Three Nigerians executed in Indonesia
Three Nigerians and an Indonesian were on Thursday executed for drug trafficking offences.
The Indonesian government was meant to execute 14 alleged drug traffickers, but a reprieve of uncertain duration was granted to 10 out of the lot.
Among those on death row include six Nigerians, four Indonesians, two Zimbabweans, one Indian and one Pakistani.
Noor Rachmad, deputy attorney-general, said the four individuals were killed by firing squad not long after midnight local time on the penal island of Nusa Kambangan.
On those who have been given a temporary reprieve, Rachmad said the government hadn’t decided when the other executions will take place.
President Joko Widodo, who was elected in 2014, has now overseen three sets of executions despite promising to improve human rights in Indonesia during his campaign.
After a four-year unofficial moratorium on death penalty, executions resumed in Indonesia in 2013.
According to Amnesty International, over 100 people are on death row in Indonesia.
Nusa Kambangan prison had about 1,500 officers assigned to guard the area during the period leading to the executions.
Spiritual advisers were tasked with providing comfort and guidance to prisoners in their final hours before facing the firing squad.
I would plead to remove the penalty aspect, as it applies to the culprit from this word “Death Penalty”, as death is not a penalty, at least not to the dead; Simply put if death should be a penalty then we all are already penciled to this penalty by the inevitability of Mother Nature. That means that we all are standing on a death row waiting to be punished by Mother Nature. Could that be? I am talking from the perspective of the culprits in as much as penalty is deemed to incur remorse. In reality you cannot be punishing a dead person.
Also to the best of my knowledge, in Veterinary Practices Euthanasia(messy killing) similar to the American lethal injections by the so called death penalties, is allowed in cases of incurable diseases with unending suffering and pain to an Animal and this has never been deemed a sort of punishment but a relieve.
By state sponsored killing as in (Death Penalty), does it not amount to committing crime on the part of the state through unwarranted taking of a human life to cure the said crime committed by the culprit as a dead person can never develop or show any remorse anymore?
This notwithstanding the pains and agony coursed to the relatives of the culprit who actually in such cases are the ones punished brutally as
they are left with the pains for the rest of their lives.
Simply speaking we are punishing through death penalties the wrong persons and I am talking of irrespective of the crime and who is involved, let alone when the culprits as in some cases are really innocent of the said crime.
On the deterrent aspect as argued by some people, it remains to be seen how a state could be justified to commit a crime in itself by unwarranted taking of human life in other to deter crime of any sought.
Also bringing the victims of the perpetrated crime by the culprit into cognizance, I presume it to be naturally human to wish the culprit of serious crimes the most suitable penalty if found guilty, but when the culprit is dead as in death penalty, I wonder if the satisfaction of justice being done through suitable punishment is meet when the culprit cannot feel the pain him/herself anymore and in the process rethink his/her actions.