INDIA: PRESIDENT COMMUTES DEATH FOR 8 TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT

in India, eight convicts on death row in two separate cases of murder received the mercy of President Pratibha Patil, who commuted their sentence to life imprisonment. Of the two cases, one is related to the killing of five persons, including a 10-year-old boy. Shyam Manohar along with Sheo Ram, Prakash, Suresh, Ravinder and Harish from Uttar Pradesh were given death penalty in October 1997 in this case. Patil’s decision leaves a list of 21 more pending mercy petitions of a total of 24, three of which have been returned to the Ministry of Home Affairs on request.
The President has so far only cleared those mercy petitions wherein the Home Ministry has advised the commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment. She still has to give her decision in cases where the Home Ministry’s opinion has been to reject the mercy petition and stick to death sentence for the convicts.