[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 7



GUYANA:

Guyana is the last country in S America to retain the death penalty


Dear Editor,

I note that Ms Yvonne Sam calls for the death penalty to be implemented in 
Guyana (SN, August 5). In a way this is understandable in the current context; 
there have been a number of horrific murders in Guyana recently and people are 
angry and afraid. However, bringing in the death penalty is not the answer. As 
Ms Sam touched on in her letter, there are numerous studies which prove that 
the death penalty is not a deterrent to murder. Executing criminals simply 
makes us as bad as them; but civilized societies - decent, ordinary, 
law-abiding people - are not criminals, we are better than them. We have to 
show that violence is not a way to solve problems. Equally importantly, no 
justice system is perfect, and there are regular occurrences all over the world 
of people being convicted of serious crimes and then being found to have been 
innocent of those crimes. If someone is executed, then there is no comeback if 
he or she is subsequently found to have been innocent. This alone is a 
conclusive reason to abolish execution.

With Suriname's abolition of the death penalty earlier this year, Guyana is now 
the last country in South America not to have abolished the death penalty. We 
invite Guyana to heed the UN's calls and join the majority of the world in 
finally abolishing this inhumane and unnecessary punishment which in any case 
does not deter crime.

Yours faithfully,

Ambassador Robert Kopecky

European Union Delegation to Guyana

(source: Letter to the Editor, Stabroek News)