Does capital punishment in the US undermine its authority on human rights?
Leading human rights groups have campaigned to stop both executions.
In Iran, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was sentenced to death by stoning after having been convicted of murder and adultery. The sentence led to widespread international criticism. Since then the Iranian authorities have suspended her execution by stoning, but the death sentence remains in place.
Last month, the US Secretary of State , and urged Iran to respect the fundamental freedoms of its citizens.
That's the picture in Iran.
Meanwhile, this Thursday in the American state of Virginia, another woman, Teresa Lewis, is due to be executed from lethal injection, barring a last-minute reprieve from the US Supreme Court .The 41-year-old has admitted that she conspired with two accomplices who shot and killed her husband and stepson in 2002. One of them was her lover at the time. The two gun-men were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Human rights organisation have called for a halt to her execution -
According to the Guardian newspaper, Iran's parliamentary human rights committee said
In addition to that, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has slammed the US media, arguing it provided wide coverage of Ashtiani, while ignoring Teresa Lewis's case. "A woman is going to be executed in the US but nobody cares," the Iranian president said.
So what do you think? Is Teresa Lewis's case comparable to that of Sakineh Mohammadi? Let us know.
We'll be looking at the issue on World Update on Thursday
