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The Kerala High Court, for the first time in its history, has decided to conduct a 'mitigation investigation' of two convicts on death row.
For this, the Court has directed the Director General of Prisons to file a report on the conduct of Nino Mathew and Muhammed Ameerul Islam, who are the two convicts and the nature of work done by them in prison. Nino Mathew is the death convict in the 2014 Attingal twin murder case and Ameerul Islam is the convict of the 2016 Perumbavoor Jisha murder case. As part of this, the High Court has decided to re-examine their death penalties by investigating their socio-economic background, psychological conditions, history of neglect or abuse that they may have faced growing up and illness. Nino is being held at Poojappura jail in Thiruvananthapuram district, while Muhammed is housed in Viyyur prison in Thrissur district. This is the first time in Kerala that the Kerala High Court is ordering a mitigation investigation. A division bench, comprising justices Alexander Thomas and C Jayachandran, issued the order. The court also appointed CP Sruthy, who is associated with Project 39A, to assess the details of Nino by visiting him in prison and conducting interviews. Nooriya Ansari will conduct the investigation into Ameer-ul Islam. The Court ordered the Jail authorities to ensure that both are enabled to conduct such assessments, including interviews, etc, on a confidential basis and proper facilities in that regard shall be made available by the jail authorities concerned. The duo have also been cleared to obtain documents and other materials pertaining to the convicts, including medical records, jail conduct, certificates of educational, vocational or employment opportunities undertaken, etc. The court directed them to file the report in a sealed cover. It further directed the State Government to ensure that both the convicts are subjected to assessment by two separate psychiatrists of the Government medical colleges concerned and also by a clinical psychologist in Government service. Earlier, a ruling from Supreme Court pointed out that mitigation investigation should consider the background of the accused, their personal circumstances, mental health and age, among other things. Jisha, a 29-year-old law student at the Ernakulam Government Law College, was found murdered on April 28, 2016, at her home in Perumbavoor. Later, police arrested an Assamese labourer, Ameer-ul-Islam, in connection with the case. The Ernakulam principal district and sessions court awarded the death penalty to him. 2014 Attingal twin murder case is a tragic incident involving two techies, Nino Mathew and Anu Shanthi, who were involved in the murder of Anu's three-year-old daughter and mother-in-law. Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Court found Anu guilty and awarded her double life imprisonment, while Nino Mathew was given a death sentence. (ANI)
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