Should Mandatory Death Sentence Be Abolished?

[zircophere]

It has been argued that the mandatory death penalty is arbitrary and inhumane. The deterrent effect is one of the points to abolish it too. But Malaysia is still practising this. Should it be abolished?

[vikraman]

Yes. I could troop out many a philosophical argument against the death penalty but the easiest one is that an execution is irreversible. The justice system is imperfect, mistakes happen all the time and people are wrongly convicted all the time. If someone is imprisoned and new evidence arises to exonerate him, it's a simple matter of letting him go and perhaps providing some compensation for loss of liberty. How do you let a dead man go?

[Young]

Hmm, interesting. I don't have much of a stand on this issue but I'll play the devil's advocate anyway.

The most obvious point would be the resources required to sustain an extended jail sentence. How is it fair for the lawful taxpayers of the country to see their hard-earned money being channeled to support murderers who are worth less than the soil they stand on?

The death penalty may be an archaic law but its deterrent effect cannot be taken for granted. Most criminal laws are designed such that punishments are meted out in proportion to the severity of the crime comitted and the only punishment apt for a murderer is death itself. If you do not send out a strong message, you are essentially condoning the act. Abolishing the death penalty may work in developed societies where poverty is scarce and education is thorough but the same cannot be said for Malaysia, unless we're prepared to see an inevitable jump in murder tally.

[vikraman]

Oman, Lebanon, Algeria, Bahrain, Senegal, Tunisia and Nepal are countries with similar levels of social and economic development as Malaysia. They do not have the death penalty. They also have far lower murder rates per 100,000 people.

China, Egypt, USA and Russia have the death penalty. They also have far worse murder rates per 100,000 people. Your point that without the death penalty, murder rates will go through the roof is invalid.

I believe most criminals can be rehabilitated. Those who cannot should be locked up forever as society cannot function effectively with their presence as members of society however this is no reason for depriving them of their right to life. It is completely reasonable that having chosen to exclude these people from our society because our values are incompatible, we have to ensure they do not die due to our choices. The goal of the criminal justice system should be to ensure the security of the populace while protecting the rights of the individual criminal.

Also in Malaysia we execute people for a wide variety of crimes, not just murder.

Waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Treason) - Section 121 Penal Code
Offences against a Ruler - Section 121A Penal Code
Abetting mutiny (Armed Forces) - Section 132 Penal Code
Hostage taking - Section 374A Penal Code
Drug trafficking and possession - Section 39B Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (mandatory)
Possession of firearms - Section 57 Internal Security Act 1960

[youngyew]

Also there is an argument that death penalty is more costly overall than life without parole due to the extensive judicial process involved in sentencing one to death. Not sure how this actually works out in real life or whether this is true at all, but here goes:

http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=42

not all convicted are sinful.
they might also victims of frame up and awful situations.
i begged to disagree death sentence.

[Boyz_Zoo]

i agree with the death penalty. No one has d right 2 take one's life. Tat's y murderer should be sentenced 2 death. If not, they can do it again or d family members or frens will take their revenge which cause even more prob. The same is for those who cause a lot of suffering tat v can prosecute under d law like drug smugglers.

[zircophere]

how about mandatory death sentence? should it be replaced by death sentence? or even death sentence should be abolished

[Alexis Ma]

Originally Posted by vikraman

Oman, Lebanon, Algeria, Bahrain, Senegal, Tunisia and Nepal are countries with similar levels of social and economic development as Malaysia. They do not have the death penalty. They also have far lower murder rates per 100,000 people.

China, Egypt, USA and Russia have the death penalty. They also have far worse murder rates per 100,000 people. Your point that without the death penalty, murder rates will go through the roof is invalid.

A few things here. Murder rates do not depend solely on the punishment by law. Other factors come into play: socioeconomic environment, cultural perceptions, and the prevalence of violent crime already present. Of course, the trick is to try and determine to what extent does the type of punishment affect murder rates.

In absence of such a good trick, the point is moot.

[vikraman]

Originally Posted by Boyz_Zoo

i agree with the death penalty. No one has d right 2 take one's life. Tat's y murderer should be sentenced 2 death. If not, they can do it again or d family members or frens will take their revenge which cause even more prob. The same is for those who cause a lot of suffering tat v can prosecute under d law like drug smugglers.

I lol'd. You say "No one has the right to take another's life" and then go on to say you agree with the death penalty where someone (the state) takes the life of another. Quantum philosophy?

Originally Posted by Alexis Ma

A few things here. Murder rates do not depend solely on the punishment by law. Other factors come into play: socioeconomic environment, cultural perceptions, and the prevalence of violent crime already present. Of course, the trick is to try and determine to what extent does the type of punishment affect murder rates.

In absence of such a good trick, the point is moot.

Was trying to address the earlier point made by Young that the abolishment of the death penalty will result in a jump in violent crime. I tried my best with the best data available online to draw those two points together but yes, I agree without a lot more data it's hard to say whether that point is conclusively debunked.

I'm opposed to the death penalty on purely philosophical grounds.