Death penalty
Sir: This letter is with reference to your editorial titled, Molla’s hanging (Daily Times, December 15, 2013). Now that leaders of religious parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have seen how innocent people can be executed without fair trials in developing countries, I hope they understand why the death penalty has been abolished in most countries of the world. Capital punishment is strictly enforced in some countries like Saudi Arabia, for example, but it has not proved a deterrent. But when the trial is flawed as in Molla’s case and prosecution witnesses are unreliable, the death penalty should not be invoked. The JI and other religious parties should at least start by demanding that men and women over the age of 60 should be spared. Perhaps a day will come when capital punishment is abolished throughout the world.
Sir: This letter is with reference to your editorial titled, Molla’s hanging (Daily Times, December 15, 2013). Now that leaders of religious parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have seen how innocent people can be executed without fair trials in developing countries, I hope they understand why the death penalty has been abolished in most countries of the world. Capital punishment is strictly enforced in some countries like Saudi Arabia, for example, but it has not proved a deterrent. But when the trial is flawed as in Molla’s case and prosecution witnesses are unreliable, the death penalty should not be invoked. The JI and other religious parties should at least start by demanding that men and women over the age of 60 should be spared. Perhaps a day will come when capital punishment is abolished throughout the world.
SHAKIR
LAKHANI
Karachi
Karachi
Printed in Daily Times, December 17, 2013
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