Pakistan to hang paraplegic convict from his wheelchair

A paraplegic man is facing the prospect of being hanged by prison officials in Pakistan from his wheelchair as he is unable to mount the scaffold. Abdul Basit, 43, was convicted of murder in 2009 but developed tuberculosis one year later, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.

A "Black Warrant" was issued for his execution on July 29 but appeals from Basit's legal team led to a stay of execution.

They now await a final hearing on August 25 which will decide whether to go ahead with the procedure.
It means that prison officials are grappling with the conundrum of how much rope is required to hang a man who cannot support his own body weight.

Basit's lawyers at Justice Project Pakistan have issued an urgent mercy appeal to Pakistan's president, Mamnoon Hussain, claiming that hanging a wheelchair-bound person is in breach of its own prison regulations.

"Given that the condemned prisoner is unable to use his lower body to support his own weight and unable to stand, it is not possible to accurately measure the length of rope required for his hanging," they wrote.

"Consequently, no provision can be safely made for the accurate measurement of the rope that would hang him and to proceed with an inaccurately-measured length of rope would place him at risk of an appalling death."

Extracts from a prison handbook, seen by The Telegraph, stipulate that prisoners must be able to "stand" on the scaffold.

One extract reads: "The drop is the length of the rope from a point on the rope outside the angle of the lower jaw of the condemned prisoner as he stands on the scaffold, to the point where the lope is embraced in the noose after allowing for the constriction of the neck that takes place in hanging.

“The condemned prisoner shall mount the scaffold and shall be placed directly under the beam to which the rope is attached, the warders still holding him by the arms.”

As Basit would be unable to "mount" the scaffold or "stand" beneath the noose, and there are no legal provisions in place for hanging disabled people, the execution should be called off, his lawyers said.

Maya Foa, the head of legal charity Reprieve's death penalty team, warned Basit's hanging would be a "cruel and violent spectacle".

 "The decision to go ahead with the hanging of a severely disabled man would mark a new low for the Pakistani justice system," she said.

"Abdul Basit contracted tubercular meningitis while imprisoned; authorities failed to provide proper medical assistance and as a result, his illness worsened, leaving him entirely paralysed from the waist down.

"Abdul’s hanging would be a cruel and violent spectacle, unlawful under both Pakistani and international law, and an affront to justice and humanity. Abdul’s execution should be stayed, and the moratorium reinstated, before more lives are senselessly lost.”

A medical report describes Basit's paraplegia as a "complication of tuberculous meningitis."
"At this moment, he is having 0/5 power in lower limbs and 4/5 power in upper limbs," Dr Javaid Iqbal and Dr Anjum Mehdi wrote in the report.

"In our opinion, patients with this condition are usually permanently disabled and there is almost no chance of any recovery. He is likely to remain bed bound for his life," they added.

The Telegraph

Buhari orders IGP to reduce number of policemen attached to VIPs

President Buhari has ordered the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase to reduce the number of police officers attached to Very Important Personalities in Nigeria.

According to a statement by the Special Assistant to the Presient on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari gave the directive at a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Police Affairs and the Police Service Commission in the Presidential Villa today August 20th.

President Buhari at the meeting also warned that he will not tolerate any irregularities or extortion of money from unemployed Nigerians in the coming recruitment into the police. He said that applicants having to pay bribes before being accepted into the police in the past was totally unacceptable.

He told the officials that those in charge of recruitment and training in the Police must be above board and must not be involved in any form of extortion and underhand dealing.

"You must ensure that the recruitment process is transparent. Those who will conduct the recruitment must be above board. It should not be heard that they receive gratification or extort money from those who want to enlist in the police," he cautioned.

President Buhari recently approved the recruitment of 10,000 men and women into the police force.

Photo: Creative!!! See how a nurse was buried in Ghana

A nurse was buried in Ghana last week with this...

Cameroonian soldier parades cheating wife and her lover naked on the street

This photo of a Cameroonian soldier who caught his wife in bed with her lover and parade them on the street has gone viral.

Still wondering what justification he has to do this?

Activist, Joe Okei-Odumakin, undergoes surgery in Dubai

Activist Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin just underwent a surgery in Dubai to remove Gall stones.

According to the political activist who shared the photo above on her Facebook wall, she said she was in Dubai for a programme when she decided to quickly do a medical checkup.

After the doctors examined her, she was told she will have to be rolled into the theater immediately for a surgery as they'd discovered a 1.5cm gallstone sticking out from her stomach.

The doctor advised that she go in for a surgery immediately as any delay may cause the gall stone to burst in her stomach which would be harmful.

The surgery has been done and according to her, she is recuperating. Wish her speedy recovery.

Man docked for allowing unlicensed 15-year-old daughter drive causing death of her friends

A suburban New York man who allowed his unlicensed 15-year-old daughter to drive an SUV that crashed in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, killing three of her friends, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Michael Ware, 54, was given a lengthy sentence partly because he lied to investigators about giving his daughter the keys, allowing her to shoulder all the blame for the crash.

Wayne County President Judge Ray Hamill branded his behavior 'reckless, stupid and selfish.'
He blasted him asking: 'What kind of father does this?'

The crash on August 30, 2014, killed Ryan Lesher, Shamus Digney and Cullen Keffer, all 15-year-old sophomores at Council Rock High School in suburban Philadelphia. Three others were hurt.

Ware, who pleaded guilty last month to three counts each of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment, apologized in a brief statement.

'I cannot begin to say how sorry I am,' Ware, of Scarsdale, told the judge. 'Neither I nor my daughter meant any harm to anyone day. May those boys rest in peace.'

His words rang hollow to the parents of the dead teens. They spoke in court of their pain and their anger toward Ware, who had allowed his daughter to drive on several occasions before the crash, including from New York to their vacation home in Pennsylvania.

'Your desire to be the cool dad devastated an entire community,' said Ryan's mother, Lisa Lesher

Hamill, his voice rising, repeatedly called Ware's actions 'preventable, irresponsible, reckless, stupid and selfish' and said he had failed as a father.

Ware's lawyer, Robert Reno, had asked for a sentence of 12 to 23 months. Outside court, he called the sentence 'ridiculous' and said there would be an appeal.

Prosecutors said Ware allowed his daughter to drive his Chevrolet Suburban from their Paupack Township home with one of her friends. She then picked up four boys and drove to a restaurant for breakfast. On the way back, the teen lost control of the SUV and flipped it.

'He basically gave his daughter a gun and put the bullets in it for her,' said Wilson Black, Shamus' uncle.

Ware told authorities at the crash scene that his daughter took the vehicle without permission. The girl backed his story 'so as not to get him in trouble,' according to court documents.

It wasn't until two months later that one of the passengers came forward and told police that Ware had given his daughter the keys.

Ware's daughter acknowledged responsibility in juvenile court to vehicular homicide counts and was placed on indefinite probation.

She also was ordered to perform 300 hours of community service, pay restitution and write a 2,000-word essay on the impact of her crime.

The victims' parents said Ware was not only responsible for their sons' deaths but had also wrecked his daughter's life.
'You gave her too much independence, too soon,' said Joe Keffer, Cullen's father. 'You failed to protect

Daily Mail

Man walks into his own funeral

A Syrian man witnessed his own funeral after pulling himself out from a mountain of rubble where he had survived for 36 hours.

It was believed that Mohammed Rayhan was among 117 people who had died when government forces shelled the market place in Douma, just over six miles north east of Damascus. His family had given up all hope when he failed to return home and started mourning Mr Rayhan’s death.

However after three days beneath the rubble he was extricated by rescuers.

With the dust still embedded in his beard and long hair, he returned home.

In doing so he interrupted the final day of mourning, much to the delight of his family.

Mr Rayhan is now being called the “Living Martyr” after his miraculous survival.

The Telegragh