The Death Penalty?

Below The Monitor draws the attention of the reader to three cases, all of them decided in the month of August, though in different years and countries, dealing with death as a sentence for a variety of offences.

The media has most recently been reporting the case of the Iranian widow sentenced to death by stoning for alleged adultery.  The government of Iran, after immense international pressure around the world, postponed the implementation of the sentence though without reversing it.  Later reports coming out of the Vatican say the woman has reportedly been lashed 99 times after what was said to be a picture of her without a headscarf appeared in a newspaper.  The New York Times reported that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, had received the punishment in the prison where she is being held, citing her lawyer, Javid Kian.  However, it added that another lawyer disputed the account.  The Vatican said it was considering using behind-the-scenes diplomacy to try to spare her life, describing stoning as a particularly "brutal" form of capital punishment.  In August of 2007, in a similar case in the Muslim north of Nigeria, an Islamic court in Nigeria upheld a sentence of death by stoning for a woman accused of adultery.  The case was heard in accordance with Sharia law, which prescribes rules for social behaviour and sentences for transgressions ranging from sexual offences, theft, drinking of alcohol and highway robbery.  Theft could attract the chopping off of the hands.  Sharia law, which derives from the teachings of the Koran and from Sunna - the practice of the prophet Mohammed - is implemented to varying degrees in different Islamic countries - from the beheadings of Saudi Arabia, to the relatively liberal social mores of Malaysia.  This August, a federal district court in Savannah, Georgia, denied Troy Davis' petition - ruling that Troy, currently on death row, didn't reach the extraordinarily high legal bar to prove his innocence.  Troy's case is so powerful because it has inspired: a majority of witnesses to admit that they lied 19 years ago; four witnesses to finally testify against the person who they suspect to be the real killer of police officer Mark MacPhail; Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former US President Jimmy Carter to all call for clemency.  In all of the above cases the respective political regimes assert that these decisions were made in accordance with the legal system of the relevant countries also guided by the religious institutions of the respective countries.  The debate about the legal and moral relevance of the death penalty in Botswana should continue taking into account not just the manner in which the state may claim the life of a citizen but also the finality of the act.

 

Editor's Comment
Congratulations Anicia Gaothuse!

The contest had 10 beautiful young girls as finalists and unfortunately only one could wear the crown.The judges picked Anicia Gaothuse. To all those who feel their contestant should have won ahead of Anicia for whatever reason, hardly; the judges found Anicia to be the best among the best, so desist from disrespecting our newly crowned queen on social media or anywhere else, for that matter! Each of the 10 beautiful young women had supporters...

Have a Story? Send Us a tip
arrow up