Punjab: Lack of death sentence’s implementation increasing crime rate

[Naveed Yaseen]

Convicts almost sure they will not walk to gallows

* Lack of death sentence’s implementation increasing crime rate
* Last execution in Pakistan carried out in November 2008

By Anwer Hussain Sumra

LAHORE: With the last execution in Pakistan dating back to November 2008, a lack of the death sentence’s implementation is encouraging activities of criminals and gangs in the province – who are now almost sure they would not have to take the walk to the gallows – leading to a sharp surge in the crime rate, sources in the jail and police departments told Daily Times.

The sources said the crime rate had gone up despite the deployment of heavy contingents of police equipped with sophisticated weapons, as criminals and gangs were “confident” they would not come face to face with the hangman’s noose. Of the 5,835 prisoners being held in various jails of Punjab, 48 are currently awaiting execution following the rejection of their mercy petitions.

During former president Pervez Musharraf’s tenure, the execution of condemned prisoners was made a top agenda item as part of efforts to improve the law and order situation and send a strong signal to criminals and gangs. Musharraf accepted only one mercy petition during his tenure. Over the last seven years, the Punjab government has executed as many as 401 indicted prisoners – 400 during Musharraf’s tenure and only one during the current government’s tenure.

According to data available with Daily Times, 5,835 prisoners on death sentence are currently being held in 27 jails of Punjab. Appeals filed by 4,528 are yet to be decided by the Lahore High Court – making the status of their cases unconfirmed – while 1,000 appeals are pending with the supreme court and 41 with the Federal Shariat Court. Meanwhile, mercy petitions of at least 216 condemned prisoners are pending with the president and two with General Headquarters, said the sources. These prisoners were previously detained in death cells, but were shifted to ordinary barracks in September in line with amendments to the Pakistan Prisons Rules 1978, said the sources.

The president has already rejected 48 mercy petitions, but the convicts – including terrorists, assassins and kidnappers – have not yet been hanged, and are detained in death cells of various jails. The last execution came in November 2008.

The sources said as the Interior Ministry was holding discussions on converting the death sentence into life imprisonment, the Presidency had stayed the process of deciding mercy petitions filed by families of prisoners on death sentence. The sources said that the decision to stay executions had “washed away” criminals’ fear of punishment. A senior police officer said the crime rate was spiking day by day despite modern training techniques for police and the provision of sophisticated weapons. He said the lack of executions meant that criminals were not being punished for their actions.

Another police officer said, “Regular police encounters are the shortcut to eliminating criminals”. A jail officer said convicts on death sentence had become a “sign of terror in jails ... they are even creating trouble for jail managements”. He said some of them were also operating gangs outside jails, as “the fear of being executed is non-existent”.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg7_22