Oct. 19
EUROPEAN UNION/JAMAICA:
The EU's crusade against capital punishment
JAMAICA is a Christian country which upholds its constitutional right to invoke
the death penalty in cases of capital murder. If the accused is convicted, the
judge may apply the death penalty or life imprisonment, as the death penalty is
no longer mandatory. No executions have taken place in Jamaica since the 1980s,
and inmates on death row are likely to have their sentences commuted to life
imprisonment, according to the Pratt and Morgan ruling handed down by the UK
Privy Council, which ruled that should the accused be incarcerated for more
than five years without execution, the sentence must be commuted to life
imprisonment.
In recent times, killings in Jamaica have retrogressed to an unprecedented
degree of barbarity involving mutilation, dismemberment and lately decapitation
of men, women and children. It is at this juncture that Jamaica diverges from
the EU's crusade to rid the world of capital punishment which is considered
inhumane and violates human dignity, and should therefore be abandoned.
The argument that capital punishment is not a deterrent continues. Is there a
person alive who would not seriously reconsider their murderous intent if their
life could be lost? The indomitable human spirit is forever concerned about
self-preservation, evidenced by the existence of relative peace in the world
due to the presence of nuclear weapons which so far have prevented another
world holocaust.
There is an overwhelming belief that capital punishment is effective, and that
any depiction of cruelty and inhumane treatment for the accused should be
expressed, instead for the victims and their families. Furthermore, human
activists are slow to condemn the killing of law enforcement officers who are
the society's first defence against crime and violence. These unsung heroes
belong in the Christian category that believes that "no greater love hath any
man than to lay down his life for a friend".
Another reason advanced for opposition to capital punishment is the possibility
of jury error resulting in the conviction of an innocent person that
constitutes a miscarriage of justice. Much public attention has been drawn to
condemned prisoners who have been proved innocent by DNA evidence and therefore
set free. The same DNA evidential technology could be applied proactively to
determine the person's guilt or innocence, minimising jury error to an
infinitesimal possibility.
Religious opposition is also based on the premise of jury error. The example of
the adulterous woman, condemned to death by stoning who was justifiably
forgiven by Jesus, omits the fact that she did not commit murder in which case
had she done so, the outcome would have been different. Since time immemorial
the death penalty has been part of Christian teaching and is stated in the
Roman Catholic Catechism under Article 2266 as follows: "Legitimate public
authority has the right and the duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the
gravity of the offence". Roman Catholics should also refer to Articles 2260 and
2267 in the new Catechism which received its Imprimatur from Joseph Cardinal
Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, thus: "Assuming that the guilty party's
identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional
teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this
is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the
unjust aggressor".
While Jamaica has not executed any death-row inmates since the 1980s, this is
not the case with our major trading partner to the north, the United States,
whose lifestyle is closely emulated in Jamaica and is better deserving of
attention by the EU's crusade. For example, the average time spent on death row
before execution is 14 years! So much for the limit imposed by the Pratt and
Morgan ruling! So far this year in America, 33 executions have been carried
out. Last year, 46 inmates were put to death and 52 were executed in 2009 by
lethal infection. The US Federal Supreme Court has ruled that lethal injection
is not inhumane and should continue to be used for its intended purpose.
In November 2007 the United Nations voted on a non-binding resolution on a
death penalty moratorium and ultimate abandonment that resulted in 99 votes in
favour, 52 against with 33 abstentions and was rejected by Jamaica, a sovereign
state whose domestic laws are determined by its Constitution and enforced by
its government without any meddling by non-elected world organisations. Other
Caribbean countries voted against, including China, Singapore and the United
States. The US representative stated: "The US recognises that supporters of
this resolution hold principled positions on the issue of the death penalty.
Nonetheless, it is important to recognise that international law does not
prohibit capital punishment." The US maintained that capital punishment is not
a human rights issue but a matter of law enforcement.
With the continued expansion of Islam in the UK, now reported to be the second
largest religion in the UK, there will come a time when Sharia Law becomes a
significant factor in the dispensation of Islamic justice. The death penalty
under Sharia Law and administered by various methods would become a salient
practice for the UK and the EU to be reckoned with and even more so if Turkey,
a Muslim nation of 77 million people, is admitted to the EU. The EU's crusade
against the death penalty will encounter tough opposition that promises to be
highly contentious.
In Jamaica, the EU's crusade is clearly a case of "duppy know who fi frighten"!
(source: Jamaica Observer)
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