Sin Chew - Judge's discretion in death penalty (extracts):
By Azmi Sharom
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
By Azmi Sharom
For many years now Malaysia has had the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking. This means that if a person is found guilty of trafficking then the judge has no choice but to impose the death penalty.
Now the government is making efforts to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act so that the death penalty for this offence is no longer mandatory.
In other words, the judge has a discretion and could, for example, imprison the offender instead.
Now the government is making efforts to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act so that the death penalty for this offence is no longer mandatory.
In other words, the judge has a discretion and could, for example, imprison the offender instead.
This is in my opinion a good development. According to international laws and standards, the death penalty can be imposed. However, it is limited only to the most serious offences, and if we look at the decisions of international law bodies, this means crimes that actually cause death.
For example, armed robbery and kidnapping by itself does not warrant the death penalty if a human life is not lost in the process.
For example, armed robbery and kidnapping by itself does not warrant the death penalty if a human life is not lost in the process.
Furthermore, a mandatory death penalty is definitely against international standards as it means that the court has no choice in the matter and the accused has limited or no recourse to appeal the sentence.
However, we do not yet know what these amendments look like, so we can't judge just how far the changes in the law will be.
What I am hoping is that the judge will be given a true discretion. This means that he or she can take into account a variety of factors before deciding what punishment should be imposed.
![]()
![]()
![]()
However, we do not yet know what these amendments look like, so we can't judge just how far the changes in the law will be.
What I am hoping is that the judge will be given a true discretion. This means that he or she can take into account a variety of factors before deciding what punishment should be imposed.
A better proposal should be for our Malaysia to abolish the death penalty.
Execution is irreversible and we know that mistakes had been made by authorities before.
The death penalty does NOT deter criminals. Au contraire, Canada saw a 44% drop in murders after it abolished the death penalty.
Executing someone is the same as inhumane cold-blooded murder, masked behind a hypocritical mask of legality. It's silly argument to say the criminal must pay. That's the old biblical 'an eye for an eye' barbarism.
Malaysia must step out of this gross barbarism of 'an eye for an eye' mentality and join the enlightened world where 103 nations have abolished capital punishment.
