The family of Shanmugam Murugesu received a letter today that he will be hanged the coming Friday 13th May 2005. Think Centre calls on our government, the members of parliament, to abandon the use of death penalty.
Sign Petition: Calls for immediate moratorium on the death penalty
Send Message:
To Shanmugam and Family
Let us rise above our feelings of fear and vengeance to seek solutions to drug trafficking and crimes that reflect human dignity and promote justice for all. We call on the government, the members of parliament, to abandon the use of death penalty.
AP Singapore rejects last-ditch appeals
Shanmugam Murugesu will be hanged: 13 May 2005
Joint Press briefing: Shanmugam Murugesu facing death sentence is it fair & just?
Date: Tomorrow 10th May 2005
Time: 3 pm - 4 pm
Venue: Oxford Hotel
218 Queen Street, Singapore 188549. Tel: 6332 2222
Jointly Organized by Think Centre & M. Ravi
When a court wrongly sentences a person to death,the result is irreversible.
Shanmugam Murugesu is facing the death sentence. Is it fair and just? Is it fair and just to presume a person quilty from the moment of arrest? Are there loopholes in the Misuse of Drugs Act that could result in the execution of an innocent person? Will the President Convene the Constitutional Court?
The death penalty is an act of vengeance that is detrimental to building a civilized society, and demeaning to all of us as citizens. Based on numerous studies, Criminologists agree that the death penalty has no deterrence value. Why then sentences a man to hang for possession of drugs? Is death penalty consistant and appropriate for possession of drugs?
Let us rise above our feelings of fear and vengeance to seek solutions to drug trafficking and crimes that reflect human dignity and promote justice for all. We call on our government, the members of parliament, to abandon the use of death penalty.
In the interim, we endorse a moratorium on the death penalty in Singapore as fair and moral regarding the death penalty. It gives a chance to re-examine both the purpose of the penalty and its perceived effectiveness, and can save the lives of the condemned.
A sentence of life in prison for the most serious offenses would keep us just as safe. We could offer more help and guidance to troubled kids before they turn to drugs and crime. Instead of investing foolishly in vengeance, we ought to be investing wisely in humanityand human dignity.
Death penalty is a practice from the past like torture and slavery which must be rejected by all decent human beings. The death penalty is a inhumane, cruel and degrading punishment. The right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights. Since 1991, the government had hanged to death more then 400 human beings.
Sources and Relevant Links:
The Observer Singapore finally finds a voice in death row protest 8 May 2005
Click to See Photo AP:Letchumi Murugesu, the mother of death
The Optical Singapore finally finds a voice in death row protest
Think Centre 6th May Candlelit Vigil 26 April 2005
Think Centre Think Centre: Reaffirms Call for Moratorium on executions 20 April 2005
Messenger Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States Sister Helen Prejean: The Real Woman Behind. A remarkable chain of events led her to become a Death Row counselor. Now Sister Helen's story is playing on movie screens.
