I want to share a story with readers that took place in the summer of 2001.
My younger paternal cousin had a house maid for many years working for his parents. Her name was Mariam. She took care of my cousin since he was an infant.
Mariam was hired again to work at their house when they would visit Karachi from America.
During their stay in 2001, Mariam ran into difficulties with her husband George (both were from Christian backgrounds).
My cousin would tell me about the days Mariam would come running to their house with injuries sometimes bleeding with George chasing her from not far behind.
Even I myself would see the injuries he inflicted upon her. But the worst came one day when my housekeeper came to my room telling me how Mariam had been killed by George that morning.
Further details of the murder were given to me by Mariam's family. Mariam was stabbed to death by George at a bus stop.
A nearby truck of (possibly construction or delivering construction items) workers stopped to help but it was too late. George was grabbed and handed over to a nearby police patrol. Later he was put on trial under Islamic Sharia law.
The court found him guilty of deliberate murder and put his fate in the decision of Mariam's family.
According to sharia law in Pakistan, a person guilty of murder is to face the death sentence unless the victim's family forgives him/her.
Then came along Jamaat-i-Islami. They offered to free George provided he joined them.
Sheila, Mariam's mother was promised a sum of eighty thousand Pakistani rupees by Jamaat-i-Islami for pardoning George and was offered fifty thousand rupees in advance.
Sheila pardoned George and accepted the money. Next, George was released, converted to Islam and recruited by Jamaat-I-Islami.
Imagine the killing machine Jamaat could create out of a madman like George. Now imagine if the court didn't need Mariam's family's permission to put him to death. This could have prevented him from being used by Jamaat for their militant activities.
This could prevent many thousands, perhaps millions of murderers from escaping and being a threat to society. Worse, more and more people like George could be recruited by illegal gangs and militant organizations.
This not only applies to murderers, but others who have similar inhumane, barbaric practices.
I recently saw a movie on human trafficking. More specifically, it was about young women from poorer countries abducted by gangs and leased for prostitution. Though the movie was fictional, it's plot is based on true daily events.
The movie itself was very realistic and showed the misery and terror these innocent young women faced; even worse than death.
But even when rescued, these women lived in fear of their captors; one was even assassinated to prevent her from giving the police information about their whereabouts.
In regards to Pakistan, I've read on cases of young girls being held captive and leased for prostitution. This is a common problem especially in undeveloped third world countries. Imagine if such criminals were simply put to death for their inhumane practices.
Their victims would not then have to live under the threat and fear of their oppressors returning.
In Pakistan as in many other Muslim countries, there are countless cases of individuals having their hands chopped off by the law for stealing. Yet I read cases of people who bury women alive, who trade in drugs, commit rape and child abuse all getting jail sentences instead.
Another case was in 2004 of mullahs throwing acid in a boy's face, permanently blinding him. All these mentioned peoples were sentenced to life in prison instead of being put to death.
My point is that if people who commit minor crimes like theft can be given such harsh punishments, why are such dangerous people like murderers, violent gangsters, rapists etc. given only prison sentences?
In my opinion jail sentences should only apply to those who commit minor crimes such as theft, fraud, false alarms, corruption etc.
It is also in my opinion that the death sentence should not be used as a punishment, but rather a means to protect society. It should not apply to only those that have committed murder, but also to those who inflict severe cruelty onto others or those have attempted murder.
From what I was told, the penalty in Malaysia for trafficking or possessing illegal drugs is death.
Pakistan being a country full of dangerous people should impose the death sentence unconditionally to reduce the number of crime rates and to cut down on it's massive population.
Also, the death sentence can prevent the jails in Pakistan from overflowing and save plenty of money and resources from being wasted to keep criminals alive.
A few months back, about two men were convicted for amputating a woman's ears and nose. They were found guilty and sentenced to suffer the same fate.
Imagine the extra amount spent on giving the amputated men special care in prison due to their disability. Now imagine if they were simply put to death, the state would save a lot of tax money instead of keeping them alive.
All people guilty of doing things harmful to their society including human and drug trafficking, committing murder, plotting murder, committing or promoting violence, inciting hatred should be put to death if found guilty.
Not only will the death sentence prevent criminals from continuing their actions, but will also discourage other people with similar intentions from carrying out their own crimes.
In 2008 the Pakistani government headed by Zardari legalized the death sentence for cyber terrorism. This again is all the more reason to make it applicable and unconditional for the other crimes that I have mentioned.
Even child abusers who rape children, sell/trade child pornography or arrange marriages for underage minors should face the death sentence. Children and women are amongst the most vulnerable victims of crime in Pakistan.
I believe killers should have at least half of their belongings given to the families of their victims as compensation automatically after being proven guilty of their crime and before being put to death. The other half of their belongings can be passed on to their own family members as normal inheritance.
With the death sentence enforced, it will also significantly reduce the workload for law enforcement organizations which struggle to fight crime in a highly populated country like Pakistan.
My younger paternal cousin had a house maid for many years working for his parents. Her name was Mariam. She took care of my cousin since he was an infant.
Mariam was hired again to work at their house when they would visit Karachi from America.
During their stay in 2001, Mariam ran into difficulties with her husband George (both were from Christian backgrounds).
My cousin would tell me about the days Mariam would come running to their house with injuries sometimes bleeding with George chasing her from not far behind.
Even I myself would see the injuries he inflicted upon her. But the worst came one day when my housekeeper came to my room telling me how Mariam had been killed by George that morning.
Further details of the murder were given to me by Mariam's family. Mariam was stabbed to death by George at a bus stop.
A nearby truck of (possibly construction or delivering construction items) workers stopped to help but it was too late. George was grabbed and handed over to a nearby police patrol. Later he was put on trial under Islamic Sharia law.
The court found him guilty of deliberate murder and put his fate in the decision of Mariam's family.
According to sharia law in Pakistan, a person guilty of murder is to face the death sentence unless the victim's family forgives him/her.
Then came along Jamaat-i-Islami. They offered to free George provided he joined them.
Sheila, Mariam's mother was promised a sum of eighty thousand Pakistani rupees by Jamaat-i-Islami for pardoning George and was offered fifty thousand rupees in advance.
Sheila pardoned George and accepted the money. Next, George was released, converted to Islam and recruited by Jamaat-I-Islami.
Imagine the killing machine Jamaat could create out of a madman like George. Now imagine if the court didn't need Mariam's family's permission to put him to death. This could have prevented him from being used by Jamaat for their militant activities.
This could prevent many thousands, perhaps millions of murderers from escaping and being a threat to society. Worse, more and more people like George could be recruited by illegal gangs and militant organizations.
This not only applies to murderers, but others who have similar inhumane, barbaric practices.
I recently saw a movie on human trafficking. More specifically, it was about young women from poorer countries abducted by gangs and leased for prostitution. Though the movie was fictional, it's plot is based on true daily events.
The movie itself was very realistic and showed the misery and terror these innocent young women faced; even worse than death.
But even when rescued, these women lived in fear of their captors; one was even assassinated to prevent her from giving the police information about their whereabouts.
In regards to Pakistan, I've read on cases of young girls being held captive and leased for prostitution. This is a common problem especially in undeveloped third world countries. Imagine if such criminals were simply put to death for their inhumane practices.
Their victims would not then have to live under the threat and fear of their oppressors returning.
In Pakistan as in many other Muslim countries, there are countless cases of individuals having their hands chopped off by the law for stealing. Yet I read cases of people who bury women alive, who trade in drugs, commit rape and child abuse all getting jail sentences instead.
Another case was in 2004 of mullahs throwing acid in a boy's face, permanently blinding him. All these mentioned peoples were sentenced to life in prison instead of being put to death.
My point is that if people who commit minor crimes like theft can be given such harsh punishments, why are such dangerous people like murderers, violent gangsters, rapists etc. given only prison sentences?
In my opinion jail sentences should only apply to those who commit minor crimes such as theft, fraud, false alarms, corruption etc.
It is also in my opinion that the death sentence should not be used as a punishment, but rather a means to protect society. It should not apply to only those that have committed murder, but also to those who inflict severe cruelty onto others or those have attempted murder.
From what I was told, the penalty in Malaysia for trafficking or possessing illegal drugs is death.
Pakistan being a country full of dangerous people should impose the death sentence unconditionally to reduce the number of crime rates and to cut down on it's massive population.
Also, the death sentence can prevent the jails in Pakistan from overflowing and save plenty of money and resources from being wasted to keep criminals alive.
A few months back, about two men were convicted for amputating a woman's ears and nose. They were found guilty and sentenced to suffer the same fate.
Imagine the extra amount spent on giving the amputated men special care in prison due to their disability. Now imagine if they were simply put to death, the state would save a lot of tax money instead of keeping them alive.
All people guilty of doing things harmful to their society including human and drug trafficking, committing murder, plotting murder, committing or promoting violence, inciting hatred should be put to death if found guilty.
Not only will the death sentence prevent criminals from continuing their actions, but will also discourage other people with similar intentions from carrying out their own crimes.
In 2008 the Pakistani government headed by Zardari legalized the death sentence for cyber terrorism. This again is all the more reason to make it applicable and unconditional for the other crimes that I have mentioned.
Even child abusers who rape children, sell/trade child pornography or arrange marriages for underage minors should face the death sentence. Children and women are amongst the most vulnerable victims of crime in Pakistan.
I believe killers should have at least half of their belongings given to the families of their victims as compensation automatically after being proven guilty of their crime and before being put to death. The other half of their belongings can be passed on to their own family members as normal inheritance.
With the death sentence enforced, it will also significantly reduce the workload for law enforcement organizations which struggle to fight crime in a highly populated country like Pakistan.
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