Iranian of the Day

Ali's ordeal seen by Iranians living in Iran

I was truly moved by the reaction of the Iranians, still living in Iran, who seem to be much more human and much less afraid of expressing their outrage, unlike so many of us in diaspora:

 //www.iran-newspaper.com/1386/860920/html/casual.htm#s786339

Azarin Sadegh

...

This boy, and others, are what Iran is guilty for!

Thank you Jahanshah. Capital punishment is barbaric.

Capital punishment must be abolished everywhere including in Iran. It is barbaric.

Playing God: Executing a person kills him/her before the time of their natural death. Some relgions believe that God places people on Earth for a purpose. If we kill them prematurely, then we may be thwarting God's will.
Effect on society: Some feel that permitting premeditated murder is totally unacceptable, even if done by the state. Capital punishment lowers the value of human life as seen by the general population and brutalizes society. It is based on a need for revenge. It violates our belief in the human capacity for change. It powerfully reinforces the idea that killing can be a proper way of responding to those who have wronged us. We do not believe that reinforcement of that idea can lead to healthier and safer communities.
Lack of Deterrence: The death penalty has not been shown to be effective in the reduction of the homicide rate. There are some indications that executions actually increase the murder rate. 1 to 6
Cost: The costs to the state of funding appeals by convicted murderers would more than pay for their permanent incarceration.
Value of human life: Human life has intrinsic value, even if a person has murdered another individual. The death penalty denies the sacredness of human life. Live is so precious that nobody should ever be killed, even by the state.
Unfairness: The mentally ill, poor, males, and racial minorities are over-represented among those executed. The defense lawyers are often incompetent. Judges sometimes appoint friends or political associates. Other times, no competent lawyer is willing to accept the case because of the poor people, and members of minority groups are more likely to be targeted because of prejudice and bigotry.
Jurors who may support the death penalty, but have reservation about its use, are eliminated from jury duty.
Jurors are often not given the option of a life-without-parole sentence in murder cases.
The appeal process has "burdensome, if not impossible, procedures." The process seems designed to speed cases along rather than grant justice.

Chance of Error: Many convicted murderers are later found innocent, and have been pardoned. It is impossible to pardon a corpse.
Horror: Some consider capital punishment to be cruel and unusual punishment.
Sending a person to Hell: Some religious group believe that an individual who dies without being "saved" will go to Hell for eternal punishment. By killing the person before the time when they would have naturally died, we are eliminating any chance that they might have for salvation.
The family of the prisoner is victimized and punished by having their loved one murdered by the state. Yet the family is usually innocent of any crime.

Uselessness: Killing a murderer does not bring his victim back to life. It achieves nothing but the death of still another person.

Me too...

I remember an article about him a few weeks ago. It's terrible...

Count me in... I'll join

Count me in... I'll join your circle of hope for this young man.

Thanks JJ.

Dear JJ,

Thanks a lot for choosing Ali as the Iranian of the day.

Unfortunately the news aren't good and there is a real possibility of him being executed this week. SCE has been trying hard to help him, and they have managed to get involved the Amnesty International, the UN and Unesco, but still it seems that the Iranian authorities haven't responded yet to their efforts.

Let's hope together. It is easier to give up hope if we feel lonely.

Azarin