Dave Achondo
AS we all know by now, anything about murder, rape and drugelated cases will make the public cry out for the restoration of capital punishment. It can’t be helped no matter how many noise barrages or rallies an institution or group stages to prevent it from being passed. Heinous crimes fuel the public’s thirst for swift justice that then urges those in the government to bring back the death penalty ASAP!
The usual reason that people say why they like the death penalty back is because they see it as a crime deterrent, and a legal way to get rid of hardened criminals. Some would also argue that criminals deserve it, and then they would give examples.
One argument: What about the victim who was killed, raped or both? Where is justice when the criminals get to live while the victim is dead?
Take, for instance, what happened to Cherrymae Dayo, a 30-year old college student, whose life was cut short last week. When the news about her killing broke out, it was blown out of proportions on social media. It reached a point when an angry mob nearly lynched the five suspects involved in the case. If the mob had it their way, I am sure they would have given the flagpole in Divisoria a new purpose.
It wasn’t a boring Monday at city hall where the mob shouted, “Patya na, Patya na.” Kill, kill, kill...
And then one of the suspects suffered a miscarriage. Yes, a life was lost. Oh, boy! I hope those with pitchforks were happy to read that news.
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And then there are those who compare our country with another one that has capital punishment. We have read and heard the news about OFWs who were sentenced to death in other countries due to drug cases, among others. The argument is, “May pa sila patyon nila mga Pinoy pagmadakpan dadto, drug mule pa na. Kita dire drug lord na gani, ginapriso lang. Alagaan pa.” But that’s an argument of revenge, not justice. Balosay?
The way I see it, the death penalty isn’t really an effective deterrent to crime. If there are evidence and data, I would like to see them. But until I see it, capital punishment would only sow fear among some criminals and, perhaps, make potential criminals think twice about living a life of crime.
I would go on to speculate that the move to bring back death penalty is also aimed at lessening the government’s burden of having to feed criminals, and to prevent prison overpopulation.
I think capital punishment would be restored. Maybe, we would be seeing justice by then or maybe not. But either way, I still see it as a form of vengeance, not justice--“a life for a life.”
No prison is a paradise for criminals. I’ve met and talked to ex-convicts, and all of them have said the same thing: “Prison is hell,” and it’s not easy to survive in one. Now imagine someone slapped with a life sentence. That’s as good as saying you’ll rot and die in jail or worse, you become someone’s b***ch.
What bothers me really isn’t the death penalty being reinstated but people who are thirsting for blood death. It’s as if it is easy for judges to send other people to the death chamber, and for executioners to carry out the executions.
If you ask me, what the government should really be doing is to improve the judicial system so that crime would be a highisk undertaking. By making the judicial system effective, cases would be resolved as quickly as possible, and we would avoid wrongfully convicting anyone.
We hear that we don’t have to fear death penalty if we are not criminals. True. But there is such a thing as mistaken identity, and there is a list of cases of false convictions.
As for me, a life imprisonment is still the best form of punishment. If you want hardened criminals to really suffer, a life sentence, which means a life without freedom, is definitely the worst thing that could happen to anyone. Death would only free hardened criminals.
