Death penalty won’t eradicate crimes against women: Amnesty

After the Supreme Court decided to reaffirm its verdict of upholding the death sentence to four convicts who gang-raped and murdered Nirbhaya, Indian chapter of the global rights group, Amnesty International, said on Monday that executions will not help in eradicating violence against women.

“Unfortunately, executions do not eradicate violence against women. There is no evidence to show that the death penalty acts as a deterrent for sexual violence or any other crime,” Asmita Basu, Amnesty International India’s Programmes Director, said in a statement.

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“Instead, the government must allocate adequate resources for the effective implementation of laws, improve conviction rates and ensure certainty of justice in all cases.

“Even the Justice (J.S.) Verma Committee, whose recommendations were relied upon to reform laws on sexual assault and rape, had opposed imposing the death penalty in cases of rape,” she said.

In 2017, India was one of only three countries in the world that expanded the scope of the death penalty by adopting new laws. In April 2018, the Central Government approved an ordinance introducing the death penalty for those convicted of raping girls aged 12 years or younger.

Vindicated once again: Nirbhaya’s mother
After the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the death sentence to four men in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case, the victim’s mother Asha Devi said she had been vindicated once again and hoped the convicts would be executed soon.
“There is more fight ahead, but we have got justice once again. We hope that the legal formalities are taken care of and the culprits are taken to the gallows as soon as possible,” Asha Devi told reporters here.