Execution
Sir,
The execution of two men before their appeal was heard proves
that many innocent persons may have been hanged in the past, and such incidents
may be replicated in future unless the government thoroughly revamps the
justice system. In 1957, a Muslim was wrongly convicted and hanged in the UK.
The actual murderer confessed to the crime on his death bed twenty years after
the event. Due to the possibility of such miscarriages of justice, one hundred
and forty countries (out of a total of 196) have either abolished capital
punishment or have held it in abeyance. Statistics prove that abolition of the
death penalty does not increase crimes. Moreover, just as a black man is more
likely to be convicted and executed in the US, in India, Muslims are more
likely to be wrongfully convicted and hanged. To avoid more miscarriages of
justice, Pakistan should immediately stop executing people. The least it can
do, if it wants to retain capital punishment, is to impose it only for serious
crimes like waging war against the state.
Shakir Lakhani,
Karachi.
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