One View of the Death Penalty - This Is why the Death Sentence Should Stay

May 24, 2016
by Benjamin Chiang

This article first appear at Five Stars & a Moon. 
http://www.fivestarsandamoon.com/death-sentence-stay/

Of course the death sentence is evil. In fact all punishment is evil.

It is with this evil that the law commands your obedience. The law is an authority and its authority sits in its ability to oblige or put you under an obligation to perform or refrain from doing something.

There is no other way. If the law cannot do this, it fails to be a law.

Lady Justice holds in her right hand a sword, not a cane. Justice is not there to give you a smack on the wrist and trust that you would not be a bad boy again. No, once convicted of a crime she delivers you a pain and that is the end of the matter. Iudicium finitum.

If you commit an offence, the law will inflict an evil upon you. The greater the seriousness of your offence, the greater the magnitude of the evil. Death is the ultimate evil that justice can inflict on you.

One might even criticise that it is hypocritical to profess to uphold rights to freedom, life, liberty and property and then selectively chose to make a punishment of imprisonment and fines whilst doing away with the death sentence. Or to create facilities extra-terrestrially and then do all these things (including torture) whilst espousing human rights.

You may say that it is wrong to put someone to death because it is irrevocable. But it is equally wrong to deprive someone of freedom (for any period of time), to inflict pain or to seize money and property from another – all these cost permanent loss. Some of this physical and mental anguish can be so devastating, convicts have been known to prefer death instead.

Deterrence, retribution and incapcitation are just some of the functions of punishment – it can be, but at the same time it doesn’t have to be. It is not about “an eye for an eye”, the law could have no care about your eye or if anyone goes blind. It is not concerned with your opinion about fairness – the concept of fairness is empty and subjective.

Punishment, as far as justice is concerned, has to be proportionate to the criminal neck it seeks to grip. If it were not proportionate, it would do great injustice to the rest of the citizenry.

And the most unjust of all; punishment if not proportionate would do great insult to the victim.

Article source: Five Stars & a Moon

Kristen Han attempts to turn Black into White

If you don't already know, there was an uproar over what activist/freelance reporter/zo-bo Kristen Han posted over the execution of convicted murderer Kho Jabing.

Here's what she wrote on FB in full.

So, it would seem that the anti-death penalty proponent Kristen Han would rather focus on the perpetrator of the crime, and pay no heed nor attention to the crime's victims; in this case, a Chinese national Cao Ruying who came to Singapore to work as a construction worker.

As one netizen puts it, “If Kirsten wants to make the murderer the victim and martyr and the victim anonymous, I have very serious doubts about her own personal values."

I wonder if Kristen has lost all common sense and decency.

Anyway here are some reactions. (For even better reactions, go see her FB post or simply read the MalayMail online article on her.)

Pic: Fabrications About The PAP FB     

"I would like to know how Jabing died in my name. Did I ask him to bash a poor innocent defenceless man to death? How about some photos of the poor guy who died in no one's name so that we can see the photos and know his face? But perhaps because he died in no one's name, so we don't need to bother with him? Such is the value of the life of an innocent man to an activist."

Pic: Singapore Matters FB   

"According to Kirsten Han, he died in all our names. If you agree with Kirsten Han, then it's time you show your gratitude to Kho Jabing. But would you? And how did Jabing die in our names? Did we play any part in his crime?"

Pic: FLOP

"Just wondering. Since these “human rights activists” are so against death penalty, what do they suggest then? Mercy for Sarawakian Kho Jabing who killed a Chinese construction worker with a tree branch during a robbery attempt? Why only fight for him? Singaporeans who faced death penalty have no value because no international coverage?"

And what was Kristen's reactions to all the posts that slammed her?

Pic: Singapore Matters FB    Just how much is the value of victim Cao Ruying's life to human rights activist Kirsten Han? Not every much if her responses to comments are an indication: no obligation to write a more 'balanced' tribute   /     I don't apologize (for an unbalanced tribute) for it    /    I am just one person and not omniscient.   /     ...if you feel that not enough attention or support is given to victims and their families, please take action and help them however you can. http://bit.ly/1Tnp9mR

Background Information:

SingaporeLaw.Sg (Court Judgements)

[2016] SGCA 21 - Kho Jabing v Public Prosecutor (Decision Date: 05 April 2016)
http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/court-of-appeal-judgments/18409-kho-jabing-v-public-prosecutor


[2015] SGCA 1 - Public Prosecutor v Kho Jabing (Decision Date: 14 January 2015)
http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/court-of-appeal-judgments/15869-public-prosecutor-v-kho-jabing-2015-sgca-1


[2013] SGHC 251 - Public Prosecutor v Kho Jabing (Decision Date: 18 November 2013)
http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/high-court-judgments/15426-public-prosecutor-v-kho-jabing-2013-sghc-251


[2011] SGCA 24 - Kho Jabing and another v Public Prosecutor (Decision Date: 24 May 2011)
http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/court-of-appeal-judgments/14573-kho-jabing-and-another-v-public-prosecutor-2011-sgca-24


MalayMail Online - Activist roasted on Facebook for slamming Kho Jabing’s execution
http://m.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/activist-roasted-on-facebook-for-slamming-kho-jabings-execution#sthash.AvxE9r4B.dpuf


Singapore Law Watch - Convicted murderer Jabing Kho executed after bids to escape gallows fail
http://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/slw/headlinesnews/82375-convicted-murderer-jabing-kho-executed-after-bids-to-escape-gallows-fail.html#sthash.i0ga7iGu.dpuf


TODAY - Kho Jabing hanged after bid to defer execution fails, lawyers receive ticking-off from court
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/kho-jabing-hanged-after-bid-defer-execution-fails-lawyers-receive-ticking-court


The Middle Ground - Why Jabing Kho must rightly die
http://themiddleground.sg/2016/05/22/jabing-kho-must-rightly-die/


happieb.com - Ms Han, please don’t romanticize or glorify Kho Jabing’s life
http://happiebb.com/blog/2016/05/22/ms-han-dont-romanticize-or-glorify-kho-jabings-life/

AsiaOne - Malaysian killer given 11th-hour stay of execution
http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/malaysian-killer-given-11th-hour-stay-execution