We do not need the death penalty

No matter what reason the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government gives for executing death-row prisoners, the death penalty cannot be separated from the issue of human rights.

The country's leadership should be aware of what the death penalty is, how it is used, how it affects the citizens and how it violates fundamental rights. The Universal Declaration (of Human Rights) recognises each person's right to life and categorically states further that: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". Like torture, the death penalty is degrading and destroys human life. The alternative to this cruelty is abolition of capital punishment.