Skip to main content

MHA survey finds growing support among Singapore residents for death penalty in most serious crimes

SINGAPORE: More Singapore residents support the use of the death penalty for the most serious crimes, according to the findings of a 2023 Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) survey released on Thursday (Sep 19).

A survey was first conducted in 2021 to "better understand public perceptions" and the ministry conducted it again two years later.

According to the latest survey findings, 77.4 per cent of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the use of the death penalty for the most serious crimes, such as murder and trafficking a "significant amount of drugs".

This was higher than the 73.7 per cent in the 2021 survey.

There were "statistically significant increases" in the proportion of respondents who strongly agreed or agreed with the use of the mandatory death penalty as punishment for three crimes.

They are trafficking a significant amount of drugs, discharging or attempting to discharge a firearm with the intent to cause injury, and intentional murder.

About 68.7 per cent of the respondents in the latest survey agreed or strongly agreed the mandatory death penalty was appropriate as punishment for trafficking a significant amount of drugs, up from 65.6 per cent in 2021.

There was also an increase in those who agreed or strongly agreed that such a punishment was appropriate for firearm offences – from 71.1 per cent in 2021 to 74.3 per cent in 2023.

For intentional murder, 85 per cent of respondents in 2023 strongly agreed or agreed that the mandatory death penalty was appropriate as punishment, higher than the 80.5 per cent in 2021.

The preliminary figures of the 2023 survey were revealed by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam in a ministerial statement in May.

“There is broad support from our population because we have been upfront and open about the rationale, circumstances and safeguards on the use of the death penalty,” said Mr Shanmugam.

DISCRETIONARY DEATH PENALTY


Respondents in the survey who did not agree that the mandatory death penalty was appropriate for these three crimes were further asked if the discretionary death penalty or life imprisonment would be the more appropriate punishment.

Within this group, some respondents indicated that the discretionary death penalty would be the more appropriate punishment, MHA said.

“Taking these respondents into account, the 2023 survey found that the large majority of respondents agreed that some form of the death penalty - whether mandatory or discretionary - was appropriate as the punishment for these three crimes.

"These proportions were comparable to that in the 2021 survey,” it added.

From the findings, 75.5 per cent of respondents agreed that some form of the death penalty was appropriate for trafficking a significant amount of drugs, up from 73.4 per cent in 2021.

For firearm offences, 81.3 per cent supported some form of the death penalty as punishment, down from 82 per cent in 2021.

For intentional murder, 88.7 per cent agreed that some form of the death penalty was appropriate, slightly higher than 88.2 per cent in 2021.

DETERRENCE


The survey also found that a larger proportion of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that the death penalty deterred three of the most serious crimes, compared to the findings in 2021.
  • Trafficking a significant amount of drugs: 87.9 per cent in 2023, up from 83.2 per cent in 2021.
  • Firearm offences: 90.2 per cent in 2023, up from 85.9 per cent in 2021.
  • Murder: 90.2 per cent in 2023, up from 85.9 per cent in 2021. 
Respondents were also asked if they felt that the death penalty had an additional deterrent effect over life imprisonment.

"In the 2023 survey, there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of respondents who strongly agreed or agreed that the death penalty was more effective compared to life imprisonment in deterring people from trafficking a significant amount of drugs, committing firearm offences, and committing murders," said MHA.

The ministry added that similar to the findings in 2021, the majority of respondents in the survey had confidence that Singapore’s criminal justice system would handle death penalty cases appropriately.

According to the findings, 88.7 per cent of respondents had confidence that accused persons in death penalty cases undergo fair and rigorous investigations, a slight increase from 88.5 per cent in 2021.

The majority (87.9 per cent) also had confidence that these individuals undergo fair and rigorous trials, compared with 88.1 per cent in the 2021 survey.

Meanwhile, 84.3 per cent believed there are adequate safeguards to ensure there are no wrongful executions, compared with 85.3 per cent in the previous survey.

MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY


To better understand how respondents felt about the mandatory death penalty, the 2023 survey introduced three new questions:
  • Whether the mandatory death penalty was a strong deterrent against the most serious crimes in Singapore
  • Whether the replacement of the mandatory death penalty with the discretionary death penalty would result in an increase in serious crimes in Singapore
  • Whether they would prefer to retain the mandatory death penalty in Singapore
Most of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statements, MHA said.

About 75.6 per cent of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that they would prefer the mandatory death penalty to be retained for trafficking a significant amount of drugs. 

For firearm offences, about 82.2 per cent agreed or strongly agreed, while 87.7 per cent agreed or strongly agreed for intentional murder.

The survey also found a statistically significant increase in the proportion of residents who strongly agreed or agreed that the mandatory death penalty was a greater deterrent than the discretionary death penalty for the most serious crimes.

Survey methodology


A survey company was appointed to conduct face-to-face interviews with about 2,000 Singapore residents, comprising citizens and permanent residents, aged 15 and above. About 86.7 per cent of the respondents were Singaporeans.

Similar to the 2021 survey, the 2023 survey utilised stratified random sampling based on age, race, sex and citizenship status to ensure that the survey sample would be representative of the national resident population.

The fieldwork for the survey took place between April and June 2023. Respondents were assured that their responses would be kept anonymous.

Source: channelnewsasia.com, Staff, September 19, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________








"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde



Labels:
Location: Singapore

Most viewed (Last 7 days)

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an exe­cu­tion war­rant for 74-year-old pris­on­er William ​“Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hos­pi­tal to the hos­pice wing of the prison. After his attor­neys raised seri­ous con­cerns about his men­tal com­pe­ten­cy and dete­ri­o­rat­ing phys­i­cal health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to tem­porar­i­ly stay the exe­cu­tion so Mr. Thompson’s com­pe­ten­cy can be eval­u­at­ed on October 1. If he is found com­pe­tent, his exe­cu­tion remains sched­uled for October 13.
Post a Comment
Read more

Tennessee Supreme Court denies stay for death row inmate Christa Pike

(TNND) — As Tennessee prepares for a Sept. 30 execution, the Tennessee Supreme Court has denied death row inmate Christa Gail Pike’s request to stop it. The court rejected Pike’s challenge to the state’s lethal-injection protocol, finding that her thrombocytosis diagnosis, a condition involving elevated blood platelets, did not show the execution would violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Post a Comment
Read more

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death  A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death.  Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Philippines | President Marcos Grants Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso

President Marcos Confirms Decision to Grant Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso  President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso after more than a decade.  On Friday (September 25, 2026), the President confirmed the decision during a visit to Guiuan, Eastern Samar.  According to him, the pardon was officially signed the previous day, marking a major development in the case.  
Post a Comment
Read more

Texas set to execute second man convicted in 2005 South Texas triple murder

Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey is scheduled to die Wednesday, one week after the state executed his co-defendant for the same killings. Texas is scheduled to execute a man on Wednesday for the 2005 shooting deaths of three people during a botched robbery in a small South Texas town, just one week after the state put his co-defendant to death for the same crime. Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey, 41, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
Post a Comment
Read more

Florida | He executed death row prisoners. Then they came back to haunt him

Dunnellon, Florida—Every night, one of the men Ron McAndrew killed would sit at the foot of his bed and stare, blankly, into his tortured soul. He knew they were coming. He’d shift over in his sheets to make room. “They never said anything,” McAndrew recalls, his aged voice straining from the weight of the memory. “They just sat there and looked at me.” But their eyes would talk. They would ask, "How could you do such a thing?’” says McAndrew. “You always claimed to be a good person. And now you’re killing people.”
Post a Comment
Read more

Florida | Tomasz Kosowski found guilty of murder after representing himself in death penalty case

Tomasz Kosowski sat each day alone at the defense table, wearing orange jail garb and rubber sandals with socks. In a rare and largely unprecedented move for a death penalty case, Kosowski represented himself, waiving his right to a jury trial and allowing a judge in Pinellas County, Florida, to decide his fate. Prosecutors presented the state’s case over six days, laying out for the judge how the former plastic surgeon accosted Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of his law office on a Tuesday morning, and Cozzi was never seen again.
Post a Comment
Read more

DNA evidence doesn’t match man who spent decades on death row, Utah prosecutors say

Douglas Stewart Carter, 71, was sentenced to death in 1985 after a jury found him guilty of murdering Eva Olesen Prosecutors are dropping their plan to seek the death penalty in an upcoming retrial of a Utah man who spent decades on death row for a 1985 killing in which newly analyzed DNA evidence did not match him. Douglas Stewart Carter, 71, was sentenced to death in 1985 after a jury found him guilty of murdering Eva Olesen, the aunt of a former Provo police chief. The state Supreme Court last year ordered a new trial, citing misconduct by investigators. Carter remains in custody and maintains his innocence.
Post a Comment
Read more

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed."  SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.
Post a Comment
Read more

Tennessee | Christa Pike Requests Clemency Ahead of September 30 Execution Date; Experts’ Amicus Brief Points to ​‘Substantial Risk’ of Re-traumatization

Lawyers for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, filed a 226-page clemen­cy peti­tion with Governor Bill Lee, ask­ing him to com­mute her death sen­tence to life in prison with­out the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole ahead of her September 30 exe­cu­tion date. Ms. Pike’s clemen­cy peti­tion out­lines the case her team has built over decades of appeals: her actions at 18 years old can­not be sep­a­rat­ed from a child­hood marked by repeat­ed rape, sex­u­al abuse, and neglect that went unad­dressed by the adults and state sys­tems meant to pro­tect her. Once incar­cer­at­ed, Ms. Pike was diag­nosed with bipo­lar dis­or­der and post-trau­mat­ic stress disorder.
Post a Comment
Read more