Rethink capital punishment. No one benefits from the death
penalty
Is it time to rethink the issue of capital punishment?
I am writing in response to the imminent execution of Took Leng
How, who was found guilty of killing eight-year-old Huang Na on 10
October 2004 and was given the death sentence on 26 August 2005
after a 13-day trial.
While the execution seems inevitable, I hope to highlight the risk
of wrongful executions and the wider implications of the death
penalty on the family and the community.
We should rethink our position on a form of a punishment that is
deemed 'barbaric' and 'unconstitutional' by a majority in the world
today.
In the UK, cases such as Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley in the
1960s highlighted the susceptibility of the criminal justice system
to human errors and the risk of wrongful executions.
Similarly, in the US, the 123 exonerations since 1973 have led to
the abolition of the death penalty in several states. John
Ballard's exoneration in Florida last February is a reminder that
wrongful convictions and executions are not problems of the
past.
Rather, it is a consequence of a legal process which cannot
guarantee that all guilty people will be convicted and all innocent
people will be acquitted.
In the case of Took, the fact that the judges were divided on
whether Took is 'guilty beyond reasonable doubt' is a good
illustration of the uncertainties inherent in the process of
obtaining a conviction.
Despite the uncertainties and reservations the court had, the
entire trial process from conviction to the date of the forthcoming
execution in Took's case is swift.
In the US, the long custodial sentence, sometimes for decades,
prior to the execution date have led to numerous exonerations due
to fresh evidence surfacing while the prisoner is on death
row.
Perhaps, more important is the impact of a death sentence on the
family and loved ones of the prisoners on death row.
While little research has been done to assess the impact of state
executions on the children of executed prisoners or prisoners on
death row, studies on children of incarcerated parents have shown
that the children can suffer from psychological and emotional
problems because of it.
There is a need for our criminal justice system to acknowledge the
impact of parental executions on children and the effects of state
executions on the family.
Took's case is an illustration of the futility of the death
penalty. While the severity of the crime of murder has to be
acknowledged, I am doubtful of capital punishment's deterrent
effect on cases like Took's that are often crimes of passion or a
tragic result of an untreated mental illness.
While I respect the court's decision, the imposition of the death
sentence in this case can only result in a loss of a father, son
and husband to his family.
Gabe Tan Si Han (Miss)
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