Death by Hanging: Justice or Retribution?

On my mind the past week has been the judgment passed on Friday 22^nd November 2013, where former Inktech managing director Mathews Mohan was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of Cyclone Hardware director Sajid Itowala in 2009. I am quite saddened that in this day we still have such laws that allow one human being to declare that another be killed. I am reminded of the words of late English poet John Donne; "any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

The existence of the death penalty in our society raises several questions regarding the basis of the justice system. Do we seek to establish our justice systems out of a desire for rehabilitation, or out of a desire for retribution? Is capital punishment the best way to deter would be offenders? Is the principle of this legislation one of equivalency, reprisal or justice? Is this piece of legislation relevant today? I don’t have the answers to all the questions I have raised above, but the words of Nelson Mandela can guide; “You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.”

 

Justice or Retribution?

Our society's indignation, it seems, is more overwrought by legal wrong than conscious wrong. There should be no room for such archaic laws in the 21^st century. In the old testament of the Christian holy book, the phrase "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" gives a lucid picture of how conflict between two parties was handled. However, precisely two thousand forty six years ago when Jesus Christ descended to earth by birth through the Virgin Mary, this system of justice was challenged. In speaking to the people of Israel, Jesus said that we should love even our enemies and do good to them. Jesus Christ was not the first to challenge this type of justice system of eye for an eye. It was first challenged in the Old Testament way before Jesus was born on earth. Why should we uphold it today?

The absurdity of this ‘piece of legislation’ is that I haven’t heard anyone actually get hanged in Zambia for a long time even though many continue getting sentenced to death. Everyone on death row just waits for the day when the Tuberculosis or whatever disease they get infected with while in jail eventually does kill them. This, I believe, is more angst to the family of such a person. In this case the family is also subjected to punishment all because of one person’s debauchery. Yet, there is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than long terms of imprisonment or life sentences.

Going by the testimonies that the court heard in the Mohan case, the murder of Sajid was really gruesome and the responsible person(s) must face the full wrath of the law. In saying so I am talking of a life sentence or ‘two life sentences’ (which I don’t understand, –If you died, would you be jailed for life in your next life?). A life sentence is more appropriate. 

I am cognizant of the fact that the issue of Capital punishment was brought up in the Mungo’mba draft constitution but a size-able number of Zambians rejected it. It would appear like a size-able number of Zambians still want “an eye for an eye”, or would rejoice at taking away the life of another simply because they participated in taking someone else’s life. Why must the chain end there? Even he who has ordered the execution must then also be subjected to the same standard and be executed for participating in the killing of another human and so on until the killing chain wipes everyone off the face of the earth.

Surprisingly, the most postulated reason Zambia still keeps the death penalty is that the USA still upholds it. Are we supposed to do everything the USA does? Ultimately, the moral question surrounding capital punishment has less to do with whether those convicted of violent crime deserve to die than with whether government deserves to kill those whom it has imprisoned.

By the way, is “Death by hanging” literary death by hanging? It couldn't be hanging; even the infamous Timothy McVeigh was killed by lethal injection, who takes pride in hanging another human.