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Written by Mpagi Edward Edmary
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| | Mpagi Edward Edmary
My name is Mpagi Edward Edmary. I really appreciate your efforts. I am so happy to join you in this webpage aimed at the global moratorium on the death penalty.
My story is for the brothers in Uganda that are still on death row. In 1981, I was arrested along with my cousin brother Mr. Fred Masembe (rest in peace). I served 20 years in jail for the alleged murder of a person who was later found to be alive.
We only saw our lawyer twice before our hearing. As a result of bribes we were sentenced to death. At that time my English was not so good. I needed a translator. My brother did not know any English at all.
I spent 18 years on death row and 2 years on remand. My cousin brother and I were both convicted in this case. By then in Uganda it was very hard to reverse the decision of the judge, so my family followed the case up, until they lost hope in securing our release. My brother and I could not believe that a legal system would convict innocent people.
In Uganda, conditions for death row prisoners are cruel, degrading and inhumane. We were always denied medicines. There were lice flies and other vermin in the prison and this resulted in many illnesses and many prisoners died from these illnesses. In 1984 my brother developed malaria and stomach complications because of inadequate food and skin conditions.
I pleaded with the prison authorities to give my brother medication and treatment. However they told me that we were brought to death row to face death, that it was a waste of tax payer's money to treat him. My brother died in 1985. This really scared me. But life continued.
Life is terrible on death row in Uganda, Africa. No one was ever given any notice that they would be executed. Each time we were taken by complete surprise. We lived in complete fear of any unusual activity from the wardens. During my stay in prison there were five rounds of executions. The last one was in 1999 in which the state executed 28 prisoners. But to make matters worse for the inmates, execution was carried out in the very nearby place, the crying of the inmates was closely heard and movements were seen. This made inmates life so complicated.
I remember my best friend and roommate who was dragged out by prison wardens to be executed. He cried and resisted but he was overpowered after he was hit on the head by fierce wardens. Everybody was in fear at that time. It took us years to be relieved of that incident. But still I keep remembering his last words.
Continues >>>
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 September 2011 21:36 |
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A Short in-sight on the Death Penalty. |
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Written by Angela Grobben
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| | Human civilization has made it to the 21st century; though at times it seems as if it never even came out of the Middle Ages.
People get hanged, gassed, killed by electrocution, shot or murdered by lethal injection… and there are many more legitimate ways of killing; in 58 countries around the world.
I say legitimate because the sentenced man or woman await their death by the hand of the government of their country, under the label of justice.
Not only in China, Japan, Iran, Iraq etc. but also our so called “leading country in the world” the U.S.A.
Why do people still support the death penalty and capital punishment? Is it the “eye for an eye”, the “what they did to me, I will do to them”, the “they deserve it” thinking?
If so then who will be next in that line, the judge?
The death penalty is discriminating, racist, unjust, probably sexist and irreversible.
Almost 80% of Death Row defendants in the U.S. have been executed for killing white victims, even though in society as a whole African-Americans account for about half of murder victims.
Sentiments like “That little nigger deserves the chair” spoken by a defence attorney, in the capital case of Curtis Osborne 1991, are horrifying, yet they are said.
To have a clear view on what’s wrong with the justice system one has to look at the facts . People without any money see themselves being defended in an inappropriate way. State defence attorneys get appointed and those are mostly over-worked and unprofessional, they either fall asleep in court or have no time to prepare the case thoroughly.
Crucial information often is withheld form the jury. Therefore there’s no doubt that innocent people get incarcerated. Over 130 innocent people have been released from the U.S death row, and although denied by the state, less fortunate innocents were executed.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 08 September 2011 10:27 |
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