ISLAMABAD
\nOn the eve of \u2018World Day Against Death Penalty\u2019 today the PPP has called for abolishing the death penalty.
\n\u201cUntil the death penalty is abolished as a result of a larger public debate on the efficacy of death penalty in deterring crime the victims be given right to proper defence and protected against torture for extracting confession\u201d, said a statement Tuesday by the President of the Human Rights Cell of the PPP former Senator.
\nThe number of crimes carrying the death penalty must be drastically decreased from the present 33 and juveniles and mentally challenged persons be spared from execution. Legal and consular services to migrant Pakistani workers be ensured and the procedure for mercy petitions against executions streamlined, he said.
\nHe said that studies showed that Pakistan executed only the poorest and the most marginalized whose fair trial rights were often violated and convicts were tortured in the broken criminal justice system. Highlighting it he said that sometime back two brothers accused of murder were acquitted by the Supreme Court after years on death row but only after they had been hanged.
\nIt is shameful that in such a broken criminal justice system the senate committee recently passed a private member bill calling for public hangings, he said and called for immediate withdrawal of the proposed amendment
\nHe said that after the APS massacre in December 2014 there was a public outcry to hang the terrorists. However over 85 % of the executions carried out thereafter were for ordinary crimes and not related to terrorism, he said.
\nHe said that states abolishing the death penalty have increased and more and more Muslim countries had placed moratorium on executions but in Pakistan the number of crimes carrying the death penalty had progressively increased.
\nHe said that as murder was punishable with death or life imprisonment a measure of arbitrariness in giving death penalty was unavoidable. The Supreme Court has held that death is usual punishment, but there are also court judgments calling for \u2018justice with mercy\u2019 and that reasons must be recorded why a judge, he said.
\nDeath penalty is irreversible, has doubtful deterrence value and militates against the poor. The fact that a large number of convictions are set aside on appeal showed that the death penalty resulted in appalling miscarriage of justice, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD On the eve of \u2018World Day Against Death Penalty\u2019 today the PPP has called for abolishing the death penalty. \u201cUntil the death penalty is abolished as a result of a larger public debate on the efficacy of death penalty in deterring crime the victims be given right to proper defence and protected against torture […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-360841","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n