NOTICE: The following
article is written by the author itself and not by me, I am not trying to
violate their copyright. I will give some information on them.
PAGE TITLE: Gulf News http://gulfnews.com/
ARTICLE TITLE: Endless debate over
death penalty
AUTHOR: Tariq A. Al Maeena
AUTHOR
INFORMATION: Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi
socio-political commentator. He was educated at the University of Denver. He
lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
DATE: Sunday 25 December
2011
 |
Tariq A. Al Maeena
|
Endless
debate over death penalty
Despite western criticism, most urban dwellers in
Saudi Arabia do not see this act of retribution as inhumane if the crime is
ghastly in nature
By Tariq A. Al
Maeena, Special to Gulf News
Published: 00:00
December 25, 2011
Several international human rights
organisations have expressed outrage over the execution of a Saudi woman
earlier this month. The western press joined the fray with some editorials
condemning the putting to death of Ameenah Bin Salem, tried and convicted of
practising witchcraft and sorcery, according to the Saudi Ministry of Interior.
In a statement, Philip Luther, interim
director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa chapter, described the
execution as "deeply shocking" adding that ‘while we don't know the
details of the acts which the authorities accused Ameenah of committing, the
charge of sorcery has often been used in Saudi Arabia to punish people, generally
after unfair trials, for exercising their right to freedom of speech or
religion".
This year alone, there have been reports that
close to 80 people have been executed for committing violent crimes. The number
of actual executions would be much higher had it not been for the practice of
accepting ‘diya' or blood money in lieu of execution, according to Sharia.
It should be noted that Amnesty International
regularly targets Saudi Arabia with regard to the execution of some of its
criminals and for the "charade of a trial which most of the victims
receive". Amnesty claims that more often than not, the accused are not
judged in accordance with the basic norms of international law and court
sessions are held in secret.
Mentioned in the Old Testament and carried over to
the subsequent faiths, the ‘eye for an eye' view can and often does thrust
people on opposing sides of the fence. The law of ‘an eye for an eye' is
usually called the law of retribution, or lex talionis, or the law of
equivalency. In Saudi Arabia as elsewhere, capital punishment is still being
meted out to those proven guilty of a variety of crimes.
Serious crime
In that the crimes for capital punishment by the
state are clearly defined — terrorism, drug-trafficking, kidnapping, armed
robbery and rape — there exist crimes against people that can place the
aggressor under the sword of the state or the mercy of the victim's family. The
state often has no say in such matters.
Take the case of a homicide. If the perpetrator is
proven guilty, the state demands his incarceration for a minimal time, while he
awaits his fate based on the demands of the victim's relatives. In the case of
a full pardon by the victim's family, he is let off scot-free. This is often
the case when there is no indication or cause of pre-meditation for the crime.
Pardon can come in the form of mercy from the
victim's relatives, pressure from the extended family or the community, or the
payment of ‘diya' or ‘blood money', an amount that can range from hundreds of
thousands of riyals to several million.
However, if the victim's family decides that the
aggressor committed an unpardonable crime, no law in the land can intervene if
the relatives remain unmoved in their wish to see the guilty one executed. And
in that case, the sword is used to deliver justice.
Most urban dwellers that I have encountered do not
perceive this act of retribution as inhumane if the crime in itself is ghastly
in nature. The kidnapping and molestation of a child, or the rape and murder of
a defenceless woman, or a greed-motivated pre-meditated murder will not elicit
any form of sympathy for the assailant.
Deterrent
Although they may quote verses from the Quran in
the form that forgiveness is divine, few would march in defence of and against
the execution of a proven criminal for gruesome deeds.
Others may point out to the relative safety from
bodily harm prevalent in the kingdom to further their conviction that capital
punishment does indeed serve as a deterrent in keeping heinous crime rates low.
In that people can for the most part walk freely without fear of being accosted
by an armed robber, there is no question in their minds that such executions
play a big role.
Where in some countries the innocent have been
reportedly put to death after flawed investigation, raising public indignation
over the role of such state-sponsored executions, such errors are minimised
here through self-admission or witnesses. And testimonies are usually
scrutinised in several tiers of the legal system before a final verdict is
issued.
Rarely do we hear of someone whose life was ended
wrongfully because of flawed testimony, the absence of a high-profile legal
team or the perpetrator's social status. The law applies equally to one and
all.
Today, as the Gulf rebounds in growth and business
ventures, there may be those tempted to make gains through the pain of others.
How often they pause to reconsider their intent in view of the existing and
terminal laws of justice may be of social interest.
So is capital punishment justified? It depends on
which side of the fence your sentiments are on.
My comments: Well done, Tariq, I agree with your article but I personally do not
support the death sentence for sorcery, I only support for it for heinous crimes
and only those crimes that are death-related. You are absolutely right when you
mention that Saudi Arabia has a low crime rate, I respect the Saudi Arabian
justice system for wiping out evildoers in the country. As mentioned in earlier
post, that the Saudi executioners are one of the bravest people in the world
who take pride in the job. I respect them and they should not just be doing the
job in the country but should be hired to do so in any country if no one wants
to do the hangman’s job. My friend lived and worked in Saudi Arabia and told me
how safe your country is.
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