Editorial

DEATH PENALTY

- Kimberlie Anne S. Austria

Last March 2022, a new law to protect Filipino children from sexual violence was just signed. Under this law, those who engage in sexual activities with children below 16 that used to be 12 are liable for committing statutory rape. Along with this issue and the rising cases of heinous crimes the Philippines face, many citizens voice out for the death penalty to be back. For them, there is no justice until the criminal's life is taken away, as there's no amount of punishment that would suffice for the things they did.

Capital punishment was abolished by Proclamation No. 1081 ("Proclamation of Amnesty and Public Pardon During the 21st Anniversary of the New Society, " December 30, 1981) issued by Manila-based President Corazon C. Aquino on her first day in office. The proclamation declared that "all prisoners currently under sentence of death shall henceforth be placed under detention. " It also annulled all previous death sentences and restored to full political and civil rights "persons convicted under military courts for crimes against national security committed during the period of martial law. " The death penalty was abolished for it is a cruel and inhumane punishment. Even with the safeguards built into legal procedures now, there are still many instances of mistaken identity or error in identifying the guilty party. The individual wrongly convicted of a serious crime does not deserve the ultimate penalty; the state's responsibility to protect its citizens should be realized by incarceration for life instead of execution.

The imposition of the death penalty in the Philippines is incompatible with the principle of human dignity, as guaranteed by our Constitution. The death penalty is also disrespectful to life, which is sacred and inviolable in Catholic Tradition. The death penalty violates a man's right to life which cannot be taken away even if someone has committed serious crimes because nobody has the right to kill another human being, no matter how severe those crimes are or how great the pain felt due to such crime.

Instead, we can integrate different forms of life sentences and those without a chance of parole in our system. Death penalty won't scare criminals as they will just adjust to live with it; but it will terrorize the innocent, those people whom our law can easily point their fingers if they want to.

Throughout our history, the death penalty has been meted out to replace punishment with barbaric and cruel method. Many proponents have also viewed the death penalty as a deterrent to crime. However, an empirical study of crime statistics reveals that there is no correlation between the implementation of capital punishment and the deterrence of crime. The death penalty has been around since civilization began, but this hasn't prevented horrible crimes. Additionally, the death penalty or capital punishment is a form of punishment that has been used throughout history and is even practiced by several countries in the present.This form of punishment is retributive justice rather than restorative justice, which aims to reform convicts and prepare them for reintegration into society. Vengeance is never justice.

Since its establishment, the death penalty has been the subject of heated discussion and controversy. Various countries have different takes on it as to why it is not practiced worldwide. In the Philippines, it was long abolished as our justice system is still faulty, and it this can be used in power abuse. It was abolished for a reason and should not be brought back into our system again.