A death-row inmate held in solitary confinement in Vietnam for almost a year is pregnant and is seeking a pardon to give birth, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
The Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper quoted a police doctor as saying tests in September confirmed that convicted heroin trafficker Nguyen Thi Oanh, 39, was then 11 weeks pregnant.
The report said it was the first time that a death-row prisoner had become pregnant in Vietnam and that police were investigating how it had happened.
The fact that she was a death-row prisoner would be the second question I’d ask about!
*grin* .. That’s a dodgy one, isn’t it ?
Duh, I think the question is who, not how. Unless this is a never seen before “Casanova” virus.
Are we sure it wasn’t a virgin birth?
Sounds like 1 GREAT party…
Um…it’s in Vietnam. Why are we surprised? Now, I’m not saying anything bad about Vietnam per-se, I’m just pointing out we have no idea the state of their prisons nor how they work….unless you live there and work in the justice system or whatever.
Now, if this were a prison here in the US, then I would have raised my eyebrow. But Vietnam?
From the story:
Oanh was due to face a firing squad this year after losing her appeal against the death sentence she received last year for possession of a billion dong
A billion should do it.
Yet another good reason to kill the death penality. (yes I know this might shock you a conservative against the death penaltiy)
#7, what about this guy?
Clifford Robert Olson Jr (born January 1, 1940 in Vancouver, Canada) is a serial killer who killed 11 children in the early 1980s.
Despite being raised in a reportedly stable home with no signs of abuse (unlike many other serial killers) he soon showed signs of delinquency. He skipped school frequently, and was first arrested for theft at the age of 13. He was known as a bully and a show-off, and was rumoured to torture and kill animals. In adulthood, he picked up dozens of convictions for crimes ranging from fraud, armed robbery and firearms offences, and he spent a great deal of time in prison, although he escaped on several occasions.
On November 17, 1980, Olson abducted 12-year-old Christine Weller in Surrey, British Columbia. She was found on Christmas day, strangled with a belt and stabbed repeatedly. On April 16, 1981, Colleen Marian Daignault, 13, vanished. It was five months before her body was found. By then, Olson had abducted Daryn Todd Johnsrude, 16, smashed the boy’s head in with a hammer and tossed him into a ditch. etc, etc..
Under Canadian law, Olson is now entitled to make a case for parole every two years.
Torture, in this case, is justifiable.
8 Under Canadian law, Olson is now entitled to make a case for parole every two years.
Hopefully, it’ll be the same for him as it is for Charlie Manson in the US.
Let him build-up irrational hopes for a parole – even though the rational part of him knows damn well he won’t get it – and then send him back to obscurity for a of couple years.
lather, rinse, repeat…
Make sure to send him mail: “Sorry about your parole hearing… maybe next time!”
1 billion Vietnamese Dong is US$60,000. Hardly a fortune.
1 billion Vietnamese Dong is US$60,000. Hardly a fortune
Yeah, but one dong is enough to get you pregnant.
I think that was Olo’s rather too-subtle point.
Mike, I don’t agree that we should feed, entertain and provide shelter to these people at great expense. I don’t believe in keeping these people for any reason, except maybe for drug research. I thought about turning them into dog food, but personally I wouldn’t feed them to any dog of mine.
They should simply be dropped in the center of the ocean at night and left there without any fanfare, no media, the minimal of any recognition. The news report would only be brief, such as “Clifford Olson, worthless murderer, was disposed of last night. Good riddance.”
Jim, a rope and a tree would be faster and cheaper. Also, you could scavenge their body parts to help pay for their incarceration.
Nice hijack JimR — You made me proud…
There are a million reasons why the death penalty should be abolished…
Just a couple…
1. Expediency, convienience, and cost effectiveness are not worth buying if the cost is the higher moral ground. It’s always harder to do the right thing than the wrong.
2. There is no blood on my hands until the society I am a part of kills one of its own. I deserve better.
3. Vengence is not part of justice, and it does not resurrect the departed.
4. It is not a deterent, so lowering ourselves to the level of murderers yields no benefit in the end.
Look… You can’t revel in “the culture of life” if you endorse the death penalty. Either life is intrinsicly valuable or not. Either vengence is the Lord’s or it isn’t.
Also remember there is at least one case where a person came back from the dead after they were executed, so the main rational for the death penalty doesnt even hold true.
If a person on death row is executed, and comes back to life after a flatline, does that mean they are free because their sentence was served?
#17 – Not THAT is a promising question 🙂
I expect they don’t get off that easy, but I hope someone who actually knows will answer.
Actuall, for me, it has nothing to do with vengence or cost effectiveness. I am by no means advocating the death peanalty for the majority of murders, but in some cases I think it’s justified purely for the sake of having a consequence that fits the crime.
If you take the word “blood” out, your first 3 points can be applied to any crime and consequence. Colour TV, 3 good meals a day and plenty of reading time doesn’t cut it for serial killers and a few other types of villians.
Wasn’t Gore asked the question of whether a pregnant woman should be given the death penalty? Is it OK to carry out such a sentence?
JimR, Your whole argument is very disingenuous. In Canada the penalty for First Degree Murder is Life with no parole for a minimum of 25 years. That is Olsen’s sentence and he is serving it. He is not free to do many of the things other prisoners are allowed to. He remains in an isolated wing with other scum.
But before you start in on capitol punishment, how many peopled were so incensed that David Milgard of Saskatchewan was given life. Remember Milgard? After 21 years behind bars it was finally proved he was innocent of a very brutal rape and murder.
Or how about Guy Paul Morin in Ontario. How vilified was he and his family. Or is he just another innocent that was later proved innocent. The true killer could never be found now because of that wasted effort to convict him. Why aren’t you outraged about that?
Or Ruben Carter in New Jersey? He only spent 18 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit.
The list of those wrongfully convicted of murder is way too long to publish. Yet how many might have been executed already that were innocent. It is too late to wipe their blood off of our hands. We allowed their deaths, we assume the blame.
#22….Mr. Fusion….Ruben Carter was and is still guilty. In fact, he’s never been declared innocent or the charges or case dismissed. He was released based on 2 technical items, that had nothing what so ever to do with the actual facts of the case.
Oh….and several of our Asian friends use the death penalty for drug smuggling, of any amount. And they don’t care if your one of them or some smuggler from another country….it’s bye, bye time if your caught.
13 I don’t believe in keeping these people for any reason…
Neither do I.
21 Why aren’t you outraged about that?
Why can’t I be outraged by innocent people being rail-roaded and still want murdering scum to hang?
15 Either life is intrinsicly valuable or not.
Not. Else I would have to “value” Bundy, Williams, Gacy et al.
A person’s value is not “intrinsic”, it is based on how constructive – or destructive – their actions are.
15 Either vengence is the Lord’s or it isn’t.
Isn’t. Else we wouldn’t have attacked Afghanistan after 9/11.
Obviously solitary confinement in Vietnam doesn’t mean alone.
#24, Mike… all good answers and exactly how I feel.
#21 Mr Fusion, try a little due diligence before you insult someone with your misleading drivel.
Clifford Robert Olson Jr has served his 25 years and is now up for parole every 2 years… exactly as I stated. Serial killer Olson
Do you honestly think that there is a chance in hell that Olsen is innocent? Dream on. And talk about being disingenuous, You talk as if murderers are put away forever and there’s no cause for concern. Here’s an excerpt from a National Parole Board (Canada) report in 1999.
“The report reveals that between 1975 and 1999, there were 11,783 releases of offenders into the community on parole and statutory release who were serving sentences for murder (4,131) or manslaughter (7,652).
Of these, 37 were subsequently convicted of further homicide offences involving the deaths of 58 people in Canada. “
And those are just the ones they caught.
#22, Carter’s convictions were overturned on appeal. The State decided against another trial. No, he was not found innocent by a jury. But that has more to do with courts either finding a person either Guilty or Not Guilty ; innocent does not come into it. However, when a guilty verdict is overturned, then the person is once again considered not guilty.
Jim, I don’t know those statistics. How about how many murderers were convicted of another murder. Discount the manslaughter convictions because manslaughter is something else. Regardless, I think you will find that those convicted of murder are still the lowest when it comes to recommission of a crime in general and murder in particular. Statistics don’t lie, but they are misused by liars.
But I see you were offended, but then ignored my points. Innocent people are convicted every day and few of them are ever later found to be innocent. How can we ever know that a person is truly guilty? What by confessions? Well, just a few weeks ago there was a huge to do about a man deported from Thailand to Colorado because he “confessed” to a rape and murder of a six yr old girl. Only he didn’t do it. Then all those lesser crimes where people are forced or tricked into making a confession for a crime they didn’t do. It happens every day in this and most countries.
Olsen is not going anywhere.
Mr. Fusion, you would get a better response to your questions if you didn’t preceed them with demeaning and unwarranted personal attacks.