"On 16 December, 2012, a 23-year old woman and her friend hailed a bus at
a crossing in South Delhi. In the bus, they were both brutally attacked by
a group of men who claimed to be out on a ‘joy-ride’. The woman was gang raped
and the man beaten up; after several hours, they were both stripped and dumped
on the road. While the young woman is still in hospital, bravely battling for
her life, her friend has been discharged and is helping identify the men
responsible for the heinous crime.
In cases (like this) which have lead to a huge public outcry all across
the country, and where the perpetrators have been caught, we hope that justice will be speedily served and
they will be convicted for the ghastly acts that they have committed. However,
our vision of this justice does not include death penalty, which is neither a
deterrent nor an effective or ethical response to these acts of sexual
violence. We are opposed to it for the following reasons:
1.
We recognise that every human being has a right to
life. Our rage cannot give way to what are, in no uncertain terms, new cycles
of violence. We refuse to deem ‘legitimate’ any act of violence that would give
the State the right to take life in our names. Justice meted by the State
cannot bypass complex socio-political questions of violence against women by
punishing rapists by death. Death penalty is often used to distract attention
away from the real issue – it changes nothing but becomes a tool in the hands
of the State to further exert its power over its citizens. A huge
set of changes are required in the system to end the widespread and daily
culture of rape.
2.
There is no evidence to suggest that the death
penalty acts as a deterrent to rape. Available data shows that there is a low
rate of conviction in rape cases and a strong possibility that the death
penalty would lower this conviction rate even further as it is awarded only
under the ‘rarest of rare’ circumstances. The most important factor that can
act as a deterrent is the certainty of
punishment, rather than the severity of its form.
3.
As seen in countries like the US, men from minority
communities make up a disproportionate number of death row inmates. In the
context of India, a review of crimes that warrant capital punishment reveals
the discriminatory way in which such laws are selectively and arbitrarily
applied to disadvantaged communities, religious and ethnic minorities. This is
a real and major concern, as the possibility of differential consequences for
the same crime is injustice in itself.
4.
The logic of awarding death penalty to rapists is
based on the belief that rape is a fate worse than death. Patriarchal notions
of ‘honour’ lead us to believe that rape is the worst thing that can happen to
a woman. There is a need to strongly challenge this stereotype of the
‘destroyed’ woman who loses her honour and who has no place in society after
she’s been sexually assaulted. We believe that rape is tool of patriarchy, an
act of violence, and has nothing to do with morality, character or behaviour.
5.
An overwhelming number of women are
sexually assaulted by people known to them, and often include near or distant
family, friends and partners. Who will be able to face the psychological and
social trauma of having reported against their own relatives? Would marital
rape (currently not recognised by law), even
conceptually, ever be looked at through the same retributive prism?
6.
The State often reserves for itself the
‘right to kill’ -- through the armed forces, the paramilitary and the police. We cannot forget the torture, rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama by the Assam Rifles in Manipur in 2004
or the abduction, gang rape and murder of Neelofar and Aasiya of Shopian (Kashmir) in 2009. Giving more powers to the State, whether arming the
police and giving them the right to shoot at sight or awarding capital
punishment, is not a viable solution to lessen the incidence of crime.
Furthermore,
with death penalty at stake, the ‘guardians of the law’ will make sure that no
complaints against them get registered and they will go to any length to make
sure that justice does not see the light of day. The ordeal of Soni Sori, who
had been tortured in police custody last year, still continues her
fight from inside a prison in Chattisgarh, in spite of widespread publicity
around her torture.
7.
As we know, in cases of sexual assault where the
perpetrator is in a position of power (such as in cases of custodial rape or
caste and religion violence), conviction is notoriously difficult. The death
penalty, for reasons that have already been mentioned, would make conviction
next to impossible."
(curtsy to Trupti Shah and Rohit Prajapati)
