Going for the hanging option
Editorial
THERE was little doubt about its resumption and the only question was when. But it's now official - hanging of those on death row in Guyana will resume Monday. As expected, the human rights group Amnesty International has objected to the decision by the Guyana Government, arguing much the same case as it and similar organisations advanced when Trinidad and Tobago began hanging again not so long ago. There is, however, little doubt that the majority of Guyanese are backing the government firmly on this issue, mainly because of mounting concern about rising crime and the need for tough measures to deal with brutal criminals. Simply put, the popular argument is that criminals who kill and brutalise citizens, including women and children, must pay the full penalty once caught and convicted in a fair trial. And despite the protestations from some groups, capital punishment is a requirement in the laws of the country which the Government is obliged to carry through. This was outlined earlier this year by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who told reporters that the Government's approach on capital punishment was well known. With the issue of hanging very much in the air, he said it was not the Government's position that was being questioned, noting there is a constitutional obligation that is fully supported by not only Guyanese, but by the governments and people of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Pointing to the constitutional provision for capital punishment in Guyana, Dr. Luncheon said that "changing our minds" is not a discretion that the administration enjoys in addressing the issue. Formal blocks from a United Nations protocol had been cleared recently and hanging of death row prisoners will be resumed here, he had said in April. Guyana had sent notification that the denunciation by this country of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights will take effect on April 5 last. Equally, the country's recession to the covenant, with the death penalty reservation, took effect the same day. Maintaining that capital punishment was not outlawed, Dr. Luncheon had emphasised that the Government of Guyana would fulfil its constitutional responsibility. And it is in this fulfilment of the constitutional responsibility that the first two men are scheduled to go to the gallows Monday morning. They have exhausted avenues to block their hanging with their appeals to the Court of Appeal, the Prerogative Board of Mercy and the United Nations Human Rights Committee all rejected. The Government, for its part, has gone through all the processes and the hangings are about to be resumed. It was a tough choice, but for many people, the options are limited when brutal criminals pose such a terrible threat to a society.
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