More experts hail death sentence for Siswanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Two more legal experts have voiced approval of
\nthe death sentence that was handed down to Siswanto, alias Robot
\nGedek, for the premeditated murder and sexual abuse of 12 boys.<\/p>\n
They said the sentence, handed down by the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court recently, was not against human rights.<\/p>\n
Baharuddin Lopa, secretary-general of the National Commission
\non Human Rights and a former chief of the South Sulawesi
\nProsecutor's Office, said the court did not need to give Robot a
\npsychological examination because there was enough material
\nevidence to support the verdict.<\/p>\n
Former deputy chief justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto said Robot
\ndeserved the death sentence because he had committed unforgivable
\ncrimes.<\/p>\n
\"He is the most undesirable creature in society and even if
\nthe court jailed him for life, nothing would make him repent,\"
\nsaid Adi, who just retired from the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
\"Whether executed or jailed for life, he would remain
\nunchanged,\" Baharrudin said.<\/p>\n
He said he could not understand why Robot was shocked by the
\nsentence. \"How come he was so shocked? He should have been
\nshocked when sodomizing those poor boys.\"<\/p>\n
Baharuddin, a former director general of the Ministry of
\nJustice's correctional institutions, said killers always behaved
\nlike an insane person during their trials.<\/p>\n
According to him the environment, inborn tendencies, education
\nand economic conditions also influenced killers.<\/p>\n
Adi said intellectual capability had nothing to do with
\nmurder.<\/p>\n
\"We have seen a lot of educated people who could kill anybody
\nthey wanted. The only difference between the educated and
\nuneducated in this case is that the former can cover their crimes
\nin a sophisticated way, while the latter -- like Robot -- are
\nsimpler,\" Adi said.<\/p>\n
Adi said the court's refusal to do a psychological examination
\nof Robot was acceptable, and that Robot's sexual behavior did not
\nprove that he was insane. \"Many sane people have the same problem
\nbut they don't kill people.<\/p>\n
\"Judges have the capacity to reject defense lawyer's requests
\nfor such an examination if they find the defendant is
\ncommunicative enough during trial,\" Adi said.<\/p>\n
He said Robot had appealed to the High Court, which means his
\ncase would be reviewed.<\/p>\n
Both Baharuddin and Adi both said that Indonesia was very
\nselective when it came to meting out the death penalty.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation chairman Bambang Widjojanto
\nsaid the sentence was premature.<\/p>\n
\"Having an expert witness is a defendant's right, as
\nstipulated in the Penal Code in order to get to the truth. And it
\nis a lawyer's responsibility to make it happen, although it was
\nthe judges' right to reject it,\" Bambang said.<\/p>\n
Bambang said the judges could not instantaneously rule out the
\npresence of an expert witness just because they believed the
\ndefendant was sane enough.<\/p>\n
\"Judges are not psychologists, whereas there are rules which
\nregulate ways to measure someone's mental health. Judges don't
\nhave the capability to decide just by judging a defendant's
\nphysical appearance or communication abilities,\" Bambang said.<\/p>\n
He said such a violation of a defendant's rights often
\nhappened here because there was no institution to protect a
\ndefendant's rights.<\/p>\n
A law expert at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Loebby
\nLoqman, earlier said the defendant should have been given a trial
\nperiod to rehabilitate himself before sentencing was decided.<\/p>\n
But Baharuddin said presiding judge Sartono had stated the
\nsentence was clear-cut and designed to protect the public.
\n(12\/10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-experts-hail-death-sentence-for-siswanto-1447893297",
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