Human Rights watch has called on Jordan to abolish the death penalty following "flawed justice" in the handling of two cases. Here is an excerpt :

New information in a murder case that led to the execution of a suspect in 2000 provides a compelling new reason for Jordan to abolish the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Jordanian justice system has failed dramatically in the murder case against Bilal Musa, executing him for murder based on a confession that was likely obtained as a result of torture, but exonerating another man who voluntarily confessed to committing the same crime.

Human Rights Watch also sent a letter to Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit urging him to abolish the death penalty. Read the full text of that here. Just last month His Majesty King Abdullah told the foreign press that Jordan would be working towards abolishing capital punishment.

As someone who strongly opposes capital punishment, I’m really hopeful that Jordan will be amongst the first nations in the Arab World to abolish this practice. With this report and the King ‘s statements, it seems the ball is already rolling. Let’s wait and see. Also make sure to read Issam Smeir’s excellent post on capital punishment.