Thai editorial: Death penalty is not the solution to rape

[Lancelot]

While Mr. Wanchai’s actions — if his confession proves to be genuine — are indeed deplorable

Says it all...

Edited July 9, 2014 by Lancelot

[Luk Mhee]

In India after they past the death sentence to the people who gang raped a schoolgirl, the rape cases dropped by almost 40%. How can you say that the death penalty is not the solution? It’s the ONLY solution.

[Rorri]

I think the punishment should fit the crime and people who rape and murder children definitely in my opinion deserve the death penalty.

The state cannot and should not decide whether someone should live or die. If the state kills him, then they are no better than the murderers themselves, whether they deserve it or not. If anything life imprisonment would give him hell for the next 60 years, prisoners don't really go easy on child rape and murderers.

Doctor, your belief that if the state kills him then the state is no better than the murder is, I put it to you, and TV readers, your way of thinking is only from the last, maybe, 40 years, compare to the 10's of thousands of years of mankind, I put it to you, maybe your "modern" thinking is wrong.

[ClutchClark]

I think the punishment should fit the crime and people who rape and murder children definitely in my opinion deserve the death penalty.

Are you Thai?

Serious question. Its my understanding that Thai culture is largely based on Buddhist ideals.

Its fine to have an opinion but its also up to the culture how they define Justice and Punishment .

No I am not Thai.

I would still believe in the death penalty in Australia if a pedophile like this guy raped and murdered a defenceless child. Treating a child like this guy did as a piece of worthless meat to be dumped when he has finished pleasuring himself with it deserves an extremely painful slow death.

Well said & said by a man with experience to know what hes talking about.

Put simply, the world would be a much better place without vermin like this. A 30 cent round will save the thai tax payer a few baht too.

I don't disagree with you but this is not my country.

In my country, the US, I support the death penalty.

Much of the reason i do is that it provides some sense of closure for the victim's family.

Nothing worse than for guys like this to make headlines again when he comes up for a parole hearing or when he is beaten in jail or part of a riot because he doesn't get to watch his favorite TV program--each time further reminding the family he lives and their child doesn't.

But its not my country and I have seen alot of positives in the Buddhist tradition--tenets that have allowed societies to co-exist.

If Thailand starts an officially sanctioned death penalty then it will have far reaching implications on this cultures self identity.

Besides the simple fact that the death penalty requires a Professional Police Force and Judicial system.

I am not sure Thailand has either.

But I share your anger at the poor girls final moments.

Edited July 9, 2014 by ClutchClark

[Eloelo]

Good job Khaosod!

Anyway it's never a good idea to speak about this subject the day something so horrific happened.

Do not relate your opinion to a special crime, just tell: "Are you in favor of the death penalty or are you abolitionist?"

IMO, there are two kinds of people on this planet (the pro death penalty and the cons) and these two kinds can drink together, can make love but CANNOT discuss the topic, they CANNOT understand each other.

I'm against the death penalty and I will NOT try to convince you. Just, don't try either.

The death penalty is a deterrent hopefully to prevent such horrible crimes against innocent victims.forgiveness is a wonderful thing so is rehabilitating.but these are given to people who have commited the crime.the victim has their life ended. and the impact is far greater on their respective loved ones. to achieve balance in society if a life is taken one should be prepared to give theirs, for it is an insult to a victim and there families to see a murderer live and receive at great cost a chance to one day see freedom.it would also help all those who live in fear of this happening to them that society and justice do recognize that as free citizens have a right to be protected by our laws against such crimes.and in countries where the death penalty is invoked there is a lot less despicable crimes committed. and on another note how would you feel if this was your daughter.

[neverdie]

Fair points CC,

I agree with what you have said. I have no likes to acknowledge that.

[Albertosez]

I don't advocate the death penalty for just rape alone, but for rape and murder - then yes, that would get my vote. The editorial says that with the death sentence for rape, the rapist would feel it necessary to kill the victim in order to try and avoid prosecution. Not sure about that, but surely if the death sentence is for rape and murder then that would act as at least some deterrent not to kill the girl - at least for some rapists ?

If the death sentence does not address the root of the problem ( as the article suggests) - then please explain why keeping them alive does address the root of the problem ? I don't see that the sentence has anything to do with addressing the root of the problem, that is a separate issue altogether and demands social reform and education. This is about whether the " sentence fits the crime " -'which is already too late to address the problem, that needs addressing from the early years in school and how women are viewed and treated in Thai Society.

[Hawk]

"Death penalty is not the solution to rape"

But Chemical Castration is!! and would send a serious message to the serial rapists in this country who think that rape is a normal part of Thai culture and accepted through the male Thai society.

Do people bother to look at those nasty pictures on cigarette packets, no. Do people when they commit a crime consider the consequences, no. Messages fall on dormant ears, and Thai males tend to be an overly arrogant mob anyway. Its the land of Thai boxing after all, so males must feel superior.

[CraigSchuler]

I would torture him for a long period time until he wished he was dead, I'd then point blank blast the scums brains out! that's being of service to the public!

[RNguy]

"The death penalty has not been proven to be an effective deterrent against crime. "

Really? I believe execution has proven to be 100% effective in preventing executed criminals from committing additional crimes. In fact there has never been a case of a dead criminal committing any form of crime after this form of rehabilitation has been exercised. If anyone can show facts to the contrary I would be happy to be shown that I am in error.

[trainman34014]

The victim's family should choose what route the punishment should take if convicted . . . death penalty, castration, life imprisonment, stoning, or being left with all the victims family in a quiet place at night for an hour alone.

This is the correct solution to crimes like this as only in this way can the family of the victim find proper closure. In the real world a lot of such families would forgive enough to allow life imprisonment anyway. However; i would doubt there is a Government in power today anywhere on the planet that would allow it owing to the fact that bleeding heart liberals have taken over more or less everywhere. The.. 'You can't do this and can't do that' crowd have beaten away most sensibility in the modern world !

[GuestHouse]

Expats screaming for the death penalty - in a country they know lacks a functional and reliable justice system.

Go figure.

[mrtoad]

It is an emotive subject.

From a professional point, I have worked within services incarcerating and rehabilitating sex offenders. Some of the stories that I have been privy to, would make people's skin crawl - often far worse than what actually gets reported. Professionally, I have always worked with them non-judgmentally, and to rhe best of my ability. At least in locked away environments they pose no threat - however on release that is a different matter, and I personally do not feel that they are treatable anyhow. I thankfully, no longer work with those types of people.

From a personal point , a normal (?) family and a parent these monsters disgust me. I have had threats made against the safety of my children and family in the past from patients/ lags- and although most unlikely that any harm would come, imagine what it's like to be told by a monster what they are going to do to your family? I've also had a family member, murdered - she was 2 years old, her head smashed against a fire place several times, by a babysitter. Sentence 5 years, reduced to manslaughter on diminished responsibility. What a joke, they were free to get on with their lives - but a number of people have lived that hell to their dying day, and some still are.

So for me - death penalty for all child killers and child sex offenders.

Edited July 9, 2014 by mrtoad

[boomerangutang]

Possibly the reactionary idea of passing the accused over to the victims family might well be an innovative idea, one would no doubt see a dramatic drop in the crime of rape if this course of judgemental action was to be followed..

If he was convicted, and leaving it up to the family to mete out justice would be a mixed bag. Some families would beat the sh*t out him, but here's what most Thai families would do, particularly women: They would shout, scream, pummel him a few times, scream some more, cry, ....but that's about it. Have you ever been hit on the front of a shoulder by a woman? It doesn't hurt much.

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"Punishing convicted rapists with the death penalty will not address the root causes of the problem."

No your right. But for sure he will not be release from jail someday to do it again.

This is why some countries castrate rapists...so that they cannot do it again.

forced castration could be useful, but he could still get out to harm and kill again. Then there's the tradition, in Thailand, of blanket pardoning of prisoners.

All in all, I think life imprisonment is the least bad punishment. But it would have to be 100% without possibility of pardon or parole, which I don't think is possible in Thailand. In that case: death penalty.

[silver sea]

In India after they past the death sentence to the people who gang raped a schoolgirl, the rape cases dropped by almost 40%. How can you say that the death penalty is not the solution? Its the ONLY solution.

But what if they arrest and convict the wrong person(s)? What if the police fabricate the evidence to obtain a conviction?

In my home country there have been, sadly, several such cases. One of the most notorious is:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Conlon

The judge said at the trial: "If hanging were still an option, you would have been executed."

You will see from that article, that there were similar miscarriages of justice, caused by the fabrication of evidence, in the related cases of the "Maguire Seven" and the "Birmingham Six".

Can you place your hand on heart and say that such things cannot happen in India, or indeed in Thailand?

Life imprisonment should, however, mean just that: for the rest of your natural life. It's a life sentence for the victims of these horrific rapes and for the families of murder victims after all.

Edited for typos.

Edited July 9, 2014 by jukebox

[Oziex1]

A horrible crime and emotionally i demand the death sentence but intellectually I say no, too many complications we have to admit our justice systems are not perfect enough to allow this punishment. If only 1 in a million were wrongly executed would you want it to be someone you know or yourself.

The world is in the grip of a major scourge, crystal meth-amphetamine aka yaba ya ice. Some of the crimes committed by ice heads are disturbing to say the least, very violent with little or no provocation. This guy was on it yeah.

[HerbalEd]

Rapists are often multiple offenders. If you kill them ... or castrate them ... they can't rape again.

[doctorproc156]

I think the punishment should fit the crime and people who rape and murder children definitely in my opinion deserve the death penalty.

The state cannot and should not decide whether someone should live or die. If the state kills him, then they are no better than the murderers themselves, whether they deserve it or not. If anything life imprisonment would give him hell for the next 60 years, prisoners don't really go easy on child rape and murderers.

Doctor, your belief that if the state kills him then the state is no better than the murder is, I put it to you, and TV readers, your way of thinking is only from the last, maybe, 40 years, compare to the 10's of thousands of years of mankind, I put it to you, maybe your "modern" thinking is wrong.

I see where you're coming from, but I'm from a school where I think once artificial protein growing can match the quality of real meat and is indistinguishable, then killing any animal should be illegal and humans should only consume artificial meat. It is time to move on and advance, especially if we are thinking about moving on from planet earth.

[Choonpon]

Public caning, shaming and execution for rape offenders!

[tingtongteesood]

Whilst it may not be 'the solution' it certainly would act as a deterrent. The problem is so many people get away with it, or get super lenient punishment for it.

[BillyBobThai]

"Death penalty is not the solution to rape"

But Chemical Castration is!!

There is no need for chemical castration, this guy deserves a little pain for what he did. On the first day in prison, he would be taken to the castration room where the first thing he sees is this.

It would not kill him, but there would be a few moments where he might wish for death instead.

On second thought, don't do the deed on the first day, just a couple of good taps, then maybe twice a month for the next year or two before doing the deed. These guys truly need to do some suffering.

Edited July 9, 2014 by BillyBobThai

[wabothai]

Removal of freedom for life is greater punishement than the removal of life.

[Eurojomtien]

Male identity is infused with notions of power and violence, and it's not Thai, it's everywhere. Anti-Thai posts in this context are shockingly stupid.

Vengeance is one thing, and prevention is another.

If prevention involves changing the male attitude to power, brutality and sexuality, then we better start working on it right now because that means moving mountains.

Here's a very interesting comment that was made recently following attempted rape in a classroom by a group of teenage idiots.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/740610-chonburi-schoolgirl-escapes-gang-assault-in-classroom/?p=8067692

[gchurch259]

" Thailand's justice system is not reliable enough to be responsible for decisions about life and death."

Says it all, really.

I don't believe any justice system in the world is responsible enough for such decisions. The legal system is a game played by lawyers for profit, not justice.

And political gain.

I like the Plato qoute, if adhered to there would be a lot less comments here, including this one, Jerry

[boomerangutang]

If found guilty by a court, then put him in a dungeon. give him a half liter of water and a bowl of stale rice each day - let the suffering be prolonged. If he's out of earshot of others, play a loud of girl screams - intermittedly ever 2 hours or so, for 30 seconds.

[Maggusoil]

I think the punishment should fit the crime and people who rape and murder children definitely in my opinion deserve the death penalty.

Are you Thai?

Serious question. Its my understanding that Thai culture is largely based on Buddhist ideals.

Its fine to have an opinion but its also up to the culture how they define Justice and Punishment .

No I am not Thai.

I would still believe in the death penalty in Australia if a pedophile like this guy raped and murdered a defenceless child. Treating a child like this guy did as a piece of worthless meat to be dumped when he has finished pleasuring himself with it deserves an extremely painful slow death.

Advance Australia Fair?

Emotionally I agree, an eye for an eye. However Australia banned the death penalty in 1969 and despite equally horrific crimes there, no one is on for recalling it.

There must be significant punishment and I think the family of the victim should be able to have a bigger say in it, at least one year after the fact.

[Hawk]

In India after they past the death sentence to the people who gang raped a schoolgirl, the rape cases dropped by almost 40%. How can you say that the death penalty is not the solution? Its the ONLY solution.

Rape cases in India have only temporarily dropped as you will see.

[sawadee1947]

I think the punishment should fit the crime and people who rape and murder children definitely in my opinion deserve the death penalty.

Do you mean ...take a life for a life...?

How uncivilized you are?

[Doc46]

If the law would be organised a bit better and would do their job of catching more of the bigger drug people and rapists and rockspiders then line them up every month and euthanize them the baddies will start thinking twice or more times before the next crime, for sure the crime rate will drop.

[oldsailor35]

The bigger the case the more people want to be in the photo op including the higher ups..

I guess that is why they holding this one in the carpark, no room to fit in everyone indoors.

When are the Australian police going to "wake up" and start having these fantastic photo sessions.