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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Damien Echols and Lorri Echols Give Away Interactive Video Chat to Support Boston Book Festival

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Damien Echols and Lorri Echols
Lorri Echols and Damien Echols
Damien Echols, member of the West Memphis 3, will be hosting a video AMA on Wizeo.me tomorrow, July 23, 2014 at 6pm EST.

In 1993, Damien and two others were wrongly convicted of murdering 3 young boys in a small Arkansas town. The trial was widely publicized and controversial, sparking public outcries over their incarceration. For 18 years, Damien sat on death row for a crime he did not commit. Public support (with participation from Peter Jackson, Pearl Jam, Johnny Depp, and many others) eventually lead to a assessment of the case, and the eventual freeing of the three men.

During his AMA, Damien will be answering questions from supporters, and talking about his new book, Yours for Eternity: A Love Story On Death Row. The book, written with his wife Lori, chronicles an unlikely and moving romance that developed (largely through letters) while Damien was incarcerated.

Echols is a New York Times Bestselling Author and previously authored the memoir Life after Death, chronicling the 18 years he spent on death row.

The AMA is free to attend, with optional donations benefitting Boston Book Festival, an annual event that promotes culture and literacy in Massachusetts' capital. Registration for the event is encouraged in advance on Wizeo.

Source: Wizeo, July 22, 2014
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