The government will need to decide on whether to continue its moratorium on executing prisoners sentenced to death, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh.
It has to confront this issue once Parliament passes a bill aimed at abolishing the mandatory death penalty, which is expected to be introduced for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
The new law will provide superior court judges with the discretion to decide on an appropriate punishment based on the facts of the case.
Ramkarpal (above) said after the new law comes into effect, convicts on death row can file for a judicial review seeking a lesser sentence.
“It would be up to the Federal Court to decide on each application. The courts might allow the application (from some of the death row) cases that come before them.
“However, the remaining cases with their death sentences still maintained, that is something the government will have to make a policy decision on... whether to continue the moratorium for that or not,” he told a group of media representatives during a special briefing on the bill on Tuesday.
READ MORE: ‘Cabinet okays new policies on efforts to abolish mandatory death penalty’
The deputy minister was asked what would happen to death row inmates after the mandatory death penalty is abolished.
This comes after the government halted executions of death row inmates through a moratorium in 2018.
Ramkarpal said there are a total of 1,324 inmates on death row in prisons nationwide, including some 400 who are still fighting their cases in court.
For those who haven’t completed their judicial process, the new law would be applied to them retrospectively, he added.
Amending life sentences
Ramkarpal said the government is also proposing amendments to the terms of lifetime jail and natural life imprisonment.
As is, a life sentence is a jail term that extends 30 years, while natural life imprisonment means the condemned will spend the rest of his or her life behind bars.
“For all offences that provide for natural life imprisonment, which is penjara sepanjang hayat, this too will be abolished.
“Meaning, there will be no more punishment where a convict has to be in prison until the day they die.
“We are looking at capping the punishment between 30 and 40 years,” he explained. - Mkini
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