DEATH PENALTY WILL NOT END CRIME

By Mutabazi Sam Stewart

I was surprised by the comments in the press attributed to Rev. Can. Grace Kaiso of Uganda Joint Christian Council that he supports the death penalty. Maybe it is because Rev. Kaiso’s organization is not in the mainstream human rights work and he is, therefore, not well conversant with the current global campaign against the death penalty. One of the major challenges human rights advocates worldwide face is the issue of death penalty because it touches the epitome of human rights. Without life one cannot talk of human rights. Life must, therefore, be guarded jealously in order for one to enjoy the other rights. Although currently, the right to life is not absolute, it is increasingly becoming clear in international human rights standards that even hard-core criminals have rights, among these, the right to life until the creator decides to take it away from them. It is extremely important to take note of the fact that death penalty is not a punishment because the culprit is never given chance to reform. Death penalty contravenes the constitution and other international laws. Article 20 (1) of the Constitution says, “Fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual are inherent and not granted by the state”. The state uses the death penalty in a selective manner. One wonders how decisions are made on which case deserves a death sentence and which one does not. What yardstick is used to decide which offender deserves a death sentence, and which one deserves imprisonment? Any crime is potentially big depending on who has been wronged. To a political leader, such as the president, treason is one of the worst crimes one can commit, while to other people, theft may be worse than treason. Rev. Kaiso needs to scrutinize the advantages and disadvantages of death penalty. As a man of God, he will be surprised to discover there is more to gain in reconciliation than in destruction. Death penalty is the highest form of intolerance. Worst of all it may be applied to innocent people because of the inadequacies and limitations of the law. There are many instances worldwide where individuals have been hanged only to find out later that they were innocent. But the harm is already done and it is irreversible. Death penalty does not benefit anyone — neither the offender nor the aggrieved.So long as mankind continues live on earth, there will always be criminal activities for various reasons. Incarceration and imprisonment are so far the best choices we have. Complete elimination of offenders through capital punishment is like drawing water from the lake using a spoon. No matter how many criminals are hanged, more will come up. The state has the duty to protect all its citizens and to help the offenders to reform.The writer is a human rights activist

QUOTABLE QUOTE BY MUTABAZI SAM STEWART

“Human rights can be equated to a universal religion whose mission is to make the world better. Human Rights defenders must evangelize and propagate Human Rights beliefs and tenets to all peoples of the world with a purpose of attaining a fairer and freedom-filled universe”
(Author: Mutabazi Sam Stewart 19th February 2009)