A HEAVY BURDEN

PHOTO: INTERNET

Over a week ago two men, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, known to be the ringleaders from the 'Bali Nine' were executed in Indonesia for their part in smuggling almost 18 lbs of heroin (valued at 3.1 million US dollars) from Indonesia to Australia. The name Bali Nine was given to the group of nine Australians including Chan and Sukumaraninvolved in this particular drug smuggling case that took place almost ten years ago. Following their deaths, Australia decided to recall their Ambassador to Indonesia in protest to these executions. 

The death penalty which still exists in thirty six countries around the world has the ability to divide the opinion of both people and nations. If someone were to ask me how I felt about capital punishment, I would say that I am against it. On a moral and intellectual level I believe no one has the right to take the life of another person. We have a judicial system that allows for the perpetrators of a crime to be punished accordingly. We should have the right to be judge and jury but not the executioner.

In the last couple of years, Bangladesh has carried out the executions of Abdul Kader Molla in 2013 for crimes against humanity and war crimes and more recently in April 2015, that of Mohammad Kamaruzzaman after being found guilty of genocide by a domestic war crimes tribunal. What I found disturbing was that even children were clamouring for the hanging to take place gleefully chanting “Phashi chai”. Should we not take the responsibility of teaching our children to respect and value human life? 

According to Amnesty International, China is responsible for the highest numbers of executions per year- more than the rest of the world put together. The other countries that fell within the top five for capital punishment in 2014 were Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the USA. The methods used for execution indifferent countries are beheading, hanging, lethal injection and shooting by a firing squad.

In the US the preferred method of execution is the lethal injection and the state of Texas has the highest number of deaths per year. Saudi Arabia, however, opts for public beheadings.

Do I believe that offenders such as rapists, paedophiles, murderers, terrorists etc. deserve the full extent of the punishment provided by the law? The answer would be an emphatic yes. 

Some people argue whether people who have committed the more heinous of acts should be allowed to live their lives in prison where they are fed, clothed, have a roof over their head and where the cost is borne by the public or whether their crimes deserve to be punishable by death.

I am aware that I am writing this as a person who has thankfully not had any violent acts committed against their family or loved ones and therefore my viewpoints are unaffected by any personal involvement. Maybe I would feel differently if someone I loved or cared for had been the victim of an act of random or senseless violence.

But it seems a rather heavy burden to impose on another human being to give them the ability to play God and be responsible for the decision whether a person gets to live or die.I hope never to be in that position.