The Lebanese Parliament voted unanimously to repeal...

The Lebanese Parliament voted unanimously to repeal a law that made the death penalty mandatory for all premeditated murders.
Parliament approved by unanimous vote a bill that gives judges the power to condemn convicts to death in only extreme cases. The bill replaces Article 302 of the Penal Code that made the death penalty mandatory for all premeditated murders and abolished judges' discretion to consider mitigating factors.
"Lebanon yesterday joined the ranks of countries that respect themselves, their reputation and their human rights' records," the leading An-Nahar newspaper said in a front page editorial Friday. "Bravo and congratulations to parliament and the government," the editorial added.
Opponents of the death penalty welcomed the reform but said it did not go far enough. Walid Slaiby, coordinator of the Movement for People's Rights, said he sought the abolition of the death sentence. "This (bill) is one of our demands, not the last," he said.
Lebanon reinstated the death penalty in 1994 in a bid to stem a rise in violent crime following the 1975-90 civil war. Three years earlier, it had issued a general amnesty for most crimes committed during the conflict. Between 1994 and 1998, 14 murderers were executed by hanging or firing squad. The latest executions took place in May 1998 and sparked an uproar because the gallows did not work properly.
Last year, then-Prime Minister Salim Hoss, a vehement opponent of capital punishment, refused to authorize the execution of two convicted murderers.
On Friday, Hoss described parliament's vote as "an excellent step," saying it was unnatural that judges had been deprived of their discretion to impose penalties other than death. "The new law abolishes this restriction and gives judges absolute freedom to issue the sentence deemed appropriate," he said.