Castration in Nigeria and the research on government’s misconduct

A recent study found that the government’s misconduct causes 54% of wrongful criminal convictions in the United States. Police officers were involved in 34% of cases and the prosecutors in 30%, with the misconduct of both in some situations. Officials are rarely disciplined for their actions. The study relies on five types of misconduct: witness tampering, misconduct in interrogations, fabricating evidence, concealing exculpatory evidence, and misconduct at the trial.

Castration and capital punishment for the convicted of rape of a child under the age of 14 were introduced in Kaduna, Nigeria’s north-western state. The sentence for raping a person over age 14 is also castration, followed by life imprisonment under the new legislation. During the coronavirus pandemic, the number of rapes in Nigeria grew rapidly, and women’s groups called for the harsher penalties for the perpetrators.

Unicef has called on the Nigerian authorities to review an Islamic court’s decision to convict a 13-year-old boy to 10 years in prison for blasphemy. The reason for the harsh sentence was improper thoughts he voiced during an argument with a friend. Kano state, where the situation took place, applies the Sharia legal system alongside the country’s secular laws.

Drivers in the UK who cause death by speeding, as a result of racing or using a mobile phone or under the influence of drugs or alcohol may now face life imprisonment. The new law also lowers the minimal defendant’s age for the life sentence to be applied to 18.

The City Commission of Opa-locka, Florida is to repeal the ban on baggy pants that reveal the underwear. The regulation came to life in 2007. Another commission meeting is needed to effectively overturn it.