IT is on record that the death sentence has been outlawed in many civilised societies across the world on the basis that it is a dehumanising, harsh and non-deterrent form of punishment. The fact that there are chilling reports of cold-blooded murders does not justify having it on the country’s statutes.
It is unfortunate that President Robert Mugabe is keen to have this barbaric form of punishment revived in the country, as part of deterrent measures to curb the increasing cases of cold-blooded murders recorded in the country each week.
It must be noted that judgments passed in criminal cases do not have to be punitive, but corrective. Having someone executed because they have killed is not beneficial to anyone. It cannot bring back the murder victim to their loved ones and neither will it heal the wounds inflicted by the gruesome murder. Life imprisonment should be sufficient punishment.
The fact that Cabinet is divided over the issue — with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa clear that he is against it — speaks volumes, and it would be unfortunate if President Mugabe uses his presidential powers to have this crude form of punishment restored into the statute books.
We are aware that the death penalty still exists in our statutes, but the fact that capital punishment was last done in 2005 is laudable. It must be abolished.
The fact that government has already invited applicants for the hangman’s post which fell vacant in 2005 when the country conducted its last execution demonstrates that it is probably a foregone conclusion that executions will go ahead despite protests from various quarters.
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There have to be other ways, other than execution, to send the message that the crime of murder would not be tolerated. It’s important to educate people about these things in the right way rather than through execution.
International rights lobby group, Amnesty International has been on a spirited campaign to convince Zimbabwe to remove capital punishment from its statutes after scientific studies consistently demonstrated that this form of punishment does not deter people from committing crime.
While the execution of a murderer may bring sadistic satisfaction to the aggrieved family, it does not heal them from the grief associated with their loss. What they may require, instead, is to undergo counselling to help them deal with their loss in a way that can help them move forward.