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The Noose is Hung in New Jersey
Jagmohan Singh
 Hon’ble Governor Jon Stevens Corzine:
Heartiest Greetings from Punjab-the homeland of the Sikh people.
I commend you for one of the major decisions in recent times likely
to impact delivery of justice not only in USA, but the world.
Even in the most mature democracies of the world, it takes a man
like you to make bold decisions. By signing the legislation
repealing death penalty and replacing it by life imprisonment
without parole, your state has set a worthy precedent for others to
follow.
Like all human
rights activists, it gladdens me that your contribution is a big
step forward to the creation of a death penalty-free world as
envisioned by the General Assembly of the United Nations three
decades ago. The credit must also go to the members of the New
Jersey state commission which in January this year had concluded
that death penalty was expensive to administer, had no deterrent
effect, carried the risk of killing an innocent person and was
inconsistent with evolving standards of decency.
It is a befitting gift to assembly member and law
professor Wilfredo Caraballo, a Democrat from Newark who sponsored
the legislation and who would be demitting office next month. It
would also provide solace and comfort to
Lorry Post
and his wife of New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty,
who ran an effective
campaign after their young daughter, was murdered in Georgia in
1988.
I would like to
share with you that the Sikh religion’s ethical approach of
compassion, forgiveness and scope for reformation of one's life,
forms the basis of renunciation of death penalty by the Sikh
people. It may come as a surprise to you that Maharaja Ranjit
Singh, the Sikh ruler, in his 40 year reign (1799-1839) did not use
the death penalty, even in cases, where he was the subject of
attack. Remarkably, New Jersey too has not executed anyone since
1963.
You have rightly
suggested that the vote by the New Jersey assembly was “a wonderful
vote of conscience.” It is remarkable that this legislation passed
with a 44-36 vote, early this week, makes New Jersey the fourteenth
state in the US to abolish capital punishment. There is no doubt
that it will serve as a booster to the thirty-seven states, the
federal government and the military which still has the barbaric
punishment on the statute in the US.
Though the number of
executions has gone down in recent years, it troubles me to know
that in 2006, the US ranked sixth in the world for executions behind
China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan. I am many a time disgusted
with the NCADP alerts showing a number of executions in a given
month.
I endorse the call
of the New York Times editors that the “renunciation of the death
penalty could prick the conscience of elected officials in other
states and inspire them to muster the courage to revisit their own
laws on capital punishment.” This applies not only to other
states in the US but also to India and other countries that still
cling on to this barbaric practice.
India is still
struggling to evolve a comprehensive policy on the subject.
Notwithstanding appeals by jurists and independent-minded citizens,
recently
India voted against the abolition of the death penalty at the UN
General Assembly. Evolving democracies like Timor Leste and Croatia
took the initiative for a moratorium on executions, but India –‘the
world’s largest democracy’ -refrained from doing that too.
As you very well
know, 133 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or
practice. Europe is nearly a death penalty-free zone. Only 25
countries actually carried out executions in 2006. What is shocking
is that ninety-one per cent of all known executions have taken p lace
in China, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and the US.
The best judicial
systems and procedures can result in flawed judgments. I have read
about a number of cases where totally innocent persons have been
sent to the gallows in the US. Still, there have been many more
cases leading to retrials and subsequent acquittals.
In India, we are
less fortunate. There is documented evidence to suggest that the
economically-deprived, political dissidents and perceived enemies of
the state are given the capital punishment. In many a case, even
the Supreme Court of India has confirmed death penalty on frivolous
and flimsy grounds. In the months of September-October this year,
our courts awarded the death penalty to more than 50 people for
various offences. Satellite television channels added to the
sadism depicting angry relatives of victims calling for revenge and
vengeance.
The spectre of
terrorism and eye-for-an-eye retaliation are two major arguments
countering the campaign of abolitionists in India. As you are an
expert in building safeguards against terrorist attacks and at the
same time a man with the heart in the right place, you are doubly
qualified to bust such flawed rationale. We urge you to help us
build a case on these lines.
The Sikhs and other
ethnic peoples of the Indian sub-continent look forward to moral and
campaign support from you, your legislators and the New Jersey civil
society. I pray to God Almighty to bless you for every life that
you have saved and every soul that you have given the chance to
reform.
Yours truly
Jagmohan Singh
(The writer is a
social, religious, health, human rights and political activist based
in Ludhiana, Punjab. He may be contacted at
jsbigideas@gmail.com )
19 December, 2007
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