The death penalty is a very serious matter. I recently read Sonny Serite's column in the Telegraph newspaper, in which he stated quite clearly that he is a retributionist, and that he supports the death penalty.
Many people support it too; and many do not. What was very persuasive about Serite'e article though, is that he put himself in the boots of the murdered person and asked the reader to do the same. This approach opened my eyes to the predicament of legislators faced with the question of banning from, or keeping the death penalty on the statute books!
I got to thinking; seriously thinking about possible solutions. I think there is at least one.
Our national registration card (Omang) could have one piece of hidden data added to it. The piece of data could be accessible only to judges of the High Court, and only in the event that the ID owner has been murdered. The data would simply state whether the ID owner supported the death penalty or not; if s/he did then the murderer would be eligible for sentence to death if found guilty. Otherwise, the murderer can only be sentenced to life imprisonment even if s/he is found guilty of murder without extenuating circumstances.
As a society we strive to fulfill the wishes of our departed relatives. If the departed would have us NOT play God by executing their murderers, so be it.
