Missionary Killer Escapes Death Sentence
An eastern Indian court reduced the death sentence of a Hindu extremist to life in prison. The man, Dara Singh, had been convicted of killing Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and the latter's two sons six years ago.
An eastern Indian court reduced the death sentence of a Hindu extremist to life in prison. The man, Dara Singh, had been convicted of killing Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and the latter's two sons six years ago.
The high court of Orissa also acquitted 11 of 12 others of whom were sentenced to life for burning Graham and his two children alive while they slept in their car in a remote eastern Indian Village in 1999, Reuters reported.
The alleged perpetrators were convicted in September 2003 after a lengthy trial. However Singh appealed the case. According to BBC news, the court found that there was no evidence to suggest that he acted alone; the charges against the others, however, could not be proven beyond doubt.
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"It is really a shock. The church has never been a supporter of capital punishment but I am concerned about the legal process in India," said John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union regarding the Thursday decision.
Staines had spent 30 years in India working with leprosy patients in Orissa. His wife, Gladys Staines, along with her daughter, stayed in India until July 2004 - working to open the Graham Staines Memorial Hospital for lepers. She has since then returned to Australia, Reuters reported.
She has so far refused to comment in regards to the recent case, reported the Press Trust of India.
After the initial verdicts in 2003, Staines reportedly said she had forgiven the killers.
In March, Gladys Staines was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government for her years of social service. The award is considered one of the highest civilian honors in the nation.
