LETTERS: I feel sorry for families whose loved ones are victims of rapes and killings, if the proposed abolition of the mandatory sentence gets the nod by Parliament.
The death penalty is a necessary evil-cum-tool to combat heinous crimes, such as murder and drug trafficking.
It must be retained to ensure development is not derailed and incitement to violence, whose victims are innocent people, can be avoided.
It also gives people a sense of justice for the crimes that have been committed.
For years, the death penalty has proven to be an effective deterrent against serious and heinous crimes.
Convicted murderers must not be allowed to roam the streets as they pose risks and threaten the safety of society.
In 1995, New York governor E. Pataki signed a new death penalty law, while in 1997, the American Bar Association called for a moratorium on executions.
However, the association took no position on the death penalty per se.
In 2021, the United States Pew Research Centre, in its study, said six in 10 US adults “strongly or somewhat favour the death penalty for convicted murderers”.
It said 64 per cent agreed that the death penalty is “morally justified when someone commits a crime like murder”.
Up to last year, 54 countries have retained capital punishment.
Although most nations have abolished capital punishment, more than 60 per cent of the world’s population live in countries where the death penalty is enforced, such as China, Indonesia, India, parts of the US, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Taiwan.
The life imprisonment proposed by the government, which is limited to 30 years of jail time, does not justify the crimes committed.
In fact, from a psychological perspective, the impact of the heinous crimes can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and anger in victims’ families.
These emotions can lead to higher rates of chronic illness, substance abuse and suicide.
Looking at the experience from other countries and despite the concerns from the public, I suggest the government postpone the amendments to ensure “actus legis nemini facit injuriam” (the act of law injures no one) for families of victims and those affected by serious and heinous crimes in Malaysia, is served and restored.
Online polls in 2018 showed that the majority of Malaysian respondents opposed the abolition of the death penalty.
The polls by the New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro, for instance, showed that 82 per cent of respondents opposed the government’s move to axe the death penalty and only 18 per cent were in favour of the move.
Singapore and China put public interest before anything else.
Surely we should prevent rising crimes, especially drug-related crimes, repeat offenders and killers, from escaping punishment.
