PETALING JAYA: The special committee looking into the abolishment of the mandatory death penalty has assured the families of murder victims that the court will still have the discretionary powers to decide on whether to impose the sentence. The statement is in response to views expressed by the families at a press conference yesterday. The families of the victims had urged the government to retain the mandatory death penalty for heinous crimes or premeditated killings involving the loss of lives. The Special Committee on the Study of the Alternative Sentence to the Mandatory Death Sentence said abolishing the mandatory death penalty did not mean a total abolition of the death penalty. “The death penalty may still be imposed if the court finds it appropriate based on the facts of the case,” it said. Yesterday, lawyer Christina Teng who represented the victims’ families, said if the mandatory death sentence was abolished, judges might not sentence a criminal to dea...
Striving for a World without Capital Punishment