The Death Penalty in Australia. Academic English A 2 July 2013

Transcription

1 The Death Penalty in Australia Academic English A 2 July

2 NSW Council for Civil Liberties Background Paper The Death Penalty in Australia and Overseas 2

3 Capital Punishment: Not Dead Yet, The Economist, 13 April

4 As of December 2012 Abolitionist for all crimes 97 Abolitionist for ordinary crimes only 8 Abolitionist in practice 35 Total abolitionist in law or practice 140 Retentionist 58 4

5 The Death Penalty in Australia NSW Council for Civil Liberties Background Paper The Death Penalty in Australia and Overseas 5

6 The Death Penalty in Australia Arguments against the death penalty And why the death penalty was abolished in Australia Australians and the death penalty overseas The Australian government s stance towards the death penalty Australian public opinion towards the death penalty 6

7 Arguments For & Against the Death Penalty Your ideas 7

8 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty It is a brutal and inhumane form of punishment which goes against the fundamental right to life 8

9 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty It is a brutal and inhumane form of punishment which goes against the fundamental right to life Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Everyone as the right to life, liberty and security of person. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 9

10 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty It is a brutal and inhumane form of punishment which goes against the fundamental right to life It is not a deterrent against crime 10

11 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty It is not a deterrent against crime Research suggests offenders often do not consider the consequences of their actions The psychology of homicide Use of drugs and alcohol Terrorism and martyrdom 11

12 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty It is a brutal and inhumane form of punishment which goes against the fundamental right to life It is not a deterrent against crime The justice system can make mistakes 12

13 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty The justice system can make mistakes The justice system = police, judges, juries Especially in emotional cases Racial bias Socio-economic bias New DNA evidence 13

14 Do you know this man? 14

15 The Ashikaga Incident Sugiya Toshikazu ( 足利事件 ~ 菅家利和 ) 15

16 The case of Carlos De Luna 16

17 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty The justice system can make mistakes The justice system = police, judges, juries Especially in emotional cases Racial bias Socio-economic bias New DNA evidence The death penalty cannot be reversed 17

18 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty It is a brutal and inhumane form of punishment which goes against the fundamental right to life It is not a deterrent against crime The justice system can make mistakes It is contradictory for governments to have the power of life and death over their citizens 18

19 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty It is contradictory for governments to have the power of life and death over their citizens If murder is illegal why is it okay for governments to murder citizens via the death penalty? 19

20 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty It is a brutal and inhumane form of punishment which goes against the fundamental right to life It is not a deterrent against crime The justice system can make mistakes It is contradictory for governments to have the power of life and death over their citizens 20

21 The Death Penalty in Australia 21

22 The Death Penalty in Australia NSW Council for Civil Liberties Background Paper The Death Penalty in Australia and Overseas 22

23 How did Australia come to be an abolitionist i t country? 23

24 Ronald Ryan 24

25 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty for Ronald Ryan 25

26 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty for Ronald Ryan It is a brutal and inhumane form of punishment which goes against the fundamental right to life It is not a deterrent against crime The justice system can make mistakes It is contradictory for governments to have the power of life and death over their citizens 26

27 The protests against his killing 27

28 Main Arguments Against the Death Penalty for Ronald Ryan It is a brutal and inhumane form of punishment which goes against the fundamental right to life It is not a deterrent against crime The justice system can make mistakes It is contradictory for governments to have the power of life and death over their citizens 28

29 Henry Bolte Then Victorian Premier 29

30 How did Australia come to be an abolitionist country? 30

31 Australians and the Death Penalty Overseas 31

32 In Australia the death penalty has been abolished but there have been some young Australian people p who have been given the death penalty or a death penalty sentence overseas. Why? 32

33 In Australia the death penalty has been abolished but there have been some young Australian people p who have been given the death penalty or a death penalty sentence overseas. Why? Drug Trafficking 33

34 Van Tuong Nguyen 34

35 Andrew Chan & Myuran Sukumaran (The Bali Nine) 35

36 Australians and the Death Penalty Overseas How much should the government to do help Australians on death row overseas? The government should do more to help them The police shouldn t give certain information to foreign countries if it may lead to Australians being arrested for crimes that can be given the death penalty 36

37 The Australian government s stance towards the Death Penalty 37

38 The Australian government s stance towards the Death Penalty Is the Australian government pro or anti death penalty? 38

39 The Australian government s stance towards the Death Penalty Is the Australian government pro or anti death penalty? It depends on who is being given the death penalty No for Australians Yes for non-australians? 39

40 The government s contradictory stance 1 ~ Former Prime Minister John Howard ~ Everybody would welcome the death penalty for Osama Bin Laden (March 2003, US TV) Australia will not protest the death penalty under Indonesian law for the Bali bombers We would not protest the death penalty for Saddam Hussein 40

41 The government s contradictory stance 2 ~ Current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ~ Regarding the death sentence for the Bali bombers They deserve the justice that we deliver to them [ ] They are murderers, they are mass murderers and they are also cowards. (October 2008) 41

42 The Australian government s stance towards the Death Penalty Is the Australian government pro or anti death penalty? It depends on who is being given the death penalty No for Australians Yes for non-australians? Criticism from foreign governments (Indonesia, Singapore, etc) for its double standard Makes it difficult when Australia asks for clemency for Australian citizens given the death penalty abroad 42

43 Australian public opinion towards the death penalty 43

44 Australian public opinion towards the death penalty In the 1960s there were protests How about today? 44

45 NSW Council for Civil Liberties Background Paper The Death Penalty in Australia and Overseas 45

46 NSW Council for Civil Liberties Background Paper The Death Penalty in Australia and Overseas 46

47 NSW Council for Civil Liberties Background Paper The Death Penalty in Australia and Overseas 47

48 Australian public opinion towards the death penalty Although Australia is an abolitionist country Even though many people p were against the death penalty in the 1960s We see around half of the population agreeing with the death penalty (especially after cases of murder, mass murder and terrorism) in some opinion polls Should the Australian government do more to educate the public about Australia s opposition to the death penalty?? 48

49 Closing Words 49

50 Selected References Death Sentences and Executions 2012, Amnesty International 885a8eb5c607/act en.pdf The Death Penalty in Australian Law, Jo Lennan and George Williams, Sydney Law Review The Death Penalty in Australia and Overseas, NSW Council for Civil il Liberties Background Paper Crime in Twentieth Century Australia, Dr Adam Graycar, Year Book Australia 2001 (1301.0), ABS Death Penalty in Australia, New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties The Death Penalty A Matter of Principle, i A speech made by John von Doussa QC, 22 October Crimes Legislation Amendment (Torture Prohibition and Death Penalty Abolition) Bill 2009, Parliament of Australia Bills Digest, 1 February 2010, no. 91, The question of the death penalty, Commission on Human Rights resolution 2003/67 Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty Universal Declaration of Human Rights 50