The Capital Punishment..... a Political Conundrum

For the past few months several hard hitting and gut wrenching murder cases in Indonesia and who can forget the Bali Bombing tragedy that has affected countless families both domestic and foreign are said to be resolved as the convicted perpetrators are being sent to the "gallows" (pardon my pun as I'm using an old phrase) or to be more precise they are being sent to face the firing squad.

There were many suggestions, letters and opinions on this issue, and the highlight was that the father of one of the victim's of Bali Bombing was stated to urge our Indonesian government not to carry out the death penalty.

This made me think, and quite a while I might add on the argument for this. I myself is a neutral on this issue. As my upbringing is Catholicism I am against this kind of penalty, however I was never faced (and hope to never will) with the decision of having someone's live hinging on my principal and values like the above mentioned father of the victim.

However, living in the real world has given me some pragmatical view of this issue, which led me to see this as a conundrum, a puzzle that bewilders me especially because of the values that this (the Indonesian) government uses sometimes in justifying their "governance".

In the old United States there exist such laws that is protected by its constitution and supreme courts in matters of life and death with the likes of Posse Commitatus, Self Preservation (self defence), The rights for women to have an abortion (Roe vs Wade) and rights to own a registered gun. In plain and laymen terms these laws is basically saying that it is okay for a citizen to kill (note; not murder) another in times of grave danger and for self preservation of course these circumstances may need to be proven in a court of law.

Now, with those kinds of law why would anyone wonder they have a capital punshment (death penalty) is beyond my comprehension.

Indonesia on the other hand has no such laws. People who are in immediate danger having to kill or taken another live would still be punish, our current laws forbids the forming of posse commitatus and also the act of abortion. Seems like the Indonesian is a country that champions live doesn't it. Well we still have the Capital Punishment or Death Penalty.

Now here is my "conundrum", how is it possible that if my life were to be threaten at knife point (Indonesian Laws forbid ownership of guns by a civilian) and I had no where to run and then I reacted in a manner that resulted in the death of my assailant, I would still get punish in the eyes of the law??

Now the same law that governs me to be punished allows a capital punishment or death sentence of the same assailant if I were to die at his/her hands horrifically. Wouldn't that make the law a hypocrite?? and where is does justice exist for me out of the two cases. I am alive but I go to Jail for killing in self defence and the other one I'm dead!!!! why should I care if my assailant dies with me.

Again, I must stress that I'm a neutral to the Death Penalty/ Capital Punishment issue. My problem with this in Indonesia is that the government, our legislature and legal system should not be so fickle and hypocritical. It should have the same "veil of ignorance" across the board especially if we are contemplating on using the Death Penalty/ Capital Punishment as a so called deterrent.

If we are to still have the Capital Punishment or Death Penalty as a tool of the law for deterrent or closure to the victim's families then our laws must also guarantee the right of each Indonesian to defend themselves in order to preserve their lives.

However, if we are to champion live it should be all the way. This means that Capital Punishment should not be incorporated into our laws.