What right do we have to send people to the gallows?

 Death rows everywhere have their share of those facing execution on wrong, flimsy or even made-up evidence – or for being of the 'wrong' ethnicity.

A man is facing trial for causing an accident that killed a 33-year-old motorcyclist. It’s a tragedy for the victim to die at such a young age, leaving behind loved ones whose lives will be emptier with his passing.

But I don’t feel sad about the driver who was under the influence of alcohol when he caused the accident. There have been too many similar accidents in the past, and unfortunately this won’t be the last one.

He’ll have his day in court. It is likely he will face a murder charge and perhaps the death penalty. Many Malaysians are happy with this prospect: an eye for an eye, I guess, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.

I can understand their reasoning, of course – driving while incapacitated by alcohol or drugs is as close to a premeditated killing as it gets.

But it’s still not a premeditated killing and there shouldn’t be any talk of the death penalty. One death is enough – if he’s convicted, lock up the driver for a very long time as punishment and also as deterrence to others.

My objection is based on a simple principle: I don’t believe in the death penalty. That a person – whether bad, immoral, deranged or incapacitated – kills another person doesn’t give society the right to take this person’s life in return.

Humans band together to create a society that helps them lead a better, safer and more moral life. That cannot include ganging up against somebody who has done something bad, or even evil, and make him forfeit his existence on this earth.

What does the death penalty achieve? It certainly doesn’t bring back the victim. It doesn’t make the life of those left behind any better. It doesn’t make society a safer place.

Seek justice, not vengeance

Should justice be done? Of course. The court process, if carried out fairly, would mete out justice, which could result in a very long prison sentence, perhaps even until the end of the convicted person’s natural life.

So yes, justice is done. Some may not be happy with this because it’s vengeance that they want, not justice. But while many seek vengeance, many others believe justice doesn’t require an eye for an eye.

Some may ask the tricky age-old question: what if your loved one is the victim of a horrendous crime? If I have to answer that question I can only honestly say I don’t know what I’ll do but I hope and pray I’ll continue to be guided by my morals and principles.

But what if the person to be executed isn’t guilty? That’s a more relevant question. It doesn’t arise from pure speculation – death rows everywhere have their share of those convicted and facing execution on wrong, flimsy or even made-up evidence.

These people are often the marginalised, poor and uneducated. The US has one of the highest numbers of incarcerated people, as well as one of the highest numbers of people who are exonerated – either before execution or posthumously – by new evidence such as confessions or DNA evidence.

When justice is blind

Many supporters of the death penalty aren’t too bothered by this. The idea that our oh-so-human justice system may occasionally execute innocent people doesn’t keep them up at night.

After all, what’s a few “accidental” executions of society’s dregs – there are plenty more where they come from.

The reality is this: in almost all societies, if the perpetrator of such an accident is wealthy or powerful, the chances of them facing justice of any sort much less the death penalty is basically zero.

Some of you may remember how in 2012 the grandson of the founder of the Red Bull energy drink empire drove a Ferrari while under the influence of drugs and alcohol and killed a Thai police officer on the streets of Bangkok.

It caused a major scandal in Thailand, with many feeling that the family’s wealth protected the guilty grandson. Guess what? Years after fleeing Thailand, all the serious charges against the driver have been dropped, and a less serious charge still standing is set to lapse when the statute of limitations expires next year.

Power and privilege

Do we think such a thing won’t happen in Malaysia? With our record number of highly privileged people who hold political power, often coupled with great wealth, and often coupled with high birth and inherited bloodlines?

No sirree, I wouldn’t bet such a situation wouldn’t happen in Malaysia. As in other countries in the world, including even the wealthy ones, the death rows will still be full of the weak and the powerless, and often the innocent too.

I won’t even argue about the deterrent argument. Apart from the random nature of the punishment, such as why a particular amount of a particular drug deserves the death penalty while a gram less wouldn’t – the fact that we still have drug problems shows that the death penalty does not work as a deterrent.

In fact, some countries in Europe have either decriminalised or stopped enforcing criminal laws enforcement on drug possession. Last I heard, those countries aren’t exactly being overrun by drug pushers and addicts.

Palestinian tragedy

That the matter of death penalty is often a mirror on how society sees the value of different kind of lives is currently being shown in one particular instance.

Israel’s parliament just passed a law allowing the execution of Palestinians – and only Palestinians – convicted by military courts; however, these courts cannot impose the same punishment on Israeli citizens.

So here you are – many Palestinians from the West Bank are convicted on the flimsiest evidence from a regime that doesn’t have the right to defend itself for being an occupying force. They face execution, while those who pumped 335 rounds into a car, killing five-year-old Hind Rajab, six of her family members and two ambulance drivers, get away scot-free.

What criteria determines who gets punished and by what punishment? Oh yes, it’s ethnicity that makes it OK for one side to see others as more worthy of punishment including the ultimate sentence of capital punishment.

As if such an issue about ethnicity is also not something that influences things right here in Malaysia. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.