amrozi said he knew it was time. They had also been fasting.

They were taken out to waiting double-cab pick-up trucks. Each man was put in the second row of seats, in the middle and flanked by armed police on either side.

More police sat in the back of the truck.

The cars then drove off in procession to the execution zone of Nirbaya, about 3km south of the jail.

Amrozi was in the first car, followed by Imam Samudra in the second car and then Mukhlas.

It took longer than anticipated to reach the site because a torrential downpour earlier in the evening had made the narrow and windy track slippery and difficult to negotiate.

When they arrived at Nirbaya, the bombers were taken from the trucks and tied to posts. They were ministered to by three Muslim preachers who read to them from the Koran.

It is believed that Amrozi was tied to the middle post with Samudra to his left and Mukhlas to his right and that the men were standing up.

The Bali prosecutor, Ida Bagus Wiswantanu, proceeded to read out the execution order, detailing the men's crimes and their sentences.

Black hoods were put over their heads and at 12.15am the signal to shoot was given.

It was a dark night, the moon shrouded in cloud and there were no stars.

But the air was crisp and clean after the earlier monsoonal rain.

At 12.20am the doctor pronounced them dead and at 12.25am the three bodies were untied and taken to a nearby jail clinic for an autopsy.

Afterwards they were washed in the Muslim tradition by Ali Fauzi, the brother of Amrozi and Mukhlas, and the Muslim clerics.

At dawn the men's bodies were flown in police helicopters to their home villages in East and West Java for burial.

Clashes with police

Hundreds of emotional supporters of the Bali bombers clashed with police in Tenggulun yesterday as the bodies of two of them arrived at their home village.

Heavily armed police could not control the 500-strong crowd which surged around the ambulances carrying the bodies following their execution yesterday.

Clashes broke out and the police were driven off the road amid shouts of “Jihad!” and “Get out!”

There were similar scenes in the west Java town of Serang as Imam Samudra's body was paraded through the streets between his local mosque and graveyard, shrouded in a black cloth bearing a Koranic inscription in Arabic.

Members of a radical group headed by hardline cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the co-founder of Jemaah Islamiah, who was jailed on a conspiracy charge related to the bombings before being released, pushed people aside to make way for the body.

Westerners in both villages were verbally abused as "infidels" and told to leave.

The three Bali bombers were executed on an Indonesian island for their lead roles in the 2002 nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Earlier, the family of Mukhlas and his younger brother Amrozi said the bombers had been executed along with Imam Samudra just after midnight local time (4am AEDT) on Nusakambangan Island, in Central Java, where they had been jailed.

“Our family has received news of the execution ... May our brothers, God willing, be invited by green birds to heaven now,” Mohammad Chozin, a brother of Mukhlas and Amrozi, said in Tenggulun.

“We're now handling the preparations to bring the bodies back, which may take two hours,” he said outside an Islamic boarding school in the east Java village, as supporters shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater).

Indonesia's Attorney General's Office yesterday morning confirmed the executions had taken place.

“At 12.15am, the convicts ... were executed by shooting and followed up with an autopsy,” spokesman Jasman Pandjaitan said.

“They have been stated as dead. At this moment the bodies are being washed by the family.”

The bombers were simultaneously shot through the heart by crack Indonesian troops assembled to carry out the task.

They were executed in an orchard some 6km from their prison on Nusakambangan Island, Indonesia's TV One reported.

A source at the prison said they shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they were escorted out of their isolation cells by paramilitary police shortly before their executions.

Australians expressed relief that the men were finally dead, six years after they brought carnage to Bali by sending suicide bombers to attack the Sari Club and nearby Paddy's Bar on October 12, 2002.

“... we've waited a very long time for this and this is our justice,” Sydney woman Maria Kotronakis, who lost two sisters and two cousins, told CNN, struggling at times to speak.

“Finally the moment has come ... we are over the moon.”

Survivor Peter Hughes, of Perth, who suffered horrific burns in the bombings, said the three militants had paid the highest price for mass murder, but their executions did not bring him any joy.

“These guys went to set about mass murder and paid the highest penalty,” he told CNN.

“It doesn't feel good but they did do the crime and they've paid for it.”

The bombers' bodies will soon be flown by helicopter to their home villages for burial within 24 hours, in accordance with Muslim custom.

In Tenggulun, sobbing mourners converged on the home of Amrozi and Mukhlas' mother.

Hardline cleric Abu Bakar Bashir – the co-founder of Jemaah Islamiah, the group blamed for the Bali bombings – praised the bombers as “holy warriors” during a visit to the village on Saturday.

Security forces are on high alert across the mainly Muslim country, after the bombers urged supporters to carry out revenge attacks if their executions went ahead.

Australian authorities have advised Australians to reconsider the need to travel to Indonesia.

The 2002 Bali attacks were the bloodiest in a sustained period of al-Qaeda-inspired jihadist violence in the world's most populous Muslim country.

Additional reporting by Komang Suriadi and Gita Anggun Athika

The Whip & The Sword are mightier than The Cage.

In many countries, the crime rate is increasing.
Why do you think this is happening? What can governments do to help reduce the crime rate?

In a small country like Singapore, the crime rate is very low, because her government introduced both capital and corporal punishment. However, in a European country, such as the United Kingdom, the crime rate has increased since 1964. Something must be done about the increase crime rate and I will like to explain on how it will solve the problem.

Many countries today do not have strict laws and that is why it is easy for criminals to commit any crime they want. In some countries, for example, a rapist gets a five-year jail sentence, unlike in the past when rapists either got executed or sentenced to at least thirty years' imprisonment. The laws in these countries do not impose tougher and severe punishment for these criminals, when these convicts are released from prison, they may go back to their old habits again.

Most governments should reinstate capital punishment to decrease the amount of murders. After the United Kingdom abolished capital punishment in 1964, many of her citizens began to realize that the number of murders in their country had increased. They even wrote letters of complaint to their government, asking for capital punishment to be reinstated. Capital punishment is an effective way of removing these evil criminals from society and it saves a lot of lives.

In Singapore, the government uses corporal punishment such as caning as a deterrent, in order to decrease the amount of crime in the country. There was a time when there was an increase in the number of illegal immigrants who were arrested in Singapore. When they were interviewed by journalists, the illegal immigrants explained that they did not mind being imprisoned because they got free food and accommodation. The Singaporean government imposed a new law, stating that they would cane the next illegal immigrant who entered the country. Thus, the amount of illegal immigrants fell.

In order to prevent the crime rate from increasing, the government should impose strict laws and not to be too lenient to criminals. Both capital and corporal punishment are the best options to reduce crime because they are a necessary punishment to eliminate and frighten these criminals respectively.

Do you think that the death penalty is a better punishment than life imprisonment?

Many western countries have abolished the death penalty and only have life imprisonment for serious crimes. However, some people in these countries have been calling for it to be reinstated again. The death penalty should be reinstated again because people feel that it is a good punishment. I agree with this statement and I would like to state my reasons.

Life imprisonment is a waste of money for the government. If a large number of convicts were to be sentenced to life imprisonment, the government would have to spend more money building prisons and buying food. It is not worth wasting money on these people who had harmed society, it is much better to spend it on helping the poor and disabled people.

Life imprisonment is not a good solution for criminals who have committed serious crimes. It is a waste of time for convicts because they either spend decades in prison or will be caged until the day they die. Even if they finish their sentences, it will be hard for them to get a job and be accepted back into society. For example, some convicts chose to be executed instead of being sentence to life imprisonment, stating that being in jail forever is as good as being dead. Some convicts have the mentality that prison is like a home to them, where all they can do everyday is to eat and sleep. If they were to be released from prison, they would go back to their old habits again.

The death penalty is also a good deterrent because it gives a serious warning to the public in order to prevent them from committing more crimes. A murderer has to pay with his life and this will make people think twice before committing serious crimes. For example, in Russia, murderers and drug traffickers will get life imprisonment but people who commit terrorist acts and assassination of government officials will be executed. The Russian government uses the death penalty to issue a warning in order to prevent terrorisms from spreading across the country.

It is because that life imprisonment is a waste of money and not a good solution and that the death penalty is a good deterrent, I feel that the death penalty is a necessary punishment and it should be reinstated again.

Discuss when, if ever, capital punishment can be viewed as a valid punishment for crime.

To many people, capital punishment is abhorrent, but it is possible to view it as a valid means of punishment. In my opinion, it can be justified as a penalty when three conditions are present. In this essay, I intend to discuss these three issues in more depth.

The rules of society are made and enforced for the purpose of protecting its members. In cases where the murder that has been committed is so frightful that society cannot allow the perpetrator back into its fold, then the death penalty may be the only answer. For example, crimes against humanity such as genocide; terrorist attacks which have resulted in many lives lost.

If the offender shows no remorse at all and is incapable of feeling any shame for his terrible actions, the only solution may be death. In these cases, it is clear that the offender cannot be rehabilitated.

Another important consideration is to ensure to the best of everyone‟s ability that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. If someone is punished with imprisonment, and later found to be innocent, he can be released from prison. However, when the punishment is death, it is impossible to make amends. There have been a number of examples in history where a man was found to be innocent after being hanged.

In conclusion, I believe that it is important to consider three main issues. The crime must be so bad that it would be impossible to welcome the perpetrator back into society. There must be no hope that the perpetrator can ever be rehabilitated back into society. There must be no doubt as to the perpetrator‟s guilt. In any situation that does not contain these components, I believe it is morally wrong to impose the death penalty.

Firing squad in Indonesia

They will be handcuffed to prison officers and led to a van. The van will drive from the prison, through the local streets, and about five miles through the jungle to an isolated beach. Indonesia's 1964 "Penetapan Presiden No. 2" death-penalty regulations, still the current ones, state: "Once arriving at the place of their death, the condemned is blindfolded (although they can choose not to be) (s.11(4))." A white apron will be draped over each of them, with a round red target over the heart. It is generally thought that their hands will be tied or handcuffed behind their backs to a pole, although the regulations tell us, "The condemned is given the freedom to choose how they will die - standing, sitting or lying (s.12(1))": surely the saddest final life choice imaginable. There will be 20 soldiers, members of the Indonesian Mobile Brigade, who will have passed "appropriate psychological tests" - ten soldiers for Amrozi, ten for Muklhas - and for each lot of ten rifles, two live bullets and eight blanks. The state delivers justice, or retribution, in executing its wrongdoers, but the blanks say something about an instinctive human resistance to the killing of a defenceless person. They allow, however flimsily, for a collective sense among the firing squad members of diffusion of responsibility. An experienced marksman can tell the difference between a blank and a live bullet, due to the strength of the recoil; nonetheless, the loophole of the blank cartridge has long been a tradition of the firing squad. In any case, the young men's hearts will burst. Death will be massively traumatic, though there is some debate about just how swift. But "Penetapan Presiden No. 2" has the contingencies covered. "If after the shooting, the condemned still shows signs they are not yet dead, the Commander immediately gives the order to the head of the firing squad to let off a tembakan pengakhir (finishing shot) by pressing the barrel of the gun against the temple of the condemned, right above their ear (s.14(4))."

YOUR LAST MEAL?

I am not trying to curse you here, but if you were to be sentenced to death, what will you choose for your last meal and last movies? For your last meal, please state your main course, dessert, fruits and drink (anything it is up to you).

DB: “Pepsi, ice-cream from pizza hut with sprinkles on top, cherries and most expensive Italian restaurant. Dead poet society.”

AF: Crepe, apple juice and hokey pokey ice cream. Passion of Christ. The million pound note

PS: “Kahlui milk, green apples, creamed based biscuits and Indonesian satay. The man from snowy river.

ET: “Scotch, bread and butter pudding, mango and unagi. The Blues brothers.

KM: “Roast goat, kachumbari, apple juice, beer, cold jelly. District 9.”

SG: “Wheetbix, nice big lump of steak (medium rare) with lettuce with egg. Glass of red wine, shiraz (old). Pavlova with strawberries (no mint). Blackberries. Starwars (all six).”

JL: “Roast duck, durian and alcohol.”

TT: “Plumb chicken, ice cream, banana and water.”

EW: “Lasagna, mango, apple juice and apple pie.”

PP: “Steak with potatoes, mango, Coca Cola and pavlova.”

SI: “Steak with chips and vegetables, chocolate mousse, peach and tropical juice. Gladiator starring Russell Crowe.”

SB: “Burritos, banana milkshake, sticky date pudding and mango.”

CD: “Lime milkshake, chocolate brownies, grapes and pizza. Indiana Jones and the last crusade. Garden State and into the wild.”

BM: “Chicken with mash potatoes, blueberries, banana and bottle of pepsi.”

HN: “Butter chicken with bread, mango and orange, Gulabjamun and champagne. The Godfather.”

TW: “Steak, mango, chocolate cake and beer. Princess’s bride.”

RK: “Andijvie, apricots, tiramisu and beer. The Butterfly Effect.”

RFW: “Kangaroo steak, chocolate pudding, champagne and pineapple. LOR and Starwars.”

DMB: “Water, ice-cream, water melon and pasta. ANZ.”

Three Books!

In Japan, condemned prisoners on death row are permitted to possess only 3 books in their cell, what three books do you want?

The following are mentioned by my friends, their names are kept confidential.
JL: “The 3 books I will possess in prison are the bible, How to escape from prison and a 1 million jokes book.”

TT: “The Bible, bible commentary and LOR trilogy.”

EW: “The Bible, bible commentary and CS Lewis.”

PP: “The bible, blank book and a thick biography of somebody.”

SI: “The 3 books I will possess are the bible, bible commentary and how to escape from prison.”

SB: “The bible, mere Christianity and Les Miserable.”

DMB: “Bible, Guinness Books of world record and Kokoda by Peter Fitzsimon.”