Capital Punishment Is Not an Option

Put rapists to death, Isaan folk say

THE NATION October 9, 2012 1:00 am

Most residents in the Northeast believe rapists should be sentenced to death, a poll conducted by the Isaan Centre for Business and Economic Research at Khon Kaen University revealed yesterday.

A survey of 810 respondents from 20 provinces in the Northeast, conducted on September 29 and 30, showed 43 per cent worried that they or people close to them could become victims. About 35 per cent said they wanted the authorities to punish sex offenders by sentencing them to death, while 32 per cent suggested life in prison. Around 18 per cent said they wanted the offender's sexual organ cut off, while 13 per cent suggested they be imprisoned for 10 years.

To reduce sex offences, 64 per cent suggested laws be amended to ensure severe punishment, while 17 per cent said drug abuse was the root cause of sexual crimes, and 14 per cent blamed the media for showing improper images. Up to 88 per cent said sex crimes often took place in isolated areas, 6 per cent said rapes usually took place on public transport, while 1 per cent said such crimes often happened at home.

A former Prime Minister considered that drug dealing could be eliminated by extrajudicial killings. A Deputy Prime Minister in the current government is trying to speed up legal process so that those condemned on drug charges can be speedily executed. And now the people of Isaan want the execution of rapists. All of these aberrations of  justice will continue in Thailand until the death penalty is abolished, and no longer be considered an option. Meanwhile, Prime Ministers and their Deputies, as well as the good people of Isaan, must learn that human life is inviolable, that Capital Punishment has not deterred any type of crime, and that a numerical majority cannot justify measures which are morally wrong.