INAPPROPRIATENESS OF THE DEATH PENALTY
By KOMAI APULIN
Death Penalty Issue
A while back Attorney General (AG) of Papua New Guinea (PNG) Hon. Kerenga Kua roundly rebuked three foreign diplomats. He accused them of taking debate on death penalty, an issue that he considers to be a purely domestic PNG matter, to unacceptable levels. The AG was incensed that the three European diplomats were “implicitly threatening and intimidating PNG in the way it is designing its social development agenda”. The AG was actually responding to a paid newspaper advertorial on the death penalty by those diplomats. The advertorial was critical of PNG Parliament’s passage of amendments to its laws to extend the death penalty to cover offences for which it had not been applicable previously.
The three diplomats appeared to hold a view that the death penalty is inappropriate for PNG. They clearly want to influence a review of the death penalty in PNG. Obviously they strayed into sovereignty issues but I thought the diplomats conveyed a sobering perspective informed by empirical data on a critical global debate. The death penalty debate is a global issue and PNG is an integral member of the global community. Of course the AG would be concerned when the State’s capacity to maintain the rule of law is scrutinized in a critical way; especially when the signature advice to government from his department, the Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG), on crime management is implicitly and explicitly criticized by such eminent persons.
Judging by some of his more recent comments it is certain the AG wants to implement the death penalty. He wants to execute the prisoners currently on death row. Of course the death penalty is legal so he is free to do that but no amount of justification will hide the fact that the 2012 amendments stand out as ill advised options to government for managing violent crimes and the social agenda in PNG. The government was forced to legislate hastily, knee jerk reaction style, to calls for action on violent crimes, especially against women and vulnerable persons.
DJAG can do better
The truth is that the calls for something to be done about violent crimes in PNG underscores the State’s inability and impotency to deal with law and order issues. These calls continue to be the clarion call for proactive initiative on the root causes of crime. Instead of crafting viable strategies to address the underlying causes for lawlessness the government was advised to extend the application of the death penalty. DJAG advised the government on the soft option without considering alternatives. Scoping alternatives is DJAG’s responsibility. DJAG is the State’s overall oversight entity and it has the duty to give the government quality advice on best practices; including compliance guidelines, way forward options on crime management, preventing theft of public money and eradicating endemic corruption. It truly is a shame that DJAG is not putting any better alternatives on the table.
Like many right minded people in PNG I disapprove of the death penalty for any type of crime. I am not going to take the high moral ground here, that’s for saints. Like most reasonably informed people I have a good take on what is and what is not effective deterrence. I am not convinced that the death penalty is better deterrence than a life sentence without parole or remission.
Addressing the Underlying Causes
Most people in PNG are still trapped in tribalism and warped up in their cultural contexts, so much so that killing offenders can be counterproductive. Killing offenders can generate unacceptable risks and safety issues for victims of crime and their relatives. Laws are for the benefit of the living. Any law that creates risks for life and safety to be jeopardized is bad law. It is doubtful whether those who advise government on law reform options appreciate the country context realities. Was comprehensive prior informed consent even obtained from every person in PNG on this major alteration to the law? I honestly doubt it.
People in PNG are often driven to violent crimes like armed robbery due to lack of opportunities for an honest living. For some people turning to crime is not an option, it has become for them a matter of survival. Other people kill and raid because they are still culturally shackled to their ‘obligations’. Those who kill in the name of sorcery in PNG do so out of a morbid fear, ignorance and lack of basic information about what cause deaths. Basic ignorance about sanguma nurtures a heinous belief system. No death penalty will convert hardened believers of sanguma. In fact the ignorant may view an executed death penalty as another death that needs to be avenged!
Law and order issues must be tackled by addressing the critical factors that cause them. Experiences in other places show that upping the ante on scare tactics does not reduce the violent crime rate. I cannot pretend that I understand why people rape; I shall leave that to the experts. But rape aside I can submit to you that most crimes can be managed by addressing the root causes.
Take sorcery related killings for instance: Sorcery related killings occurring in the Highlands seem to be localized along the Eastern Highlands, Simbu, Jiwaka and Western Highlands corridor which I shall call the ‘sanguma corridor’. These killings are perpetuated by a dark belief that human beings can kill others metaphysically through sanguma. That is nonsense but ardent believers will not stop believing in sanguma unless they are convinced sanguma is just ignorant imagination gone viral. Awareness along the sanguma corridor will prevent this savagery from spreading and infecting others. There is a need to convince people that sanguma is not real.
Intensive awareness needs to be done in partnership with the churches. Initially the churches contained both the belief and practice of sanguma. Now apparently the churches have lost traction in many places along the sanguma corridor, which is why sanguma is visible there. A proactive partnership with the churches will leverage gains from the awareness towards the broader social agenda. The AG’s own electorate is within the heartland of this morbid belief system. He should seriously consider doing something in his electorate and other electorates along the sanguma corridor to liberate ignorant people from the slavery of sanguma.
It is unbelievable that normal people can be driven to commit such atrocities on hapless victims based on nothing more than conviction in a dark myth. Going forward, leaders of places where sorcery is rife must educate their wayward tribesmen, to make them understand that every death has a cause known to medical science. Members of Parliament from areas where sorcery is practiced must invest some of their electoral funds in awareness education, to release their people from ignorance and educate them about healthy living choices. People need to be convinced that it is the lack of the latter that causes death, not by witches on flying broom sticks.
Payback killing is another example: It is said that this practice is a cultural behavior entrenched in people from some parts of PNG, especially in the Enga Province. The best way to tackle the crime of payback killing in those places is through intensive awareness. The message that two deaths do not make a right needs to be drummed into people. Often the first death will be accidental and unpremeditated, but the resultant payback killing is always premeditated and willful. Revenge killings neither bring back to life the first deceased nor prevent further retaliatory killings. It is liberating for people to experience a paradigm shift, when they first become aware of the hopelessness of the vicious cycle of tit for tat killings.
Empirical data shows that most armed robberies are fueled by lack of opportunity to earn an honest living. Most offenders are unemployed young men with nothing to do. The dual economic system in PNG gives cause for an illogical assumption that young people who cannot find employment in the formal sector can engage meaningfully in the informal economy or failing that, make do with a ‘happy village life’. Yet it is a fact that people who are not attracted by ‘happy living’ in the villages also lack the opportunity and or skill sets to be competitive in the informal sector. Sadly PNG seems to have no realistic take on its actual unemployment statistics so the number of people in the unemployed category at any time is unknown. I am also not aware of any government plans to contain and meaningfully engage with unemployed young adults who are outside the formal economy.
Surely PNG is not planning on managing crime and social issues by scaring generations of its unengaged people into living subdued, unproductive or meaningless lives? Reality check: Under present conditions, increase in unengaged and disengaged young adults will trigger corresponding rise in crime rates!
PNG’s principal law enforcement agency, the Royal PNG Constabulary (RPNGC), is demonstrably unable to manage law and order issues effectively. RPNGC has consistently failed to put in place any forward plans to efficiently contain foreseeable law and order challenges. There are many reasons for this but the ones that stand out include the lack of visibility and proactivity at the command level; lack of incentives based competency buildup within the mid level officer ranks; lack of education and integrity at the beat level; and stifling corruption that permeates throughout rank and file. Even if not all coppers are bent, there are enough of them at all levels to bring the RPNGC to near paralysis. An emerging trend shows new police recruits are children or relatives of police officers and competency base recruitment is not consciously practiced in the RPNGC. The reality therefore is that the law and order candle is burning at both ends: RPNGC’s struggle to deliver on its core function further fuels lawlessness.
Death Penalty is never the Answer
There are no correlated statistics to indicate a definite rise in the trend for any crime category in PNG. Granted, there is no consistency in crime reporting, something which is beyond RPNGC’s control, but it is no excuse for not keeping proper records of reported crimes, to accurately indicate crime trends for purposes of crime management planning and scoping options for law reform.
Chances are the heightened awareness of certain types of crimes in PNG in recent times is the result of normal crime rate rise due to increasing population and ill managed socio-economic indicators, compounded by poor policing and lack of crime management strategies. There could of course be a real escalation in violent crimes. The point being made here though is that it is unclear whether the heighten visibility of crime is the direct result of actual rise in crimes or it is simply because of RPNGC’s crime management failures magnified by the increased awareness and exposition of crimes by interest groups.
Crime, from the inexplicably psychopathic kind like rape to circumstantial sort like robbery is committed in every country. Full consequences of crime on victims can never be measured. Law and order issues affect national economies and all strata of social indicators. That is why governments around the globe carefully manage crime and consequences of crime in their countries as basic priorities. Empirical data shows that crime is managed by utilizing best practices that anticipate crime trends and prevent or reduce crime rates.
The death penalty as a sentencing option is premised on preventing by deterring. Experiences of countries that have death penalty as a sentencing option are informative. Countries which are tracking crime trends well have found that killing criminals does not result in effective deterrence. The US is a good example, where increased executions fail to make any difference on the murder rate. In fact callous and wanton killings that carry the death penalty have risen exponentially there. And a sobering reminder for everyone in PNG is that the risk of payback by relatives of executed offenders is not as seriously real in the US as it is likely to be in PNG.
Crime should be managed by proactively addressing socio economic indicators and cultural factors and or excesses that influence and condition the mind of crime prone groups. It is not really clear what expediencies other than a questionable deterrence outcome the PNG government and its advisors wanted served by tempering with the law. It is submitted that the 2012 amendments to the law, to expend application of the death penalty, is a misguided option, based on ordinary advice for crime management and the lack of a clear strategy for intervention with PNG’s economically disadvantaged and crime prone citizen groups.
Death Penalty Issue
A while back Attorney General (AG) of Papua New Guinea (PNG) Hon. Kerenga Kua roundly rebuked three foreign diplomats. He accused them of taking debate on death penalty, an issue that he considers to be a purely domestic PNG matter, to unacceptable levels. The AG was incensed that the three European diplomats were “implicitly threatening and intimidating PNG in the way it is designing its social development agenda”. The AG was actually responding to a paid newspaper advertorial on the death penalty by those diplomats. The advertorial was critical of PNG Parliament’s passage of amendments to its laws to extend the death penalty to cover offences for which it had not been applicable previously.
The three diplomats appeared to hold a view that the death penalty is inappropriate for PNG. They clearly want to influence a review of the death penalty in PNG. Obviously they strayed into sovereignty issues but I thought the diplomats conveyed a sobering perspective informed by empirical data on a critical global debate. The death penalty debate is a global issue and PNG is an integral member of the global community. Of course the AG would be concerned when the State’s capacity to maintain the rule of law is scrutinized in a critical way; especially when the signature advice to government from his department, the Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG), on crime management is implicitly and explicitly criticized by such eminent persons.
Judging by some of his more recent comments it is certain the AG wants to implement the death penalty. He wants to execute the prisoners currently on death row. Of course the death penalty is legal so he is free to do that but no amount of justification will hide the fact that the 2012 amendments stand out as ill advised options to government for managing violent crimes and the social agenda in PNG. The government was forced to legislate hastily, knee jerk reaction style, to calls for action on violent crimes, especially against women and vulnerable persons.
DJAG can do better
The truth is that the calls for something to be done about violent crimes in PNG underscores the State’s inability and impotency to deal with law and order issues. These calls continue to be the clarion call for proactive initiative on the root causes of crime. Instead of crafting viable strategies to address the underlying causes for lawlessness the government was advised to extend the application of the death penalty. DJAG advised the government on the soft option without considering alternatives. Scoping alternatives is DJAG’s responsibility. DJAG is the State’s overall oversight entity and it has the duty to give the government quality advice on best practices; including compliance guidelines, way forward options on crime management, preventing theft of public money and eradicating endemic corruption. It truly is a shame that DJAG is not putting any better alternatives on the table.
Like many right minded people in PNG I disapprove of the death penalty for any type of crime. I am not going to take the high moral ground here, that’s for saints. Like most reasonably informed people I have a good take on what is and what is not effective deterrence. I am not convinced that the death penalty is better deterrence than a life sentence without parole or remission.
Addressing the Underlying Causes
Most people in PNG are still trapped in tribalism and warped up in their cultural contexts, so much so that killing offenders can be counterproductive. Killing offenders can generate unacceptable risks and safety issues for victims of crime and their relatives. Laws are for the benefit of the living. Any law that creates risks for life and safety to be jeopardized is bad law. It is doubtful whether those who advise government on law reform options appreciate the country context realities. Was comprehensive prior informed consent even obtained from every person in PNG on this major alteration to the law? I honestly doubt it.
People in PNG are often driven to violent crimes like armed robbery due to lack of opportunities for an honest living. For some people turning to crime is not an option, it has become for them a matter of survival. Other people kill and raid because they are still culturally shackled to their ‘obligations’. Those who kill in the name of sorcery in PNG do so out of a morbid fear, ignorance and lack of basic information about what cause deaths. Basic ignorance about sanguma nurtures a heinous belief system. No death penalty will convert hardened believers of sanguma. In fact the ignorant may view an executed death penalty as another death that needs to be avenged!
Law and order issues must be tackled by addressing the critical factors that cause them. Experiences in other places show that upping the ante on scare tactics does not reduce the violent crime rate. I cannot pretend that I understand why people rape; I shall leave that to the experts. But rape aside I can submit to you that most crimes can be managed by addressing the root causes.
Take sorcery related killings for instance: Sorcery related killings occurring in the Highlands seem to be localized along the Eastern Highlands, Simbu, Jiwaka and Western Highlands corridor which I shall call the ‘sanguma corridor’. These killings are perpetuated by a dark belief that human beings can kill others metaphysically through sanguma. That is nonsense but ardent believers will not stop believing in sanguma unless they are convinced sanguma is just ignorant imagination gone viral. Awareness along the sanguma corridor will prevent this savagery from spreading and infecting others. There is a need to convince people that sanguma is not real.
Intensive awareness needs to be done in partnership with the churches. Initially the churches contained both the belief and practice of sanguma. Now apparently the churches have lost traction in many places along the sanguma corridor, which is why sanguma is visible there. A proactive partnership with the churches will leverage gains from the awareness towards the broader social agenda. The AG’s own electorate is within the heartland of this morbid belief system. He should seriously consider doing something in his electorate and other electorates along the sanguma corridor to liberate ignorant people from the slavery of sanguma.
It is unbelievable that normal people can be driven to commit such atrocities on hapless victims based on nothing more than conviction in a dark myth. Going forward, leaders of places where sorcery is rife must educate their wayward tribesmen, to make them understand that every death has a cause known to medical science. Members of Parliament from areas where sorcery is practiced must invest some of their electoral funds in awareness education, to release their people from ignorance and educate them about healthy living choices. People need to be convinced that it is the lack of the latter that causes death, not by witches on flying broom sticks.
Payback killing is another example: It is said that this practice is a cultural behavior entrenched in people from some parts of PNG, especially in the Enga Province. The best way to tackle the crime of payback killing in those places is through intensive awareness. The message that two deaths do not make a right needs to be drummed into people. Often the first death will be accidental and unpremeditated, but the resultant payback killing is always premeditated and willful. Revenge killings neither bring back to life the first deceased nor prevent further retaliatory killings. It is liberating for people to experience a paradigm shift, when they first become aware of the hopelessness of the vicious cycle of tit for tat killings.
Empirical data shows that most armed robberies are fueled by lack of opportunity to earn an honest living. Most offenders are unemployed young men with nothing to do. The dual economic system in PNG gives cause for an illogical assumption that young people who cannot find employment in the formal sector can engage meaningfully in the informal economy or failing that, make do with a ‘happy village life’. Yet it is a fact that people who are not attracted by ‘happy living’ in the villages also lack the opportunity and or skill sets to be competitive in the informal sector. Sadly PNG seems to have no realistic take on its actual unemployment statistics so the number of people in the unemployed category at any time is unknown. I am also not aware of any government plans to contain and meaningfully engage with unemployed young adults who are outside the formal economy.
Surely PNG is not planning on managing crime and social issues by scaring generations of its unengaged people into living subdued, unproductive or meaningless lives? Reality check: Under present conditions, increase in unengaged and disengaged young adults will trigger corresponding rise in crime rates!
PNG’s principal law enforcement agency, the Royal PNG Constabulary (RPNGC), is demonstrably unable to manage law and order issues effectively. RPNGC has consistently failed to put in place any forward plans to efficiently contain foreseeable law and order challenges. There are many reasons for this but the ones that stand out include the lack of visibility and proactivity at the command level; lack of incentives based competency buildup within the mid level officer ranks; lack of education and integrity at the beat level; and stifling corruption that permeates throughout rank and file. Even if not all coppers are bent, there are enough of them at all levels to bring the RPNGC to near paralysis. An emerging trend shows new police recruits are children or relatives of police officers and competency base recruitment is not consciously practiced in the RPNGC. The reality therefore is that the law and order candle is burning at both ends: RPNGC’s struggle to deliver on its core function further fuels lawlessness.
Death Penalty is never the Answer
There are no correlated statistics to indicate a definite rise in the trend for any crime category in PNG. Granted, there is no consistency in crime reporting, something which is beyond RPNGC’s control, but it is no excuse for not keeping proper records of reported crimes, to accurately indicate crime trends for purposes of crime management planning and scoping options for law reform.
Chances are the heightened awareness of certain types of crimes in PNG in recent times is the result of normal crime rate rise due to increasing population and ill managed socio-economic indicators, compounded by poor policing and lack of crime management strategies. There could of course be a real escalation in violent crimes. The point being made here though is that it is unclear whether the heighten visibility of crime is the direct result of actual rise in crimes or it is simply because of RPNGC’s crime management failures magnified by the increased awareness and exposition of crimes by interest groups.
Crime, from the inexplicably psychopathic kind like rape to circumstantial sort like robbery is committed in every country. Full consequences of crime on victims can never be measured. Law and order issues affect national economies and all strata of social indicators. That is why governments around the globe carefully manage crime and consequences of crime in their countries as basic priorities. Empirical data shows that crime is managed by utilizing best practices that anticipate crime trends and prevent or reduce crime rates.
The death penalty as a sentencing option is premised on preventing by deterring. Experiences of countries that have death penalty as a sentencing option are informative. Countries which are tracking crime trends well have found that killing criminals does not result in effective deterrence. The US is a good example, where increased executions fail to make any difference on the murder rate. In fact callous and wanton killings that carry the death penalty have risen exponentially there. And a sobering reminder for everyone in PNG is that the risk of payback by relatives of executed offenders is not as seriously real in the US as it is likely to be in PNG.
Crime should be managed by proactively addressing socio economic indicators and cultural factors and or excesses that influence and condition the mind of crime prone groups. It is not really clear what expediencies other than a questionable deterrence outcome the PNG government and its advisors wanted served by tempering with the law. It is submitted that the 2012 amendments to the law, to expend application of the death penalty, is a misguided option, based on ordinary advice for crime management and the lack of a clear strategy for intervention with PNG’s economically disadvantaged and crime prone citizen groups.
