The Philippines Supreme Court granted a stay on the...

The Philippines Supreme Court granted a stay on the executions of two convicted kidnappers who were due to be executed on January 30 in the first execution in the country in four years.
Seven of the 13 magistrates of the court voted to suspend for 30 days the executions of Roberto Lara and Roderick Licayan to study a motion by their lawyer to re-open their case on new evidence that could clear them of the crime.
The stay would allow the court time to study whether "the motion to reopen the case (filed by the defense) constitutes newly discovered evidence that will warrant a new trial."
"In the meantime, pending resolution of this incident, by vote of 7-6, the court resolved to order the temporary suspension of the execution of Roderick Licayan and Roberto Lara on 30 January 2004," the court said. J
ust meters away, prison workers had just finished sprucing up the lethal injection chamber sitting amid huge acacia trees and guarded by several caged police dogs.
President Arroyo said she ordered "all preparations for the execution to stand down." "We follow the mandate of the Supreme Court.
This comes as relief to me, but I have always been prepared to enforce the law despite my personal beliefs about death penalty," said Arroyo, a devout Roman Catholic. Catholic bishops meanwhile hailed the court decision, but said they hoped the two convicts could be eventually cleared based on new evidence.
"The church is against death penalty on the ground that it may be legal, but it is immoral since it is against God's law," said Bishop Pedro Arigo. (Sources: Agence France Presse, 28/01/2004) dicrel dicpolg dicgiu sosp