The question of death penalty
There is another convincing and weighty point of view put forward by the HRCP and other human rights activists that must be heeded. As pointed out by them, our judicial system suffers from so many basic flaws that the chances of there being a miscarriage of justice are immense. One does not have to be reminded of the brutalities of the police which often result in extracting false confessions from prisoners who might actually be innocent. Similarly, the investigation methodology is very faulty and very often the police fail to make a strong case for the prosecution. In such circumstances, can one be certain that a person held to be guilty and awarded the death sentence, has actually committed the crime? With death penalty being an irreversible measure, would any judge with a little conscience adjudge him guilty if there is doubt about his crime? A person wrongly adjudged guilty can be provided redress any time if he has not been sent to the gallows. Such cases of abortion of justice have other repercussions as well that are best avoided. The use of terror and force by the state cannot be justified on any ground. The best option would be to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment or put a moratorium on capital punishment until the government makes up its mind on the issue.
Source: Dawn
Date:1/27/2007
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