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Death penalty meets fresh resistance
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A group of activists stages a protest in Semarang, Central Java, to reject the death penalty. (thejakartapost.com/Suherdjoko)
A
discussion on the dilemma of the death penalty at the Islamic College Sadra on Monday saw another heated debate surrounding the inclusion of capital punishment in Indonesia's legal system with a number of academics and experts offering different opinions.
Franz Magnis Suseno from the philosophy college of STF Driyakarya said that the death penalty had failed to reduce the crime rate in the country.
"The death penalty does not have a deterrent effect, since we can see that the number of crimes such as drug trafficking is still very high," he said.
Franz added that human beings "do not have the right" to end someone's life, adding that punishment should not be understood as an act of revenge.
(Read also: UN support sought to end death penalty in Indonesia)
Ammar Fauzi from the Islamic College Sadra, however, argued that the death penalty was about "upholding justice."
However, according to him, the most important thing for the government was to create a fair justice system.
Hertasning Ichlas from Universalia Legal Aid (YLBHU) also questioned the implementation of the death penalty, saying it was still "discriminatory." He said that most of the convicts on death row were not "the big fish" or key actors in their criminal networks.
He suggested that it was better for all stakeholders to focus on fixing problems and reforming the country's justice system than to prolong debates over the death penalty. (rdi/bbs)
