The death penalty is always an emotive subject, both for what it is and the reasons for why it is prescribed. The Bali Bombings of October 12, 2002, were a disgusting attack on the innocent. The pain felt by those families who have had members killed or maimed, physically or psychologically, by this act of barbarism shall continue, unfortunately, as long as the memories remain. I do not for one moment pretend to fathom the depth of anger and sorrow of all those, Australian, Indonesian and others who have been affected by the act of terrorism which was the Bali bombings.

I do not believe, however, that killing an evil person expunges the evil that they delivered. The harshest punishment for criminals is not execution, no matter how barbarous the act for which they are being punished. To take the world to a better place, the greatest punishment that can be delivered is that criminals will not affect our sense that life is precious, even their life which has been defiled by their actions.

The greatest measure of this is that life is precious and an example of this is that the criminal will have to live theirs to a conclusion brought to an end by their own course. Criminals abrogate the liberties of freedom. Society has the right to segregate criminals for a period of incarceration for the term of their life if required.

I do believe that the evil a criminal inspires can be reinvigorated by a path to an introverted martyrdom pitch to a particular constituency. The execution of the three Bali bombers, Amrozi, his brother Mukhlas and Imam Samudra by firing squad provides an ongoing stage to the evils that were perpetrated and a rallying call for those who wish to emulate the twisted goals or actions of these perpetrators. Already there have been threats of reprisal attacks in Indonesia and Australia has issued a travel warning to those considering visiting Indonesia, especially school leavers planning to celebrate the end of their studies.
It is a country’s right to pursue the law as desired by legislation of the people and Australia cannot preach. Australia should make sure that our position on such things as capital punishment is consistent. We as a nation either believe in capital punishment or we do not. We either believe that capital punishment is acceptable on occasions or it is not. There are three Australians on death row in Indonesia and the Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has flagged Australia’s co-sponsorship of a resolution at the UN General Assembly calling for a moratorium on capital punishment.
I acknowledge the Minister’s statement and as this is a matter of conscience, I am speaking only for myself and I would support such a resolution.

The hardest path to take is ventured by those nations which though acknowledging their disgust, anger and in some instances hate of certain people and certain actions resolve that their nation’s path of justice shall not intersect with these other people’s barbarous acts.

Shooting someone in the heart while they are tied to a wooden stake or injecting someone while they are strapped to a gurney or hanging someone with a rope, I believe, takes us on a journey that brutalises us as well as them. A lifetime’s consideration in incarceration leaves us with our dignity and the convicted with a lifetime of consideration in which, at some point, they may decide one thing that possibly could bring some solace to those who have been maimed or the families of those killed and that is that they consider that their actions were wrong.

There is the right to protect life from an imminent or comparable threat by whatever means available. However, when the threat is subdued and the public are no longer at risk what angels do we feed by desiring retribution from the destruction of an incarcerated criminal.

Ends