Matt Schonert

From the New York Daily News:

Donte Stallworth got 30 days in jail for killing someone driving drunk, while Plaxico Burress is facing 3-1/2 to 15 years in prison for shooting himself in the leg.

The alleged offense is carrying a loaded and unlicensed weapon. Exercising one’s right to bear arms in this manner in Manhattan is a crime that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 3.5 years.

“Mandatory minimum” means that a judge is not allowed to give a more lenient sentence, which is exactly what Burress’ lawyer wants and is sometimes what common sense demands.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Here is the list of countries which carried out executions in 2006, courtesy of Amnesty International:

• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Botswana
• China
• Egypt
• Equatorial Guinea
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Japan
• Jordan
• Korea (North)
• Kuwait
• Malaysia
• Mongolia
• Pakistan
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Uganda
• United States of America
• Viet Nam
• Yemen

Stats for 2007 were not available.

Facts & Observations:

There were no executions recorded in the Western world except for the 53 persons killed by federal and state governments in the United States.

Of the world’s 1,591 documented executions, 1,010 were by China. An additional 6,500 to 7,000 undocumented Chinese killings are estimated by “credible sources”. (The official count is a state secret.)

The top five executioners are (in order): China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, and Sudan. The United States is next in line. These six nations account for 92% of the world’s executions.

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