#istandformercy

Like so many global citizens, especially Australian and Balinese, I hope for and support a fair judicial system that aims to both respond to crimes with appropriate sentencing and protect the community from criminal behaviour.

The fight for clemency for those committed to the death sentence is not a contradiction to the idea of justice that is truly just. The contradiction occurs when officers of the law impose a death sentence as a way of demonstrating that murder or other heinous crimes are wrong.

In a fair society the community can expect nothing less than a sentence that is commensurate with the crime - this may mean a hefty jail sentence, even the rest of life. But we should never repeat evil in a bid to defeat it. Such a response only serves to reflect on our own lack of humanity, dignity and justice.


#istandformercy too, in appealing to the Indonesian authorities to abandon the death penalty and reclaim its standing as a humane, dignified and just society.

Photo by echiner1, Flickr; photo cropped