Death Sentence Crucial
In this week's online poll, the Arab Times asked voters their opinion on capital punishment in Kuwait. Earlier this month, Kuwait hanged three convicted murderers in the first executions in the country since May 2007.
The majority, 63 percent, is of the opinion that "punishment should be equal to all nationalities", however, only 10 percent opinioned that capital punishment "opens the door to abuse of justice".
Speaking to the Arab Times, a few commentators of the expatriate community expressed that they do not have an issue with capital punishment especially for very serious crimes like murder, kidnap and rape and drug-trafficking, "as long as every criminal is sentenced equally for those crimes, regardless of nationality".
The only concern is that "harsh sentences, excluding capital punishment, are more commonly handed down to poor and working class expatriate criminals".
However, among those on death row in Kuwait are two members of the Al-Sabah ruling family who have been convicted for drug-trafficking and murder. A Kuwaiti woman, who in 2009 set a wedding tent on fire and killed around 57 people, has also been handed the death penalty as well as a Kuwaiti couple for the murder of their Filipina housemaid.
One respondent in the Pakistani community said "capital punishment is not handed down lightly in Kuwait. The judicial process is intricate for the final death penalty sentence, and the mental condition of the convicted must also be considered during sentencing."
Moreover, 15 percent of voters believe that capital punishment is "crucial to control crime rate" in Kuwait and four percent said that "sympathy should be for the victims only".
A group of respondents expressed their belief that the "punishment should fit the crime". Drug traffickers and deliberate murderers destroy countless lives and families and the death penalty will make any potential serious criminal think twice before committing a crime, they said.
On another note, four percent voted that "eye for an eye is unethical" and 13 percent said "life sentence should be maximum punishment".
According to statistics from Capital Punishment - UK, Kuwait has executed a total of 69 men and three foreign women since it introduced the death penalty in the 1960. Most were convicted murderers or drug traffickers and 18 of the executed were Kuwaiti nationals.
Kuwait's judicial system is a mixture of Islamic Sharia law, English common law, and the Ottoman civil code and does not allow the execution of the insane or minors. Death penalty cases are reviewed by the Court of Appeal and then referred to the Court of Cassation before being sent to HH the Amir for approval.
Justice Mohammad Al-Duaij, the chief of the execution prosecution, had said there are 48 others on the death row, and that these death verdicts have been submitted to His Highness the Amir for approval, quoted Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
© Arab Times 2013
