May 10
GLOBAL:
Death penalty is never OK ---- Imagine the horror experienced by the families
of the 2 Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, on learning their
children had been so brutally executed by firing squad in Bali recently.
Imagine the horror experienced by the families of the 2 Australians, Andrew
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, on learning their children had been so brutally
executed by firing squad in Bali recently. Make no mistake, these 2 committed
extremely serious offences and forced others into being part of a scheme to
take heroin into Australia. These were horrendous actions that were stopped by
the Indonesian police taking preventative action to stop the planned heroin
destroying so many Aussie lives.
These men did not care for those they sought to use and abuse but surely a
nation should be better than that. There is something so heartless in the death
penalty. There is no recognition of the ability of people to redeem themselves.
There is no recognition of a human's ability to become a functioning member of
either society or even a prison population. I think what I find most repugnant
about the death penalty is that it is done in cold blood. It treats as less
than human, those who are human. By doing so, it lessens the ability of a
nation to take a moral stand against criminals.
Every now and then, an appalling criminal makes Kiwis wonder if a particular
person might be an appropriate person to have the death penalty brought back.
But we are better than that. A state must aspire to be better, to set a better
example, than the violent criminals that unfortunately plague society.
Preventative detention is much preferable to the death penalty. The costs to
the tax payer in locking up for life rather than killing are actually very
similar. Prisoners often languish on death row for many years anyway, the state
has to pay for lengthy appeal processes, and the state misses out on any
potential benefits of the prisoner rehabilitating. The cost is also heavy for
the family and community of the 'dead man walking'.
There also remains the risk that a wrongful conviction results in the death of
an innocent person. This risk is lesser these days with advances in scientific
and DNA evidence, but it remains. We only have to look as far as our own
backyard for an example ??? our own Sir Peter Jackson was instrumental in
freeing West of Memphis 'killer' Damien Echols after 18 years on death row.
A strange and perverse outcome of the death penalty is that criminals can
become martyrs - as is becoming the case with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Let's not beat around the bush - these 2 were bad people involved in importing
heroin with the sole aim of profiting from the misery of others. They bullied
others into becoming drug mules; they created many victims and caused untold
harm by their actions.
It is disturbing that such people can become martyrs. No one would give them a
second thought if they were simply imprisoned. No one outside their families
would remember them.
In another perverse outcome the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has had to
defend itself for doing its job protecting Australians from the importation of
harmful drugs that are destroying families and communities.
The AFP had no choice but to do what they did by informing the Indonesian
authorities and I support them in this. The AFP did not cause the traffickers'
deaths. By their actions, the AFP most likely saved intended victims of Chan
and Sukumaran.
Where people will continue to travel to other jurisdictions with the intention
to participate in serious crime, then it's possible this tragic situation will
happen again. I certainly hope the executions serve as a warning to others
contemplating such risks.
Despite the executions, we know that the truly evil and the truly gullible will
continue to take the same risks.
Criminals must be held to account for their actions. But for most New
Zealanders, state-sanctioned killing is just not our way. We are better than
that. What's happened in Indonesia reminds us just why we removed the ultimate
sanction from our law 2 generations ago.
The death penalty has no place in a civilised society. I am opposed to it both
as a matter of principle and because it causes injustices that can never be
remedied.
In the United States more than 300 inmates on death row have been exonerated
after being found to have been wrongfully convicted. Many others have been
executed for crimes they did not commit.
The argument that the death penalty is a deterrent is disproved by research. In
countries that allow appeal processes, the death penalty involves huge costs,
with the penalty not carried out until years after the offence. In other
countries, people are executed following corrupt and inadequate judicial
process, frequently for things like adultery and blasphemy which are not even
crimes in our country.
There are now risks that the death penalty will be imposed on New Zealanders in
China and Indonesia. People must be held to account for what they have done but
the death penalty is not appropriate.
(source: Opinion; Judith Collins, Stuff)
INDONESIA:
Indonesian leader defends death penalty after executions
Indonesian President Joko Widodo insisted on Saturday that the death penalty
was "positive" for his country after the execution of 7 foreign drug convicts
by firing squad last month sparked international outrage.
Jakarta put to death 2 Australians, a Brazilian, and 4 Nigerians on a prison
island, along with 1 Indonesian, despite worldwide calls for them to be spared
and heartrending pleas from their families.
Canberra recalled its ambassador from Jakarta at what it called the "cruel and
unnecessary" executions while the United Nations expressed deep regret.
However Widodo, who took office last year, has been unswayed by the
international appeals, insisting that Indonesia is facing an emergency due to
rising narcotics use.
In an interview with journalists in Abepura, eastern Indonesia, he voiced no
regret at the executions and insisted: "The death penalty is still our positive
law". Asked about the anger in other countries, he said: "My duty as president
of Indonesia is to carry out the law and I'm sure other countries will
understand this".
And he added: "Every day 50 young Indonesians die, in 1 year that is 18,000
dead. I hope they understand about that".
(source: Agence France-Presse)
ENGLAND:
Michael Gove - David Cameron's new Justice Secretary - called for the return of
hanging in 1998 ---- Writing in The Times, he said Britain was wrong to abolish
hanging in the 1960s
The new Justice Secretary Michael Gove once called for hanging to be brought
back.
Writing in 1998 as a Times columnist, he said Britain was "wrong to abolish
hanging" in the 1960s, when the death penalty was outlawed.
David Cameron put Mr Gove in charge of the Department for Justice as he started
to appoint his new Conservative Government.
He claimed that banning the noose had "led to a corruption of our criminal
justice system" and "the erosion of all our freedoms" rather than "a great
liberal victory," as it was seen at the time.
It had made punishing innocent people "more likely," Mr Gove wrote, and pointed
to the rising swell of opinion in favour of re-introducing hanging to argue
that it could repair the broken trust between voters and politicians.
His support for bringing back hanging was out of "respect for democracy," he
continued, but would also ensure justice was applied with "scrupulous fairness"
by focussing the minds of lawmakers and prosecutors.
Writing in The Times in July 1998, Mr Gove said: "Hanging may seem barbarous,
but the greater barbarity lies in the slow abandonment of our common law
traditions.
"Were I ever alone in the dock I would not want to be arraigned before our
flawed tribunals, knowing my freedom could be forfeit as a result of political
pressures. I would prefer a fair trial, under the shadow of the noose."
Mr Gove has not appeared to repeat any such backing for the death penalty since
he made the remarks in 1998.
Mr Gove returned to a front-line Cabinet position as Mr Cameron started to
assemble his new Government. He was demoted from Education Secretary last year
and replaced with Nicky Morgan in a bid to cool relations with teachers in the
run up to the election.
He is likely to become just as unpopular with judges, prison officers and
prosecutors as was with teachers as he wields the axe over widespread cuts to
the justice system, including a courts system that is the most expensive in
Europe.
Justice is one of the unprotected departments and with the promise of 5 years
of tax cuts and a 8 billion pounds spending spree on the NHS, its budget is
likely to be hit hard.
(source: The Independent)
PAKISTAN:
Court Upheld Jhelum Execution
Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench headed by Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa
suspended the execution of death penalty orders of the 2 siblings Skindar and
Jamshed temporarily.
The reason behind the temporary moratorium is of the confirmation whether the 2
brothers are minors or not.
Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa directed the district and session judge Jhelum to
constitute a medical board to identify the ages of the 2 accused brothers.
District and session judge Jhelum was asked to find out whether the accused
were juvenile or not by the time they committed the murder.
Justice Mahmood Maqbool directed the district and session judge Jhelum that
death penalty be converted into life imprisonment if the report declares the 2
siblings underage.
The district court would review the case to determine the penalty with respect
to the nature of crime in relation with the ages of the accused brothers.
(source: The News Tribe)
SAUDI ARABIA:
Activists Slam Saudi Arabia's Record For Executions
A global outcry against the beheading of five foreigners in Saudi Arabia has
been raised by human rights groups. The concern is that this year will be
marked by a surge in public executions, as 80 people have already been killed,
compared to 88 last year, according to rt.
Hence, in spite of mounting global criticism, Saudi Arabia went ahead with its
execution of five foreign men allegedly for murder and theft. Just last month,
Amnesty International had slammed the "macabre spike" in state-sponsored
executions.
Adam Coogle, a Middle East analyst for Human Rights Watch, said: "From January
to the end of July 2014 there were 15 executions, but they finished 2014 with
88, which shows clearly that the spike began last year and has continued,"
Coogle told the Independent.
It was "shocking", said Peggy Hicks, Global Advocacy Director at Human Rights
Watch.
Amnesty International said that Saudi Arabia was ranked the third country with
the number of executions in the world. In 2014, it was behind Iran, while China
is thought to rank the highest. Iraq ranked 4th, and the US stood in the 5th
place, said sputniknews.
Amnesty International explained that Saudi Arabia's new leader has not shown a
cessation in the execution of capital punishment for a number of offenses,
including "blasphemy, treason, murder and drug trafficking."
Hence, the ascent of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud to the Saudi Arabian
throne has not improved human rights in any way.
"Any hopes that the arrival of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud might herald
an improvement in human rights in Saudi Arabia have been crushed," said Philip
Luther, Amnesty International's Director of Middle East and North Africa
programs. He said that the new king is overseeing an "ongoing crackdown on
government critics and peaceful activists, who continue to be intimidated,
arbitrarily detained and treated as criminals."
"The first months of his reign have also been marked by an unprecedented wave
of executions in a clear signal that the use of the death penalty is thriving
in the Kingdom."
Coogle, however, did not feel that reaon for executions was due to the change
in royalty.
"Personally, I would hesitate to relate the spike to the change of leadership,"
he said. "He certainly hasn't done anything to stop it but the high rate really
began last August. It could be an issue with a backlog of prisoners or it could
just be that they are sentencing more people to death."
Excluding China, where statistics were not released, at least 607 executions
were known to have been performed globally in 2014, Amnesty International said
in a report released in March, compared to 778 in 2013, which actually showed a
decrease of more than 20 %.
However, the report showed a rise in the number of death sentences handed down
in 2014 compared to the previous year - at least 2,466 compared to 1,925 - an
increase of more than 25 percent. The watchdog explained that the rise was due
mainly to the unrest in Nigeria and Egypt, where hundreds of people were
condemned to death.
(source: newseveryday.com)
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