DISCUSSION ESSAY DEATH PENALTY, IS IT TRUE?

BY: RANTI FITRI ANWAR NK-1 / 1106033 LECTURER: DR. HAMZAH, M.A., M.M

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS STATE UNIVERSITY OF PADANG 2013

DEATH PENALTY, IS IT TRUE?

Law is a guideline that can organize the system of human life. Law has an important role that is to achieve the tranquility of human life. Along with the times, the problem in law increasingly being complicated and complex. Especially in criminal law. The criminal law as public law makes the development of criminal law being the attention in society. A pros and cons or disagreement that still happens in criminal law is the existence of death penalty. Pros and cons of death penalty is not a new conflict that arises in the public and the experts law have been discussed this problem. Death penalty that relating to human right to life makes a conflict pros and cons or differences of opinions among experts criminal law. Imposition of death penalty is not imposed to people at random, but it for people that got punishment specially for particular crimes that are considered have shown from their actions that they are very dangerous individual to society and therefore should be made more harmless by excluded them from society with executed. Because of that, death penalty being hot topic in whole world. Death penalty is a kind of punishment that very controversial and always gets attention from people in entire world. Many opinions and reasons that related to death penalty. International world also gives attention to death penalty. Death penalty is the heaviest punishment that related to right of human live. Death penalty in Indonesia is the most severe punishment handed down by the judges against certain crimes punishable by death penalty. The death penalty has been stipulated in law. In Indonesia, death penalty has been happened since Dutch colonized Indonesia about 350 years ago and until now that death punishment still occurs. Based on experts criminal law in Indonesia, Indonesia should use death penalty due to special circumstances in Indonesia demand that the criminals be countered with death penalty. Indonesia has large areas with diverse population, so policeman could not assure

the safety. Because of that, death penalty being pros and cons in Indonesia. Some people argue that death penalty is the best punishment for the bad crimes like corruption and terrorism. In other hand, some people argue that death penalty break over the human right of life, cause death penalty in generally do with hanging, the electric chair and lethal injection. Thus, this essay will discuss the reasons of pros and cons of death penalty. It will show why death penalty being controversial right now.

Before discuss the reasons of pros and cons of death penalty, death penalty or capital punishment is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime ( Wikipedia: 2013). That crime is a crime that very hard to do by the suspects, like corruption, terrorism, serial killers until the crimes that take the life of people. Death penalty is the act of killing a person via a judicial proceeding for retribution of a heinous crime committed, such as aggravated murder, felony killing or contract killing. The controvert ion about death penalty has been happened since tens or even hundreds of years. But, even so, there is no agreement about whether or not the application of death penalty. The countries in the world tend to abolish death penalty from national law. From 163 countries that gathering in United Nations, 140 countries have abolished death penalty or do moratorium for death penalty. Amnesty International USA, an organization of more than 2.2 million supporters from across the globe, works with a mission to protect people denied of justice, freedom, truth and dignity. The reasons why myriads of people across the globe are working towards the abolition of death penalty because death penalty violate the human rights. Based dimension of universal, human rights is a fundamental right that exists in every human life wherever they were. The dimension universal of human rights has set in Universal Declaration of Human Right ( UDHR ). In universal point of view, death penalty should be abolished because death penalty violates a persons rights to life. The individual values that consist on human rights demand that a persons rights not to be

violated. The human rights came from the liberally of individual values. The countries that argue about the value of universality would say that wherever people are, their human rights must be recognized and protected death penalty that across with human rights should be abolished. In an effort of death penalty, the countries in the world especially the countries that have been ratified the second optional protocol to the international covenant on civil and political rights, aiming the abolition of death penalty has set the October 10th as a day of anti capital punishment or death penalty. Through that day, the countries in the world have been expected to abolish death penalty because death penalty violates the human rights.

However, some people argue that death penalty is the best punishment for the suspects that have been done a bad crime. In the positive law in Indonesia, death penalty was stated plainly; even the execution of death penalty has been set out clearly. So from the point of law, there is no matter should be debated. Death penalty is actually intended not for revenge, but as a way to make a mistake being correct in the society. Indeed, the history in the past of criminal law in Indonesia revealed there is an attitude and opinion that talk about death penalty. The opinion said that death penalty is the most efficacious drugs to face and cope the serious crimes and until now those opinions still exists. The serious crimes that have been intended are terrorism, drugs, murder and ravishment. From the aspect of justice, the imposition of death penalty is equal to the crime that has been done by the suspects. From the aspect of legal certainty, the enforcement of existing laws shows a consistency and firmness about what is written is not a chimera or a fantasy but a reality that can be realized.

In other hand, some people argue that the risk of implementation death penalty is when in later times the suspects proved did not make a mistake and the execution of death

penalty has been carried out, and then the government just can do apologize without being able to restore the live of the convict. The wrong execution is an act that can not be forgiven by the victims family. Because wrong execution case is punishing human rights violations, including systematic and very serious crimes. Therefore, the treatment should be done extraordinary. The victim can also sue law enforcement that had been wrong to punish the criminal and civil. For the example, in developed country like United States there was happened a wrong executed. An old man has been executed in his old ages by injecting poison. Ten years later after he had been executed, his case shows again just because of on DNA ( Deoxyribo Nucleic acid ) in his single hair. The United States Government did not really perceive that. The United States government just makes an apologized. It seems really ignore the human rights.

Death penalty make human taking on the role of God to be the determinant of a person's life or death. Actually every human has the right to life so the existence of death penalty has too much cons and many people against it. However, if viewed from a different perspective, a person who committed serious crimes had violated the rights of many people. Smuggling heroin has destroyed the future of a nation. If heroin has been consumed too much by millions of young people in a nation, the next generation will be damaged. Someone who consume heroin is not uncommon to end up with death. It makes the death penalty for traffickers, sellers, and suppliers of drugs are very feasible. Indeed, the demand to remove the presence of the death penalty not only once ejected. In early 2003, a number of human rights activists also voiced the same thing. One is Asmara Nababan, Executive Director of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights in Indonesia. At that time, he questioned whether the state executed someone still viable when the Constitution as the supreme law of the source state asserts that the right to life can not be reduced under any circumstances. Demands that will be even rolling on the

petition of judicial review, which was then still in the authority of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, until the middle of 2006 a number of countries in the world have removed the threat of the death penalty. Exactly, there are 129 countries, 88 of them to remove the punishment for all categories of crimes, 11 countries abolished the death penalty for ordinary category of criminal offense. When moratorium death penalty, there are still 68 countries that apply the death penalty practices, including Indonesia.

In addition to the Law on Narcotics, in Indonesia, a number of other laws also include the same penalty. For example, the Code of Penal Code (Code), the Law on the Anti-Terrorism and the Law on the Eradication of Corruption. Currently, carrying 134 convicts waiting executed. They are commonly associated with cases of narcotics, terrorism, and murder. Because there determined that the right to human life can not be reduced. Opinions about the pros and cons of the death penalty among legal experts continue. General function of the criminal law, among others to protect the interests of the state, society, and individuals. The third drug crimes have violated the law interests. Consequently all legislation on the death penalty should be removed, including for terrorism and other human rights violations. All people should defend themselves when threatened his life right. Imposition of capital punishment by the state is a violation of human rights when it is done arbitrarily and without legal basis under applicable law. Associated with Pancasila which contains the values of religion, the right to life is recognized as a right of every person. Purpose of the founders of this nation is to the intellectual life and prosperity of the people. In RUUKUHP, capital punishment is set in a separate chapter with policy death penalty as a punishment is subject specific and alternatively, provided the alternative is life imprisonment or imprisonment for 20 years.

Death penalty is considered do not have constitutional basis. Because the sentencing system in death penalty should aim to educate and improve the society and the criminal offender. Because in essence, the death penalty take the inherent right to life of every human being. The other reason, there are many arguments that proponents of the death penalty has not been proven. For example, that the death penalty reduces crime. Facts prove that in many countries that do not impose the death penalty such as Europe, the crime rate is very low. While in countries that rely on the death penalty as a potent weapon to enforce the authority of the law, it is rampant crime, including Indonesia. Supporters of the death penalty for cases of drug dealers argued that this has damaged the future of the children. Then the dealers should be punished severely. But remember those who oppose the death penalty do not mean that the drug dealers want it released. There are many ways, for example by imposing a life sentence, or even hundreds of years of cumulative punishment as are done in many countries. Practice these problems, including the death penalty in Indonesia as an Indonesian court decisions possible result of errors. There is the fact that the death penalty is used incorrectly in Indonesia during the New Order authoritarian regime, the death penalty is used for politics. People sentenced to death for being subversion or treason. This illustrates that the death penalty is used to eliminate political opponents. Just like in China or Middle Eastern countries, who use it as a powerful weapon to silence opposition. At the present time ( after the reformation ) the death penalty becomes a commodity of the political elite. That is a political commodity in Indonesia support for the death penalty is only a political commodity to give the impression that the political elite want to enforce the law firm or example to show as if the anti-drug. Awarding death sentence to foreigners, often on the reaction will appear. Usually a death sentence meted out to those who come from countries that are considered less important in the constellation of international relations or do not have a close

relationship with Indonesia. They also usually do not have the money to hire a good lawyer, and do not have the ability to lobby political and economic. So there is discrimination in the death penalty.

The existence of death penalty make some pros and cons in society. For society that agree with death penalty, they would think that death penalty is the best choice for suspect that has been showed their crime so they should be isolated from society by using death penalty. In other hand for society that disagree with death penalty, they would argue if death penalty violates the human rights because death penalty could not make a suspect fix their crime and their crime can be fix by life imprisonment for 20 years.