NEWS: Church calls for alternatives to 'death penalty'

[ghosthunter]

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/204300/c...-death-penalty

[SIZE="4"]Church calls for alternatives to 'death penalty'[/SIZE]
10/25/2010 | 09:08 PM


As the Philippines hosts an international meet on prison reforms, the Catholic Church has reaffirmed its stand against the death penalty and issued the call for alternatives to the country's "punitive criminal justice system."

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the country has to adopt more "restorative" rather than "punitive" measures against prisoners.

Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC), said the government has to pass legislation that would enhance the dignity of the prisoners.

The ECPPC heads the meet of the International Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care from October 25 to 29 in Cavite to discuss ways to “encourage a greater awareness of the prison pastoral care among the faithful and society."

According to a news report on the CBCP website, the ECPPC also spearheaded the 23rd Prison Awareness Week, with the theme “Towards Justice That Moves Beyond Punishment," from October 19 to 24.

“We stand by our belief that the deprivation of the right to life will not gain justice for all," Diamante said in a statement.

“History has proven that rendering the death penalty as a means to obtain justice simply does the opposite — the death penalty will only lead to the wider spread and longer persistence of injustice in the country," he noted.

Diamante said the Philippine justice system was "replete with human errors," and that “the death penalty has not deterred criminality."

“Instead, it has even spurred more injustice by killing the innocent — those wrongly accused and without proper defense," he added.

“These people have been deprived of the opportunity to reform and restore the injury they caused others," Diamante said in a statement posted on the CBCP website.

Restorative justice

Diamante reiterated the church’s call for the country’s justice system to transcend from being merely “punitive" to being “restorative".

“While our justice system seeks to punish the wrongdoer, it should move beyond punishment and seek healing of all people involved — the victim, the offender and the society we all live in," he said.

He also called on prison reform advocates to join the Catholic church in recommending alternative ways of keeping peace in the community and creating an enabling environment to prevent criminality.

The Philippines banned the death penalty for all crimes in the 1987 Constitution. However an outbreak of kidnappings, killings and coup de etat in the 1980s prompted lawmakers to restore capital punishment.

In late June 2006, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed a law repealing the death penalty, sparing the lives of an estimated 1,200 people on death row.

However, the recent spate of violence, mostly in Mindanao, has prompted calls — many from prominent figures — for the death penalty to be reimposed.

Bukidnon Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri recently reiterated his call for the reimposition of the death penalty following the recent acts of violence recorded in Mindanao.

Zubiri said the perpetrators of the bombing as well as the rape of a nurse in Maguindanao should be meted the death penalty.

Studies by the Amnesty International in 1999 showed that almost 90 percent of Filipinos believe that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, although that figure is believed to have been halved by anti-death penalty information campaigns. - DM, VVP, GMANews.TV

[niky]

For some crimes, the death penalty is not necessary... reclusion perpetua is good enough for drug pushers and the like.

But for cold-blooded contract killers? They kill because they have no regard for human life, even their own. There's no reason we should be supporting them at all.

It's funny how so many of them "find God" when they're finally punished for their sins... but there's only one answer, really, to the premeditated and remorseless taking of a life...

[cutedoc]

if the priest had been a victim, their patience might be shaken, and opt to death penalty instead.

maybe starve them to death would be appropriate or throw them into a protected island, where they would feed themselves if they wanted to live.

for lifetime imprisonment, who will feed them? WE ARE, the taxpayers are paying for them to live, and for what? for them to be sorry for their sins? would being sorry for their sins take a lifetime? wouldnt it be just killing them softly inside?

if you have been a victim, you wouldnt want a crappy philippine pro-life catholic idiocratic belief...

why am i saying this, because i myself had been a victim, i could have forgiven and forgotten what they did but do they???

[ess]

Tapos isipin mo. Let's suppose that the murderer really did find God, and really did change his ways. Maybe he even became a preacher or a productive member of society.

BUT AT WHAT COST? A woman raped. A child murdered. Lives broken because of the drugs that that person peddled. So ibig sabihin non, okay lang merong na-rape, namatay at nasiraan ng buhay kasi in the end, meron nakahanap ng salvation?

There are certain crimes that really do deserve the death penalty.

Ay teka...may pambara na ata ang bible dito sa argument ko --- the parable of the lost sheep.

[coiter]

gawin na lang nila na yung aggrieved party ang mamili ng penalty. let's say if the crime was murder, pwedeng bigyan ng list of options ang victim ranging from life imprisonment to death sentence o kaya tanggalan ng arms, legs, dila at mata. at least sa ganito, yung victims ang makakapagshow ng forgiveness if they choose the lesser penalty.

it would be a great injustice to the victims if they don't get what THEY believe is the equivalent penalty.

[badsekktor]

case to case basis for me

[foresterx]

Tapos isipin mo. Let's suppose that the murderer really did find God, and really did change his ways. Maybe he even became a preacher or a productive member of society.

BUT AT WHAT COST? A woman raped. A child murdered. Lives broken because of the drugs that that person peddled. So ibig sabihin non, okay lang merong na-rape, namatay at nasiraan ng buhay kasi in the end, meron nakahanap ng salvation?

There are certain crimes that really do deserve the death penalty.

Ay teka...may pambara na ata ang bible dito sa argument ko --- the parable of the lost sheep.

i agree with this.

para sakin ito list ng criminals na dapat death penalty na agad
1. rapist
2. killers - yung mga pumapatay ng walang reason
3. holdupers
4. child molesters
5. kidnappers

[jimnyeatworld]

i agree with the Church on this one. there should be alternatives. sayang lang ang death penalty coz it's too bureaucratic, and chances are it can be used to kill the innocent.

if we are to look thru history, alam ko na kung ano ang gusto ng Church as alternatives.

the Crusades
the World War I Germany who believe they were on a holy Christian war
and World War II Nazi, imagine pina-partner pa ng Vatican ang mga Italians sa Axis Powers to weed out humanity of the evils of homo***uality.

and of course, the movie "Frailty".

now the movie Frailty is the most disturbing yet the most useful Christian system na pwede ma-deter ang crime.

but the thing is only a few of us are gifted to see the "demons" in other people. but I agree, pag may demon aura ang isang tao, execute kagad. eh sino ba ito, yun candidate ng 7 deadly sins. dami sa'tin ganito


----

i have been reviewing World War II



Allied Powers:

Military dead:
Over 16,000,000
Civilian dead:
Over 45,000,000
Total dead:
Over 61,000,000 (1937-45)

Axis Powers:
Military dead:
Over 8,000,000
Civilian dead:
Over 4,000,000
Total dead:
Over 12,000,000 (1937-45)

dito mo talaga makikita kung nasaan si Lord eh. God allowed the purge of those people, imagine 61M people dead dun sa Allied na we the future generation perceived as the good side.

pre world war II, grabe daw kase ang kabaklaan/corrupt morals sa Europe noon araw. it knows no bounds, no country, no culture. kaya inallow ang purge.

now it's 2010, it seems that the problem is resurging

[oliver1013]

[foresterx]

i agree with the church on this one. There should be alternatives. Sayang lang ang death penalty coz it's too bureaucratic, and chances are it can be used to kill the innocent.

If we are to look thru history, alam ko na kung ano ang gusto ng church as alternatives.

The crusades
the world war i germany who believe they were on a holy christian war
and world war ii nazi, imagine pina-partner pa ng vatican ang mga italians sa axis powers to weed out humanity of the evils of homo***uality.

And of course, the movie "frailty".

Now the movie frailty is the most disturbing yet the most useful christian system na pwede ma-deter ang crime.

But the thing is only a few of us are gifted to see the "demons" in other people. But i agree, pag may demon aura ang isang tao, execute kagad. Eh sino ba ito, yun candidate ng 7 deadly sins. Dami sa'tin ganito


----

i have been reviewing world war ii



allied powers:

Military dead:
Over 16,000,000
civilian dead:
Over 45,000,000
total dead:
Over 61,000,000 (1937-45)

axis powers:
Military dead:
Over 8,000,000
civilian dead:
Over 4,000,000
total dead:
Over 12,000,000 (1937-45)

dito mo talaga makikita kung nasaan si lord eh. God allowed the purge of those people, imagine 61m people dead dun sa allied na we the future generation perceived as the good side.

Pre world war ii, grabe daw kase ang kabaklaan/corrupt morals sa europe noon araw. It knows no bounds, no country, no culture. Kaya inallow ang purge.

Now it's 2010, it seems that the problem is resurging

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