India set to be among world's top five executioner

[trident2010]

Good work by India !! Carry on

 

[Backbencher]

Everybody deserves a second chance............even that brainwashed kid Kasab did

 

[Bang Galore]

When? Recently only in a case by SC.And the same decree told it is not 14 years or 20 years but till end of life.

But there is an article where the state govt. have the power to commute the sentence by its wish, which is contradictory. There is no guidelines at all on national level. Shila Dixit once asked for a consensus in this case.

I knew cases where ppl left the jail after 8 years earlier days.

That was earlier when people automatically assumed that life meant 14 years. Now there are no chances of commutation before 14 years & even that is limited. The SC is categorical on that. If a death Sentence is commuted, it generally means (now) incarceration for the rest of the convict's life. That is because life would be a commutation of sentence (from death) and the convict cannot receive a second commutation (of sentence).

 

[l3hdf]

The true sign of a nation's strength is in it's ability to forgive and have compassion. These were the ideals espoused through so much of our history, from Ashoka to Gandhi. Capital punishment in general has no place in India, not only because of our civilizational values, but does nothing more than worsen the situation in cases where evidence was unclear or contradictory. If you take Afzal Guru's example, the court threw away most of the evidence and admitted no direct link but somehow reached the verdict that he had to be hung 'to satisfy the collective conscience of society'. Okay he committed mistakes, which he admits, in attempting to participate in armed rebellion against the state, but when he came back to the valley, and saw there was no such sentiment to fight using violence, he gave up his weapons and tried to pursue a normal life. As far as I know, prior to the murky events of parliament, he had not killed anyone but perhaps someone could point me to credible sources if otherwise.

At any rate, I don't wish to delve into that too much, but you can see that commuting death penalties to life imprisonment is much better through the example of countries that abolished the former. It works as an effective deterrent, allows for thorough, unhasty review of a decision whilst providing the possibility for redemption and rehabilitation of the individual, and to a large degree avoids situations where a supposedly independent court is held hostage to external forces seeking revenge, corrupting the whole concept of justice. Afterall, what more is a death penalty than revenge in cold blood? It contributes nothing to society. I would much prefer if they were allowed to live out their sentence to let their conscience haunt them into excruciating regret of their acts, and perhaps have to use their labour for public works and projects, without the possibility of parole in extremely heinous cases, rather than have this barbaric, primitive state of affairs where one human decides the life or death of another human being, because he decided the life or death of some other human being. It's a vicious cycle that must end somewhere.

 

[KRAIT]

A rapist murderer was given life sentence, then his sentence reduced and on good behavior released early. Few days later he raped a minor.

So Judiciary gave him a second chance and a minor got raped.

What about giving chance to the possible victims not to go through these ordeals of animals who don't deserve any place in society.

To hell with HR of Terrorists, Rapists and Rioters.

 

[rockstarIN]

That was earlier when people automatically assumed that life meant 14 years. Now there are no chances of commutation before 14 years & even that is limited. The SC is categorical on that. If a death Sentence is commuted, it generally means (now) incarceration for the rest of the convict's life. That is because life would be a commutation of sentence (from death) and the convict cannot receive a second commutation (of sentence).

Section 433 -The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPc)

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPc)




433. Power to commute sentence.



The appropriate Government may, without the consent of the person-sentenced commute-



(a) A sentence of death, for any other punishment provided by the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860);



(b) A sentence of imprisonment for life, for imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years or for fine;



(c) A sentence of rigorous imprisonment for simple imprisonment for any term to which that person might have been sentenced, or for fine;



(d) A sentence of simple imprisonment, for fine.

Other reference cases...

http://indiankanoon.org/search/?formInput=commutation of sentences&pagenum=4

 

[Bang Galore]

Section 433 -The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPc)



Other reference cases...

commutation of sentences

......and the point is what exactly? This is a supreme court ruling of just a few years ago. Overrules every other interpretation.

 

[JanjaWeed]

Ah.. Human rights commission at it again with its graph book. What about the rights of those victims of Veerappan & his crony's barbarism? Oh well.. these commissions act more like defence counsel for the criminals than fighting for the rights of victims. I would rather have India disassociating itself from United Nations Human Rights Commission.

 

[rockstarIN]

......and the point is what exactly? This is a supreme court ruling of just a few years ago. Overrules every other interpretation.

Supreme court rule does not overrule the Cr.PC section at all. It merely giving the quideline and the current ruling is also inconclusive about the application of State's power to commute the sentence. It says under guidelines, under what guidelines? who will make it? Sarkar only..!!

 

[The Witcher]

SC orders Stay on hanging of veerappan associates.
I thought presedential plea is the last chance.
What is this again?

 

[Bang Galore]

Supreme court rule does not overrule the Cr.PC section at all. It merely giving the quideline and the current ruling is also inconclusive about the application of State's power to commute the sentence. It says under guidelines, under what guidelines? who will make it? Sarkar only..!!

The supreme Court has the final say on interpretation of any rule. If Cr.Pr. section is in conflict with the SC ruling, the SC ruling stands. The Supreme Court has made it absolutely clear on life imprisonment, no commutation before 14 years and that does not apply automatically to every convict(as was the procedure followed before the SC clarification)

SC orders Stay on hanging of veerappan associates.
I thought presedential plea is the last chance.
What is this again?

Should be the last but appeals can still be made on procedural grounds (like time taken...a common refrain). Expect it to be hopefully disposed off soon, too much interference in the death penalty cases by appellate courts.

 

[rockstarIN]

The supreme Court has the final say on interpretation of any rule. If Cr.Pr. section is in conflict with the SC ruling, the SC ruling stands. The Supreme Court has made it absolutely clear on life imprisonment, no commutation before 14 years and that does not apply automatically to every convict(as was the procedure followed before the SC clarification)

Even the supreme court does not saying it is 14 years in the current ruling. They says it is up to life, subject to CRPC 443 upto 14 years.

Life imprisonment implies a jail term for the convict’s entire life, the Supreme Court has held, clearing a misconception on this sentence.

The apex court also said that its Constitution bench’s landmark judgement of 1980 on criterion for imposing death penalty needs a “fresh look” as there has been “no uniformity” in following its principles on what constitutes “the rarest of rare” cases.

“It appears to us there is a misconception that a prisoner serving a life sentence has an indefeasible right to be released on completion of either fourteen years or twenty years imprisonment. The prisoner has no such right.

“A convict undergoing life imprisonment is expected to remain in custody till the end of his life, subject to any remission granted by the appropriate government,” a bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Madan B. Lokur said.

The bench, however, clarified that under remission the appropriate government cannot reduce the period of sentence less than 14 years for a life convict.

“In the case of a convict undergoing life imprisonment, he will be in custody for an indeterminate period. Therefore, remissions earned by or awarded to such a life convict are only notional. In his case, to reduce the period of incarceration, a specific order under Section 432 of the CrPC will have to be passed by the appropriate government. However, the reduced period cannot be less than 14 years as per Section 433-A of the CrPC,” the apex court said.

The apex court order also seeks to put an end to the practice of en-masse release of the convicts by various governments on “festive” occasions and said each release requires a case-by-case basis scrutiny.

 

[Bang Galore]

Even the supreme court does not saying it is 14 years in the current ruling. They says it is up to life, subject to CRPC 443 upto 14 years.

I'm sorry but the SC ruling on your link is very clear, no commutation before 14 years. Your highlighted part refers to a different practice of releasing prisoners (whatever their terms) on festive occasions & does not refer to the convicts sentenced to life alone.