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LET’S SAY “NO” TO THE DEATH PENALTY!

As good – indeed very good – as is the first Draft Constitution submitted earlier this year by the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), there is one topic in which the Zambian people have really been let down.  This is in the retention of the death penalty as punishment for serious crime, found in Article 36 (in the Bill of Rights).  Whether or not the final CRC Draft that we will all see within the next few weeks (hopefully, all of us will see it, and not simply the State President!) changes that clause and extends protection of the right to life to all citizens, the widespread debate about both the legal and theological support or rejection for the death penalty is sure to continue in Zambia.

I feel it is important to highlight this issue once again, as Amnesty international Zambia (AIZ) has recently stepped up the anti-death penalty campaign in this country.   In the near future, AIZ plans to present a petition to urge Parliament and Government to ensure the abolition of capital punishment.  I believe that their campaign and the similar campaign by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, is well-founded and should receive the support of all of us who are concerned about the right to life, respect for the dignity of persons, and fairness in the pursuit of justice.

Constitutional Arguments

It is indeed very interesting that some of the best arguments in favour of abolishing capital punishment are found in the Interim Report of the CRC (Section 3.2.2.1).  The CRC acknowledges “the fact that the continued sanction of the death penalty by the Constitution evokes the deepest feelings in many people and challenges the nation’s sense of values.”

Among the arguments against the death penalty – submitted by an overwhelming number of petitioners, including the Human Rights Commission – the CRC notes that it is not a deterrent against violent crime, it is an inhuman and degrading form of punishment that goes against the teachings of the Bible, it denies people the opportunity to reform, it entails the danger of executing innocent persons who may be wrongly convicted, especially since the majority of the convicted are poor and cannot afford to pay for legal representation.

On the other hand, the CRC states the arguments that were advanced by many petitioners -- including the House of Chiefs -- that the death sentence should be maintained as being a deterrent against violent crimes, justified by Biblical teachings, helping to avenge and reduce crime, and reducing burdens on taxpayers.  

But the argument for the death penalty to be maintained because if deters and reduces crime is not empirically verified – indeed, the states in the United States of America that have the death penalty have much higher murder rates than the states that have abolished capital punishment!  And the claim that executing people is a cheaper approach to punishment than imprisonment becomes a bit empty and sad when you honestly evaluate the state of our prison system in Zambia today….

Biblical Arguments

But what about the Biblical argument?  Personally, my theological studies offer no defense for saying that capital punishment is justified by Biblical teachings.  A few years ago, I wrote the following which I still hold today: “It is true that the Old Testament mandates the death penalty for crimes such as murder -- and also for crimes such as adultery, incest, cursing and hitting of parents, kidnapping (see Genesis 9:6 and Exodus 21:12).  [But I don’t hear supporters of the death penalty calling now for execution of adulterers in Zambia!]  But even the Prophet Ezekiel also has God declare, ‘I do not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but in the conversion of the wicked who change their ways and save their life’ (Ezekiel 33:11).  And God advises the people: ‘Vengeance is mine’ (Deuteronomy 32:35).

“But we Christians don’t live in Old Testament times!  We live in New Testament times, guided primarily by the law of love taught in word and deed by Jesus Christ.  Those who follow this law of love are to take it so seriously that they would not harm their neighbours even in ways that earlier might have been permitted by the law of the Old Testament: ‘You have heard it said…but I say to you’ (Matthew 5:17-48). 

“How did Jesus deal with the issue of the death penalty as mandated by Jewish scripture?  We see his response clearly in the story of the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11).  Though the law of Moses demanded the death penalty (Deuteronomy 22:22), Jesus simply rejects this.  Central to his message of radical Good News is forgiveness – a forgiveness so great that he will even proclaim it when he himself is being murdered by state-sanctioned capital punishment: ‘Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing’ (Luke 23:24).” 

ABOLITION campaign

It is unfortunate that the CRC could only say in its Interim Report that it “agrees that the subject requires empirical research and further national debate.”  Because of the feeling that there is national division on this topic (e.g., more rural support for the death penalty than urban support), the Commission recommended only that: “for the time being, the death penalty be retained; and further public debate and a national referendum should be conducted on the subject.”

This is why the effort of Amnesty International Zambia is so important at this moment.  If the second draft Constitution continues to include the death penalty, then indeed there is need for a campaign to correct this unfortunate mistake.  Popular petitions, scholarly articles, focused workshops, public debates and political lobbying must be intensified. 

Almost every month, we read of some Zambian being condemned to be hung and sent off to Mukabeko for eventual execution – for murder or aggravated robbery involving use of fire arms (or treason).  The fact is that there have been few executions of late – thanks especially to President Mwanawasa’s courageous and well-argued stance against signing any death warrants -- should encourage us abolitionists.  But the constitutional acceptance is still there, in the current Constitution and possibly in a future Constitution.  We have work to do to change that!

Already, the majority of states around the world have abolished the death penalty, finding more effective, equitable and humane ways of punishing those who deserve severe punishment.  Only 74 countries have retained the death penalty, Zambia being amongst this minority group (which includes the USA, China and Saudi Arabia!).  Zambia’s neighbours such as Namibia, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa have excluded capital punishment from their constitutions.

Surely it is time for Zambia to be clear in its rejection of capital punishment.  On both legal and theological grounds, it simply does not make sense to kill people who kill people in order to show that killing people is wrong!

[1120 words]

Peter Henriot is director of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), Lusaka.  phenriot@zamnet.zm