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U.S. | I'm a Death Row Pastor. They're Just Ordinary Folks

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In the early 1970s I was a North Carolinian, white boy from the South attending Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and working in East Harlem as part of a program. In my senior year, I visited men at the Bronx House of Detention. I had never been in a prison or jail, but people in East Harlem were dealing with these places and the police all the time. This experience truly turned my life around.

JAPAN: FAMILY'S DEATH SENTENCES UPHELD

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March 27, 2008: death sentences were upheld by the Fukuoka High Court in Japan against a yakuza gang boss and his son, ensuring they will join his wife and another son on Death Row.

The court dismissed the appeals by gang boss Jitsuo Kitamura and his son, Takashi, against the lower court ruling that sentenced them to death for committing four murders in 2004. The high court also upheld execution orders handed down to Kitamura's wife, Mami, and another son, Takahiro, for their roles in the killings.

Each member in the family of four has now received a death sentence that has been upheld by a high court. During his initial trial at the Kurume Branch of the Fukuoka District Court, Jitsuo Kitamura, 64, said he alone had killed all four people the clan was accused of murdering. However, during the appeal trial, Kitamura said his family had worked together to bring about the killings. His son Takashi, 27, has maintained his innocence throughout proceedings.

Source: Mainichi Daily News, 27/03/2008
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