AND JUSTICE FOR ALL...
In the past few weeks, Singapore has been in the news a lot here, all because of the case of one Australian man who was caught in 2002 at Changi Airport, with 396g of heroin strapped to his chest. He was denied a Presidential pardon on Oct 21.
Articles that were guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings were common - there was even one which appeared on the front page of the Sunday papers, showing a photo of a pair of twins, wearing identical "hoodies", with their arms around each other in a show of brotherly love. The title above the photo said " Little twins - one is on death row, the other in the depths of despair".
Yours truly was actually quite taken by that one - was wondering what terrible situation was this pair of little boys caught in & who would be so cruel to abuse these children ? Then I read the the article & realised it was ANOTHER one of those.
It seems that hanging is totally outdated & archaic as a form of capital punishment, and capital punishment is so barbaric. From reading the papers, it would seem that all Australia is against this & feels that the Singapore government should listen to them & pardon this "poor, unfortunate young man, who was only trying to help pay his twin brother's debts". They also made much noise over the fact that an impersonal letter was sent to his mother informing her of the date of the hanging & letting her know that she could collect the body after.
Well, what would you expect ? Should we have sent a group of counsellors along with the bad news ? Would that have made things better ? Might have made us feel better, that we tried to do something "helpful", but I doubt it would have made his mother feel any less pain then she must have felt.
After all, he chose to be a drug courier & go through Singapore, knowing all our strict laws & well-publicised death penalty for drug traffickers. Yes, he might have had mitigating circumstances but he still chose to do what he did & the law demands that he pay with his life.
However, it seems that a good segment of the Aussies here ( or at least the ones I work with ) actually agree that he should not be pardoned but hanged as that is justice served. Since he broke the laws in Singapore, he must be judged by those laws, which have been made plain to all. To ask the government to pardon him makes a mockery of those laws, which have helped to make Singapore relatively drug-free.
Still, I can understand the anguish of this man's mother & loved ones - not exactly the kind of death I would wish on anyone. But what of those whose lives have been destroyed by drugs ? Who weeps for them ?
No easy answer - I am reminded again how wonderful grace is, that is, undeserved forgiveness, which we have from God. He Himself paid the death penalty that I deserved for my sins, by dying on the Cross ( Romans 6:23 ).
As the execution date looms, I pray that this man & his family will experience grace & forgiveness, despite this terrible situation.
Articles that were guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings were common - there was even one which appeared on the front page of the Sunday papers, showing a photo of a pair of twins, wearing identical "hoodies", with their arms around each other in a show of brotherly love. The title above the photo said " Little twins - one is on death row, the other in the depths of despair".
Yours truly was actually quite taken by that one - was wondering what terrible situation was this pair of little boys caught in & who would be so cruel to abuse these children ? Then I read the the article & realised it was ANOTHER one of those.
It seems that hanging is totally outdated & archaic as a form of capital punishment, and capital punishment is so barbaric. From reading the papers, it would seem that all Australia is against this & feels that the Singapore government should listen to them & pardon this "poor, unfortunate young man, who was only trying to help pay his twin brother's debts". They also made much noise over the fact that an impersonal letter was sent to his mother informing her of the date of the hanging & letting her know that she could collect the body after.
Well, what would you expect ? Should we have sent a group of counsellors along with the bad news ? Would that have made things better ? Might have made us feel better, that we tried to do something "helpful", but I doubt it would have made his mother feel any less pain then she must have felt.
After all, he chose to be a drug courier & go through Singapore, knowing all our strict laws & well-publicised death penalty for drug traffickers. Yes, he might have had mitigating circumstances but he still chose to do what he did & the law demands that he pay with his life.
However, it seems that a good segment of the Aussies here ( or at least the ones I work with ) actually agree that he should not be pardoned but hanged as that is justice served. Since he broke the laws in Singapore, he must be judged by those laws, which have been made plain to all. To ask the government to pardon him makes a mockery of those laws, which have helped to make Singapore relatively drug-free.
Still, I can understand the anguish of this man's mother & loved ones - not exactly the kind of death I would wish on anyone. But what of those whose lives have been destroyed by drugs ? Who weeps for them ?
No easy answer - I am reminded again how wonderful grace is, that is, undeserved forgiveness, which we have from God. He Himself paid the death penalty that I deserved for my sins, by dying on the Cross ( Romans 6:23 ).
As the execution date looms, I pray that this man & his family will experience grace & forgiveness, despite this terrible situation.
posted by J Wong at 3:30 PM
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