Hanging Judges
A Pakistani court acquitted Tahir Mirza Hussain of murder 10 years ago. So why is he facing execution for that crime in just a couple of weeks? Hussain, a British-Pakistani, had come to visit relatives 18 years ago and he says a tax driver pulled a gun on him and sexually assaulted him. During a struggle, he shot the taxi driver. He reported the incident to police and was arrested. In 1989, he was sentenced to death. In 1992, the nation's highest court, citing serious flaws in the prosecution case, ordered a new trial. And in 1996, it acquitted him on all charges. But before he could be released, his case was referred to an Islamic court, and in 1998, in a 2-1 vote, three judges again found him guilty and sentenced him to death. The dissenting judge accused police of introducing false witnesses and fabricating evidence.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?