Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

The Bar Council views with grave concern the call for the imposition of the death sentence for child rape cases. No doubt, the crimes of incest and rape are very serious offences, and heavy sentences, commensurate with the gravity of the offences committed, must be meted out to offenders of such crimes. However, the Bar Council is opposed to the death penalty being imposed.

While the government’s main rationale for introducing the death penalty is to deter would-be criminals, there is no empirical evidence that capital punishment has had such a positive deterrent effect. Arguably, there has been no significant reduction of crimes for which the death penalty is mandatory, such as murder, drug trafficking and
crimes under the Internal Security Act. Apart from this, at the dawn of the 21st century the death penalty is considered by most civilised nations as a cruel, barbaric and inhuman punishment and it has since been abolished by many countries.

While the death penalty itself may be an adequate reflection of society’s abhorrence towards rapes of children, the penalty will have serious repercussions on efforts to prosecute and prevent the incidence of such crimes, protect rape survivors, and reduce further victimisation of the survivors under the legal process. As the prosecution of rapists depends on the existence of a complaint by a rape victim, the death penalty may discourage victims from reporting the matter especially when the perpetrator is a member of the family. In addition, rapists themselves may be encouraged to murder their victims to avoid being caught.

Rather than impose a death sentence, the Bar Council is of the view that reforms should be sought to increase the length of prison sentences for child rapists and allow for men of 50 years of age and above to be whipped. Current law prohibits men in this age category from being whipped, which releases many rapists from the full consequences of the law. Prosecutors may be encouraged to push for heavier sentences for rape and incest, including consecutive jail terms, as being an alternative to the death penalty. In addition, we should consider ways to encourage children to report rapes, educate parents, the public and the police, provide psychiatric help for both victim and perpetrator, improve methods of investigation as well as introduce new methods of securing forensic evidence.

While the sentence for child rapists must reflect the seriousness of the crime, reforms in rape law must seek to ensure that the severity of the punishment does not cripple efforts to prevent the occurrence of such crimes.