35 on death row may be spared
11 July 2012 3:46 PM | Updated 5:04 PM
Thirty-five men on the death row will see their sentences delayed and cases reviewed after Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Teo Chee Hean announced at a parliamentary meeting that the death penalty for criminals involved in drug trafficking and murder will no longer be mandatory, reported Shin Min Daily.
DPM Teo and Law Minister K Shanmugam announced that drug traffickers who are merely couriers and those who commit homicide without the intention to kill can be sentenced to long jail terms instead of the previously mandatory death penalty.
The government has reviewed its punishment framework and the death penalty periodically, and last made changes in 2006 and 2009. The latest review started in July last year.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Home Affairs said that there are 35 men currently on death row, including 28 drug offenders and seven convicted of murder. Some of these men are said to be awaiting the results of their appeals and requests for presidential pardons.
DPM Teo said that the authorities will communicate with these inmates and their lawyers. Those who have been given a death sentence or whose cases are currently on trial which would have warranted a mandatory death sentence and those who fulfill the requirements for a repreive, can apply for a review of their death penalty after the law is in effect.
DPM Teo stopped short of estimating how many of these people on death row might be spared in order not to give any of them false hope.
Mr Shanmugam reminded lawyers representing clients who face the death penalty to understand the new law and not mislead their clients.
Executions have been halted since the mandatory death penalty came under review in July last year, and will continue to be halted until the new law has been passed and instated.
