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Iran's Child Offenders On Death Row

May 07, 2009

On May 1, Iran executed a 23-year-old woman, Delara Darabi, for a crime committed when she was a minor. Darabi is one of scores of juvenile offenders facing execution in the Islamic Republic. RFE/RL's Radio Farda has been provided with a video that documents the suffering of Iran’s child offenders, co-produced by one of Iran’s leading advocates against child execution, Mohammad Mostafaei. In this edited version of the video, the filmmakers talk to juvenile offenders on death row, as their parents and advocates frantically beg the victims' family for forgiveness, the only way their lives can be spared.

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Comments
by: Christopher Hobe Morrison from: Pine Bush, Ulster Co, NY, USA
May 12, 2009 02:47
The last person to be hanged in this perverted place should be the person who ran it. When this happens I will feel sorry for them, as I felt sorry for Saddam Hussein in Iraq and many others who came to such ends, deserved or not.

by: brett from: england
May 07, 2009 21:09
I was so pleased to see how some of the parents were able to forgive. No one cane imagine the pain of the parent of someone murdered. I was reminded of a story I read this week in the bible where Jesus was confronted by religious fanatics who were trying to trick him so they could kill him. They brought a woman caught in adultery and asked him what should be done with her? He wisely answered after a pause, "let the one who is without sin cast the first stone" one by one they left, first the eldest then down to the youngest. Jesus then said to the woman where are your accusers? then he said neither do I condemn you, Go and sin no more. through his wise words he saved not only her life but his own also, because if he had spoken against the law of Moses in order to save this woman's life they would surley have stoned him. But Jesus introduced the law of love, Mercy and forgiveness in this passage and yet still said that it is wrong to commit sin. you can read about this in the gospel of John 8:1-11. May God bless and forgive all those who have found it possible to forgive those who have killed their loved ones. In England we do not have the right to execute people for any crime I sometimes wish with some of the really bad murderers they would be executed. but I see from reading this report that there is a balance between justice and mercy.
     
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