Capital
punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the killing of a person
by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can
result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital
offences. The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" (Latin caput). Hence, a capital crime was originally one punished by the severing of the head.
Capital punishment has in the past been practiced in virtually every
society, although currently only 58 nations actively practice it, with
95 countries abolishing it (the remainder having not used it for 10
years or allowing it only in exceptional circumstances such as wartime).
It is a matter of active controversy in various countries and states,
and positions can vary within a single political ideology or cultural
region. In the European Union member states, Article 2 of the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits the use of capital
punishment.
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Over 60% of the world's population live in countries where executions
take place insofar as the four most populous countries in the world
(the People's Republic of China, India, United States and Indonesia)
apply the death penalty and all of them voted against the Resolution on a
Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly
in 2008. The Philippines, too, executed its criminals. However, the 1987
Constitution qualifiedly abolished the death penalty. It provided in
Article III, Section 19 paragraph (1) thereof: "Excessive fines shall
not be imposed nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted.
Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons
involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. . ."
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Congress found compelling reasons to impose the death penalty when it
enacted Republic Act No. 7659 which was signed into law on December 13,
1993. The law explained that the crimes punishable by death under this
law are heinous for being grievous, odious and hateful offenses and
which, by reason of their inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness,
atrocity and perversity are repugnant and outrageous to the common
standards and norms of decency and morality in a just, civilized and
ordered society. It added that due to the alarming upsurge of such
crimes which has resulted not only in the loss of human lives and wanton
destruction of property but also affected the nation's efforts towards
sustainable economic development and prosperity while at the same time
has undermined the people's faith in the Government and the latter's
ability to maintain peace and order in the country. In the justice,
public order and the rule of law, and the need to rationalize and
harmonize the penal sanctions for heinous crimes, Congress found
compelling reasons to impose the death penalty for said crimes. The
crimes for which the death penalty was reimposed included treason,
qualified piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, murder, infanticide,
kidnapping, robbery with homicide or rape, certain kinds of rape,
plunder, certain violations of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1972, and
carnapping with homicide or rape.
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It will be remembered that Leo Echegaray, the very first death
convict who was executed by lethal injection upon the reimposition of
the death penalty, was a native of Catanduanes. He was convicted of
raping his own 10 year old daughter.
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The reimposition of the death penalty, however, was not to last for
long. In 2006, Congress passed into law Republic Act No. 9346, entitled
"An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines."
It was signed into law by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on
June 24, 2006. Since then, and up to now, there is no capital punishment
in our country.
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However, the Maguindanao massacre again rekindles discussions on the
wisdom of the abolition of capital punishment. More than a year ago, in
the morning of November 23, 2009, in Maguindanao, on the island of
Mindanao, 58 people were kidnapped and brutally killed. The victims were
on their way to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu,
vice mayor of Buluan town, who was challenging Datu Unsay mayor Andal
Ampatuan, Jr., son of then incumbent Maguindanao governor Andal
Ampatuan, Sr., in the forthcoming Maguindanao gubernatorial election.
The 58 people killed included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters,
journalists, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were
mistakenly identified as part of the convoy.
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The nation watched in horror television footages showing a backhoe
burying not only the victims but also their vehicles. The depravity of
the crime appears to be unmatched in Philippine history, and it shocked
the national consciousness.
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It has been argued by proponents of the death penalty that the
community has the need, if not the right, to defend itself against
certain criminals. The imposition of the supreme penalty is not only
justified in certain types of crimes, but is required as a measure of
social defense. Where the accused is a hardened criminal who exhibits no
compunction in killing, he is a menace to his fellow men. To spare his
life is to endanger the lives and properties of others. Or, for
instance, where the accused is like a depraved beast who sexually
assaults his own daughter - his own flesh and blood - he has no place in
a civilized society.
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