Abolition of Death Penalty

According to Republic Act No. 7659, death penalty is a penalty for crimes that are heinous for being grievous, odious and hateful offenses and which, by reason of their inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness, atrocity and perversity are repugnant and outrageous to the common standards and norms of decency and morality in a just, civilized and ordered society. Death penalty is a cruel, futile and dangerous punishment for very serious reasons and with due judicial process. According to  Amnesty International, a worldwide movement of people working for internationally recognized human rights; death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights. Thus, they worked towards abolishing it in order to end the cycle of violence created by a system riddled with economic and racial bias and tainted with human error. BACKGROUND Next, I would like to present a brief background on death penalty in the Philippines. In 1987, the Philippines made history by becoming the first Asian country in modern times to abolish the death penalty for all crimes. However, six years later, in 1993, the death penalty was reintroduced in the Philippines for 46 different offences. Such of those are murder, rape, parricide, infanticide and qualified bribery, among others. Executions resumed in 1999 until year 2000 when former President Estrada announced a moratorium on executions. This has been continued by current President Arroyo, in practice, throughout her presidency. Now, under her rule, the death penalty is again abolished . STANCE I am in favor of abolishing the death penalty law in the Philippines. Allow me to present my arguments. First, it violates the right to live. Second, it is a very cruel practice. Third, it is anti-poor. Last, death penalty defeats its purpose. ARGUMENTS First, the imposition of death penalty violates a persons right to live. Article III Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, otherwise known as  the Bill of Rights, states that No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property†¦ By imposing death penalty, the right of a criminal to live is being violated. Furthermore, it is a known fact that majority of Filipinos are Catholics. As said, we have one of the worlds largest Christian populations. According to  the Ten Commandments  of the Church, thou shall not kill. Therefore, nobody is given the right to commit the lives of others. Whether that person is a criminal or not, nobody has the right to play God and take the life that He has given. Filipinos should respect and value the sanctity of human life and uphold the virtue and religious doctrines that are expected of us as a dominant Christian nation. Second, it is a very cruel, inhuman and irreversible practice. It is very cruel and in human because persons are killed. This alone is proof. Once a person is killed, the act cannot be reversed. Third, death penalty is anti-poor. In a country like the Philippines with a very slow, sometimes inefficient, unfair and unjust judicial system, death penalty is simply not viable. Majority of the 1200 people on the death row are poor. Maybe, for some, being there is what they deserve. But for many, it is poverty that brought them there. Not everyone in that row should die. Many are simply there because they ran against some filthy rich and powerful person or they could not afford to get a good lawyer to defend them. A study showed that death penalty is anti-poor as the underprivileged who cannot afford the services of competent counsels are oftentimes the ones convicted of death penalty. Studies have shown that the death penalty is disproportionately imposed on the poorest, least educated and most vulnerable members of society. It takes the lives of offenders who might otherwise have been rehabilitated. Lastly, death penalty does not live up to its purpose. It is not able to serve its purpose which is to prevent crimes and to preserve peace and order. According to the President, in a letter she sent to Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, the imposition of death penalty was shown to have not served its principal purpose of effectively deterring the commission of heinous crimes. Clearly, even with death penalty imposed, the Philippines still continued to project high and rising crime rates in the country. If death penalty is effective, there should have been less crimes but it is quite the contrary. Also, there are no concrete evidence like studies or tests that could prove that the imposition of death penalty really prevents crime thus maintaining peace and order in the country. SUMMARY To cap off this essay, death penalty is the punishment served to those who have committed crimes that are heinous for being grievous, odious and hateful offenses and which, by reason of their inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness, atrocity and perversity are repugnant and outrageous to the common standards and norms of decency and morality in a just, civilized and ordered society. I am in favor of the abolition of death penalty because first, its imposition violates the right to live. Second, it is a very cruel, inhuman and irreversible act. Third, death penalty is anti-poor. Lastly, death penalty does not serve its purpose of preventing crimes and preserving peace and order. I wish to end this speech by saying that I commend the Congress for passing a legislation calling for the abolitio n of death penalty. As CBCP puts it, this step has finally led the country to move from justice that kills to justice that heals. But the new Vice President of the Philippines Jejomar Binay thinks it so as he utter his desire to bring back death penalty in the Philippine in his outburst emotional response when he attended the wake of the brutally murdered son of attorney Oliver Lozano at media interview. â€Å"Dapat ibalik na ang death penalty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( â€Å"It is high time to bring back death penalty†) —-Jejomar Binay Death Penalty has been in the Philippines since the Marcos administration but was only removed at the time of former Philippine president Corazon Aquino and was revived during between the administration of former Philippine presidents Fidel V. Ramos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada and was removed again at the time of the recent former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo because of the mistake and failure of the execution of the First ever Filipino to receive death penalty by lethal injection –Leo Echagaray for the crime of rape which was found eventually that he is not guilty or was innocent of the crime he was accused of and the true rapist is at large and unknown. What a big slap on the Philippines justice system, thus it was removed. It was the roar and pro-death penalty campaigns in the media which influenced unlearned people that Leo Echagaray succumb into untimely death before he was proven innocent; so sad that people at that time were driven by brainless wrath to revenge for the rape victim. But now Vice president Binay, is wishing to bring it back? ; To repeat this â€Å"sad scenario† just to tell to the world that â€Å"we do justice†, WHAT JUSTICE Does he think well when he utters a wish for its revival or is he just emotional overwhelmed at the wake of the brutally murdered son of attorney Oliver Lozano? There are many bad consequences to the justice system of the Philippines when Death penalty will be rekindled its frightening presence in the Philippines. More injustices will be engendered in the end by mistakenly sentencing to death innocent poor Filipinos and foreigners once they could not proven themselves innocent at the allowed period of presenting evidences and proofs that one is not guilty of the crime being accused of and by the influence of ignorant brainless and heartless wrathful masses. Moreover, if one is financially poor and destitute how can one find a trustworthy attorney that cannot be bought by money, to depend one’s innocence? Truly more innocent lives will be shredded unjustly by this satanic capital punishment. Furthermore, we already know that the financially rich and wealthy prosecuted and accused ones could pervert justice and could buy money-face attorneys, lawyers and judges. Therefore, is this â€Å"death penalty† will stop heinous crimes or will just added more unjust crimes perpetrated by its revival and presence, wherein â€Å"death penalty† is also a heinous crime concealed by the law of legality of the state or country. For death penalty is an act of torturing a person until it dies, which has no difference with the sadistic and psychotic behavior of seemingly soulless criminals who torture first their victims before they eventually kill their victims. Bestial act (death penalty) against bestial act (heinous crimes) will not solve or eliminate crimes within the country or state. Fear is not the answer and will not uproot the main cause of crimes. it just controls but never solves; it just control the symptoms but never cures and heals. JC tortured and received Death Penalty A more humanitarian solution is the key to solve bestial problems like crimes; for every effect (activities) there is a cause (reason for the activity). The cause should be addressed to solve the problem and not controlling the effects without removing the cause; For the effects will not end if the cause is not removed. Remember Filipinos, your National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal was a victim of Death penalty or capital punishment which is Firing squad during the Spanish occupation but he is innocent. Remember also Filipinos, your beloved colonial religious deity Jesus Christ was also a victim of Death penalty or capital punishment which is crucifixion but Jesus Christ is innocent.