June 2
GLOBAL:
The Bible and the Death Penalty
I have always been disturbed by the number of times the Bible declares “He, She
or It, shall be put to death.” It doesn’t matter the severity of the crime.
Being brought up in a liberal western society and having discovered how many
innocent men and women have been wrongly put to death by judicial systems, I
cannot accept the very idea of capital punishment. Let’s leave Nazis out of
this. Death was too easy for them.
Seeing the way the Bible seemingly loosely throws capital punishment around
makes me feel very uneasy.
I used to justify the Bible in different ways. For instance, punishments in the
Bible were there to give priorities. Imagine a visitor from space landing on
earth with no cultural or moral background. How would it be able to
differentiate between a serious crime and a minor one? Between jaywalking or
dropping litter as opposed to stealing from a store or killing someone? Or the
difference between accidental homicide and intentional murder? Laws of other
countries are often confusing for newcomers from different cultural worlds. Why
should honor killings, female circumcision, forced marriages, beating one’s
wife, or wanting to kill Jews not be allowed if they are tolerated or even
encouraged elsewhere?
Seeing what the punishments were would be the easiest way of working out what
mattered more.
I used to argue that, in the Bible, circumstantial evidence was not acceptable.
Unlike our modern so-called “enlightened countries” and legal systems, the
Torah required two actual adult witnesses who were not related. And even if you
could find such witnesses, you would need another two unrelated witnesses who
could testify that the perpetrator had been warned in advance and told what the
punishment would be. Only then could the judges convict and apply the death
penalty.
Imagine you and a friend saw a fellow with a scimitar rush into a house yelling
that he was going to kill someone. You heard a scream and a few minutes later,
out he came brandishing a bloody sword. You rushed in and saw a decapitated
body minus a head in a pool of fresh blood. Jewish Law would not be able to
pass a death penalty without two independent people being present to witness
and two others to testify about warning. Only a suicidal maniac could ever be
sentenced to death. Although the authorities could still impose other
punishments or decide that he was a danger to society and he ought to be sent
to a city of refuge.
It is true that later Rabbinic law invented another form of death by the sword
as a punishment in order for a king to deal with traitors or threats. But that
was not in the Bible. Still, seeing the bare text without context never sat
easily.
Great rabbis agreed with me (or I with them). The Mishna in Makot (1:10) says,
“A Sanhedrin that put a man to death in seventy years is called murderous.
Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah said once in seventy years. Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi
Akivah said that if they had been on the Sanhedrin, they would never have
passed a death sentence.” That’s pretty progressive. So much for Bloody Mary
Tudor! Though there was a more conservative point of view from the big boss at
the time, Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel, who said that removing the death penalty
would only encourage more murders.
And given that for 2,000 years under Christianity and Islam, Jewish courts had
no right to execute anyone even if all conditions were met, I think we have
every reason to feel proud of ourselves. Even so, I still felt bad.
Until an article in The Economist of May 4, 2019 finally salved my conscience.
2 books were reviewed. The first, The Goodness Paradox by Richard Wrangham,
examined why it was that chimpanzees on one side of the Congo river had evolved
to be so aggressive and murderous — even with each other — whereas bonobos on
the other side were peace-loving. One of his theories was that the chimps lived
in a wild, bad environment with nasty gorillas for neighbors. They had to learn
to be violent to survive. And the violence in their genes affected their own
social relations.
Whereas the bonobos lived in a less threatening environment. They were able to
evolve more peacefully. Aha! I thought. That’s it. The Israelites lived right
in the middle of all these violent civilizations: the Canaanites, the
Philistines, the Egyptians, the Hittites, the Arameans, the Assyrians, the
Babylonians, and the Persians not to mention the later arrival of the Greeks
and the Romans. They had to be tough, quarrelsome, and aggressive to survive.
Though I think I’d rather put my money on God rather than the chimpanzees. But
it did make me feel a lot better.
The 2nd book was Blueprint by Nicholas Christakis. In it he described how 2
shipwrecks on different sides of the same island 300 miles south of New Zealand
in 1864 produced very different outcomes. The Invercauld had 19 survivors of
the wreck and only 3 of those survivors made it to safety. The Grafton, on the
other hand, had only 5 survivors but they all made it to safety.
Christakis discovered that the Captain of the Invercauld was a selfish brute
who instilled the idea that every man should fend for himself. The Captain of
the Grafton, on the other hand, encouraged them to stick together and
cooperate. This “social suite” helped them survive. He argues that it isn’t
just what we learn from others but that our genes can evolve to push us towards
being better human beings if we are encouraged to share.
He also argues that certain types of aggression in humans and animals can be
instrumental in getting societies to live together in harmony. This may involve
rooting out the nasty, non-cooperative miscreants and sending a signal that bad
behavior will be punished.
Societies, he claims, need to threaten dire punishments for non-cooperative
behavior in order to achieve a peaceful state — particularly if everyone else
around is violent. Be good to your neighbors, otherwise they may gang up
against you or refuse to help fight off the baddies.
There are a lot of contradictions here — and much speculation. As with many
such theories, it is only a theory. Even so, it rings true to me. If God wanted
the Jews to survive, then, like Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue,” they’d have to
be tough and learn to cooperate. The gory punishments — death for this and
death for that — were a way of telling them that if they wanted to live in a
peaceful society they had better get their act together or disappear like the
other bullies in the yard.
(source: Rabbi Jeremy Rosen received his rabbinic ordination from Mir Yeshiva
in Jerusalem. He also studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Cambridge
University, and went on to earn his PhD in philosophy. He has worked in the
rabbinate, Jewish education, and academia for more than 40 years, in Europe and
the US. He currently lives in the USA, where he writes, teaches, lectures, and
serves as rabbi of a small community in New York----algemeiner.com)
IRAQ:
Iraqi Court Sentences 2 French Men to Death for Being Islamic State Fighters
An Iraqi court sentenced 2 French men to death on Sunday after finding them
guilty of being members of Islamic State, a prosecutor told Reuters.
Iraq is conducting trials of thousands of suspected Islamic State fighters,
including hundreds of foreigners, with many arrested as the group's strongholds
crumbled.
President Emmanuel Macron's government has said France respects Iraqi
sovereignty, but opposes the death penalty.
Sunday's sentences bring the number of French citizens facing the death penalty
in Iraq to 9, the prosecutor said, adding that another 3 are due to stand trial
on Monday.
"There was sufficient evidence to hand down a death sentence. They both were
fighters of the terrorist Islamic State organization," the prosecutor said of
the convictions, which can be appealed.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday that France was
intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent 4 of its citizens being executed in
Iraq after they were sentenced to death for belonging to Islamic State.
All the 9 French men convicted so far were extradited to Iraq in February and
military sources at the time said that 14 French citizens were among 280 Iraqi
and foreign detainees handed over by the U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF).
(source: Thomson Reuters)
**********************
Iraq condemns 8th French IS member to death
An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death an 8th Frenchman for joining the
Islamic State group, rejecting his claims he was tortured into confessing.
Fodil Tahar Aouidate, 32, first appeared in court on May 27 but a judge delayed
his trial to allow for a medical examination.
"The medical report shows that there are no signs of torture on his body," the
judge told the court.
Aouidate showed no reaction when the judge handed down his death sentence,
according to an AFP journalist at the trial.
He was one of 11 French citizens and a Tunisian handed over to Iraqi
authorities early this year by a US-backed force in Syria which expelled the
jihadist group from its last bastion.
A Baghdad court had already handed capital punishments to seven of the French
jihadists and the Tunisian over the past week and Aouidate will now join them
on death row.
Interrogated for 4 months, Aouidate alleged he was beaten to "confess" to the
charges levelled against him.
During his first hearing he showed marks on his back to the judge, who
requested a medical examination and report.
Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Iraqi interrogators of "using a range of
torture techniques" and condemned France's "outsourcing" of trials of IS
suspects to "abusive justice systems".
France has long insisted its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face
trial before local courts, while stressing its opposition to capital
punishment.
Iraqi law provides for the death penalty for anyone joining a "terrorist group"
-- even those who did not take up arms.
Aouidate first went to Syria in 2013 and returned in 2014 with 22 members of
his family to join IS, according to the French judiciary.
Authorities also linked him to Belgium's Salafist movement including Abdelhamid
Abaaoud, the presumed mastermind of the 2015 Paris attacks.
France convicted two of Aouidate's sisters for "financing terrorism" for
sending 15,000 euros to relatives in Syria.
(source: france24.com)
BANGLADESH:
FAKE, SUBSTANDARD MEDICINE----Death penalty for producers, sellers demanded
The producers and sellers of fake and substandard medicines, deceiving patients
and even killing them, are getting away with the heinous crimes, discussants
said at a seminar on Saturday.
They demanded capital punishment for the producers and sellers of fake and
substandard medicines as they said their crimes are not less grave than
assailants [who make attacks for killing].
Debate for Democracy and ATN Bangla organised the seminar at the ATN Bangla
auditorium.
Speaking as the chief guest, Consumers Association of Bangladesh president
Ghulam Rahman said that producers and sellers of fake and substandard medicines
sometimes get arrested but they resume their activities after they are
released.
‘The capital punishment for such unscrupulous people, who play with the life of
patients, is a timely demand,’ he said.
He regretted that while people in Bangladesh were concerned about halal foods,
they were not similarly concerned about halal practice.
Drug Administration’s former director general Major General Mustafizur Rahman
said that intake of fake and substandard medicines was not only ineffective for
a patient but also was harmful for them due to chemical substances used in the
medicines.
‘A zero tolerance policy should be taken against fake and substandard
medicines,’ he observed.
He further noted that the global reputation of Bangladeshi medicines was being
ruined due to the fake and substandard medicines.
‘About five per cent medicines in the market are fake,’ said Mustafizur, adding
that the proposed Drug Act 2016 which stipulated punishment for the sale of
fake and substandard medicines should be enacted soon.
ATN Bangla chairman Mahfuzur Rahman proposed for mandatory barcode use in the
strips of medicines to stop counterfeit medicines.
Debate for Democracy chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury, too, has demanded
provisions of stern punishment including death penalty and life term
imprisonment for those who produce and sell fake and substandard medicines.
(source: newagebd.net)
MALYASIA:
Unemployed man charged with murdering two-year-old stepson
An unempoyed man was charged at the magistrate’s court here today with the
murder of his 2-year-old stepson in Yan last month.
The accused, Sofiyudin Abu Bakar, 28, nodded in understanding when the charge
was read to him before Magistrate Nurulrasyidah Mohd Akit.
However, no plea was recorded.
According to the charge sheet, the man was alleged to have murdered the boy,
Muhammad Aqil Hairi Mohd Azrul, at an unnumbered house at Batu 19 3/4 Jalan
Yan-Guar Chempedak, Yan, between 7.30pm and 8pm on May 25.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a mandatory
death penalty upon conviction.
Meanwhile, at the same court, his wife Nurul Natasha Roslan, 23, who is the
biological mother of the boy, was released on bail bond of RM10,000. The court
set Aug 5 for remention.
The couple were arrested on May 27 to facilitate investigation into the death
of the boy, believed to have been abused.
(source: thesundaily.com)
***********
Death penalty under criminal law and syariah
FOLLOWING the United Nations General Assembly’s call in June 2007 for the
abolition of the death penalty on the grounds of protecting human rights, the
then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz,
announced in October 2008 that the Malaysian government was considering
withdrawing the mandatory death sentence for drug offences and replacing it
with jail terms.
Death punishment for murder, terrorist acts, treason, kidnapping, rape,
possession of fire-arms and drug trafficking applies to this day in Malaysia.
The Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 provides for the mandatory death sentence for
possessing and distributing drugs.
But total abolition has remained a debated topic ever since.
The proponents of human rights, including the Malaysian Bar, the Human Rights
Commission or Suhakam and Lawyers for Liberty have called for the abolition of
the death penalty as no studies have proved that it is a deterrent to serious
crime, and that in the event of a miscarriage of justice, the penalty is
irreversible.
As for the mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking, they have further
argued that the experience of many countries, including Malaysia, showed that
most of those caught under draconian drug laws are not the big timers the laws
are meant to target.
Besides, there is no evidence that the death penalty is effective as a
deterrent to curb drug trafficking, its production and its sale.
The proponents of the death penalty draw attention to the need to protect
society from serious crime and the predicament faced by the victims and family
members of murdered victims who demand the capital punishment.
Imprisoning the criminal for 20 to 25 years is costly for the taxpayer and
perhaps inhumane.
Broadly, syariah law applies the death penalty to four crimes — murder,
terrorism, adultery and apostasy.
The first two are prescribed in the Quran, which makes murder liable to the
death penalty under qisas (just retaliation) and makes terrorism (hirabah) also
subject to the capital punishment.
As for apostasy (riddah) and adultery (zina), it is the sunnah (ways of the
prophet) not the Quran, that makes them liable to the death penalty.
The Quran refers to apostasy in no fewer than 21 places, yet in all of them,
the offence carries severe punishment in the hereafter.
As for zina, the Quran provides 100 lashes of the whip for all cases proven by
four eyewitnesses which is almost impossible to obtain — hence all cases of
zina are likely to be given alternative punishments.
The death punishment for apostasy and adultery is based on the authority of the
hadith (words of the prophet) that falls short, however, of decisive
(mutawatir) evidence.
It is then argued that a discrepancy between the Quran and the hadith on issues
of life and death must naturally be determined by referring to the Quran.
The Quran refers to qisas in several verses, yet in all of them there is a
strong emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation between the parties.
Prophet Muhammad emphasised forgiveness in all qisas cases that were brought to
him for adjudication and consistently advised the parties not to insist on
retaliation, but to reconcile through the payment of blood money (diyah) or
grant of forgiveness.
This would suggest that qisas carries the death punishment which is, however,
not mandatory.
Hirabah is described in the Quran as the “waging of war on God and His
Messenger and the spreading of corruption on earth”, which provides for
punishments, such as execution, mutilation of limbs and banishment.
Muslim jurists have also understood hirabah, also known as qat‘al-tariq, to
mean highway robbery, banditry and terrorism which involves with or without
killing, theft and looting.
They have differed widely over the order and choice of punishment for them, but
the majority of Sunni schools authorise the head of state to select one or more
of these punishments in proportion to the severity of the crime.
In summary, hirabah, like qisas, carries the death punishment, but since it is
subject to stipulations and the discretion of the head of state, it also fails
to qualify as mandatory death.
Can a death sentence be imposed on the basis of tanzir (deterrent) principle in
serious crimes other than murder and terrorism?
Imam Malik and some jurists of the Hanbali school have allowed for a Muslim to
spy on other Muslims who work for the enemy who spread heresies.
But the majority, including the Shafini, Hanafi, and some followers of the
Hanbali schools maintain that the death punishment may not be imposed under
tanzir.
Imam Abu Hanifah, however, has held out that the ruler may punish recidivists
and hardened criminals to death under tanzir.
In summary, the syariah law is restrictive on the death punishment and when it
is allowed, it is carried out with stipulations and has the possibility of
repentance, reconciliation, or alternative punishment.
There is no clear case for man- datory death punishment in syariah — lest it
compromises the impartiality of justice.
Syariah jurists, however, leave it to the head of state the possibility of him
deciding otherwise if public interest (maslahah) dictates it.
(source: Opinion; Mohamad Kamali...The writer is founding chief executive
officer of International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies
Malaysia----nst.com.my)
INDONESIA:
American and 4 Other Foreigners Facing Death Penalty After Being Arrested in
Bali Indonesia for Selling Cocaine
Police in Denpasar, Bali have arrested an American, 2 Spaniards and 2 Russians
for selling cocaine and marijuana on Bali on Friday.
The t3 men and 2 women were paraded at a police news conference in the Bali
provincial capital, Denpasar, days after being arrested.
They were arrested between May 20 and 24 in the tourist hotspot of Kuta, said
Denpasar police chief Ruddi Setiawan.
He said the arrests began when police caught a 33-year-old Russian man,
identified only as Nikita, arranging cocaine sales by phone to foreign
tourists.
Police seized 20.18 grams of cocaine and 44.14 grams of marijuana from the
group.
“We are still investigating how they got that cocaine and marijuana,” Setiawan
said. “We believe they are part of an international syndicate and got the drugs
from abroad.”
Police identified the 31-year-old American suspect as Ian. A Russian woman, 31,
was identified as Maria and a Spanish woman, 33, as Laura. A 37-year-old
Spanish man identified as Juan had operated a restaurant in Kerobokan near
Denpasar for a long period of time, police said.
Indonesia has strict drug laws and dozens of convicted smugglers are on death
row. Its last executions were in July 2016, when an Indonesian and 3 foreigners
were shot by a firing squad.
An Indonesian court last week sentenced a Frenchman to death for smuggling
ecstasy to Lombok, next to Bali, even though prosecutors had sought a 20-year
sentence.
(source: Chiang Rai Times)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
