Capital punishment: the death penalty

Video introduction by Marcela Fonseca

Almost all democracies in the world have abandoned the death penalty. The United States, Japan and South Korea are the only exceptions.

The question is How many of the approximately 7,000 people executed in the U.S. during the 20th century were innocent?

This video is about Leonel Herrera that was sentenced to death due the murder of a police officer in Texas. But at the pass of time his nephew remembered that the brother of Leonel Herrera killed the police officer.

In Costa Rica the death penalty is not allowed as a punishment for criminals because our constitution says that live is inviolable. Nobody has the right to take the live of another.

Insecurity in Costa Rica

This article is about the insecurity that is in Costa Rica and all the warnings to avoid be a victim of the theft and all the measures that must be taken in case of suffering a crime. It is written to the tourists that visits our country in their vacations. Costa Rica is known for the beatiful nature and beaches but the insecurity has been increased in the lasts years and it makes a negative image of our country. A lot of tourists suffered a robbery in our country and they loose their personal belonging as camera, passports, wallets or luggage and that terrible situation spoiled their vacations trip to our country and probably after this situation they will try to leave Costa Rica as soon as possible due the fear to experience it again.  By Marcela Fonseca

The threat from crime

From: US EMBASSY IN COSTA RICA. Taken from http://costarica.usembassy.gov/uscitizen.html

Crime is increasing in Costa Rica and U.S. citizens are frequent victims, particularly of petty theft. American tourists and residents can, however, take steps to protect themselves.

Criminals often operate in small groups, but may also operate alone. While most crimes are non-violent, criminals, including juveniles, have shown a greater tendency in recent years to use violence. The following are some examples of recent crimes against U.S. citizens:

•             A tire of a rental car went flat, and people who stopped to “help change the tire” stole U.S. passports, bags, cash, and camera. 

•             A hotel room was broken into during the day, and items the tourist had hidden were stolen.

•             Several Americans were traveling on a tour bus. The bus was parked at the parking area of a white water rafting company, and while the tourists were rafting, the bus was broken into. U.S. passports were stolen along with cameras, cash, credit cards, and clothing.

•             An American's backpack was stolen from a chair at a restaurant while he was in the restroom.

•             Items were stolen from the locked trunk of a rental car.

•             A purse with a passport and credit cards was stolen out of a backpack on a bus.

•             While making a transaction, an American set his passport on the counter at a bank and was distracted by another "bank client" who started talking to him; when he turned around, his passport was gone.

U.S. citizens are encouraged to exercise the same level of caution here that they would in major cities or tourist areas throughout the world. Here are some steps that may help Americans avoid becoming victims of crime:

Protective measures:

•             For starters, put your passport in a safe place, like a hotel safe, and carry only a copy (the photo page and the page containing the Costa Rica entry stamp) as you enjoy your stay in Costa Rica.

•             Carry on paper the name of your hotel and the phone number as well as the phone number of the U.S. Embassy.

Entertainment:

•             Avoid areas with high concentrations of bars and nightclubs, especially at night.

•             Seek entertainment in groups of people you know.

•             Do not consume food or drinks you have left unattended or accept food or drinks "friendly" people.

•             Do not leave a bar or other facility with a stranger. >

Sightseeing or walking about:

•             Avoid walking around at night (especially in the San Jose city center).

•             Stay alert: crowded tourist attractions and resort areas popular with foreign tourists are also common venues for criminal activities.

•             Steer clear of deserted properties or undeveloped land.

•             Walk or exercise with a companion.

Transportation:

•             Lock all doors, and keep all windows closed.

•             Keep valuables on the car floor and/or out of sight of a person who could see them and grab them.

•             Leave sufficient space between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you, to allow you to drive away quickly, if necessary.

•             Be alert to suspicious persons loitering on the side of the road.

•             Use only licensed taxis (they have yellow triangle medallions with numbers painted on the side).

•             Use extreme caution if bumped from behind on an isolated stretch of road. (One method of initiating kidnappings and carjackings is to bump the victim's car from behind; the unsuspecting victim stops, believing he or she is involved in a minor accident, and is taken hostage or robbed.)

•             Use extreme caution if you have a flat tire. Drivers with flat tires are advised to drive, if possible, to the nearest service station or other public area, and change the tire themselves, watching their valuables at all times. Most car rental companies will cover the damage to the tire. (A common ploy by thieves involves the surreptitious puncturing of tires of rental cars, often near restaurants or tourist attractions, or close to the car rental agency at which the car was rented; when the travelers pull over, "good Samaritans" quickly appear to change the tire and rob the traveler.)

•             Park in secured lots whenever possible, and do not leave valuables in the vehicle.

•             Travel with a cell phone.

•             Do not accept help if someones says, "Follow me. I'm going that way."

Financial transactions:

•             Change money in banks or other financial institutions (money changers on the street have been known to pass off counterfeit U.S. dollars and local currency).

•             Retain all credit card receipts and check accounts regularly to help prevent unauthorized use of credit cards.

•             Avoid using debit cards for point-of-sale purchases, as a skimmed number can be used to clean out an account.

•             Keep the phone numbers for your banks on a sheet of paper in case your credit cards or bank cards are stolen or lost.

In general:

•             Reduce risk by keeping valuables out of sight, by not wearing jewelry, and by traveling in groups.

•             Avoid carrying large amounts of cash, jewelry, or expensive photographic equipment. •             Minimize travel after dark.

•             Avoid responding in kind to verbal harassment.

•             Do not store valuables in a car's trunk or glove compartment.

•             Donot engage in a physical confrontation with the criminals you are outnumbered, and they may have hidden weapons.

•             Don't try to outrun an armed criminal; no car or person can outrun a bullet.

•             Immediately report any suspicious activity to police. If you are with or become a victim of sexual assault please contact the Embassy immediately.

If you become a crime victim:

  If you are the victim of a crime, report it to the OIJ police who are able to take your report, and also to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy at 2519-2000 (during work hours) and 2220-3127, 2519-2280, or 2519-2279 (after work hours), or by email to: consularsanjose@state.gov. The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the U.S. Embassy. This allows the Embassy to make the necessary notifications that may help catch criminals, including terrorists, who try to buy or use the passport.

Note:

In Costa Rica, there are two kinds of police. Those in uniform are La Fuerza Pública.Their role is crime prevention.  OIJ, plain clothes police, are in charge for investigations. In general, only OIJ police can accept reports of crime.

The pardon

Introduction to the article by Marcela Fonseca

This article explains in what consist The Pardon. This kind of forgiveness can only be given by the president of the country. And it allows that the person do not complete the punishment completely or in part. Last august, in Costa Rica Yerlin Maria Juarez Soto a wife of 26 years, received the good news that President Chinchilla approve the forgiveness of his sentence. She was in jail with a punishment  of 5 years and 4 months for the crime of introducing drugs into a penal institution.

The reasons why the pardon was granted, were described as humanitarian, as it is to care for Juarez´s daughter, who suffers from a degenerative disease in his spinal cord.

In the United States the pardon is legal and the article mentions a lot of examples of cases were the presidents gave the forgiveness of the sentence or the pardon.

The Pardon

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/pardon

The action of an executive official of the government that mitigates or sets aside the punishment for a crime.

The granting of a pardon to a person who has committed a crime or who has been convicted of a crime is an act of clemency, which forgives the wrongdoer and restores the person's Civil Rights At the federal level, the president has the power to grant a pardon, and at the state level the governor or a pardon board made up of high-ranking state officials may grant it.

The power to grant a pardon derives from the English system in which the king had, as one of his royal prerogatives, the right to forgive virtually all forms of crimes against the crown. The Framers of the U.S. Constitution, in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, provided that the president "shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment." Throughout U.S. history the courts have interpreted this clause to give the president virtually unlimited power to issue pardons to individuals or groups and to impose conditions on the forgiveness.

The first major court case involving the pardon power, Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 333, 18 L. Ed. 366 (1866), established both the scope of the pardon power and the legal effect on a person who was pardoned. President Andrew Johnson pardoned Arkansas attorney and Confederate sympathizer Alexander Hamilton Garland, who had not been tried, for any offenses he might have committed during the Civil War. Garland sought to practice in federal court, but federal law required that he swear an oath that he never aided the Confederacy. Garland argued that the pardon absolved him of the need to take the oath. The Supreme Court agreed with Garland. It held that the scope of the pardon power "is unlimited, with the exception stated [impeachment]. It extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment."

The power to pardon applies only to offenses against the laws of the jurisdiction of which the pardoning official is the chief executive. Thus the president may only pardon for violations of federal law, and governors may only pardon for violations of the laws of their states.

A president or governor may grant a full (unconditional) pardon or a conditional pardon. The granting of an unconditional pardon fully restores an individual's civil rights forfeited upon conviction of a crime and restores the person's innocence as though he or she had never committed a crime. This means that a recipient of a pardon may regain the right to vote and to hold various positions of public trust.

A conditional pardon imposes a condition on the offender before it becomes effective. Typically this means the commutation of a sentence. For example, the president has the power under the Pardon Clause to commute a death sentence on the condition that the accused serve the rest of his or her life in prison without eligibility for Parole, even though a life sentence imposed directly by a court would otherwise be subject to parole. In upholding this type of conditional pardon, the Supreme Court in Schick v. Reed, 419 U.S. 256, 95 S. Ct. 379, 42 L. Ed. 2d 430 (1974), reasoned that "considerations of public policy and humanitarian impulses support an interpretation of that [pardon] power so as to permit the attachment of any condition which does not otherwise offend the Constitution."

Unless the pardon expressly states that it is issued because of a determination that the recipient was innocent, a pardon does not imply innocence. It is merely a forgiveness of the offense. It is generally assumed that acceptance of a pardon is an implicit Acknowledgment of guilt, for one cannot be pardoned unless one has committed an offense.

The Constitution allows two other pardon powers besides the power of commutation. It expressly speaks about the president's power to grant "reprieves." A reprieve differs from a pardon in that it establishes a temporary delay in the enforcement of the sentence imposed by the court, without changing the sentence or forgiving the crime. A reprieve might be issued for the execution of a prisoner to give the prisoner time to prove his or her innocence. A related power is the power to grant "amnesty," which is also implicit in the pardon power. Amnesty is applied to whole classes or communities, instead of individuals. The power to issue an amnesty and the effect of an amnesty are the same as those for a pardon.

The most widely publicized pardons have involved political figures. President gerald r. ford's September 1974 pardon of former president richard m. nixon for all offenses that he had committed, or in which he had taken part, relieved Nixon from facing criminal prosecution for his role in the Watergate scandal. President Ford justified the pardon as a way to restore domestic tranquility to a nation that had spent two years in political turmoil.

In 1977, President jimmy carter granted an amnesty to all persons who had unlawfully evaded the military draft during the Vietnam War. Carter, too, justified his amnesty as a way to end a divisive period in U.S. history. In December 1992, President george h.w. bush pardoned six officials of the ronald reagan administration who were implicated in the Iran-Contra Affair. Bush granted the pardons shortly before leaving office. He based the pardons on his belief that the officials had been prosecuted over policy differences rather than for criminal acts.

In January 2001, a day before leaving office, President bill clinton issued pardons to several individuals, including financier Marc Rich and his associate Pincus Green. Rich and Green had fled to Switzerland in 1983 to avoid prosecution on Fraud charges in the United States. Soon after the pardon was announced, it was revealed that Rich's ex-wife, Denise, had made a gift of $450,000 to the Clinton Library Foundation and a $109,000 donation to the Senate campaign of Hillary Rodman Clinton. The donations apparently were made during the period when she and several of Marc Rich's business associates were Lobbyin for the pardons. The news caused an uproar among Republicans and Democrats alike. Many of Clinton's strongest supporters said that even if there was no wrongdoing, the timing was at best a sign of extremely poor judgment. The revelations led to federal investigations. In March 2001, the House and Senate introduced legislation that would require stringent contributor disclosure for anyone seeking either a pardon or a commutation, as well as stricter disclosure rules for anyone donating to a presidential library (previously not subject to campaign disclosure laws).

Costa Rica Reports indicates number of Ilegal Abortions supposeddly rising

Costa Rica Report Indicates Number of Illegal Abortions Supposedly Rising

ttp://www.lifenews.com/2008/09/23/int-930/

by Steven Ertelt | WASHINGTON, DC | LIFENEWS.COM | 9/23/08 9:00 AM

Article Introduction by Marcela Fonseca

Abortion is a controversial topic. Since the past of time women are trying to take decissions in their lives to take 100% control and when a unwanted pregnancy appears in their lives women analized which is the better way to take to keep live going on. This article informs a situation that many costaricans ignore or pretend to ignore. Abortion is illegal in Costa Rica and people thinks that if it is illegal, women does not ask for this kind of medical intervention. But the reality is that many people or doctors are practicing abortion and the way the medical authorithies known this is when women came to the hospitals with a terrible bleeding or bad consequences of the intervention.

Costa Rica Report Indicates Number of Illegal Abortions Supposedly Rising

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 23, 2008

San Jose, Costa Rica (LifeNews.com) – A new report from the Costa Rica government indicates the number of illegal abortions there is supposedly on the rise. The Central American nation, like other predominantly Catholic and Hispanic nations in the region, is strongly pro-life and protects the right to life of unborn children.

The new Asociación Demográfica Costarricense (ADC) report indicates there are about 27,000 illegal abortions occurring in the country annually for women between the ages of 15 and 49.

That’s a rate of one abortion for every three lives births in the nation in 2007.

It has increased from a rate of 10.6 for every 1.000 women between the ages of 15 and 49 to 22.3 last year.

ADC official Cristian Gómez prepared the report and, according to the Inside Costa Rica web site, he said abortion presents a number of health risks for women.

He said the rise is due to a less frequent use of birth control and contraception and supposedly supports an effort to make some abortions legal.

While abortion advocates typically point to supposedly large numbers of women dying from illegal abortions as a reason to allow them, the ADC report indicates no women in Costa Rica have died from illegal abortions recently.

Costa Rica was in the news last year when abortion advocates used the case of a 9-year-old girl who became pregnant to try to promote the decriminalization of abortion internationally.