President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines ignored...
President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines ignored fresh calls to lift a freeze on capital punishment amid a rising crime rate and granted a reprieve to 14 death row inmates, her chief aide said.
President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines ignored fresh calls to lift a freeze on capital punishment amid a rising crime rate and granted a reprieve to 14 death row inmates, her chief aide said.
The 14, whose names were withheld, were scheduled to die by lethal injection in May.
But Arroyo, a deeply religious Catholic, approved a recommendation by the justice department that the group be granted a reprieve, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said. They were to be freed on February 24. The announcement came amid mounting calls from crime watchdogs for Arroyo to lift a moratorium on capital punishment amid high-profile kidnapping cases. "For the moment, the president has not considered lifting the moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty," Ermita said.
The 14, whose names were withheld, were scheduled to die by lethal injection in May.
But Arroyo, a deeply religious Catholic, approved a recommendation by the justice department that the group be granted a reprieve, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said. They were to be freed on February 24. The announcement came amid mounting calls from crime watchdogs for Arroyo to lift a moratorium on capital punishment amid high-profile kidnapping cases. "For the moment, the president has not considered lifting the moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty," Ermita said.
— SOURCES
- (Sources: Agence France Presse, 23/02/2005)