Saturday, November 05, 2005

to take a life

Another storm in the media - this time about a 25 year old Vietnamese-Australian man who's been sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle 396 grams of heroin into Singapore.

Here are the facts pertinent to the case:

Van was caught in transit at Singapore's Changi Airport in December 2002 on a flight from Cambodia to Australia. He was in possession of the drugs because he was trying to raise money to clear drug-related debts incurred by his twin brother in Melbourne, Australia.

Van was convicted on 20 Mar 2004 of trafficking 396 grams of heroin and sentenced to death by hanging. On Friday Fri 21 Oct 2005, Singapore's President SR Nathan rejected Van’s appeal for clemency. He will be executed within a fortnight.

Ever since I've started thinking about these things, i've been troubled about Singapore's laws on the death penalty for drug-traffickers. From what i understand, the rationale is that drug trafficking can have multiple negative, or even fatal, effects on a disproportionately large number of people. If you think about it even further, it can even be argued that a disproportionately large number of drug addicts belong to the lower classes, and that the last thing the poor need is a drug addiction to further lock them in the vicious circle of poverty. Furthermore, addiction affects not only addicts, but their families as well (think dependent spouses, children, even unborn babies). It is indisputable - drug trafficking has ugly, ugly, potentially life-destroying consequences.

But a drug trafficker does not deserve to die for his crime.

Many arguments have been put forth against the death penalty being used on drug-traffickers. It has been rightly pointed out that most traffickers are no more than lackey-middlemen, and that it is the drug-lords in Colombia, Cuba, Thailand, and other far-flung locations who should bear the blame for the existence of the drug trade. It has also been pointed out that, in some cases such as the one currently in the news, the extenuating circumstances make it necessary to temper justice with mercy, and to give the criminal a second chance.

These, and other arguments, are certainly valid and compelling. But as far as i'm concerned, the real crux of the issue lies elsewhere. With or without easy access to drugs, the choice of whether or not to take drugs still lies, ultimately, with the individual. The drug-trafficker cannot be blamed if someone makes that choice, just as a gun-manufacturer cannot be blamed if someone decides to use a gun to kill another person, or even to kill himself. The drug trafficker does not do what he does with the specific intent of killing another human being. Drug trafficking is not murder, and does not warrant the same degree of punishment that is meted out for murder.

For this reason, i have always been opposed to the death penalty as a punishment for drug trafficking. And if you, Gentle Reader, feel the same way, i urge you to sign the petition at the following website to register your views.

http://stophanging.com

Frankly, my dears, whether or not we give a damn will make no damn difference in the final outcome of this case. The guy is going to die, and there is nothing any ordinary citizen is going to do that will change that. But sometimes the mere act of standing up for what you believe in is a necessary step in itself, regardless of the outcome.

Stand up and be counted.
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