Iranian Mom Spared Death by Stoning

An Iranian woman convicted of adultery will be spared death by stoning—but her life may still be in jeopardy. Officials have not said if she will still be executed, reports the BBC. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year old mother of 2, was charged in 2006 with having "illicit relationships" with two men after her husband died. She was later charged with adultery while married, and condemned to death by stoning, notes ABC News.

The reversal comes after an international campaign to spare her life. "If the punishment is carried out, it will disgust and appall the watching world," Britain's foreign minister said yesterday. He called stoning—in which a person is buried to the shoulders and pelted with stones until death—"medieval." Another 12 women and 3 men await execution by stoning in Iran for adultery. In 2001 a woman convicted of adultery fainted before she was buried for stoning, and was stoned to death instead strapped to a stretcher, reports the Guardian.
(More death penalty stories.)