[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

August 11


TAIWAN:

Plan to phase out death penalty opposed


Ruling Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers said yesterday that they oppose a
Ministry of Justice plan to phase out the death penalty, claiming that a
lack of capital punishment would increase the crime rate.

The remarks came one day after the ministry said it plans to gradually
achieve its goal through conducting extensive research and discussion, and
through proposing complementary measures to win the support of the public.

However, KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih said it is not the right time to
push for eliminating the death penalty. He claimed that Taiwan's social
order is not good and that people do not have sufficient understanding of
law and order.

If the death penalty is abandoned, he went on, it will not be conducive to
social order and might encourage major crime rings to engage in bigger
crimes.

The existence of the death penalty serves as a warning to those who intend
to engage in illicit activities, according to Wu, who vowed that if the
ministry proposes a draft bill to abolish the death penalty in the next
legislative session, he will oppose it.

Chu Fong-chi, another KMT lawmaker, shared the same view, adding that
South Africa now has no capital punishment, which she claimed is the
reason its social order is deteriorating.

She suggested keeping the death penalty in place, but urged local judges
to exert more caution when handing down death sentences.

KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang said the ministry should respect public
opinion, since there is no consensus on the abolishment.

A day earlier, the ministry said in a statement that capital punishment
uses national power to deprive a criminal's right to life so that the
criminal is isolated from the rest of the society permanently.

According to the ministry, such methods are cruel and fail to demonstrate
that punishments should also serve rehabilitation purposes.

Therefore, many democratic, advanced nations have abolished the death
penalty with or without conditions, it pointed out. Up to 137 countries
have abandoned capital punishment both legally and in reality, while 60
countries still maintain it, according to Amnesty International data
released in May.

Only 24 of these 60 countries still carry out death sentences, the
ministry noted, adding that the United Nations General Assembly also
endorsed a resolution Dec. 18, 2007 to call for suspension of executions.

Although abolishing the death penalty is a world trend, up to 80 % of the
people in Taiwan oppose the idea, according to the results of a ministry
poll released in February.

However, the percentage dropped sharply to 43 % when the ministry asked
the respondents if they would agree that the death penalty should be
replaced by life imprisonment with no parole. Under such a premise,
another 56 % supported the abolishment of capital punishment, the ministry
said.

(source: The China Post)






AUSTRALIA/INDONESIA:

Against death penalty, but 'no plea for Bali bombers'


FOREIGN Minister Stephen Smith has underlined the Government's universal
opposition to the death penalty as 3 Bali bombers await execution, but
stressed that Australia would never intervene to save the lives of
terrorists.

As he prepares to hold talks in Indonesia today, Mr Smith rejected claims
Australia could be seen as hypocritical for pleading for clemency for
members of the Bali 9 facing the death penalty but not intervening to
protest against the execution of the Bali bombers.

"Australia doesn't support capital punishment," Mr Smith told the Nine
Network.

"We don't believe in capital punishment and we don't believe that nation
states who continue to use capital punishment should continue do so.
That's our long-standing policy position, and in international forums we
put ... that view. But the Prime Minister and I have both made clear that
we don't propose to make representations on behalf of terrorists who have
been subject to the death penalty, so I won't be making any individual
representations so far as the Bali bombers are concerned."

Mr Smith's comments followed reports that federal cabinet had recently
held discussions on the death penalty and human rights at which it was
stressed that Australia must not be seen to be walking both sides of the
street in Asia by offering tacit support for the execution of terrorists
but opposing the death penalty for Australian citizens.

In the lead-up to last year's election, Mr Rudd carpeted then foreign
affairs spokesman Robert McClelland for "insensitive timing" after he
criticised John Howard for supporting the death penalty for the Bali
bombers just four days before the 5th anniversary of the terrorist attack.

Mr Rudd scrapped Labor's policy to campaign against the death penalty for
prisoners across the region through a regional coalition with Cambodia,
Nepal and Bhutan. Government sources said last night that Australia would
instead pursue the abolition of the death penalty through multilateral
forums such as the UN.

Government sources have confirmed that Mr McClelland, now the
Attorney-General, recently took a submission on human rights to federal
cabinet, which reflected his view that Australia must look beyond its
borders in the protection of human rights. It did not canvass Australia's
position on the death penalty overseas, which is regarded as the
responsibility of the Foreign Minister.

But the submission contained a number of measures outlined by Mr
McClelland in a speech last Thursday, including a commitment to re-engage
with the UN to promote the rule of law internationally.

As a result, Australia is now working toward becoming a party to the
Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture. The protocol
establishes a sub-committee to conduct visits to places of detention,
including prisons.

(source: The Australian)