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Articles on Death penalty

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Indonesia’s anti-drug policy that enforces the death penalty for drug traffickers is in line with international law. shutterstock

Indonesia does need the death penalty to deter drug traffickers

International pressure has mounted on Indonesia in recent months to stop its enforcement of the death penalty. But Indonesia should maintain its tough anti-drug stance.
Two Australians will soon be killed at a prison on the Indonesian island of Nusakambangan – for no deterrent effect. AAP/Darma Semito

There is no evidence that the death penalty acts as a deterrent

Joko Widodo argues that Indonesia needs to execute drug offenders like Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to deter others, but he can produce no evidence to support this claim.
Individual circumstances, including evidence of remorse and rehabilitation over the past decade, don’t matter in the cases of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. EPA/Made Nagi

Barry Jones: The deep bilateral hypocrisy on the death penalty

The plight of Andrew Chan and Myuan Sukumaran in Indonesia illustrates how the death penalty is always highly politicised.
Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan inside a holding cell as they wait for their final appeal against the death sentence at Denpasar District Court in Bali, Indonesia in 2010. EPA/Made Nagi

Impending Bali executions rely on mistaken ideas about drugs

Ideas about drug use that are used to justify the death penalty for smuggling don’t hold up under scrutiny.
It is hard to understand exactly where Indonesia under Joko Widodo stands on the death penalty. EPA/Mast Irham

Indonesia’s stance on the death penalty has become incoherent

For months, Indonesian President Joko Widodo – popularly known as Jokowi – has repeatedly stated his determination to show no mercy to drug offenders facing execution. Jokowi is even reported as having…
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s blanket rejection of clemency requests from drug convicts violates principles of human rights law. EPA/Dennis M. Sabangan

Jokowi should halt executions under Indonesia’s corrupt judicial system

In Indonesia, the fate of death row convicts lies largely in the hands of the country’s president, who can decide to spare their lives after examining their clemency requests. Indonesian President Joko…
Indonesian media reporting reinforces public support for executing drug offenders, including Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. AAP/Mick Tsikas

Indonesian media reinforce death penalty as answer to ‘drug crisis’

The issue of the death penalty for drug offenders is receiving a lot of media attention as Indonesia executed convicted drug traffickers last month and plans more in coming weeks. Two members of the Bali…
The Indonesian government is using statistics based on questionable methodology to justify capital punishment. LittleEvilYor/Shutterstock

Indonesia uses faulty stats on ‘drug crisis’ to justify death penalty

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s claim of a national drug “emergency” that necessitates the death penalty for drug crimes is based on questionable statistics. Jokowi, as he is popularly known in Indonesia…
Protests in Australia over the potential execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan will gain little traction in Indonesia. AAP/Mick Tsikas

‘Bali Two’ executions could set back Australia-Indonesia relations

It now seems almost inevitable that two Australians, drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, will soon be executed in Indonesia. If this does happen, there will be public protests in Australia…
Australians don’t like the death penalty – we just don’t want the discomfort of having to care about the people it’s applied to. EPA/Made Nagi

The Bali Nine, and how not to argue for the death penalty

Barring some sort of last-minute miracle, two relatively young Australian men, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, are going to be killed by the Indonesian state. They will not be the first to die this way…
Artist Ben Quilty at last night’s I Stand For Mercy vigil for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

Why is Ben Quilty supporting two convicted drug smugglers?

The prospect of the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran has polarised Australians. While some argue the young men should suffer the consequeneces of importing heroin, others take a different…
Death row inmates Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan find themselves at the centre of a series of complex Indonesian political controversies. AAP/Mick Tsikas

Bali Nine: hypocrisy, politics and courts play out in death row lottery

One of the strongest arguments against the death penalty is that its administration is fundamentally unfair. Too often, the question of who receives a death sentence and whether and when it is actually…
Will Indonesian President Joko Widodo listen to requests from heads of state to spare their citizens who are facing the death penalty? EPA/Azhar Rahim

Q&A: will Indonesia listen to pleas to spare people on death row?

Despite local and international pressure to spare the lives of people on death row, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is adamant he will reject requests for clemency for more than 60 convicted drug traffickers…
Two Australians, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, are edging closer to death by firing squad in Indonesia. EPA/Made Nagi

Ticking down to a possible date with executioners

Tick tick tick. Ticking down. Inexorably. To a designated time when I will be blindfolded in a white shirt with a reflective tag over my heart. I will be given three minutes to “calm down”, and have a…
Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking offences. EPA/Made Nagi

Why Jokowi ordered the execution of drug traffickers in Indonesia

The Indonesian government plans to execute five convicts on death row before the year ends. Three have been convicted for drug-related crimes. According to The Guardian, the five condemned to death this…

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