Time for Singapore to move away from Death Penalty

Think Centre Press Release 9 November 2012

Time for Singapore to move away from Death Penalty

http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=3133

“The taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict it on another, even when backed by legal process.” says the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - Report of the Secretary-General on Moratorium on the use of the death penalty, 3 August 2012.

Will Singapore draw lessons from the UNSG Report?

Think Centre (TC) is sharing our Position Paper on the proposed changes to the mandatory death penalty, which has also been presented to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry for Law, to lend our perspective and feedback to the Ministries. TC appreciates the Singapore government’s initiative to review the mandatory death penalty.

On 27 August 2012, Think Centre, together with the National Solidarity Party, held a public consultation on the proposed changes to the mandatory death penalty, with an aim to gather feedback from the public as well as to encourage public discussion on the mandatory death penalty.

Recognize Death Penalty as a Human Rights Issue

Think Centre has been calling for the moratorium and abolishment of the death penalty since the year 2000. We hope the recent changes are part of an ongoing process towards the total abolishment of the death penalty and the need to find alternative forms of humane punishments. It is our view that the death sentence is a cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment and we urge the government to adopt a rights-based approach towards the proposed legislative changes.

Think Centre also urge the government to take a longer-term perspective on the impact adopting such a position would have on our society’s attitudes and views on human dignity as well as upholding values such as compassion, leniency, and in giving everyone a second chance. This would go a long way towards our vision of building a more caring community.

Below are the links to our position papers and the summary of feedback from the public.

Think Centre’s Summary of the Public Consultation on 27 August 2012
http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=3131

Think Centre’s Position Paper (updated version)
http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=3132

NSP’s Position Statement
http://nsp.sg/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NSP-Position-Statement-on-Proposed-Changes-to-MDP-8-Nov-2012-RELEASE-VERSION.pdf

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