Introduction
During the inauguration of the Commissioners of the National Human Rights Commission on 11 December 2006, the President of Sierra Leone, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, announced that the death penalty would no longer be used but retained in our statute books to serve as deterrent to criminals. This statement was made following widespread campaign to abolish the death penalty. Under Sierra Leonean laws, the death penalty is supposed to be applied for crimes such as murder, treason, mutiny, and aggravated robbery. However, the history of the use of this punishment shows that it is often used for political purposes rather than in the interest of peace and stability.
Death penalty has existed since pre-colonial Sierra Leone when people were killed for crimes such as witchcraft and cannibalism. It was, however, institutionalized when the British colonial masters arrived and introduced the English Common Law as a means of combating crimes and subjugating the people. The execution of 96 people in 1898, for their refusal to pay 26 pence as tax is indicative of the latter motive. [i] A century later, in October 1998, President Kabbah signed the death warrant of 24 military officers after a court martial convicted them for treason. Currently, there are twenty two people on death row at the Pademba Road Prisons. These convictions were done after the publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ( TRC) Report which recommended that the death penalty be removed from the laws of Sierra Leone, and in the interim, a moratorium instituted. The Government of President Kabbah is yet to act on the recommendations of the TRC as he recently manifested in his pronouncement during the inauguration of the human rights Commissioners.
This article gives synopsis of the strides that have been taken to abolish the death penalty. It also rebuts arguments in support of the death penalty. In addition, it proffers legal arguments in opposition to the death penalty and a conclusion.
Strides taken to Eradicate Capital Punishment
Prior and subsequent to the execution of the military personnel in 1998, there has been widespread campaign to abolish the death penalty. In a bid to get states to commute sentences, the World Coalition Against Death Penalty was formed. The coalition, comprising dozens of human rights organizations worldwide, has been able through demonstrations, petitions, concerts and televised debates to persuade 87 countries to abolish the death penalty. The coalition still continue to call on countries such as Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the United States of America, China etc that withhold the death penal laws to adopt a moratorium on executions.
Currently in Sierra Leone, civil society groups are spearheading the campaign for the abolition of the death penalty. Although they have not succeeded in getting the Government to abolish the practice in its entirety, nonetheless, their efforts have yielded some fruits. For instance, prior to 2002, persons convicted by a court martial did not enjoy the right to appeal. However, through the efforts of civil society groups, persons convicted of treason by a military tribunal now have the right to appeal the decision.
The Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a creation of the Lome Peace Agreement and TRC Act 2000, made a compelling case for the abolition of the death penalty. In its recommendations, the TRC based its arguments (inter alia) on the principle of inviolability of the right to life. Additionally, when the Special Court for Sierra Leone was established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1315 of 2000, it did not include the death penalty as a form of punishment for accused persons that may be convicted despite the fact that they are being tried for heinous crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity. Sad to note, however, is that despite these efforts, the Government of President Kabbah has not responded accordingly.
Rebutting Arguments in Support of the Death Penalty
The legendary argument of apologists of the death penalty has been that it serves as deterrent to the commission of heinous crimes. However, it is clear that the intensity of the punishment has never been a deterrent, not even in the United States where it is most frequently applied. Similarly, not in Sierra Leone as it is evident that the existence of the death penalty has not deterred the commission of capital offences. In Sierra Leone, even though the death penalty has been mostly used in cases of treason and those involving political opponents, it has not dissuaded them from staging coups. For instance, there have been 20 coup attempts since independence, a considerably high rate according to world standards. [ii] In essence, this is indicative of the falsity of the thesis that death penalty is a deterrent to heinous crimes in this country. As already stated, it is rather used as a political tool to premeditatedly and cold bloodedly kill political opponents. Sierra Leoneans still continue to question the authenticity of the allegations that led to the executions of Mohamed Sorie Fornah and others in 1975 and Francis M. Minah and others in 1987.
Apologists of the death penalty have also argued that executing the worst offenders will prevent the repetition of their offences. Contrary to this in Sierra Leone, there has never been an instance in which a condemned prisoner, released by virtue of presidential amnesty, has subsequently committed a similar offence.
Furthermore, they have argued that the death penalty is the deserved punishment for heinous crimes. This notion is, however, not plausible, because no matter how abhorrent a crime may appear, it cannot justify the infliction of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Like the saying goes, an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind; so also murder for murder leaves everybody dead. Or have they thought about how raping all rapists as a punishment will leave everybody violated?
Legal Arguments in Opposition of the Death penalty
The death penalty as a form of punishment cannot be applied impartially. It is fraught with arbitrariness, discrimination and mistakes. Once applied, it cannot be revoked. In a case where it is applied as a result of incompetent lawyering, suppression of evidence, local prejudice etc,, the punishment will be irrevocable regardless of the fact that the individual involved may not have committed the crime. Once a death penalty is executed, no amount of pardon or compensation will undo the punishment. In other words, we cannot right a wrong in a death penalty once it is carried out. Let us take the case of the Birmingham Six for example. These men were sentenced to life imprisonment on a murder conviction after the abolition of the death penalty in England in 1965. Convicted in 1975, after having served 16 years in incarceration, their case was later reviewed by the court of appeals and their conviction rescinded in 1991.However, their situation was not as helpless as it would have been had they been executed.
The inadequacy in the judicial sector is another major cause for the abolition of the death penalty. The Sierra Leone judiciary is badly in need of forensic technology such as techniques to determine DNA of suspects to prove or disprove an evidential burden. Even in countries where DNA technologies exist, they still make errors in their judgments, let alone in a country like Sierra Leone where it is yet a dream.
Additionally, the practice of death penalty in Sierra Leone is cruel, inhuman and degrading and contravenes sec 20(1) of the 1991 Constitution which states that “No person shall be subject to any form of torture or any punishment or other treatment which is inhuman or degrading.” In Sierra Leone, condemned prisoners are placed on death row for years without stating the date for their subsequent execution; thus putting them in perpetual fear. Also, the black attire that they are made to put on symbolizing condemned could seriously affect their mental wellbeing. Furthermore, there have been cases where condemned prisoners that do not easily die when shot at or hanged are brutally beaten to death. In a resume, the way the entire execution process is carried out is cruel.
Conclusion
The death penalty is a bad law and as it is always with bad laws, it cannot be applied impartially. As a result, Judges hardly exercise their discretion away from the death penalty in treason cases. The history of its use in Sierra Leone shows that political opponents who may not have killed during the alleged coups are most likely to be killed than actual convicts of murder. Most convicts of murder are normally kept in prison until they die naturally or until the president exercises his prerogative of mercy and grant clemency.
If the authorities fear that prisoners condemned to death (who are often deemed dangerous) will escape from prisons to commit similar offences, why not fortify security at the prisons then? In fact, it is not only viewed as an abdication of responsibility by killing for fear that they may escape, but it is relegating the value of life. It is the responsibility of the Government to secure its citizens, no matter their status. The performance of this function does not, however, include killing convicted prisoners.
That said the SLCMP calls on other civil society groups and human rights organizations to get aspirants for the 2007 Presidential and Parliamentary elections to commit themselves to abolish the death penalty when they shall take up office. As the infliction of this penalty on the innocent, coupled with other factors, led to the civil war, it therefore of much importance that this form of punishment is expunged from the statute books in Sierra Leone.
[i] Death Penalty: A legal Deterrent or a Political Tool in SierraEye Magazine, Vol. 1 No. 2 2006
[ii] Ibid p. 18
