Are Last-Minute Stays of Execution a Form of Torture?
The practice of “mock execution”, where prisoners are led to believe they are going to be killed by their captors, only to be spared at the last minute, is widely recognized as a form of torture. So when a scheduled execution is stayed at the last minute, does that constitute torture?
Last week in Iran, an unnamed man was pardoned by the victim’s family just moments after his hanging began. He was cut down and rushed to the hospital and ultimately saved. Amnesty International has issued a statement pointing out that in other circumstances:
“Any person subjected to similar treatment — for example, in a “mock-execution” — would be seen to have been subjected to torture, which is expressly and totally prohibited under international human rights law.”
Such last minute stays are not unknown here in the U.S. In Georgia, Troy Davis came within an hour and a half of execution in September, and last year Earl Wesley Berry came within 18 minutes of being killed by the state of Mississippi. Were these men tortured?
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Tags: amnesty international, capital punishment, death penalty, human rights, iran, Iran Human Rights, torture, troy davis
December 10th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
This is such a miracle in Iran! Just when the guy’s number was up and he was being strangled on the gallows, his victim’s family quickly ran out to pardon him, and the executioner soon brought him down, unconscious and close to death. Good thing the executioner performed rescue breathing on the poor guy, possibly mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when the hospital staff arrived to help him. He is lucky to have survived the execution. He reminds me of 17th to 18th century England, when people like Ann Greene and John “Half-Hanged” Smith were hanged, often resulting in unconsciousness rather than death, and when they were taken down, they were revived and would live for many years. I know a lot of history since high school and the Internet.
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December 10th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Oh, and I just found out. The “unnamed man” that this blog speaks of might have been the juvenile offender in one of our Success Stories, Reza Alinejad.
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December 11th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Thanks Debbie,
The “unnamed man” is a different person than Reza Alinejad, who, as you point out, was also recently pardoned by the victim’s family and spared execution …
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December 11th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
You were right. I made a mistake about the identity, that’s all.
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March 30th, 2009 at 11:45 am
How do you think the current recession will affect the travel business? Maybe people still want to travel – just cheaper?
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April 17th, 2009 at 11:20 am
God dag! Kan jag ladda ner en bild fran din blogg. Av sak med hanvisning till din webbplats!
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