Abolishing death penalty, a good political investment – lobbyist
Published:Wednesday | February 27, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Damion Mitchell, Integration Editor
BRUSSELS, Belgium:
The executive director of France-based global abolitionists Together Against the Death Penalty has told countries that still embrace capital punishment that to do away with the law is a good political investment.
And according to Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, the returns are great too.
“No country has back-pedalled,” he said, speaking through an interpreter at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium during Wednesday’s opening ceremony of the 7th World Congress Against the Death Penalty.
“Once the death penalty is off the statue book, countries don’t backslide,” Chenuil-Hazan continued.
He further said there should be no worries about public opinion because it will follow any decision to abolish the death penalty.
Around the world today, 106 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, but it is still implemented in 52 states.
Another 32 have it on the books but have not carried out any executions in at least 10 years and did not oppose the last UN resolution for universal suspension of the death penalty.
Jamaica and other Caribbean countries opposed the resolution although they have not executed a convict in more than 20 years.
Belgium’s deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders told reporters that retaining the death penalty was a futile attempt at controlling crime.
“Every government knows that the death penalty is ineffective but they keep it in place to give the impression that they have a robust system in place,” he said.
Under the Michael Manley regime, in a 1979 conscience vote in Jamaica’s House of Representatives on the retention of the death penalty, 24 MPs voted to keep hanging and voted 18 for its abolition.
People’s National Party MP Percival Minott refused to vote.
In 2008, when Bruce Golding was Prime Minister, 34 MPs voted to keep the death penalty, 15 voted no and 10 were absent.