UN expert rebuffs death penalty calls: Train murder

[webfact]

TRAIN MURDER
UN expert rebuffs death penalty calls
Thiranat Sucharikul
The Nation

Says it is not a deterrent and children must be taught about boundaries

BANGKOK: -- RELATIONSHIP education is key to reducing sexual harassment and rape because capital punishment will not end the problem, United Nations Population Fund representative for Thailand Caspar Peek said.

The recent tragedy of a 13-year-old girl being raped and murdered on an overnight train to Bangkok sparked mass outrage on social media, with people calling for capital punishment against sex offenders.

The UNFPA representative, however, said the UN opposed the use of capital punishment because it goes against human rights, particularly the right to life.

"Even if a person does heinous crimes, they still have the right to life," Peek said.

He said life imprisonment might prove to be the better prosecution. He said the death penalty did not deter rape and murder because offenders did not consider this before committing the crime. This meant the cycle would continue unless other preventative measures were imposed such as changing the social perspective.

"The real issue is why does a young man think that it is okay to rape a girl. Why do boys in school think it is okay [to do such things]?" he said.

One of the reasons why this tragedy has received as much attention, apart from the victim's age, is the fact that the tragedy has become "visible" as rape victims often do not come forward due to shame. "The shame is put on the girl automatically and she carries it with her," Peek said.

"Not only has she been a victim emotionally, physically. On top of that she has to feel ashamed. It's a terrible thing you are doing to girls and women in society here."

In order to solve the problem of pervasive gender violence, Peek suggests it is necessary to educate young children about relationships - the boundaries to what is okay and what is not.

An increase in relationship education between boys and girls, and not just sex education, should be implemented so it is constantly reiterated.

"Schools must be clear." Peek said. "If you do this consistently, you create a generation of young people who will say, 'Yeah, they told me so many times. Okay I get it'."

He said gender sensitivity should also be reiterated within society through family members.

Peek said there are various ways in which society can make girls and women feel safe.

An increase in female authority figures such as teachers and policemen would increase the number of advocates for change so these issues were not swept under the carpet.

Awareness was an issue and people must continue to speak out for the "sake of this girl" and "for the sake of the half a million women in Thailand who have been victims to sexual harassment".

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/UN-expert-rebuffs-death-penalty-calls-30238264.html


-- The Nation 2014-07-11

[Local Drunk]

Rubbish...

[BwindiBoy]

When the victim is under age, the suggested punishment is absolutely just - but only when there is 100% certainty that they committed the crime. Rape of an "adult"...I'm not so sure. Probably.

[apetley]

When the victim is under age, the suggested punishment is absolutely just - but only when there is 100% certainty that they committed the crime. Rape of an "adult"...I'm not so sure. Probably.

Problem is even when a conviction is "100% certain" is can still be a mistake. Unfortunate that a miscarriage of justice can't be put right if the person convicted of it has been executed.

History is littered with wrongful convictions which have been overturned years later.

[saakura]

The best punishment would be to set him free...

[MYKTHEMIN]

These do gooders do speak such drivel, right to life, what right to life did he give his victim? eye for an eye as far as I am concerned

[kimamey]

Rubbish...

A well thought out and reasoned reply there.

I don't agree with capital punishment but not for all the same reasons as Mr Peek. That's just my opinion.

This terrible rape and murder has happened and nothing can take that back. It's for the courts to decide on the sentence although it should be borne in mind that this is a Buddhist country.

The other part of this is the ongoing problem of murder, rape and other crimes here and around the world. I do agree with the idea that capital punishment doesn't deter particularly in cases of a sexual nature. We've all been young and for men in particular we will remember how that can cloud our judgement. Fortunately most of us don't go that far. For some though that urge is much greater and the affect of drink and drugs in this case adds to the problem. I'm sure many of us have been drunk before but we never get this far out of hand but for some that happens. I very much doubt this man thought through the consequences of what he was doing. He's probably wishing he hadn't done it, now that it's too late. If capital punishment worked it would probably show in crime rates which as far as I know it doesn't.

We can't help this poor girl now but we can help her parents and we can try to make it less likely to happen again. Stricter rules on drinking and employment checks on the railway and other places will help but there is a need t educate people from an early age right from wrong.

[Tatsujin]

There's far too many bleeding hearts liberals around now with their defense of the guilty's "rights" . . . at some point people lose their "rights" as far as I am concerned, and by executing them, we (as a society) save not only a huge amount of cash, we completely remove the risk of them ever doing it again. Simple answer from what I can see.

[peterb0576]

they all ways go on about the right of life and human rights, this young girl was raped killed thrown out of a train window,where was her rights, and the suffering the parents and this young girls family must endure for the rest of there life, some one should ask the UN expert to talk to her family about the death penalty and get there opinion

[khwaibah]

UN can kiss my arse.

[UbonRatch]

<deleted>!

"The UNFPA representative, however, said the UN opposed the use of capital punishment because it goes against human rights, particularly the right to life.

"Even if a person does heinous crimes, they still have the right to life," Peek said.

So what happened to little miss' right to life. Kill the bastard.

[kimamey]

There's far too many bleeding hearts liberals around now with their defense of the guilty's "rights" . . . at some point people lose their "rights" as far as I am concerned, and by executing them, we (as a society) save not only a huge amount of cash, we completely remove the risk of them ever doing it again. Simple answer from what I can see.

That's your opinion but you've completely avoided the rest of the OP regarding what to do to try and prevent future crimes like these.

As for saving cash, that may be the case here but in a lot of countries that isn't necessarily true due to the long and expensive legal processes.

[UbonRatch]

Rubbish...

A well thought out and reasoned reply there.

I don't agree with capital punishment but not for all the same reasons as Mr Peek. That's just my opinion.

This terrible rape and murder has happened and nothing can take that back. It's for the courts to decide on the sentence although it should be borne in mind that this is a Buddhist country.

The other part of this is the ongoing problem of murder, rape and other crimes here and around the world. I do agree with the idea that capital punishment doesn't deter particularly in cases of a sexual nature. We've all been young and for men in particular we will remember how that can cloud our judgement. Fortunately most of us don't go that far. For some though that urge is much greater and the affect of drink and drugs in this case adds to the problem. I'm sure many of us have been drunk before but we never get this far out of hand but for some that happens. I very much doubt this man thought through the consequences of what he was doing. He's probably wishing he hadn't done it, now that it's too late. If capital punishment worked it would probably show in crime rates which as far as I know it doesn't.

We can't help this poor girl now but we can help her parents and we can try to make it less likely to happen again. Stricter rules on drinking and employment checks on the railway and other places will help but there is a need t educate people from an early age right from wrong.

Come on. Get real! We've all been young? Yeah, did we rape and throw a girl off a train? NO, WE DIDN'T. He chose to take alochol and drugs.. well I never took drugs... never in my life, and I like a beer. But I do neither become abusive nor does rape cross my mind. Of course, he didn't think the consequences... he didn't care. And that is the whole gist between the normal and the abnormal. Get rid of him I say, despite your postulation that he now feels remorse. He didn't look particularly remorseful on any pics I saw! As for education on right or wrong... it is clearly obvious that this animal is beyond that - he raped 3 - NOT 1. Lord knows if he's killed before. Why do you choose to defend him and his rights...?? He threw those rights away when he murdered and raped. DID HE NOT?

[AGareth2]

prison justice

given recent other news

[harrry]

Whilst I am ambivalent regarding the death penalty I would think the young girl had a right to life too. As well as sanctity of her body. The fact the perpetrator did not think of that before does not excuse him. Maybe we must eliminate those who are like that.

[wprime]

Rubbish...

It makes perfect sense, if you're sitting on a golden throne looking over your utopian society.

Not sure how it can apply to Thailand.

[lostsoul49]

What a load of crap.

No murderer has any right to life after taking someone elses.

Once you deliberately extinguish the life of another, you should cease to be categorized as a normal human, and thus forfiet all human rights.

The death penalty IS a deterrent in some cases and that is enough if it saves just one innocent life.

Death for all serial rapists in my opinion, but deffo for murder in extreme cases.

Education about relationships will NOT stop a rapist. They are obviously not of functioning ind and have little sense of control to do that in the first place.

Sometimes I hate the UN as they are largely just a bunch of interfering nobodies.

[Local Drunk]

Rubbish...

A well thought out and reasoned reply there.

I don't agree with capital punishment but not for all the same reasons as Mr Peek. That's just my opinion.

This terrible rape and murder has happened and nothing can take that back. It's for the courts to decide on the sentence although it should be borne in mind that this is a Buddhist country.

The other part of this is the ongoing problem of murder, rape and other crimes here and around the world. I do agree with the idea that capital punishment doesn't deter particularly in cases of a sexual nature. We've all been young and for men in particular we will remember how that can cloud our judgement. Fortunately most of us don't go that far. For some though that urge is much greater and the affect of drink and drugs in this case adds to the problem. I'm sure many of us have been drunk before but we never get this far out of hand but for some that happens. I very much doubt this man thought through the consequences of what he was doing. He's probably wishing he hadn't done it, now that it's too late. If capital punishment worked it would probably show in crime rates which as far as I know it doesn't.

We can't help this poor girl now but we can help her parents and we can try to make it less likely to happen again. Stricter rules on drinking and employment checks on the railway and other places will help but there is a need t educate people from an early age right from wrong.

Capital punishment isn't about lowering the crime rate; it's about making the punishment fit the crime.

I'll give you another well thought out and reasoned reply here... Rubbish!

[zydeco]

This is some little Dutch dogooder who thinks his way of life should be the universal way of life. With this guy looking out for the interests of young girls and young women in Thailand, it's a wonder that there will be any left. Oops, it appears his family planning policies have been so successful that there might soon not be any left. http://www.research-europe.com/index.php/2014/07/caspar-peek-representative-for-thailand-and-country-director-for-malaysia-united-nations-population-fund/

[klauskunkel]

"Even if a person does heinous crimes, they still have the right to life," Peek said.

If a creature tortures and kills a human being for sport or self-gratification, then this creatures has voluntarily given up its own humanity and cannot be considered a "person with human rights anymore", by its own chosen action it has put itself outside of what defines a human being.

Mr. Peek's statement only serves to employ and justify an industry of lawyers, NGOs, prison systems, religious institutions...big business, actually.

[Tatsujin]

There's far too many bleeding hearts liberals around now with their defense of the guilty's "rights" . . . at some point people lose their "rights" as far as I am concerned, and by executing them, we (as a society) save not only a huge amount of cash, we completely remove the risk of them ever doing it again. Simple answer from what I can see.

That's your opinion but you've completely avoided the rest of the OP regarding what to do to try and prevent future crimes like these.

As for saving cash, that may be the case here but in a lot of countries that isn't necessarily true due to the long and expensive legal processes.

Saving cash in terms of (I think) it now costs about 40,000 GBP per year to house a prisoner. The legal process costs are moot as the trial would proceed regardless so nothing is saved there anyways.

As for preventing future crimes . . . well, that's a hot topic that nobody agrees on . . . however, with one less rapist/murdering scum in the world, there's one less chance of a repeat offender.

[GentlemanJim]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Rubbish...

A well thought out and reasoned reply there.

I don't agree with capital punishment but not for all the same reasons as Mr Peek. That's just my opinion.

This terrible rape and murder has happened and nothing can take that back. It's for the courts to decide on the sentence although it should be borne in mind that this is a Buddhist country.

The other part of this is the ongoing problem of murder, rape and other crimes here and around the world. I do agree with the idea that capital punishment doesn't deter particularly in cases of a sexual nature. We've all been young and for men in particular we will remember how that can cloud our judgement. Fortunately most of us don't go that far. For some though that urge is much greater and the affect of drink and drugs in this case adds to the problem. I'm sure many of us have been drunk before but we never get this far out of hand but for some that happens. I very much doubt this man thought through the consequences of what he was doing. He's probably wishing he hadn't done it, now that it's too late. If capital punishment worked it would probably show in crime rates which as far as I know it doesn't.

We can't help this poor girl now but we can help her parents and we can try to make it less likely to happen again. Stricter rules on drinking and employment checks on the railway and other places will help but there is a need t educate people from an early age right from wrong.

Well as far as the OP goes...........meanwhile back in utopia

Why do you say

This terrible rape and murder has happened and nothing can take that back. It's for the courts to decide on the sentence although it should be borne in mind that this is a Buddhist country.

Are you saying that religion should have the major influence over law and order? If a young 16 year old girl is stoned to death in the Yemen because she was raped by 4 men (so it's her fault), are you as quick to retort "It should be borne in mind that she lives in an Islamic country, so fair's fair"? Actually my question was rhetoric, because that is exactly what you are saying.

This is nothing to do with a deterrent for future potential rapists, lets make sure the lefty liberals understand that. The death penalty will be an extremely effective deterrent in ensuring this ba****d never does this again to another young girl, because if he goes to jail he WILL be out in 8-10 yrs and he WILL do it again. We can all discuss the rights and wrongs and how to deter generations of young men from doing similar in a few months, but at the moment this young girl and her family needs swift retribution in the form of a punishment that fits the crime. Let the law and judicial process do its job, not a religious text.

[dominique355]

they all ways go on about the right of life and human rights, this young girl was raped killed thrown out of a train window,where was her rights, and the suffering the parents and this young girls family must endure for the rest of there life, some one should ask the UN expert to talk to her family about the death penalty and get there opinion

Do you want justice or do you want revenge?

In a civilized society there is no place for revenge.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[UbonRatch]

they all ways go on about the right of life and human rights, this young girl was raped killed thrown out of a train window,where was her rights, and the suffering the parents and this young girls family must endure for the rest of there life, some one should ask the UN expert to talk to her family about the death penalty and get there opinion

Do you want justice or do you want revenge?

In a civilized society there is no place for revenge.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

There's a fine line between revenge and a piece of flesh! (c.f. Merchant of Venice, if you ever read it)

However, punishment befitting a crime, certainly in this instance, calls for his flesh! He took hers, godamn it - taking his flesh is not revenge, but it merely befits his crime!

[BestBitterPhuket]

Who the f is Caspar Peek? Has he ever felt the pain if the relatives? Has he any knowledge of what works as a deterrent in Thailand? Has he any knowledge of how many kids school fees the cost if feeding and lodging this creep for a lifetime would equal?

[klikster]

The best punishment would be to set him free...

Or perhaps holding him in Trang?

[timewilltell]

I am going to go against the grain here and say I agree with a lot of what the OP has to say. Much of it is sensible and actionable and people do have a basic right to life.

13 year old innocent girls have a right to life too, and those that survive such ordeals had a right to a life without constant torment over what was done to them. A right to have a relationship or get married without the horror of dealing with loving sex despoiled by memories of some drunken, drugged up slimy smelly scumbag forcing himself inside her.

Many people who do theses crimes probably do not think about getting caught or the consequences, in fact they are probably smiling inwardly at the power they have over another innocent person almost unknown in their sad lives where they have to know tow to every dick who thinks they deserve respect in a sick society (not particularly this society either).

Maybe there is a benefit to public castration to make an impression and force it to the forefront of the mind for those considering rape and assault since clearly the death penalty is insufficient. Allow and pay for his detention for as long as he has funds to pay the costs - and then kill him for society has no use for such as likes.

In the end the law is there for many reasons. Not just to punish but also to allow people to live in peace and without fear. Also to provide some retribution on a limited scale to allow the families of victims and the victims themselves the notion that at least society agrees such crimes are not tolerable and to dull the feelings of shame, guilt and unfairness that should not but do affect them and theirs lives ever after.

Apart from that the OP's other points are laudable but Thailand is unlikely to change away from a society where personal responsibility ranks below the bottom of the scale and where respect is required for the most stupid, arrogant and ignorant just because they have a few years over you or gave bought their status through connections or money. Personally I believe respect has to be gained by action and example not by age or corruption.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[h90]

Maybe the man from the UN is looking what the USA does inside and outside the country first.

When this is sorted out, he can take care of the smaller issues.

[UbonRatch]

Maybe the man from the UN is looking what the USA does inside and outside the country first.

When this is sorted out, he can take care of the smaller issues.

Aye. Like the next rocket to the moon.

[fabphil]

Who is this &lt;deleted&gt; PEEK, To many do gooders think they know it all, problem is NOT enough of the silent majority who want these pricks done away with get up and voice their opinions where its needed to be heard....

LETS BE HEARD....