7/23/2019 The Death Penalty Why It is Not the Panacea for All Crime

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 The Death Penalty: Why It Is Not thePanacea For All CrimeWhat would serve as true deterrent would be an effective criminal justice system, a system where perpetrators are

caught and effective sentences are imposed based on the severity of the crime to all equally regardless of external

factors such as race, religion, political connections and so on.

( September 2, 2!"#, $olombo, Sri %an&a 'uardian )he debate on the deathpenalty is bac& in the fore*front in Sri %an&a and the %aw and Society )rust (%S) isdismayed by +resident Sirisenas stance in bringing bac& the death penalty whichalbeit remains effective in law has not been implemented in practice since "-".

%S) completely opposes the death penalty which at most is the premeditated and coldblooded &illing of a human being carried out by the State under the guise of /justice0.Whilst two*thirds of the world (as at 2!"1 "1! countries in law or practice2 havemoved away from this barbaric act, it is questionable as to why the +resent'overnment would wish to give life to it given that it has not been proven to have a/deterrent effect0 on crime any more than long prison sentences would. n fact a 2!!-

survey of criminologists revealed that over 334 did not believe in the deterrent effectof the death penalty5.

)he death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights inconsistent with manyinternational standards Sri %an&a has an obligation to protect. t is a violation of theright to life as proclaimed by the 6niversal 7eclaration of 8uman 9ights1 (:rticle 5and the right to be free from torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment (:rticle #. ;oreover it is applied discriminately violating the principle ofnon*discrimination. 8uman rights are inalienable and is applicable to everyone even

7/23/2019 The Death Penalty Why It is Not the Panacea for All Crime

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criminals and regardless of the crimes they have or may have committed. )he secondoptional protocol to the $$+9 calls for the abolition of the death penalty save insituations of war#.

$urrently there are """# prisoners on death row in our prisons. n the year 2!"1, "persons including two women and juvenile offenders were sentenced to death in Sri

%an&a (mostly for murder. :t least "! sentences were imposed for drug traffic&ing3.ndeed it is true that the crime rate in Sri %an&a is s&y roc&eting with incidents of gravesexual crimes and murders reported on a frequent basis in the media. 8owever re*introducing the death penalty is not the solution to curb the crime rate in the country asstudies have failed to show a connection between the death penalty and its effects oncrime. f at all in the <urope where the maximum penalty imposed is life sentenceremains a relatively crime free =one.

What would serve as true deterrent would be an effective criminal justice system, asystem where perpetrators are caught and effective sentences are imposed based onthe severity of the crime to all equally regardless of external factors such as race,

religion, political connections and so on.

<xecutions negates the principle of rehabilitation of offenders and removes thepossibility of compensation for judicial error as the executed cannot be resurrected nor reformed. We must in this light wor& towards improving the criminal justice system,loo& at compensation schemes, rehabilitation for victims, victim protection programsand policy reforms to raise the quality of investigations. t cannot be argued that thelegal system of Sri %an&a is ill*equipped to carry out the death penalty to the letter. Wehave in numerous occasions seen even in countries with much advanced legalsystems the death penalty being used disproportionately against the poor and themarginali=ed. <xecutions will not necessarily be of those who committed the worst

crimes but also those who lac&ed the financial capacity to hire s&illed lawyers or thosewho faced tougher judges>prosecutors. )here is also the ris& of the death penaltybeing used by regimes as a tool of repression against dissenting parties and as longas it remains as a legitimate form of punishment the ris& will continue to remain.

n the year 2!"1 many of those States that retain the death penalty continued to use itin contravention of international law and standards. 6nfair trials, /confessions0extracted through torture or other ill*treatment, the use of the death penalty against

 juveniles and people with mental or intellectual disabilities, and for crimes other than/intentional &illing0 continued to be concerning features of the use of the death penaltyin 2!"1.9ecent crime figures from abolitionist countries fail to show that abolition hasharmful effects. n $anada, for example, the homicide rate per "!!,!!! population fellfrom a pea& of 5.!- in "-#, the year before the abolition of the death penalty formurder, to 2.1" in "-3!, and since then it has declined further-. n 2!!5, 2 years after abolition, the homicide rate was ".5 per "!!,!!! population, 11 per cent lower than in"-# and the lowest rate in three decades"!. :lthough this increased to 2.! in 2!!#, itremains over one*third lower than when the death penalty was abolished (:mnestynternational"".

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;oreover the ris& of executing an innocent can never be eliminated. n 2!"1 :mnestynternational recorded ""2 exonerations of death row prisoners in nine countries?@angladesh (1, $hina (2, Aordan (", Bigeria (52, Sudan (1, )an=ania (#-, 6S: (,Ciet Bam (2 and Dimbabwe (""2. )he release of prisoners from death row on thegrounds of innocence exposes the fallibility of human justice and in this light the onlymeasure that has to be ta&en is in the direction of complete abolition.

7uring the recent wee&s we have seen mounting favour especially from the publictowards re* introduction of the death penalty. 8owever the actual reasons for the hypemay not always be factually correct for instance the public may be guided by theperception that death penalty wor&s as a form of deterrent. )he ultimate reasonhowever is the publics frustration at the appalling crime rates and the need for aneffective mechanism to curb crime. )he media too plays a huge role in shaping theminds of the general public. 8owever it is the tas& of the government to lead publicopinion in matters of human rights and criminal policy.

n light of this %S) calls upon the government to ta&e steps to abolish the death

penalty from its law boo&s and to commute to life sentence the death sentences of allinmates on death row as well as improve the prison conditions of the inmates.

)he +rime ;inister 9anil Wic&remasinghe has also stated that the Sri %an&a isconsidering ratifying the second optional protocol to the $$+9"5 which aims at theabolition of the death penalty save in situations of war. n this context, the discourseemerging now from the government, of implementing the death penalty, isperturbing"1.

We also urge the need to focus on reforming the effectiveness and independence ofthe Austice System. : multitude of issues such as social, economic and cultural factors

determine crime rate in any given society and the government has to ta&e concretesteps to identify the real problem instead of providing simple solutions to a very graveproblem on no scientific basis. ;uch more has to be done to educate the public on thetrue objectives behind sentencing, not just retribution but deterrence, rehabilitation,reformation, and protection.

 ——— *9eferencesE

" )hushan Fernando, /9eady to impose the death penalty0, Bews First, September "3,2!"#, http?>>newsfirst.l&>english>2!"#>!->ready*to*impose*the*death*penalty*president*sirisena>""""252 :mnesty nternational,0death +enalty0, https?>>www.amnesty.org>en>what*we*do>death*penalty>5 ;. 9adelet G ). %acoc&, /7o executions lower homicide 9atesH )he views of%eading $riminologists, /--Aournal of $riminal %aw G $riminology 13-, Borthwestern 6niversity (2!!-1 <veryone has the right to life, liberty and security of person# :rticle " G 2, Second Iptional +rotocol to the nternational $ovenant on $ivil and+olitical 9ights, aimed at the abolition of the death penalty

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Janchana Jumara :riyadasa, /+rison dept. ready to carry out death sentence0, 7aily;irror, September "-,2!"#, http?>>www.dailymirror.l&>33!5#>prison*dept*ready*to*carry*out*death*sentence :mnesty nternational, /7eath Sentences and <xecutions2!"10, ;arch 5", 2!"#,ndex number? :$)#!>!!!">2!"#

3 ibid- id"! id"" id"2 id"56mesh ;oramudali, /8ang or not to hangK0, $eylon )oday, September -,2!"1,http?>>ceylontoday.l&>#"*315"2*news*detail*hang*or*not*to*hang.html"1 d.

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