Asian Centre for Human Rights has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to abolish capital punishment
Asian Centre for Human Rights on Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to abolish capital punishment and stop execution of four associates of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan who are on death row in 2004 landmine blast at Palar in Karnataka in which 22 policemen were killed.
“If the government continues with the current spree of execution of those whose mercy pleas are rejected or those who could not file mercy pleas, India will become one of the top five executioners of the world along with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” Delhi-based AHRC Director Suhas Chakma said in a release here.
Death penalty as a deterrent against crime has been found to be invalid and at present about 140 out of 193 Members States of the United Nations have abolished the death penalty in law and practice, he said.
Even in countries where death penalty is practised, governments are either abolishing it or reducing the number of offences for which death penalty could be imposed, he said,
By 2011, Illinois became the 16th State of the United States to abolish death penalty, while China removed the death penalty in 13 crimes, while adding at least two new capital crimes, during the same year, but India is regrettably moving backwards, Mr Chakma added.
At least 5,776 cases of death row convicts were considered during 2001 to 2011. The death sentence of 4,321 convicts were commuted to life sentences while 1,455 sentences were confirmed by courts, he added.
Keywords: Veerappan aides execution
The death penlty awarded about 20 years back and 2 Past presidents have rejected, the rule of the land should implemented then & there only, keeping for long time in the cell this not wise to hang them right now, it is better keep them in the cell to the last.WHen once death penalty award given and president reject the mercy plea it is better the penalty to be executed immediately.
One fails to understand the misplaced sympathy these human rights
organizations have for offenders in the name of human rights. Where were
these rights organizations and their activists when the 22 people
including policemen were killed in the Palar Blast incident. The
sentence of life imprisonment was enhanced to death sentence by the
Supreme Court by giving good reasons. Appellate Court enhancing
sentences is rare. It is high time the rights activists introspect their
actions.
A criminal while committing the crime will never have in mind what kind of punishment he receives if caught. His purpose will be to achieve the target at that point of time. That's why death penalty, as an agent of instilling fear of punishment in criminal's mind, is paltry.
This is the curse of the Indian system. Every now and then, we have interference of the politicians in the judiciary. This is absolutely WRONG. Politicians job is to "make" the laws and not to "INTERFERE" in it whenever it suits them.
If the laws recommends execution, then it has to be done. If Manmohan prefers something else, then he must do the necessary things to change the law but don't interfere in the judiciary process. Judiciary must take its dictat from the law books and not from politicians.
These Human rights groups have no sense. Why don't they care about the
human rights of the 22 policemen who were killed just for performing
their duty?
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