Wow!
You learn something new every day... In Iran, the age of majority (adulthood) for males is age 15.
According to them, he was not a juvenile. 15... Wow.
en.wikipedia.org...
GENEVA – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Tuesday she was deeply dismayed to hear that another juvenile offender was executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran on Sunday, and called for changes to Iranian law and practice “to end execution of juvenile offenders once and for all.”
She also said she had serious concerns about the death sentences recently handed down to three individuals for their involvement in the protests that took place after Iran’s recent Presidential election.
Behnoud Shojaie, who was executed on Sunday, had been convicted of the murder of another boy in a street fight when both were 17 years old. Both the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN special rapporteurs had raised his case with the Iranian authorities, reminding them of their international obligation not to execute juveniles.
Murder
Sharia law for murder allows the death penalty, but is kinder than western law in one respect - after judicial judgement has been made, appeals are then allowed to the family of the murdered victims, and they are begged to be merciful. In Islam, it is always regarded as the height of mercy to forgive a murderer, even though one may have the right to take his/her life in reprisal.
Originally posted by kiwifoot
How sad. I know that Islam preaches an eye for an eye, but this boy was just 17 when this happened...
Or am I wrong to judge another countries laws by those which I live under?...
I hate to call other countries barbaric, bit in this instance, the shoe fits.
5-4 Supreme Court Abolishes Juvenile ExecutionsThe Supreme Court abolished capital punishment for juvenile offenders yesterday, ruling 5 to 4 that it is unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death for a crime he or she committed while younger than 18.
As of yesterday, 20 states, including Virginia, permitted the death penalty for offenders younger than 18. That is five fewer than allowed the practice in 1989. www.washingtonpost.com...
Mentally Retarded Man Facing Texas Execution Draws Wide Attention
Even on death row, Johnny Paul Penry is an outcast, shunned by other inmates because of his mental retardation. Mr. Penry, whose I.Q. has been tested by state authorities at 56, spends his days coloring with crayons and looking at comic books he cannot read, his lawyers say. He says he still believes in Santa Claus. Now, after 20 years on death row, he is scheduled to be executed on Thursday by lethal injection. www.deathpenaltyinfo.org...
Originally posted by kiwifoot
reply to post by JohnnyCanuck
Well mate, I have to take my hat off, I had no idea.
But I think that having it in law that an 18 year old can be executed, and a judge actually giving it out are two different things.