Executions on Hold in Indonesia

Kerobokan Prison, Indonesia

Jakarta. More than 100 inmates are on death row in Indonesia, some for well over 10 years.

But no one has been executed in the past four years, since three Bali bombers and seven others were dispatched by firing squad in 2008.

Last month, Indonesian officials admitted to being influenced by the global trend that frowns on the death penalty on humanitarian grounds.

They also feel loosening the noose at home might help Indonesia better campaign for its citizens to be spared from death row abroad, at a time when recent executions have proven to be emotionally charged occasions at home.

"There is a de facto moratorium on the death penalty," prominent lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis told The Straits Times. "There is also a realization that imposing the death penalty does not deter crime or solve problems, be it corruption, drugs or terrorism."

This reluctance to execute is not unique. A weakening stomach for the death penalty in Indonesia comes at a time when several neighbors, including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, are loosening up on its application and reviewing existing death row cases.

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Source: JakartaGlobe, November 1, 2012

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