A little girl, murdered. A man, hanged. What is the difference? The man killed the little girl. But for whatever reasons he did it, why did government kill him? To punish him. But how is it punishment if, in theory, the act is exactly as bad? Gandhi once said: “God alone can take life as God alone can give it” so if a crime should be condemned, then it should be done without confusing which of the two was the crime in the first place. Was it the murder or the hanging?

The death penalty is still legal in India and in December, 2010 the government voted against a worldwide moratorium on executions. There have been several criminals sentenced to death but for 6 years there has been no execution. The question why it is still legal then is prominent.

Here are some reasons against the death penalty:

·         India’s main religion is Hinduism. In everyday life, Hindus follow the belief that an individual must rethink their actions, work for the forgiveness of others and redeem their sins so that in the next life they can start anew. They refuse to eat meat and fish or hurt a living organ in any way so the death penalty is against their beliefs. Immediate death doesn’t give the convicted any chance for choosing a better path in life.

·         During the past few years India has developed itself to the extent of being one of the biggest democratic states in the world yet it keeps fighting big issues of abusing the human rights. A hanging is against the human right of being free of torture and other cruel and inhuman treatments yet it is the most commonly chosen, if not even the only used method of execution in India.

·         Fallibility is a normal and healthy human trait and it is said that no one is perfect. But what if a decision and conclusion of a case is made and it was wrong, resulting in the death of someone? The state, the court and the executioner would have the blood of an innocent man on its hands. Different to other punishments the death penalty is irrevocable.

·         According to Amnesty International in the former states Travancore and Cochin, Kerala, there were 962 murders in the years 1945-1950. The death penalty had been abolished before this. In the following 6 years (1951-1956) it was restored and statistics showed 967 victims. So it is clear that there was no decrease whatsoever, the numbers stayed the same and show that the death penalty doesn’t work the way that it was hoped for.

Life ends with death. Evolution does too. The human race won’t get far if no one is willing to try to change something. What has one left to learn, if they are dead?

Please sign this petition and help stand up against the death penalty in India. 

Thank you.

Sources:

"The Death Penalty: Can We Live with It?" Human Rights Documentation Center

 ProCon.org. "Does Hinduism support the death penalty?" DeathPenalty.ProCon.org.