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-   -   Capital punishment - your views in general and specifically ? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/18010-capital-punishment-your-views-general-specifically.html)

Since this has been all over the news for some days, I expected a thread here on the court awarding capital punishment to one of the accused in the Parliament bombing case. However, repeated searches did not yield anything. Hence this thread.

I have been reading different views in the newspapers by readers, apart from the editorials. Some are for capital punishment. Some are normally against capital punishment, but want it to be done in this case, as it involves terrorism. Some are totally against capital punishment etc.

A) Those that do not want a pardon to happen in this case cite the following :
1) A terrorist act and an attack on our country's foremost institution.
2) It would be unfair to the 9 security people killed in the attack.
3) The accused showing no remorse and not asking for pardon personally (it is his family that have asked for pardon on his behalf).
4) The accused not accepting Indian constitution and authority.
5) A reduction to life sentence would mean that he will be again out in the streets in 12 years plotting another attack.
6) If sentenced to life, could lead to another air hijacking in future to get him released and free to plot more terror games.

B) Those that want a pardon in this case cite :
1) No human has the right to take another's life.
2) It is inhuman; the world as such is moving away from this type of punishment.
3) India, the land of Ahimsa, should not practice such western punishments.
4) If at a later stage, it turns out that the person was not guilty, it would not be possible to reverse the injustice meted to him etc.

What are your views on this issue ?

I personally am confused. I think that this is a grave crime and deserves serious punishment. Also, I am worried about the signal this would send to our armed forces (and their families) who sacrifice their life for our safety. But, I also believe in point B-1 above. But if the sentence is reduced to life, there is the possibility of A-5 and A-6.

A person I know mentioned another approach - pardon him, then bump him off in a stage-managed encounter.

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@Mods, do delete/move/close the thread if it is not in tune with what the forum stands for.

Good topic supremebaleno,congrates..........I would really like to see posts pouring in from everyone right here instead of wasting our time discussing contaminations in soft drinks.
And i like controversial topics too.:)

coming back to the real topic,i beleive govt here can do a great favour or great beginging by pardoning that guy as she[govt] is not going to get anyhting if he is hanged and we r not sure if he is really involved or not.Other guy who is a professor in some delhi university was also charged with same ofence but later set free after court found no evidence against him.we all know how our police works.

I agree with rsjaurr. I am opposed to the death penalty no matter how serious the crime, for the simple reason that we can never be sure that an innocent person was not framed by some unscrupulous characters, of which species there is no shortage in our country. Especially in high profile cases like this one, where both the govt. and the police are under pressure to crack the case. Secondly, the death penalty is inhuman and barbarian, and is not necessary; a life-imprisonment sentence is equally effective as a deterrent to crime, with the added possibility that the accused can be released if found innocent later.

As this thread is controvertial anyway I hope the mods dont do their normal cut job on my post..the following is MY OPINION and I'm entitled to it....
Aw gee lets get out the Tissue paper and hand some to Osama and Saddam..
Sheesh no wonder terrorism is rampant in our country...
I dont think they deserve a trial.. its just a blooming waste of time.. they should take the ones they caught and hang them from the tallest and nearest tree...
About not being sure about the guilt or innocence of the person... I wonder how all the people that lost their loved ones in the train blasts here in Bombay feel about letting the buggers who did this go...all you sympatico's should put yourselves in one of their shoes for ONE SECOND and see if you still feel like letting the guilty ones off...

If he is guilty, he should be killed SLOWLY. Not by some humane way...why does he get to die in a "humane" (hanging, electric chair and lethal injection abroad) when his victims died a violent death and many of them suffered ??

If you want to give them the death penalty, don't make it namby-pamby hanging or lethal injection. Let them be eaten alive by piranha, or flesh-eating bugs. Or burnt alive. Or drawn and quartered. That would make a REAL example.

But then again, life imprisonment in total solitude is pretty damn scary too.

you r absolutely right about those who have lost their dear ones in terrorist attcks but then it would be a different topic that who is really responsible for these terrorist attcks and topic will be quite hot,debatable and quite controversial.

I am from Punjab,from an area which was hotbed of millitancy and have seen it all.I have seen bullets fired at a distance of 100m from me.

Whatever media tries to prject is not always the real picture.Our media doesn't tell us the story of other side.
BTW plz do not compare osama with this guy as he is citizen of India and not an outsider.

Even if someone has to be hanged,i will go for hanging culprits of mumbai train blasts and not for those who attacked our parliament....

I dont get your logic..... in both cases innocent people were killed.... Why special treatment to Afzal ??

Because a lot of politicians also deserve the death penalty?