Rehabilitation bill silent on killing<\/p>\n
By Imanuddin<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As the government is pushing a new bill on
\nsocial rehabilitation that emphasizes reforming a criminal rather
\nthan exacting retribution, anti-capital punishment lobbyists
\nagain ask why the same principle can't be applied to all.<\/p>\n
The government this month submitted to the House of
\nRepresentatives a bill regulating the rehabilitation of
\ncriminals, including their rights and obligations as well as
\nthose of the state.<\/p>\n
But human rights activists who have long campaigned for the
\nabolition of the death penalty noted that the proposal excludes
\npeople on death row, currently or in the future.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the death penalty is the maximum punishment for
\nmurder, drug trafficking and subversion.<\/p>\n
\"It has long been accepted that imprisonment is no longer
\nintended as punishment, let alone vengeance, on those who have
\ncommitted a crime. A convict is not an object, but a subject no
\ndifferent from other human being who could at anytime commit an
\nerror or negligent act subject to criminal law. A convict is not
\na disease that has to be eliminated or wiped out ...\" states the
\nexplanatory section of the bill.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman, when submitting the bill,
\nsaid the underlying principle of the proposed law is that the
\nstate is responsible to rehabilitate criminals so that they could
\nreturn to society upon the completion of their term.<\/p>\n
The bill, if enacted, is simply a confirmation of the current
\npractice although this will be the first time that the rights and
\nobligations of criminals and the state are put in a law.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists pointed out that the bill made no
\nreference at all to those who are given the death penalty.<\/p>\n
Prof. Soetandyo Wignjosoebroto, a sociologist from the
\nAirlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, said there are two
\nprinciples of punishment accepted in the world, one is the
\nretributive theory and the other is the restitution theory.<\/p>\n
Under the retributive theory, a punishment is seen as a
\nvengeance against the convicted criminal, while the restitution
\ntheory sees a punishment as a means of rehabilitating him.<\/p>\n
Soetandyo said both theories allow for capital punishment.<\/p>\n
\"People may see capital punishment as protection for their
\nsecurity and welfare, while criminals would have the opposite
\nview of execution,\" he told The Jakarta Post by phone.<\/p>\n
Soetandyo, who sits in the National Commission on Human
\nRights, said he personally would like to see capital punishment
\nabolished in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"A criminal will not be evil forever. Sometimes, a person
\ncommits a crime because he has no choice,\" he said, adding that
\nimprisonment is already a form of \"vengeance\".<\/p>\n
Yopie Lasut, a human rights activist, said capital punishment
\nis only a form of revenge against a criminal. \"The life and death
\nof a person is in the hands of God the Almighty. Not one person
\nhas the right to take the life of another.\"<\/p>\n
Yopie, chairman of the Harapan Baru Foundation which looks
\nafter the welfare and safety of criminals' families, noticed that
\nin Indonesia, executions continue even on people who have been
\nincarcerated a long time. In some cases, those on death row had
\neven done good deeds while awaiting execution.<\/p>\n
He cited the example of Liong Wie Tong, alias Lazarus, who was
\nexecuted in 1987 after being in jail for 20 years.<\/p>\n
\"Liong successfully preached before 200 fellow inmates during
\nhis long wait in the penitentiary,\" he said, adding that 20 of
\nthe criminals he preached to have since become priests.<\/p>\n
\"Liong helped guide the criminals into being good persons,\"
\nYopie said. \"But why was he still executed?\"<\/p>\n
He also criticized the lengthy legal process that has kept
\npeople on death row waiting a long time with uncertainty. The
\nlong wait is \"an additional punishment to them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"An inmate of a South Sumatra prison, who has been sentenced
\nto death, once told me that his heartbeat quickened whenever a
\nsecurity guard approached his cell in the night,\" he said. The
\ninmate is scared he will be taken in the night and executed.<\/p>\n
Soesanto Bangoennagoro, a legislator from the ruling Golkar
\nparty, however said deliberation of the bill in the House will
\nnot be affected by the demands of the anti-capital punishment
\nlobby.<\/p>\n
Soesanto said he believed capital punishment should be kept as
\na deterrent, or protection of the people against criminals.<\/p>\n
He also disputed the assertion that capital punishment is a
\nform of revenge, pointing out that a criminal is executed by the
\nstate and not the relatives of the victims.<\/p>\n
Execution in Indonesia is carried out by a firing squad.<\/p>\n
\"It is the law enforcers, on behalf of the state, that execute
\nthe criminal,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The legislator said the fact that some people had to wait for
\na long time before being executed shows that the legal system
\ntreats the death sentence with the greatest caution and allows
\nthe condemned criminals to pursue every possible channel for a
\nreprieve.<\/p>\n
Another noted human rights lawyer, Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, said
\nhe is only in favor of capital punishment for the most sadistic
\ncriminals.<\/p>\n
He said the killer of the Achmadi family in Ujung Pandang,
\nSouth Sulawesi, last month and the murderer of the family members
\nof Herbin Hutagalung in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, last year,
\nshould both be given the death penalty.<\/p>\n
Trimoelja said he opposes capital punishment for political
\nprisoners, especially in Indonesia where the judges' independence
\nof the government is still questionable.<\/p>",
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