[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 3



NIGERIA:

Death sentence not the best deterrent for drug trafficking - Lawyers



Some Nigerian lawyers have joined the discourse on the recent execution of drug 
traffickers sentenced to death in Indonesia.

Offering his views, activist lawyer, Festus Keyamo, opined that the death 
sentence should be discouraged, arguing that it is not the best way to curtail 
drug trafficking.

"All over the world, many countries are doing away with capital punishments. 
They are not making death sentence as a punishment for any offence at all. I 
don't believe taking away people's life is a sure deterrent to other people 
committing the same offence. I believe death sentence should be reversed all 
over the world. It should be for a crime like terrorism, not drug trafficking," 
Keyamo said.

Rather than imposing death sentence recommended that an offender should be 
given life sentence without parole. "By that, I mean, you will never be 
released from jail. At least, your relatives can still fly in to wherever you 
are to see you, maybe once in 6 months or so."

On his part, another legal practitioner, Shina Loremikan, agreed with Keyamo 
that world is shifting from the death sentence.

His word: "Scientifically, we have seen that death penalty has not reduced any 
crime that it is supposed to address. The sanction of death penalty only makes 
the potential offender to be more skillful and creative, knowing well that if 
caught, the penalty is death. Whereas, if the penalty for drug trafficking is 
reduced to life in jail, potential offenders are not likely to commit the 
offence, knowing that they would spend a whole lifetime in jail. Amnesty 
International that has been a frontrunner for human rights promotion for almost 
three to four decades have been pushing against the position of death 
penalties.

"The prerogative is borne out of the fact that if by chance the wrong person is 
tried and convicted, he may have died when we later find out that he never 
committed that offence or that there was an error in the judgment imposed on 
him. So, it will be good for the society if death penalties are removed from 
the law books of nations."

He, however, suggested that a longer jail term like 25 years imprisonment or 
even a life imprisonment would be better and more effective than death.

"If the person committing the offence is of the average age of 30-35 years, by 
the time you give the person a 25-year jail term, it is like you are saying 
that his entire life should be spent in prison custody, and that will be more 
painful to him," Loremikan said.

(source: sunnewsonline.com)








INDONESIA:

Drug smuggling Redcar gran vows to look executioners in the eye and sing Perry 
Como's Magic Moments



A grandmother who is facing a firing squad has vowed to look the gunmen right 
in the eye before she is shot.

Lindsay Sandiford, originally from Redcar, revealed she has started writing 
goodbye letters to her family, having run out of time and money to seek a 
reprieve.

The 58-year-old former legal secretary has been on death row in Indonesia for 
more than two years after her conviction in December 2012 of smuggling 1.6m 
pounds worth of cocaine into Bali.

In a moving statement written for The Mail on Sunday, she told how she would 
like to see her granddaughter, who was born after her incarceration, "but at 
the same time I feel it would be better if she doesn't know me".

Ms Sandiford, who lived in Cheltenham before moving to India for 2 years, was 
writing after the execution last week of 8 convicted drug smugglers, including 
2 Australians, 1 of whom was a close friend.

She revealed that she plans to reject any offer of a blindfold as they did and 
sing the light-hearted song 'Magic Moments'.

"The executions have forced me to think about how I am going to handle the 
situation when my own time comes. I won't wear a blindfold. It's not because 
I'm brave but because I don't want to hide - I want them to look at me when 
they shoot me.

"I'll sing too, but not Amazing Grace (sung by her friend Andrew Chan). I'll 
sing Magic Moments by Perry Como. I had a boyfriend who used to change the 
lyrics of songs and play them on his Hammond organ to make me laugh. That was 
one of the songs he sang and it reminds me of those long-ago days."

She also told of her decision not to see see her two-year-old granddaughter and 
to ask her family not to attend her execution.

Explaining she didn't want the "macabre circus" of the media photographing her 
grieving family, she added: "I long to see her (her granddaughter) and to hold 
her, but at the same time I feel it would be better if she doesn't know me. 
When she grows up, I want her to know I wasn't bad person."

She added that the only chance to avoid execution was to file for a 'pk' 
hearing, effectively a full retrial. However she doesn't have the money to fund 
it.

The Supreme Court in London recommended the Government consider funding her 
appeal, but Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond refused. A Facebook campaign has 
been set up in an attempt to raise the cash.

Ms Sandiford, said she was now the only death row prisoner left in Kerobokan 
prison and the Indonesian authorities want all executions for drug offences 
carried out by the end of the year.

She admitted the drug smuggling offences, but claimed she was coerced by 
threats to her son's life, and has since appealed against her sentence without 
success.

Her evidence helped secure the arrest of Julian Ponder, believed to be a major 
figure in a drugs syndicate who has since been convicted for drug trafficking. 
However, Ponder was not given the death penalty.

(source: The Northern Echo)

*************

When mercy has to take a back seat



The island of Nusakambangan was the centre of attention last Tuesday as the 
long drawn out battle to save 8 convicted drug traffickers from execution in 
Indonesia finally came to an end.

On one side was the Indonesian government bent on carrying out the execution as 
stipulated in the country's law while on the other side was the countries from 
which some of the traffickers came from, family members of the condemned 
prisoners and those who oppose death sentence.

The pleas and demands, some of which bordered on threats, to spare the lives of 
the 2 Australians, 4 Africans, 1 Brazilian, 1 Filipina and an Indonesian on 
death row were of no avail.

Why did Indonesia turned a deaf ear to all the entreaties to call off the 
executions despite the expected diplomatic fallout and revulsion they would 
bring?

President Joko Widodo must have faced a lot of pressure with so many people 
pleading for mercy for the convicted prisoners and giving very sound reasons to 
spare their lives.

In the midst of hand wringing and breast beating over the impending deaths of 
the prisoners, many lost sight of the fact that more was at stake than showing 
mercy to the drugs traffickers.

Much as Joko Widodo would have liked to ace to the pleas of mercy, he had no 
alternative because stepping back would have compromised the sovereignty of the 
nation.

It was not about Indonesia showing its strength to the world or Joko Widodo 
playing the tough guy to prove his mettle to his people.

It was about upholding and implementing the law of the country especially when 
the drug traffickers already knew the consequence if they were caught and 
convicted.

Everyone flying to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and several other countries 
in the region are amply warned about the death sentence for drug trafficking.

Those caught have decided that the reward for smuggling drugs was worth taking 
this mortal risk and should be prepared to accept the price of being caught. 
However, those who were proven to have been duped into carrying the drugs 
should be and were usually spared the gallows or firing squad.

Filipina Mary Jane Veloso was spared from facing the firing squad on this 
ground as a friend claimed at the 11th hour that she tricked Mary Jane into 
carrying the suitcase which contained the drugs.

However, Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo warned that Mary Jane's 
reprieve was subject to the verification of her friend's confession.

While it is a valid caveat on the reprieve as this could be ruse to save her, 
the world is hoping that it is true that this mother whose sons met her before 
her aborted execution was indeed a naive woman tricked into smuggling the 
drugs.

The penalty for drug trafficking in Malaysia is also death penalty and this 
brings up the question of what would our government do if it were to face the 
same pressure from foreign countries to spare the lives of their citizens 
convicted of drugs trafficking in our country.

Like Joko Widodo, our prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would have to 
stand firm on the court's decision as buckling under foreign pressure would 
cast a long shadow over the nation's sovereignty.

Condemning a person to death is a difficult decision and carrying out the 
sentence is made more difficult especially in the face of an international 
appeal for clemency.

Alas, for the 7 who were executed their fate was sealed not by the Indonesian 
court but their decision to get into the lucrative but dangerous business of 
drug trafficking.

The silver lining in the dark cloud of the execution of the 7 traffickers was 
their transformation from merchants of death to good citizens while in the 
death row.

They went to their death singing praises to God and faced the firing squad 
without blindfolds. They might not have received the mercy they pleaded for in 
this world but dying as repentant sinners they will receive mercy from the God 
they turned to.

(source: Editorial, The Borneo Post)

**********************

Myuran Sukumaran could have fled Indonesia but chose to try to save others



Myuran Sukumaran was tipped off about the arrest of the 4 Bali 9 mules and 
could have fled the country, but chose to return to a hotel where fellow Bali 9 
members were waiting in an attempt to save the 2 men.

According to information never revealed previously, the third in command of the 
Bali 9, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, has recalled "the greatest and most special 
moment that I will always remember about Myu is something no one will know".

He says Sukumaran, executed last week by an Indonesian firing squad, acted 
selflessly to save fellow drug smugglers Si Yi Chen and Matthew Norman.

"I wanna share something with all of you. In memory of Myu," Nguyen wrote in a 
message that was shared on Facebook.

His fondest memory, said Nyguyen, was not something Sukumaran did in jail, or 
his art.

"[It was] the fact that he cared and worried about the rest. Calm and 
collected. This is what I will always remember about him," Nguyen wrote.

"Myu could of panicked and left the country."

The revelation comes as the Australian Federal Police, which has been widely 
criticised for tipping off Indonesian police with information leading to the 
arrests in Bali and knowingly exposing the Bali nine to the death penalty, will 
hold a press conference on Monday.

Commissioner Andrew Colvin, Deputy Commissioner Mike Phelan and Deputy 
Commissioner Leanne Close will discuss the AFP's work during the Bali 9 
investigation.

They will also discuss the AFP's guidelines in relation to death penalty 
matters in 2005 and the procedures the organisation operates under today.

Nguyen told Fairfax Media he and Sukumaran were at Bluefin, a Japanese fusion 
restaurant in Kuta, the day of their arrest on April 17, 2005.

Sukumaran was tipped off about the arrests of Martin Stephens, Renae Lawrence, 
Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj, the couriers for the Bali 9 syndicate who were 
apprehended at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport with heroin strapped to 
their bodies.

"There is a reason why code system are used. To alert if something goes wrong 
and flee the country," Nguyen wrote.

"Myu didn't pack up and left the country. No. He went back to the hotel where 
the other 2 were waiting. Moved them somewhere else, and telling them the most 
important thing at the moment was getting them out of the country safely. 
Calming them down and be aware [sic] what's happening."

Of all the Bali 9, Sukumaran had the best chance of escaping after their 
operation had been compromised.

He had been under surveillance by the Indonesian authorities but they did not 
know his name. He was known only to Indonesian police as "the black one" or 
"the negro".

I Nyoman Gatra, an Indonesian police intelligence officer who led a 
surveillance operation after the tip-off from the AFP, told the Denpasar 
District Court in 2005 that Sukumaran had not been listed on an AFP alert 
letter sent on April 8 about a week before the Bali 9 were arrested.

"At first I thought he was a bodyguard," he said at the time.

Sukumaran, Nguyen, Chen and Norman were arrested the night of May 17, 2005, at 
the Melasti Beach Bungalows in Bali.

Sukumaran wasn't actually in the room at the Melasti when it was raided by 
police, as has been previously reported. He was outside standing guard and was 
pushed into the room when the police stormed the hotel.

Police discovered rucksacks containing 334 grams of heroin and a bag of pepper, 
to put sniffer dogs off the scent.

Andrew Chan was arrested the same day on an Australian Airlines flight about to 
depart for Australia. He had no drugs in his possession but several mobile 
phones.

Sukumaran and Chan were executed at 12.25am on April 29.

Nguyen, who is serving life imprisonment in a jail in Malang, East Java, told 
Fairfax Media that after he wrote about what had happened he felt so much 
better.

"I can finally let go now."

(source: Sydney Morning Herald)








AUSTRALIA:

Australian federal police to break silence over role in Bali 9 executions ---- 
Pressure mounts on AFP to explain tip-off to Indonesia about Bali 9 drug 
smugglers as Labor says Australia needs to push for global end to death penalty

The Australian federal police (AFP) leadership team will break their silence on 
Monday over the force's role in the Bali 9's arrest in Indonesia.

The AFP commissioner, Andrew Colvin, and deputy commissioners Mike Phelan and 
Leanne Close will face the media in Canberra to discuss the organisation's work 
on the investigation, which led to the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran 
Sukumaran last week.

The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, told reporters on Sunday his party's focus 
would be on pushing more firmly for an end to the death penalty in all 
countries.

Pressure has been mounting on the AFP to explain its role in tipping off 
Indonesia about the Bali 9 drug-smuggling operation in 2005. Colvin will also 
discuss the AFP???s guidelines in relation to matters subject to the death 
penalty as they stood in 2005 and now.

The federal government has said police are still taking the death penalty into 
account before tipping off foreign agencies about suspected Australian 
criminals, in line with guidelines Labor issued in 2009.

Shorten said the AFP should be allowed to offer an explanation without 
speculation in advance.

"I'm not going to start second-guessing the AFP, we'll wait and see what they 
have to say," he said in Melbourne. "It has barely been a few days since those 
dreadful executions took place and again, my first thoughts are with the 
families and friends, and the people who worked so hard to keep these 2 young 
men alive.

"Labor stands opposed to the death penalty, wherever it occurs, and we are 
certainly determined to do more in the future to use Australia's diplomatic 
capital and our capacity in the world to help persuade all the nations that use 
the death penalty to reconsider that.

"This was a futile death of 2 men who had rehabilitated themselves by all 
accounts. It achieved nothing, and I think if we are to be fair dinkum in the 
future, we need to talk not just to Indonesia, but we need to talk about 
opposing the death penalty internationally."

The social services minister, Scott Morrison, told the Bolt Report's Andrew 
Bolt the relationship with Indonesia had been strained by the executions, but 
was still fundamentally strong.

"I think we need to move through this issue," he said. "It won't be business as 
usual for some time and we understand how we all feel about this.

"But the engagement under the surface which keeps the wheels turning in these 
relationships, I have no doubt is going to continue to turn."

(source: The Guardian)

*****************

Bali 9: Philip Ruddock calls for countries to abolish death penalty in wake of 
Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran executions



Former attorney-general Philip Ruddock says he is reaching out to other 
countries in an effort to abolish the death penalty.

Bali 9 ringleaders Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 34, were executed 
along with 6 others by firing squad on the prison island of Nusakambangan early 
on Wednesday morning.

The 2 men were sentenced to death for their parts in a plot to smuggle 8 
kilograms of heroin into Australia.

Mr Ruddock said he had written to the high commissioners and ambassadors of all 
the countries whose nationals were executed in Indonesia.

"[I wrote] to invite them to work with us in relation to the way in which we 
can constructively deal with these issues," he said.

He said the discussion on capital punishment needed to start with the United 
States.

"If the leading country in the world which we relate to still maintains 
executions, it's very hard to argue with Iran, China, Saudi Arabia who are the 
other countries that do execute, in some cases, thousands of people," Mr 
Ruddock said.

Mr Ruddock said the greatest crime deterrent was the prospect of detention, not 
death.

"The death penalty has long been known, through a lot of research that's been 
done by criminologists and the like, as having no effective deterrent value," 
he said.

"It seems to me that part of the advocacy has to be informing people - if you 
want to do something about criminal activity, you really need to raise the 
effectiveness of your law enforcement."

Mr Ruddock said he hoped the deaths of Chan and Sukumaran were not in vain.

He said he had invited the parliamentary library to put together information 
for Australian delegations on how countries they visited implemented the death 
penalty.

The issue of the death penalty had been successfully discussed with Vietnam in 
the past, Mr Ruddock said.

"After I had [raised the issue] with Vietnam, they took away some of the 
offences for which execution could be sought," he said.

However he did not agree with comments last week from Agriculture Minister 
Barnaby Joyce that a "discussion" about the death penalty was needed in 
Australia.

Mr Joyce had said many of his constituents supported capital punishment.

Saying he was "startled" by such sentiments, Mr Joyce said "the discussion 
we're having about others, we should also be carrying out domestically".

Mr Ruddock said he would assist Mr Joyce with advice in approaching those 
arguments, but said research showed the death penalty had no deterrent value.

(source: Radio Australia)

************************

Canberra should not rush to aid of overseas offenders



I have lost a son to heroin, and thousands of others' lives have been ruined by 
this and other illicit drugs.

I commend the AFP for ensuring that these smugglers were caught, and suggest it 
is high time we reconsidered the level of support offered to Australian 
citizens who offend overseas. Those who breach their obligations as Australian 
citizens should not expect the support of the Australian state. We have a 
policy of this type for jihadist activity; drug-smuggling merits at least 
similar treatment.

David Barker, Bunbury, WA

As an Australian working in Jakarta, I find calls to scale back co-operation 
with Indonesia frustrating and dangerous. A large number of extremists will be 
released from Indonesian prisons in the near future. Despite rehabilitation 
programs in Indonesian jails, it's a fair bet many of them will re-emerge 
unrepentant.

Australia and Indonesia need each other now more than ever. We need our 
ambassador back here now. Lives may depend on it.

Anthony Murphy, South Jakarta, Indonesia

I oppose the death penalty but, following the executions in Indonesia, one 
issue remains largely undiscussed: capital punishment as deterrent. Views have 
been mixed on this matter and many criminologists argue that it???s not. It 
will be interesting to see whether potential drug-runners are dissuaded by 
recent events. And, if they should try nonetheless, what our reaction might 
then be.

Greg Cary, The Gap, Qld

Many people die tragically and needlessly but are soon forgotten. These two 
drug-smugglers, who no doubt knew that Indonesia had the death penalty, carried 
out their crime and would have peddled misery and death to many fellow 
Australians if they had succeeded.

The outcry has been long and loud and now the Australian Catholic University is 
going to offer scholarships in commemoration of the pair.

Many souls will be forgotten quickly but these will be commemorated. The 
relativity escapes me.

Jim Vagne, Moggill, Qld

As well as being right, ("We can't impose our value system", 2-3/5) Janet 
Albrechtsen could have mentioned that it is 800 years since the signing of the 
Magna Carta.

Australia has only had 31 years since the death penalty was abolished and 48 
years since it was last used here.

Indonesia is a relatively new independent country. It is not helped by a noisy 
minority of Australians getting on their high horse and claiming to know what 
is right for everyone else in the world.

Mike O'Brian, Mandurah, WA

Isn't it time we stopped focusing on the executed drug runners?

They knew what they were doing, what the laws of Indonesia are. To hold vigils 
and spend pages in newspapers and time on television is just trying to make 
heroes out of criminals who were certainly bad examples to show our children.

Tessa Surany, Rose Bay North, NSW

The ACU's decision to establish scholarships as part of some campaign against 
the death penalty is misconceived and likely to be counter-productive.

It casts doubt over the sincerity of Australia's opposition to the drugs trade.

Furthermore, the commonwealth funds places at the university.

In any future case where an Australian government tries to persuade an Asian 
country that while Australia opposes the death penalty, its opposition to the 
drugs trade is total, its argument will be undermined by the fact that a 
university it funds provides scholarships recognising 2 heroin-smugglers.

When politics and populism become not the means of achieving and promoting your 
objectives but the objective itself, right and wrong get lost. They most 
certainly have at the ACU.

Philip Walker, Red Hill, ACT

As an ordinary citizen and a Catholic, I abhor the death penalty, but I cannot 
fathom why anybody would want scholarships to commemorate these 2 misguided 
men.

What next, the Tony Mokbel and Carl Williams scholarships for travel or 
sophisticated distribution networks? Abbott is correct. It is odd to say the 
least. Let the families mourn in peace.

Patrick Franklin, Wishart, Qld

(source: Opinions; The Ausdtralian)








IRAN:

Fate of 6 Kurdish activists sentenced to death by Iran unclear



Families of 6 Kurdish activists who were sentenced to death in Iran for alleged 
links to outlawed Kurdish parties say authorities have not provided them with 
details about the fate of their loved ones since the activists were found 
guilty in February on charges of "enmity against God" and "corruption on 
Earth."

Saman Nasim, Habib and Ali Afshari, Sirwan Nazhawi, Ibrahim Isapour and Younus 
Aqaiyan were relocated from Urumiyeh Sate Prison in March where they had been 
in custody after they were jailed over 4 years ago. Authorities have refused to 
disclose where the prisoners have been taken.

"We should have been given at least a death certificate so that we can 
pronounce them dead," said one of the family members who wished to remain 
anonymous. "Authorities have kept us in the dark and it's painful."

The family of activists Habib and Ali Afshari say intelligence officers in the 
city of Mahabad told them the 2 men had been hanged, but did not provide death 
certificates.

Relatives of Sirwan Nizhawi and Ibrahi Isapour told Rudaw they know the 2 have 
been relocated to Tabriz.

1 of the convicted activists, Saman Nasim, was sentenced to death at the age of 
just 17 accused of being a member of a Kurdish organization. Nasim, now 22, 
told Amnesty International last year he had confessed under "prolonged 
torture."

(source: rudaw.net)








EGYPT:

Freedom & Justice Party makes oral submissions to African Commission on 
Egyptian mass death penalties.



Lawyers representing President Mohamed Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party were 
granted a private hearing by the African Commission to make submissions on the 
concerns over the imposition of mass death sentences in Egypt.

Presenting arguments today in Banjul, the Gambia, on behalf of the FJP, Counsel 
Rodney Dixon Q.C. addressed the Commission, during its 56th Ordinary Session, 
on the serious violations of international law in Egypt since the coup. Leading 
British human rights lawyer, Tayab Ali, who advises the FJPs international 
legal team, supported submissions at the hearing.

The Commission has previously issued Provisional Measures against the use of 
mass death sentences in Egypt. However, these Measures have been wilfully 
ignored by the Egyptian regime. In March 2015, Egypt executed Mr Mahmoud 
Ramadan despite the African Commission ordering the regime to suspend his 
execution a matter of days before it took place.

Today's proceedings were held in private, between the parties and the 
Commission. However, as the lawyers have consistently stated in their public 
submissions, the Commission has been urged to take immediate and decisive 
action to halt the imposition of death penalties and for the Egyptian justice 
system to uphold fundamental human rights guarantees.

Concerns about the imposition of mass death sentences in Egypt are gathering 
pace internationally. Leading human rights' organisations, such as Reprieve, 
have also presented arguments to the Commission and the African Union High 
Level Panel for Egypt has recommended the Commission to undertake a 
fact-finding mission to Egypt.

After the hearing, Rodney Dixon Q.C. said "this is a ground-breaking moment in 
accountability for the Egyptian people. The African Commission have heard our 
submissions on behalf of those languishing in the most appalling prison 
conditions and facing the ultimate penalty following trials that fell far below 
internationally recognised standards. We have faith that the Commission will 
take all necessary steps to protect the well-being and, indeed, the lives of 
the thousands who remain detained in Egypt."

Tayab Ali, who advises the FJP international legal team, said, "the African 
Commission is the last hope for justice for hundreds of Egyptians who have done 
nothing more than wanting a democratic Egypt. We are grateful to the African 
Commission for intervening in these cases and imposing interim measures. This 
is not an appeal in respect of an isolated death sentence; this is a part of a 
widespread and systemic imposition of capital punishment in order to quell 
peaceful democratic opposition. The judicial system is being used to prop up 
serious acts of state repression and the African Commission must continue to 
hold Egypt to account."

The African Charter established the African Commission on Human and Peoples' 
Rights. The Commission's Secretariat is located in Banjul, The Gambia. The 
Commission is officially charged with the protection of human and peoples' 
rights; the promotion of human and peoples' rights; and the interpretation of 
the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

(source: Middle East Monitor)








GLOBAL:

Will we ponder the death penalty?



It's one of those time-wasting questions that would be good for a long car 
trip, when I Spy gets too boring but you want to keep conversation clean enough 
for your Nan to play along, too.

As human beings in 2015, what aspects of our lives today will we reflect on in 
the future with befuddlement and awe?

There's the obvious stuff and actually it's fun to get Nan going because she'll 
remember some perfectly ridiculous examples from only a few years back.

She might recall the way sportspeople used to smoke cigarettes in the half-time 
break or when a trip to Australia took 10 days at sea. She might bring up 
domestic life before Fisher & Paykel or when it wasn't altogether alarming to 
see a Prime Minister drunk on TV.

You'll counter with some modern examples of stuff that will soon seem totally 
absurd: sleeve tattoos and those earlobe-stretching piercings, paddle boarding, 
Robin Thicke singles and bikini waxes for all (Don't act so naive, Nan).

The conversation might turn deep.

After discussing low-riding jeans, capital gains taxes (or lack thereof) and 
gluten freedom, you'll turn to more pressing examples about fossil fuels and 
carbon dioxide.

"Nan, won't it seem absolutely absurd that once upon a time we actually burned 
coal?"

And maybe this week if you were playing the game and were looking to the news 
for inspiration, you'd offer up an even darker example: maybe one day it won't 
be acceptable for any government to punish its criminals by putting them to 
death.

Maybe Indonesia will change its laws. Saudi Arabia, too. Maybe America and the 
other 30-odd countries that "actively" practise the ultimate punishment might 
grow uncomfortable with just how primal, medieval, how grossly animalian 
state-ordered execution really is.

Would we look back at capital punishment with bewilderment? The same way we 
question nowadays how anyone ever thought the world was flat?

Probably not. Because for all our fashions and advances, politics and growth 
and change, in some departments we really haven't progressed in tens of 
thousands of years.

Depressing, that.

(source: Jack Tame; New Zealand Herald)