Abolish the death penalty: It’s the only way to empty Malaysia’s death row

On the World Day Against the Death Penalty (10 October), Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) calls on Malaysia to take the next step towards the abolition of the death penalty.

This step involves abolishing the death sentence for all crimes that do not directly cause death or grievous bodily injury to the victims of the criminals.

This year, the World Day theme is “dedicated to challenging the misconception that the death penalty can make people and communities safer”. Madpet asserts: It cannot.

If the death penalty remains in the statutes, the courts will still continue to sentence people to death – even though judges now have a choice of alternative sentences, after the mandatory death penalty was repealed.

Previously, when the death penalty was mandatory, the courts had no choice but to sentence everyone to death for offences that provided only for the mandatory death sentence.

First step – Abolition of mandatory death penalty history

Malaysia took the first step by abolishing the mandatory death penalty and imprisonment for life, through the abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023, which came into force on 4 July 2023.

Even before the 2018 general election, the then Barisan Nasional-led government was already considering the abolition of the death penalty.

In November 2018, in Parliament, it was reported that Malaysia’s cabinet (under the Pakatan Harapan led-government) had reached a consensus that the death penalty for 33 offences should be abolished. These offences were provided for under eight acts of law, including Section 302 of the Penal Code, which pertains to murder, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keon.

However, in March 2019, there was a backtracking. “We have made a decision. The government will only repeal the mandatory death penalty…” said deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin.

In October 2022, under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri, the first concrete step was taken. Seven separate bills were tabled in Parliament to pave the way for the abolition of the mandatory death sentence in Malaysia. Among the laws to be amended were the Dangerous Drugs Act, Kidnapping Act, Arms Act, Penal Code and Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act. (Star, 6/10/2022).

However, it did not see the debate or passing of bills as Parliament was dissolved to make way for the November 2022 general election.

When the new Pakatan Harapan-led coalition government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim came into power, two bills were tabled.

Besides, the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act (which came into force on 4 July 2023), the other act was the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 (which came into force on 12 September 2023).

This second act now allowed all on death row or sentenced to life imprisonment to apply to the court for a reconsideration of their sentences. Sadly, the Federal Court has still maintained the death penalty for some cases.

Death penalty still being imposed or maintained

Despite the abolition of the mandatory death penalty, the death penalty remained but courts now had the discretion of using the alternative sentence of 30-40 years’ imprisonment, along with no fewer than 12 strokes of the cane (whipping).

Madpet has called for the abolition of whipping (caning), which is a corporal punishment, that recently has caused death to one person.

Death sentences sadly continue to be imposed by the court, despite judges having the choice of alternative sentences. Three people convicted for the murder of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya and her three aides in 2010 failed in their application to review their death sentence. The three-member Federal Court unanimously upheld their death sentence.

In other courts, after hearings or appeals, the courts continue to sentence people to death.

On 27 July 2027, the Court of Appeal, in the case where six former students of the National Defence University (UPNM) killed naval cadet officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain seven years ago, changed the charge to murder and sentenced all to death.

Justice Hadhariah, in a unanimous decision, said the High Court judge erred in amending the original charge from Section 302 of the Penal Code, which is murder, to Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code. “Therefore, we unanimously decide that a single sentence is appropriate for all six defendants, and they shall be taken to a place of execution where they will be sentenced to death by hanging…Therefore, the court overturns the 18-year prison sentence imposed by the High Court on the six defendants and replaces it with the death sentence.”

Madpet states that this reality will not change until the death penalty itself is abolished in law.

Pardon powers rarely used

The king and the state rulers do have pardon powers that can commute death sentences. In May 2015, the sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, commuted the death sentences of two people to life imprisonment.

In February 2017, Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah granted a pardon to Shahrul Izani Suparman, commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Sadly, the use of pardon to commute death sentence is rare in Malaysia. The previous king of Thailand was famous for pardoning death row inmates in great numbers.

Abolish death penalty now

One cannot blame the courts for the sentencing of people to death.

The blame lies with the people of Malaysia and their representatives in Parliament, who are the only ones who can abolish the death penalty in law.

When Malaysia kills a person by hanging to death, all in Malaysia inevitably become murderers, and that is something nobody wants.

Notice must be taken that there was no public outcry when the death sentences of murderers were commuted to imprisonment and whipping by the Federal Court in the revision of death sentence application. That must be taken as a sign that people in Malaysia are ready for the abolition of the death penalty.

Therefore,

Madpet calls on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the current government of Malaysia to immediately abolish the death penalty. At the very least least, consider abolishing the death sentence for all crimes where the perpetrator does not kill or cause grievous bodily harm to the victim.

Madpet notes that the UN General Assembly Resolution calling for a moratorium on execution pending abolition of death penalty will soon be voted upon at the end of 2024. Madpet urges Malaysia to vote in favour again, as it did in 2018, 2020 and 2022.

Madpet reiterates its call for the abolition of whipping and corporal punishment; and

Madpet reiterates its call for the abolition of the death penalty.

Source: aliran.com, Charles Hector, October 14, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Instagram | Telegram | Contact Us

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

— Oscar Wilde

South Korea ferry disaster: Surviving passengers of Sewol tragedy give evidence in court

Surviving passengers of a South Korean ferry which sunk in April, killing 304 people, are due to give evidence in the trial of its captain and 14 crew members. Students from the Danwon High School in Ansan, 18 miles south of Seoul, will testify with other passengers in a smaller court nearer to their home, rather than the one where the defendants are being seen in Gwangju, in the south of the country. The Sewol ferry set sail on 16 April with 476 passengers and crew on board - more than 300 of which were schoolchildren. They were enroute from the mainland to the island resort of Jeju as part of a school trip, when nearing the end of the journey, the vessel, which was overloaded, also made a sharp turn to the right causing it to capsize. Captain Lee Joon-seok, 68, was caught on rescue footage being one of the first to leave the ship, while many passengers, obeying orders, remained in the cabins. It is thought a delayed evacuation order from the captain did n...

Tennessee | Questions Raised About the Doctor Who Was Overseeing Tony Caruthers’ Execution

Mark Fowler, according to a deposition, had not placed a central line in a patient for more than a decade when he attempted to put one in Carruthers Around 11 a.m. Thursday morning in the execution chamber at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, a medical doctor stepped in and attempted to place a central IV line in Tony Carruthers’ chest. By that point, the prison staff had spent some 30 minutes trying unsuccessfully to insert a backup IV line that would allow them to proceed with the lethal injection. According to Carruthers’ attorney Maria DeLiberato, who was in the room, after asking a staff member to attempt inserting a line through Carruthers’ jugular vein, the doctor moved on to the central line, which is identified as the last resort in Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol .

Florida: The Daily Routine of Death Row Inmates

The breakfast carts rattle through the concrete prison at about 5:30 am and as they approach Death Row the first sounds of morning repeat the last sounds of night - remote controlled locks clanging open and clunking closed, electric gates whirring, heavy metal doors crashing shut, voices wailing, klaxons blaring. A maximum security prison has no soft or delicate sounds. At the end of each corridor of death row cells a guard opens a heavy door of steel bars and a prison trusty pushes a breakfast cart inside. The door closes behind him and when it locks a second door opens and admits the trusty to the wing. He steers his cart along the wing stopping at each cell to pass a tray of powdered eggs and lukewarm grits through a small slot on the bars. Food is prepared by prison staff and transported in insulated carts to the cells. The food carts are full of cockroaches, the food is often undercooked or just rotten and is served on Styrofoam plates with a plastic "spork" - fork/spoon...

Arizona executes Leroy McGill

Arizona executes inmate who set couple on fire in 'horrific attack' Arizona has executed Leroy McGill for setting 21-year-old Charles Perez and his 24-year-old girlfriend on fire. Perez died the next day and Perez survived with severe burn injuries. Arizona has executed a death row inmate for setting 2 people on fire more than 20 years ago, killing 1 of them and changing the other's life forever. The state executed Leroy McGill, 63, by lethal injection on Wednesday, May 20, for the 2002 murder of 21-year-old Charles Perez. McGill set Perez and his girlfriend on fire after they accused him of theft, court records say. Perez died of his injuries the next day while his girlfriend survived with severe burns.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Tennessee fails to execute Tony Carruthers after IV difficulties. State won't try again for a year

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee officials on Thursday called off the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three people in 1994, after his executioners tried and failed for over an hour to establish an intravenous line. Gov. Bill Lee announced soon afterward that the state would not try again for at least a year. In a written statement, the Tennessee Department of Corrections said medical personnel had quickly established a primary IV line but were unable to find a suitable vein for a backup line as required by the state’s execution protocol. Efforts to insert a central line also failed, and officials called off the execution.

EU GSP+ Reform: Will Brussels Finally Enforce Its Own Conditions on Pakistan?

The EU has tightened the rules governing GSP+ trade preferences, but Pakistan’s record raises a harder question: whether Brussels is prepared to suspend market access when a major beneficiary fails to demonstrate sustained compliance with human rights, labour and governance obligations. The European Union has formally adopted revised rules for its Generalised Scheme of Preferences, strengthening the conditions attached to preferential market access for developing countries. The new framework will apply from 1 January 2027 and is intended to tighten monitoring, widen the list of international conventions, and make suspension of benefits easier in cases of serious violations.

Former Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip goes free on $500k bond

Richard Glossip was released from jail Thursday, May 14, on a $500,000 bond, a major victory for the former death row inmate who has come so close to execution that he has had three last meals. Glossip, 63, is awaiting his third trial in his 1997 murder-for-hire case. He walked out the front door of the Oklahoma County jail, holding hands with his wife, Lea Glossip, as a stiff Oklahoma breeze whipped his hair. "I'm just thankful for my wife and my attorneys," he told reporters. "I'm just happy." His release came hours after Oklahoma County District Judge Natalie Mai set bail in a 13-page order that pointed to issues with the key witness against him.

New Mississippi billboard warns criminals: ‘Firing squad is legal’

DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. (WREG) — A billboard standing on Interstate 55 southbound as you cross the Tennessee state line and enter Mississippi from Memphis is sending a grim message to those coming into the state. DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton recently announced the new billboard campaign, which features the sign reading, “WELCOME TO MISSISSIPPI. WHERE THE FIRING SQUAD IS LEGAL. THINK TWICE.” It references Mississippi’s law permitting execution by firing squad under certain circumstances for inmates sentenced to death. Barton says this campaign is aimed at deterring violent crime and sends a direct message to criminals entering Mississippi.

Florida executes Richard Knight

Man convicted of killing a woman and her 4-year-old daughter is executed in Florida A Florida man convicted of fatally stabbing his cousin’s girlfriend and the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was put to death Thursday evening, becoming the 7th person executed by the state this year. Richard Knight, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a 3-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Knight was convicted of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the June 2002 killings of Odessia Stephens and her daughter, Hanessia Mullings. The curtain of the death chamber went up promptly at the scheduled 6:00 p.m. execution time. Knight was already strapped down with his arms extended and an IV line in place.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog