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The States Parties to the present
Protocol, Believing that
abolition of the death penalty contributes to enhancement of human dignity and
progressive development of human rights, Recalling article 3
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on 10 December 1948, and article 6 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on 16 December 1966, Noting that article 6 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights refers to abolition of the
death penalty in terms that strongly suggest that abolition is desirable, Convinced that all measures of abolition
of the death penalty should be considered as progress in the enjoyment of the
right to life, Desirous to undertake hereby an
international commitment to abolish the death penalty, Have agreed as follows: 1. No one within the
jurisdiction of a State Party to the present Protocol shall be executed.
2. Each State Party shall
take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within its
jurisdiction. By BRYAN
ROBINSON, ABCNews.com (Dec. 14) - Defense attorney Mark Geragos once looked like Scott Peterson's
savior. Now it looks like his performance may be one of the targets of the
convicting court in Peterson's appeal of his murder convictions and death
sentence. A jury in Redwood City, Calif., recommended Monday, 13 December,
that Peterson receive the death penalty in the slayings of his pregnant wife,
Laci, and the fetus she carried. Jurors convicted Peterson on Nov. 12 of
first-degree murder in Laci's death and second-degree murder in the death of
the baby they had planned to name Conner. Early in the trial, it looked as if Peterson had a chance at
either a hung jury or an outright acquittal. Geragos was poking holes in the
prosecution's case, turning its witnesses into his own. But now, legal experts
say, Geragos could become the focus of appeals. "Unfortunately Mark is going to become a pincushion for not
only legal analysts, but for people working for Scott Peterson on his
appeal," attorney Michael Bachner said on ABC News Now, a 24-hour
broadband video news channel. "And they're going to be dissecting every
one of his decisions. Look, the bottom line is, no lawyer can guarantee
results." Unfulfilled Promises to the Jury Geragos used the prosecution witnesses to emphasize the lack of
physical evidence linking Peterson to the disappearance and death of his wife.
He suggested investigators focused solely on his client, ignoring other
potential theories and leads in the case. But Geragos may have doomed the defense during opening statements
when he promised jurors that he would prove his client was "stone-cold
innocent" and show them who Laci's real killer was. However, the defense's expert was not able to tell jurors
decisively -- as Geragos had promised -- that the baby could have been born
alive sometime after Laci was reported missing on Dec. 24, 2002. Peterson could
not have killed Laci at that time, the defense argued, because he was under too
much scrutiny. "Geragos is going to take a hit on the defense appeal. I
don't believe he will handle the appeal," said ABC News Supreme Court
reporter and legal analyst Manuel Medrano. "He made a few critical errors.
For example, I was astounded when, during closing arguments in the penalty
phase, he essentially admitted that he hadn't prepared for this part of the
trial because he didn't expect a conviction. The question is whether that can
be brought up on appeal as an argument that he [Geragos] provided ineffective
counsel." The Turning Point The prosecution's case gained momentum when Peterson's mistress,
Amber Frey, took the stand. Prosecutors had suggested Peterson killed Laci
because he wanted out of their marriage, was feeling pressure from her
pregnancy and wanted to pursue a relationship with Frey. They believed Peterson
killed his wife and used his boat to dump her body in San Francisco Bay. From Frey's testimony and her wiretapped phone conversations with
Peterson, jurors learned the fertilizer salesman told her he wanted them to be
together and told elaborate lies to keep his marriage secret. Before Laci's disappearance, Peterson had told Frey that he was a
widower and would be celebrating his first holiday season without his wife.
During one phone conversation -- which took place during the search for Laci --
Peterson told Frey he was in Paris on a business trip. Through Frey, jurors saw Peterson as a liar and a philanderer.
That, combined with the fact that Peterson told investigators he had been
fishing on Dec. 24, 2002, at the Berkeley Marina near where the remains of Laci
and Conner ultimately washed ashore, convinced jurors of his guilt. "Mark Geragos really did not do any damage to Amber Frey when
she took the stand," Medrano said. "This woman did not sell her story
to the tabloids, and as a result her credibility was not undermined in that
fashion." Other Issues to be Challenged Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred, also could be an issue for
Peterson's appeal. Frey has remained mostly silent but Allred has spoken freely,
granting multiple media interviews. Long before the trial began, Geragos had
argued Allred was jeopardizing Peterson's right to a fair trial and that she
should be placed under the court-imposed gag order. But Judge Alfred A.
Delucchi denied the request. "Amber Frey may have been silent, but Gloria Allred appeared
on every single program she could find," said ABC News legal analyst Dana
Cole. "That might be an appellate issue that might come up, whether she
should have been under the gag order." Experts say Peterson's attorneys also could argue that the trial
should have been moved farther away than Redwood City, 69 miles from the Petersons'
hometown of Modesto. Geragos had tried to get the trial moved just before
opening statements because of alleged juror prejudice, and he tried again
before the beginning of the penalty phase. "There are just a variety of issues that will be appealed,"
said California defense attorney Steve Cron. "They could challenge the
venue, the episode where jurors were seen rocking the boat [allegedly used to
dump Laci's body], and they could look into what led to the ousting of several
jurors." During deliberations in the guilt phase, two jurors -- including
the foreman -- were replaced by alternates. There was speculation that the
ousted jurors had been leaning toward the defense. Shortly after those jurors
were removed, the panel convicted Peterson. Also during deliberations, Geragos
called for a mistrial when he saw jurors get in the boat and begin rocking it,
as if to conduct their own test. Peterson's lawyers are "going to argue that the juror who was
dismissed shouldn't have been dismissed, there will be issues regarding all of
those matters," said Bachner. "Anything that goes to the deliberative
process with the jury, I think, will be looked at significantly. The defense is
going to be very interested in what jurors have to say, to look for any modicum
of juror misconduct, whether they did their own independent legal research,
performed their own investigation." Safe Haven on Death Row Delucchi will take the recommendation into consideration when he
formally sentences Peterson on Feb. 25. Delucchi is not bound by the
recommendation, and could sentence Peterson to life in prison without parole.
However, it is highly unusual for judges not to follow a jury's finding. For now, Geragos is recovering from a court defeat and Peterson is
headed to death row where he faces years of appeals. Peterson's life on death
row may be better than what he would have faced in the general prison
population because of the nature of his crime. "Scott Peterson will, by all accounts, get better treatment
on death row than he would in the mainline prison population, where he would
face more danger, get fewer privileges and perks," ABC News legal analyst
Royal Oaks told ABC News Radio. "He will have three different levels of
legal help, paid for by the state, and this will just wind through the state
system and the federal court system." 12-14-04 08:03 EST Use of Death Penalty Drops for Fifth Year
WASHINGTON
(Dec. 14) - The use of the death penalty dropped this year for the fifth year
in a row, as questions grow about the guilt of the condemned and more states
take a hard look at their use of executions, says a report by a group critical
of the punishment. The Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center's look at
2004 figures shows a 40 percent drop in executions since 1999, a 50 percent
decline in death sentences handed out and a shrinking death row population. The report to be released Tuesday follows last month's Bureau of
Justice Statistics figures showing the number of people sentenced to death
declining - and includes preliminary 2004 numbers. There have been 59 executions in 2004 - down from 65 a year
earlier, according to the report, which looked at figures up to mid-December
and said no more executions were scheduled this year. Death sentences,
projected from the first three quarters of the year, were anticipated to be 130
in 2004 - the lowest number in 30 years, down from 144 the previous year. The majority of executions, 85 percent, took place in the South. The report attributes the decline of the death penalty in part to
high-profile cases in which innocent people were freed from death row. Last
year, 12 people were freed from death row, more than any other year since the
death penalty was reinstated. This year, five people have been exonerated. In
New York, the state's highest court found the death penalty statute to be
unconstitutional; in New Jersey, questions about the method of execution have
put all cases on hold. "The events of the past year and the statistical evidence all
point in one direction," said Richard Dieter, the center's executive
director. "The public's confidence in the death penalty has seriously
eroded over the past several years." Dianne Clements, president of the Houston-based Justice for All
victims advocacy group, criticized the report, saying, "It is impossible
for anyone to make an intellectually honest argument that the death penalty is
up or down based on high-profile cases. "The murder rate is down," she said. "If the murder
rate is down, how can you have more capital punishment trials? There is a
direct relationship between capital punishment and capital murder." 12/14/04 09:04 EST Redwood City, California is indicted for the
Crime of Genocide 18USC(50A)§1091 under the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty
Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution
44/128 of 15
December 1989
status
of ratifications
declarations and reservationsArticle
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