47 executions in 6 months!!!!
Whenever an 'LSR-type' (fighting for women's rights kinda foolish) woman used to voice that every rapist should be hung to death, I somehow always came to the rescue of the criminal. Be it a rapist, a murderer, a thief, or a serial killer, I don't think anyone, anyone at all, has the right to take a life. The same also goes for the murderer.
My point always was, what if, that was the last murder he ever committed, and sincerely repented all his crimes. He is pleading for mercy, and you just tie a rope around his neck, put a black mask on his face inside which he is still screaming and begging for mercy to be allowed to breathe, and bang... you leave him hanging mid air - he's dead. What sort of a law is that?
Sure, death penalties have largely been reduced, and only in the worst of the cases are ordered, but why even those.
The point is, the purpose of the law is to see that law-breakers get punished so that they don't commit the crime again. Well, fine. Jail them for life, put them behind bars, don't let them come out even for a minute. But let them breathe.
What if Dhananjoy, who till his last breath said he was innocent, actually was innocent? Maybe they're lying. But maybe they're not. Give them the benifit of the doubt. They're humans after all.
Jail them, but provide them with basic comforts inside the jail since they have to spend their entire life there. Give them good food, some source of entertainment, a nice clean toilet, a decent bed to sleep on.
Anyone who says that's not punishment is a fool. No human being, no matter how rotten he is, would enjoy being caged inside a room, no matter how comfortable, for all his life.
Just don't take their breath away, that's all I used to say.
Last evening we were smoking in the cafe of our office, that's where basically all the gossip happens, just like in most office cafe's.
Christopher told me, "In Saudi, 47 executions have happened since January."
I am not very fond of reading the papers out here. Mostly because I am too used to the Indian newspapers which put tarka in all their news. So news here is kinda bland for me.
"What??? 47!!!!" I reacted.
Wow... Saudi is just an hour's drive away from here. And imagine, the difference... the difference in belief and thinking.
Any crime you commit in Saudi, be it robbery, pick-pocketing, rape, or whatever... punishment is only one - Death!
It's confusing, this entire thing. On one hand, it sounds ok... that that's the law of the country and the point is you just don't commit a crime. That's it. And on the other hand my arguement above.
Probably, what I am trying to say is, we can't have different punishments for different crimes. It's almost like encouraging crime. That you can rob someone, but you can't kill someone. You can rape her, but you can't murder her after you rape her.
In Saudi, it's straight. You rib, you die, you rape, you die, you kill, you die, you drink alcohol and get caught, YOU DIE! Do it in your own country if you choose but not in ours, they mean.
It's strange when I look at the Atlas. On one side, there's Qatar, where I am, where you're free to do whatever you want, no one will bother you un til you bother them, go to a five star pub, drink your ass off if you choose, go to the beach, wear whatever you want. On the other side is UAE (Dubai), which is just like a european country, that calls in expats to work, pays them heavy, and makes sure they have everything to spend every single penny of their salary right there in the same country. And in the middle, lies Saudi, where nothing but a woman's eyes can be seen if she's walked out of her house, where a woman is not allowed to drive or work, where if you have to go to a friend's house for dinner you have to first take permission from the government (!). They don't care about the world. They don't care about their neighbouring countries. They want their freedom to be restricted. They love their traditions, no matter what other people think of them.
They're cool, I think.
My point always was, what if, that was the last murder he ever committed, and sincerely repented all his crimes. He is pleading for mercy, and you just tie a rope around his neck, put a black mask on his face inside which he is still screaming and begging for mercy to be allowed to breathe, and bang... you leave him hanging mid air - he's dead. What sort of a law is that?
Sure, death penalties have largely been reduced, and only in the worst of the cases are ordered, but why even those.
The point is, the purpose of the law is to see that law-breakers get punished so that they don't commit the crime again. Well, fine. Jail them for life, put them behind bars, don't let them come out even for a minute. But let them breathe.
What if Dhananjoy, who till his last breath said he was innocent, actually was innocent? Maybe they're lying. But maybe they're not. Give them the benifit of the doubt. They're humans after all.
Jail them, but provide them with basic comforts inside the jail since they have to spend their entire life there. Give them good food, some source of entertainment, a nice clean toilet, a decent bed to sleep on.
Anyone who says that's not punishment is a fool. No human being, no matter how rotten he is, would enjoy being caged inside a room, no matter how comfortable, for all his life.
Just don't take their breath away, that's all I used to say.
Last evening we were smoking in the cafe of our office, that's where basically all the gossip happens, just like in most office cafe's.
Christopher told me, "In Saudi, 47 executions have happened since January."
I am not very fond of reading the papers out here. Mostly because I am too used to the Indian newspapers which put tarka in all their news. So news here is kinda bland for me.
"What??? 47!!!!" I reacted.
Wow... Saudi is just an hour's drive away from here. And imagine, the difference... the difference in belief and thinking.
Any crime you commit in Saudi, be it robbery, pick-pocketing, rape, or whatever... punishment is only one - Death!
It's confusing, this entire thing. On one hand, it sounds ok... that that's the law of the country and the point is you just don't commit a crime. That's it. And on the other hand my arguement above.
Probably, what I am trying to say is, we can't have different punishments for different crimes. It's almost like encouraging crime. That you can rob someone, but you can't kill someone. You can rape her, but you can't murder her after you rape her.
In Saudi, it's straight. You rib, you die, you rape, you die, you kill, you die, you drink alcohol and get caught, YOU DIE! Do it in your own country if you choose but not in ours, they mean.
It's strange when I look at the Atlas. On one side, there's Qatar, where I am, where you're free to do whatever you want, no one will bother you un til you bother them, go to a five star pub, drink your ass off if you choose, go to the beach, wear whatever you want. On the other side is UAE (Dubai), which is just like a european country, that calls in expats to work, pays them heavy, and makes sure they have everything to spend every single penny of their salary right there in the same country. And in the middle, lies Saudi, where nothing but a woman's eyes can be seen if she's walked out of her house, where a woman is not allowed to drive or work, where if you have to go to a friend's house for dinner you have to first take permission from the government (!). They don't care about the world. They don't care about their neighbouring countries. They want their freedom to be restricted. They love their traditions, no matter what other people think of them.
They're cool, I think.
posted by Once the Conman at 12:13 PM
3 Comments:
U got the verse in the bible right... well, just about.... almost...
Anyway...
in saudi, it might be straight, but then again, going by ur previous statements, its ten times worse coz ur hanged for everything. everything! whether uve actually done it or not. whether uve been framed or not. whether it was a misunderstanding or not. wheres the justice in that? forget about foreign nationals. they have a choice not to be in the country. what about saudi citizens. its not fair to them that they have to live in such fear in there own country. its one thing to inflict a punishment on all sinners. its another when ur inflicting it whether or not ur sure that the sin has been committed.....
i agree wityh u that a death sentence is unfair. no one has the right to take away the life of another. few become criminals out of choice. many have had to face abuse, poverty etc in their childhood and crime semmed to be probably their only way out. humane treatment, psychiatric help etc would go a long long way in helping these offenders. its not fair to decide that they dont deserve a chance without ever giving them one.
It sure is a strange country.rules are harsher,corporal punishment reigns supreme, and justice is the word...but at times I wonder, Isn't it taking things a bit too far? Its traumatic, harsh and downright cruel.
Living in the US, I can say for sure that it is a whole world apart,miles and miles away in distance and way of thinking from a world that has taken huge strides in very many ways.
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