Recently there was an article in Hindu http://orwell.ru/library/articles/hanging/english/e_hanging This article has come up on the wake of giving mercy to the killers of Rajiv Gandhi. There has been huge row about forgiving those involved in it. It has been twenty years since Mr Gandhi died and more than 70 years since Mr Orwell wrote the article. Letting these people off the crime they did, seems to be logical amongst various set of society who thinks letting go the criminals is a way forward for an emerging society. Death sentence looks medieval or cruel. But was the crime (murder) committed a civilized step ?
A society that sentences killers to nothing worse than prison -- no matter how depraved the killing or how innocent the victim -- is a society that doesn't *really* think murder is so terrible. When a killer is hanged till death, society is condemning his crime with a seriousness and intensity that no other punishment achieves. I still remember as a child the broken limbs and legs of Mr Gandhi , a former prime minister and a potential national leader. Blood was all around and almost 60 people died.
. Its not only about Mr Gandhi but the seriousness of crime. My concern comes to the judicial options being given to these criminals. No one requires lots of proof that Kasab did kill people. So why do we wait? Are we going to wait for people to forget the terrible memory attached to these crimes and after some years, a national debate arises on giving mercy to Kasab ?
Those of us who favor death for murderers rely on history, on common sense, on an instinctive sense of fairness, and on a moral tradition stretching back to eternity. But in our time as in all times, there are those who would rather let evildoers get away with murder. The debate goes on.
such a situation may b thr one day that a plane is hijacked and the life of its passangers is threatened until a criminal awaiting his final judgement is not released..
ReplyDeletecapital punishment is bad for a growing society of intellectuals but what is the future u want to bring by abolishing it or giving mercy to someone. Yes, so many years in jail has spoiled there lives, why death but then why life too.?
what example do we set for any future evil-doer. However the fact is that some of these criminals are also not afraid of death bcoz they set out with that sacrificial thought in mind.
There are many questions, many debates, many angles to this.
I only hope the trials are speedy, whatever they have to be.
while i agree that criminals should be punished- in jail, life imprisonement, and so on and so forth
ReplyDeletei think no one is so powerful that one can take the life of another ... i'd say let living and dying be decided by the creator ...
@ij .. seems ur remark itself answers it... no one is so powerful to take the life of another.. sadly there r few who end up doing exactly the same thing... and capital punsihment indeed discourages that
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ndtv.com/article/india/delhi-blast-huji-claims-responsibility-132021
ReplyDeletesomething we might like to ponder upon. HUJI took responsibility of the delhi high court blasts today bcoz they want the death sentence on afzal guru to b changed to life...do we want this n further. They say if that doesnt happen there will be more blasts..
this further substantiates our inept system to deal with terrorism and a very weak judiciary system...
ReplyDelete