Thai Justice Ministry rules out death penalty for rapists

[webfact]

Thai government rules out death penalty for rapists
NATNICHA CHUWIRUCH, Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's Justice Ministry says it has no plan to execute rapists who murder their victims, saying such a harsh penalty would provoke more rapists to kill.

The ministry's third-ranking official, Tawatchai Thaikyo, posted the comments Monday on his Facebook page amid growing outrage over the suspected rape and murder of a 27-year-old teacher, whose alleged attacker was a convicted rapist who lived in her apartment building. The woman's death has prompted calls for harsher penalties for rapes and capital punishment for fatal rapes.

Capital punishment is legal in Thailand for 35 different crimes, including drug offenses, terrorism, national security crimes, murder and fatal rapes. But in practice, the death penalty is rarely used. The last execution was carried out in 2009 for two drug traffickers.

"If raping equals the death penalty, it would encourage rapists to kill all victims to shut their mouths," Tawatchai said. "Wouldn't it be better if we require all convicted rapists to undergo a rehabilitation program and give them support to prevent them from committing such crimes again?"

Part of the public anger is over the prison system's failure, in this case, to rehabilitate. The main suspect in the attack Friday is a 27-year-old factory worker who was released from prison last August after serving less than two years behind bars for raping a friend's wife.

He initially told police that he lived a few doors down from the teacher and knew her apartment door was broken, so he sneaked in late Friday with the intention of raping her but she fought back so he killed her, local media reported. He later changed his confession to say he had no intention of raping but only wanted to rob the teacher. Another neighbor found the woman's naked body, her throat slashed, the day after the attack.

The suspect, identified as Chatree Ruamsungnoen, was arrested Saturday and police canceled a subsequent reenactment of the crime, which is common in Thailand when suspects confess, over concern he would be attacked by angry mobs.

The head of Thailand's military government also commented on the case, saying he disagreed with the calls for capital punishment.

"Look at what other countries are doing globally. Human rights laws have stopped capital punishment in many countries around the world," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said, adding that severe penalties alone won't prevent rapes. Even if the punishment were "three executions" it still might not be enough to deter criminals, he said.

"Society has to help pressure them," Prayuth added, saying public condemnation could be a greater deterrent than the death penalty.

Rights groups say rape in Thailand goes largely unreported and unpunished, partly because police often don't take complaints seriously.

Thai police receive about 4,000 rape complaints a year and make about 2,400 arrests, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute, a public policy research institute that gets data from the Justice Ministry.

The number of unreported rape cases is estimated at 30,000 per year, the institute says, amounting to a case every 15 minutes.

The victim's father added his voice to the calls for capital punishment at a news conference after his daughter's death.

"I don't want to see laws kill a person," the father said Monday. "But if we let such a bad guy go free, he will kill again."


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-07-06

[canuckamuck]

So capital punishment for fatal rapes will encourage more fatal rapes?

There's that faulty logic gene again.

[smutcakes]

I would not give the Thai judiciary the chance to judge a raffle never mind have them passing down more death sentences.

Until the quality of police, forensic and judiciary is bought to acceptable levels then this should not even be a question.

[Khun Paul]

it is intreresting an agency is saying no to a death sentence if it is the LAW , then there willbe a death sentence. Surely from the brexit disaster governments should listen to the public not assume they are all stupid.

[silverhawk_usa]

I think there are a lot of misquotes in the OP. My understanding is there does exist a death penalty for Murder and also, obviously, murders resulting after rape. I think the proposal is a death sentence for rape alone. Thus the quote it would make it more likely for the victim to be killed if rape alone invoked a death sentence. I may be wrong, but if so then the whole issue makes no sense.

[GOLDBUGGY]

So capital punishment for fatal rapes will encourage more fatal rapes?

There's that faulty logic gene again.

I found it difficult to follow also.

But I think what they are saying is that they are only talking about the crime of Rape itself. Not rape with murder. So if this is the case the Judge is saying that if Rapist face Capital Punishment just for rape, then there is a more likely chance that they will kill their victim afterwards, to prevent having a witness, which does make sense.

On the other hand, letting a convicted Rapist free after only 2 years in jail is not right either. Giving someone a light sentence as a reward, only because he didn't kill his victim, is the wrong path as well, as this doesn't serve as a deterrent. As this case proves that after 2 years in jail for rape, he commits the same crime again but adds murder to it as well.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the Rape I think a minimum of 10 years for the first offence should be more in order. On the second offense this person is not interested in being rehabilitated and therefore should not be released into the public ever again. Fool me once, then shame on you"." Fool me twice, then shame on me".

Rape with Murder should be treated as the most severe offense and subject to the most severe penalty by law for such offenses. If it were up to me I would let the family and mob deal with this guy first, then see what we have left over to deal with. .

[Brer Fox]

I am disgusted by the recent rape and murder of that beautiful young schoolteacher.

The sex laws of Thailand seem to go light and easy with rape offenders while ignoring the plight of victims and their families. Is that because the offender is a man and in the eyes of the law could be seen as a victim himself because he was tempted by an appealing woman or young girl?

I suspect it is mainly men who make these laws and that could therein be the reason for what seems such gross inequalities of justice. It wouldn't surprise me if the authorities went the opposite way and imposed the death penalty on rape victims. That is if they are not already dead.

[tomyummer]

What idiots. I don't think they understand their own arguments. Death to rapists who kill? How would that provoke more rapists to kill?! You would get the death probably only of you kill your victim. What a dummy.

I guess Singapore's 'death to all drug traffickers' doesn't send the right message?

But coming from a nation and culture that won't put sick pets to sleep, it doesn't surprise me that the authorities would chicken out on this decision too.