Feb. 7
JAPAN:
Top court asks lay judges to exercise more fairness, prudence in sentencing
The death penalty is the ultimate punishment, for the life of the offender is
the price paid to atone for a crime. The Supreme Court has called for caution
and fairness in issuing death sentences. This judgment is understandable.
The top court has upheld separate rulings by the Tokyo High Court that
overturned death sentences issued in lay judge trials at district courts for
murder-robbery charges, and commuted the sentences to life imprisonment.
In each of the 2 cases, there was only 1 murder victim. In conventional trials
involving only judges, there have been few cases in which a death sentence was
issued after the murder was determined not to have been premeditated.
In upholding the high court decisions, the Supreme Court said, "Even in lay
judge trials, deliberations on sentences must be conducted based on past
judgments on punishment." This made it clear that the top court attaches weight
to judicial precedents that have been accumulated over a long period of time.
In handing down a death sentence, the Chiba District Court placed great weight
on the fact that the accused had repeatedly robbed and sexually assaulted women
before and after he killed a female Chiba University student. In the other
case, the Tokyo District Court issued a death sentence for killing a man in a
robbery on the grounds that the accused had a previous criminal record having
murdered his wife and child.
Regarding the Chiba case, the top court said the district court's decision "put
too much emphasis on the antisocial personality of the accused." Concerning the
Tokyo case, the top court said, "There is a tenuous relationship between the
defendant's criminal record and the murder."
Convincing reasons vital
The top court also said, "In imposing capital punishment, it is necessary to
present concrete and persuasive reasons." This means that such a perspective
was absent in the death sentences determined by lay judge trials at the
district courts.
The purpose of the lay judge system is to reflect the public's perspectives and
societal values in court rulings. In its past decisions, the top court also
presented the view that the judgments of lay judges must be respected.
Some have questioned the top court's decisions that overturned the judgments
made by lay judges after long hours of painstaking deliberations.
But it must be noted that if the way death sentences are decided changes
greatly from what was adopted conventionally, it will undermine fairness, which
is the very basis of the judicial system.
In deliberating sentences, it is imperative for judges and lay judges to hold
prudent discussions while taking past precedents into consideration.
Of course, there are cases when choosing the ultimate penalty is unavoidable.
An example of this is the act of indiscriminate murder that occurred in 2008 on
a street in Akihabara, Tokyo. 7 people were killed and 10 others were injured,
some seriously.
The accused was indicted before the lay judge system was enforced in May 2009,
so the trial at the Tokyo District Court was held only by professional judges.
The Tokyo High Court and the Supreme Court upheld the district court's death
sentence.
In handing down its ruling on the case on Feb. 2, the top court denounced the
defendant's act, saying, "It was a well-prepared and indiscriminate murder
committed based on strong murderous intent." The court concluded that "there is
no choice but to uphold the death penalty."
To help deter heinous crimes, it is necessary to take a firm stance when ruling
on cases that leave no room for lenience.
(source: The Yomiuri Shimbun)
LEBANON:
Lebanese top judicial authority sentence 22 militants to death in absentia
Lebanon's judicial council has issued 22 members of the militant group, Fatah
Al-Islam, with the death penalty, and several others with hard labour sentences
all in absentia.
The sentenced individuals "sought, through different means, to support the
cause and achieve the goals of this organisation," read the verdict published
by state press.
They worked to create a base for their "terrorist operations" in Lebanon, which
include "explosives, murder, robbery and other crimes," the country's supreme
judicial authority said.
They aim to "weaken Lebanon, and destabilize confidence in its institutions,
namely the military, amid plans to form a fundamentalist Takfiri state in the
north, first, before expanding to other areas." The decision mentioned that the
individuals have taken part in fighting against Lebanese army and security
forces, leading to the killing of several soldiers and the wounding of others,
along with destruction and damage caused to military buildings and offices.
Fatah Al-Islam were involved in fighting with the Lebanese army which lasted
105 days at Nahr Al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
The clashes led to the killing of 170 soldiers and over 200 members of the
militant group.
(source: Kuwait News Agency)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Saudi beheadings more frequent, 'more legitimate' than ISIS
Saudi Arabian government officials faced extreme backlash after a leaked video
showed the brutal public beheading of a woman, who proclaimed her innocence as
a man chopped off her head. The video led to many comparisons to the Islamic
State who also behead their victims in public.
Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki told NBC News the
punishments are not similar, since the Islamic State "has no legitimate way to
decide to kill people."
"When we do it in Saudi Arabia, we do it as a decision made by a court," he
explained. "The killing is a decision, I mean it is not based on arbitrary
choices, to kill this and not to kill this. When you kill somebody without
legitimate basis, without justice system, without court, that is still a crime
whether you behead them or kill [them] with a gun."
Middle East news site Middle East Eye tweeted a picture that shows similarities
between Islamic State and Saudi Arabia punishments.
The 4 Saudi men were convicted on charges of luring a Saudi man, stealing from
him and killing him.
The latest beheading brings to 25 the number of people executed across the Arab
state so far this year. Last year, Saudi authorities executed 87 people, up
from 78 recorded in 2013.
Danny Makki from the Syrian youth movement in the UK told RT that the West is
also to blame.
"What we have is a group such as ISIS [Islamic State] which is present in the
Middle East. It's one of the biggest terrorist movements in the world. And we
have a government which is allied to Western nations, Saudi Arabia, which
perpetrates the same form of violence on its own population, acts such as
beheadings, killings. This is all done in the name of Islam; it???s done in the
name of religion. It misrepresents religion.
A few weeks before the Saudi king died, a woman was executed in Mecca. She was
beheaded. And this is the center of Islam. This is the center of pilgrimage for
millions of Muslims all over the world. And for Saudi Arabia, a country which
is an American ally, a UK ally, to do this at the same time when ISIS is
beheading all of these individuals in Syria and Iraq ... It really speaks
measures for Western silence and complicity with human rights abuses in forms
of punishment such as this, which is horrific, in Saudi Arabia," he explained.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking all carry the death
penalty under the Saudi penal code.
(source: The Global Dispatch)
PAKISTAN:
Crippled death-row convict moves LHC
A disabled Christian man - who, along with his wife, is facing to death penalty
for alleged blasphemy and has been languishing in jail for 2 years - has moved
an appeal in Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking his bail in view of his
deteriorating health condition.
Shafqat Masih and Shagufta Kausar were arrested on July 20, 2013 after being
accused of sending a blasphemous SMS to a local cleric. They were awarded the
death sentence on April 4, 2014. Shafqat, who cannot move without a
wheel-chair, has moved the LHC for suspension of his punishment till final
decision on his appeal.M
In his application, he submitted that he has developed bed-sores and may die in
jail as there is no possibility of a better treatment there.
He said there were serious contradictions in witness accounts against him and
he is hopeful of an acquittal on his appeal. Shafqat has requested that he be
released on bail so that he can spend his life with his children and get proper
treatment. The application will be heard on March 5.
(source: The Express Tribune)
BAHAMAS:
Lawyer Cites Publicity's Effect On Jury In Child Killer's Trial
Court of Appeal judges were told by convicted child killer Kofhe Goodman's
lawyer that he would seek a deferment of a retrial if the court allowed the
appeal against his client's murder conviction and death sentence due to the
publicity of the matter.
Wayne Munroe, QC, was responding to a question posed by Justices Anita Allen,
Neville Adderley and Jon Isaacs on what the appellant was seeking to achieve if
the court set aside the conviction and punishment concerning the September 2011
murder of Marco Archer, 11, of Brougham Street.
As yesterday's substantive hearing was unable to begin due to some parts of the
trial transcripts being unavailable, the judges sought to determine the
appellant's end goal.
Mr Munroe explained that the issue of pre-trial publicity of the case and its
possible effect on the jury was a ground of appeal that was filed.
He added that if the court were to find merit on this ground, in that the jury
had not been reasonably questioned on their knowledge of media reports in the
matter, then there would have to be a remedy.
The QC suggested that a deferment of a retrial, until the publicity subsides,
would be best.
The appellate court adjourned the matter to March 4 for a status hearing.
Mr Munroe was told that he would be given two weeks to comply with the court's
new practice directive in filing a transcript index outlining the specific
portions of the transcript on which he intends to rely during the appeal.
This would allow Crown respondent, Director of Public Prosecutions Garvin
Gaskin, to file submissions in response.
The appellate court put the new measure in place, effective January 23, due to
cases like Goodman's, whose trial lasted 4 months and had transcripts exceeding
1,000 pages.
In 2013, trial judge Justice Bernard Turner, in handing down his sentence,
noted that abducting a child, fracturing his skull with a blow to the head,
placing a bag around his head and discarding his naked, lifeless body in bushes
can be considered to be "the worst of the worst" in the guidelines for
sentencing set out by Parliament.
Justice Turner, in considering the death penalty, regarded the mitigating
factors and the circumstances of the case - Goodman's previous convictions for
unnatural carnal knowledge in 1993, attempted murder and causing grievous harm
in August 1998 - and was "satisfied that the circumstances of this case
required that a penalty be imposed."
"This case is a clear and compelling case for the ultimate sentence of death,
to satisfy the requirements of due punishment for the murder of this child and
to protect this society from any further predatory conduct by this convict at
any time in the future. Kofhe Edwardo Ferguson Goodman, I hereby sentence you
to suffer death in the manner authorised by law," the judge had previously
ruled.
(source: Tribune242)
INDIA:
Rape of Nepalese woman: Women's commission for death to culprits
The state women's commission will recommend death as penalty for the rape and
murder of a Nepalese woman (28) here, which it has described as horrendous
crime.
On February 1, the mentally challenged Nepalese woman living with her sister at
Chinyot Colony here had gone missing; and on February 4, her mutilated body was
found in a field of a village nearby. Autopsy confirmed rape and multiple
injuries all over the body. On Friday, state women's commission chairperson
Kamlesh Panchal and vice-chairperson Suman Dahiya visited the family of the
victim and met Rohtak senior superintendent of police (SSP) Shashank Anand.
Panchal assured the family that the commission would demand nothing less than
gallows for the culprits. The commission took a serious note of the allegation
against the police of being lax in investigation. Local member of Parliament
Deepender Singh Hooda and local legislator Munish Grover also visited the
family and promised it support.
SIT activates cyber cell
The special investigation team (SIT) led by deputy superintendent of police
(DSP) Amit Bhatia has activated its cyber cell for a breakthrough in the case.
The recovery of the body far from the woman's house has baffled the police, and
now its cyber cell will to trace the mobile-phone users who were active near
the crime spot in the past few days.
On Friday, it rounded up several people for questioning.
Nepalese people to hold protest
The crime has outraged the Nepali community. The Mool Pravaha Akhil Bharat
Nepali Ekta Samaj and Pravasi Nepali Sangh Bharat will assemble their members
at Mansarovar Park here on Sunday for a candlelight vigil and protest. The
Nepali organisations has also invited local volunteer bodies to join in
agitation.
(source: Hindustan Times)
BANGLADESH:
Govt mulls law with death penalty to curb political violence: Suranjit
The government is considering a law providing for capital punishment to
saboteurs to curb political violence, says Suranjit Sengupta, chairman of the
Standing Committee on the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, reports
bdnews24.com.
Speaking at a discussion on Friday in Dhaka, he said the government was
determined to restore peace and order in the country.
His comments comes as a BNP-sponsored month-long violent street campaign to
press for a snap election has claimed more than 50 lives, mostly in
fire-bombing.
Both the US and UK said they were deeply concerned over the ongoing political
violence in Bangladesh.
Neighbouring India has left it to Dhaka to solve its own problems.
Political violence in the run up to the 2014 general elections left a number of
people, including policemen, dead.
The economy bore the brunt of the violent campaigns.
"A strict law is being formulated to prevent violence," Suranjit Sengupta, also
the ruling Awami League's Advisory Council member, said.
"It will have provisions for both maximum penalty and life imprisonment.
"We will soon implement what we have discussed," he said.
(source: The Financial Express)
GLOBAL:
The death penalty is a burden on the world
2 Australians citizens face firing squads in Indonesia for drug offences that
were uncovered as a result of Australian Federal Police tipping off Indonesian
police.
The drugs were headed to Australia, where the 2 men would have received
significant sentences had they been convicted.
They could not have been extradited back to Indonesia, because we don't deport
any prisoner to any place where they might face the death penalty.
Australian officials can inform on their own citizens in situations like Bali,
where they know execution is probable, but wash their hands of responsibility
for the unjust deaths caused by their own tip-offs. The government would not
extradite American Gabe Watson to Alabama if he faced the death penalty for the
murder of his wife in Queensland on their honeymoon. Watson is white. Andrew
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are not. Watson was an alleged killer. Chan and
Sukumaran are not - they are just drug dealers.
The new Indonesian President Joko Widodo flexed his considerable muscle and
approved six executions of foreign and local drug dealers in his 1st few months
of office. On Friday he confirmed that the 2 Australians would be killed this
month, unfortunately for them the shortest month of the year. The Dutch and
Brazilian governments were outraged at the recent executions of their citizens
in Indonesia for drug offences.
Governments who use such terror tactics to impose their will should be careful,
lest the tactics be turned on them. The French had a tradition during the 1700s
of quartering prisoners as a public spectacle. The 4 limbs of the convicted
were tied to 4 oxen that were driven in every which way to tear the person
apart.
The upper classes on the other hand, if convicted, could purchase death by
beheading or hanging. The axemen responsible for carrying out these acts
complained to King Louis XVI of France that the neck bones of the condemned
were too thick for clean chopping: It was painful and exhausting for them and
for the victims. Doctor Joseph-Ignace Guillotin argued, as a humanitarian, that
there should be no capital punishment, but in the interim settled for inventing
the guillotine. The machines introduced brevity to execution, allowed gravity
to wield the axe and brought levity to the crowd of onlookers, who stared for
signs of life in the heads gathered in conveniently located baskets. In time,
Louis XVI himself, an amateur locksmith, is said to have added to the ultimate
design of the guillotine. He was, by an ironic twist of both fate and the
knife, beheaded benignly by his own machine in 1793.
One of the problems of capital punishment is that it is so final. If an appeal
is ultimately successful or future research - such as DNA evidence - renders
the conviction a mistaken, it is extraordinarily hard to uphold the appeal and
bring the dead back to life. In 2002 a brave American Federal Judge ruled the
death penalty was unconstitutional because there was an undue risk that
innocent people could be executed. Judge Jed S. Rakoff cited cases in which
death-row inmates had been exonerated by DNA or other evidence. The government
argued that DNA testing was now available to all and would reduce the risk of
mistaken convictions. Judge Rakoff chided the government: "This completely
misses the point ... what DNA testing has proved beyond cavil, is the
remarkable degree of fallibility in the basic fact-finding processes on which
we rely in criminal cases."
Ironically it was 2 expert, genetically qualified lawyers who had destroyed the
police case against O.J. Simpson who later, perhaps through guilt, set up the
Innocence Project to use the science to exonerate wrongly convicted people.
The current US Supreme Court has ordered the stay of execution of three
Oklahoma men on the grounds that the current methods of lethal injection cause
too much pain and uncertainty. International Big Pharma had refused to ship to
the government stocks of Sodium Pentothal for injections which work quickly
and, forgive me, relatively painlessly. No adequate substitute for this drug
could be found by the best brains in Oklahoma. Until the Supreme Court rules on
whether the current drug of choice midazolam - which takes up to 40 minutes to
work - is cruel or unusual punishment, no heads will roll in Oklahoma. Whatever
else may be said about it, the guillotine was quick and efficient. It would set
the world upside down if America allowed capital punishment, but only by
decapitation.
In Saudi Arabia the late King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud left this world
with a rash of beheadings in his last six months of life, handed out for drug
dealing offences and, in one case, the practice of black magic sorcery. The new
King Salman, the Lenient One, kicked off his office with four executions in the
first week. In a defying show of strength and oneupmanship, IS has resorted to
the traditional witch burning methods of medieval Europe by lighting up an
unfortunate Jordanian fighter jet pilot. The Jordanian King Abdullah retaliated
by donning his airforce uniform and threatening to fly missions himself against
IS. Unlike President Bush, King Abdullah could actually fly and accomplish his
mission. He ordered the immediate execution of a female terrorist whose bomb,
strapped to her body, did not go off.
The world is rapidly changing. Princess Sara bint Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud,
38, a senior member of Saudi Arabia's royal family, has filed for political
asylum in Britain after accusing the Saudi government of plotting to kidnap her
to smuggle her back to Riyadh. She has been living in a 5-star London hotel
with her four children and two dogs, guarded by private security, since 2007.
She had fallen out with her father, Prince Talal, and lived on the favours of
her uncle Crown Prince Nayef until his death in 2012. Her brother, prince
Al-Waleed bin Talal, had been, until last week ,the 2nd largest shareholder in
News Corporation. His withdrawal from Sith Lord Murdoch's Galactic Empire has
threatened the stability of the Sun King. Princess Sara is battling her older
brother, Prince Turki, for their dead mother's fortune, which is locked in
vaults in Switzerland and other places.
There was more than a sense of history repeating itself when Princes Sara was
asked by a journalist if she was ferried everywhere by Rolls Royce. She
replied: "I hate Rolls Royces, I love Aston Martins." 6 months after Louis XVI
was beheaded it is said that, when facing the executioners' block, his wife
Queen Marie Antoinette queried what the mob was so mad about. "They have no
bread, Majesty," they told her. "Well then, give 'em croissants for God's
sake!" she exclaimed.
Chan and Sukumaran could be comforted by reading the great British Empire
writer Kipling, who wrote: "If you can keep your head when all about you are
losing theirs and blaming it on you ... if you can dream - and not make dreams
your master ... if you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with
Kings - nor lose the common touch ... yours is the Earth and everything that's
in it, and which is more, you'll be a Man, my son."
(source: Commentary, Charles Waterstreet; Brisbane Times)
INDONESIA:
Bali 9 duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran 'were meant to get life in prison'
The lawyer who represented Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran when they were
first sentenced to death has made a surprise visit to the 2 men in Kerobokan
jail, hinting that he is aware of new evidence that could save them.
Muhammad Rifan visited the pair on Saturday and revealed that they were
originally meant to be sentenced to life in jail but that "intervention" at the
time ensured they got death.
Mr Rifan, who stopped representing the pair after they got the death penalty
and failed to win any appeals after being advised to plead innocence, has not
spoken to the 2 Australians for years.
But yesterday he came, unannounced, to Kerobokan prison to see them and emerged
to say that he had conveyed new information to Sukumaran which could help them
in pleading for their lives.
He said the new information or evidence would require support from the
Australian Government but he refused to explain further.
The pair's current lawyers have foreshadowed further legal action next week in
a bid to save their lives but have not said what form it would take.
Mr Rifan said that the two Sydney men were meant to be sentenced to life not
death on the day of their verdict in the Denpasar District Court.
"At that time, they actually will be sentenced to life. There are several
factors that caused them to be sentenced to death at that time. We saw there
was intervention at that time," Mr Rifan said.
"The panel of Judges, I am very sure, also feel regret. Because after they
sentenced them to death, they said to me that actually it was not what they
want."
Mr Rifan said that he now felt regret at what has transpired and that Chan and
Sukumaran are now just weeks from being shot dead by firing squad.
"For sure, I feel regret that the legal system is easily interfered with," he
said.
"We can feel it at that time. So the judges in the Denpasar court, the Bali
High Court, as well as the Supreme Court did not escape from the intervention
of the Government at that time," Mr Rifan said.
He said he had provided information to Sukumaran that could help in the future
legal strategies. Sukumaran undertook to talk to his now lawyers, he said.
Asked why he had come to the jail to see the men on Saturday, Mr Rifan said he
wanted to give them further information and options to use in any further legal
action.
And he echoed a view being articulated by many within the jail system in
Indonesia - Chan and Sukumaran are more use to the system alive not dead.
They have set up and run a host of rehabilitation programs in the jail,
teaching inmates valuable skills to help them rehabilitate and break the
revolving cycle of crime and jail.
"They do not deserve to be sentenced to death. They were stupid children not
thinking about the long term."
It comes as the Australian Embassy in Jakarta was told by the Indonesian
Foreign Ministry on Thursday that Chan and Sukumaran would die this month. But
so far no date has been set and the country's Attorney-General has yet to
confirm details for the next executions.
The Chan and Sukumaran families have been in Bali for the past few weeks,
keeping a desperate vigil, hoping against hope for a miracle, since learning
that both men???s Presidential clemency bids had been rejected.
They were at the jail again Saturday visiting both young men, as was the Sydney
pastor of the church attended by Sukumaran's family.
Mithran Chellappah from the C3 Church said he had known Myuran Sukumaran for
the past 15 years.
He said in "their state of condemnation" Sukumaran and Chan had achieved much
more than others, himself included and that allowing them to live would achieve
much more than killing them.
"They can be a wonderful experience to someone turning their life around,"
Pastor Chellappah said outside the jail.
And former and current jail inmates have written a series of emotional letters,
pleading for life, some even offering to take their place in front of the
firing squad.
(source: news.com.au)
******************
Prisoners write to save Bali 9 duo----Prisoners in Kerobokan jail are writing
open letters about how condemned Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan
should not be executed.
Kerobokan prisoners are writing letters they hope will save the lives of
Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan - men they regard as their
mentors, brothers and sons.
Sukumaran, 33, and Chan, 31, have been notified they will be executed this
month for leading the 2005 Bali 9 attempt to smuggle heroin into Australia.
The news on Friday was a blow to the men and their families, but also to their
many friends inside the Bali prison.
The pair have initiated various classes that have helped people stay off drugs,
focusing their minds on productive activities and building skills for life
after prison.
Their fellow prisoners can't imagine life in jail without the outreach of Chan,
who is studying to become a pastor, and worry what will become of Sukumaran's
art school.
They are writing letters - some to President Joko Widodo and his government -
others addressed to no one in particular, pleading for their friends' lives.
One Indonesian inmate, Rico Richardo, writes that he is willing to take Chan's
place at the execution, after the Australian paid for his medical care when he
was gravely ill.
Meanwhile, Sukumaran is funding much-needed surgery for a Filipina inmate,
Maria Cecilia Jusay Lopez, by selling 2 paintings.
Sukumaran was very concerned to ensure it was arranged before his execution.
"He encourages us that even (though) we are in this prison we can still learn
more and be a good example to others," she says.
Prisoner I Wayan Sudiasa writes about his life-changing experience in
Sukumaran's art classes.
"I am amazed at Myuran. I am proud of Myuran," he writes.
"He is a prisoner who was sentenced to death by a judge, who became a coach,
teacher and painting guide in Kerobokan.
"Try to find Indonesians like Myuran."
Mr Joko is the only person who can spare the men from execution, but under
political pressure to look decisive, he is enacting a policy of no mercy to
death row drug offenders.
EXCERPTS OF LETTERS FROM INSIDE:
- Andre Wijaya: "I am a living witness, for 4.5 years with these 2 death row
inmates. I assure you the 2 inmates have repented ... it can be verified
directly with every resident of Kerobokan jail."
- Stefanus Mehang: "I know Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. They are
dignified, modest and extraordinary personalities. I beg deeply for forgiveness
for them both."
- Rico Richardo: "If Your Honour Bapak President still insists on executing
Andrew Chan, I, Rico Richardo as an Indonesian citizen, am ready to replace
Andrew Chan to be executed."
- Rizki Pratama: "If only the government and the president knew what he's been
doing in this prison. Andrew Chan does not deserve to receive the death
penalty."
(source: sbs.com.au)
***********************
Indonesia must stop executions
Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) is disturbed by the
recent execution of 6 persons in Indonesia in January 2015, and the possibility
that many more will be executed in the near future.
Indonesia seems to have had an unofficial moratorium on executions for several
years from 2008 but resumed capital punishment again in 2013. There were
apparently no executions in 2014.
After President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo took office in October 2014, things
changed. On or about Jan 18, 2015, 6 persons were executed by firing squad. 5
foreigners and an Indonesian woman convicted on drug trafficking charges were
killed.
'President Joko says that Indonesia is in a "state of emergency" with regard to
rampant drug trafficking across Indonesia, and he believes that this problem
could be solved by executions. He is wrong, and Madpet reiterates that the
death penalty does not deter drug offences.
In March 2012, it was revealed in the Malaysian Parliament by then-home
minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, that the mandatory death penalty has been shown
to have failed to act as a deterrent. Police statistics for the arrests of drug
dealers under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the
mandatory death penalty, for the past 3 years (2009 to 2011) have shown an
increase.
In 2009, 2,955 were arrested under this section. In 2010, 3,700 people were
arrested, whilst in 2011, 3,845 were arrested. (Free Malaysia Today, March 19,
2012, 'Death penalty not deterring drug trade')
Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairperson Lee Lam Thye also did
note in July 2013 that the death sentence had not deterred the drug trade.
It is also now accepted that many persons facing the death penalty for drug
trafficking are really 'mules', many of whom are young people who have been
tricked, or those who are financially disadvantaged.
Cases like that of Malaysian Umi Azlim Mohamad Lazim, 24, a graduate from a
poor Malay family of rice farmers, and young Malaysian Yong Vui Kong who were
once facing death for drug trafficking, who since then had their sentences
commuted, have opened many eyes as to why the death penalty need to be
abolished, especially for drug offences. Malaysia is seriously moving towards
the abolition of the death penalty.
Indonesia needs to consider the Malaysian experience, and immediately put a
stop to its plans to execute even more convicted drug traffickers. There is
really no empirical evidence to support the notion that the death penalty
serves as an effective deterrent to the commission of crimes.
Further, no criminal justice legal system in the world is foolproof, error-free
or fail-safe. In the instance of the death penalty, there is no opportunity to
correct an error, as the execution of the death sentence is irreversible. We
recall the Taiwan case of Chiang Kuo-ching, a private in the air force, who was
executed in error in 1997 for a murder, which the Taiwan government did admit
was an error in 2011.
UN Resolution to establish moratorium
On Dec 18, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a
Resolution to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing
the death penalty. 117 member states voted in favour of the resolution, 38
voted against and 34 abstained. This was the 5th time a resolution on this
issue has been passed.
In December 2012, being the last time, 111 states voted in favour, 41 against
and 34 abstained. In 2007, only 104 nations that supported. In 2008, this
increased to 106. In 2010, 108 countries voted in favour and now in 2014, 117
member countries voted in favour. There is no doubt that the global community
is more and more for the abolition of the death penalty.
Indonesia, being a member nation of the global community, should adhere to
these UNGA Resolutions and immediately establish a moratorium on all executions
in Indonesia.
It has been reported that President Joko has stated that he will reject the
clemency petitions for all drug traffickers on death row, which is about 57
persons. This is certainly not proper or just, for each and every application
for clemency should be considered separately and without prejudice by the
president on its merits. (Jakarta Post, Jan 30, 2015).
The presidential power to grant clemency is most important in death penalty
cases as this the last safeguard against wrongful conviction and therefore
wrongful execution.
Madpet urges Indonesia to immediately stop any further executions, and
immediately comply with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution and
establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death
penalty.
(source: Charles Hector is a coordinator of Malaysians Against Death Penalty
and Torture (Madpet)----Malaysiakini.com)
***********************
Nigerian Drug Dealer Could Face Firing Squad After Found With 1.7 Kilograms of
Meth
A Nigerian drug dealer could face the death penalty after he was caught with
nearly 1.7 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine at his rented home in Central
Jakarta, police say.
Sr. Comr. Eko Danianto, chief of the Jakarta Police's narcotics unit, said the
man, who was identified as CO, was arrested on Wednesday at his house in
Cempaka Putih following tip-offs from local residents.
"The police confiscated 28 packets of crystal meth weighing in total 1,699
grams hidden in a bag, 1 electric scale, 2 mobile phones, and a passport," Eko
said.
Police said CO received the drugs from another Nigerian, identified as CN, who
is at large.
"CN delivers the stuff to CO through a woman with initials MNC in Jakarta,"
said Eko. "We're still developing our investigation to reveal their network."
According to Eko, CO would be charged with article 114 of a 2009 Law on Drugs
and could face the death penalty.
(source: Jakarta Globe)
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