By not acknowledging the rights of the victim, people will only be encouraged to exact revenge on their own.
LUND, SWEDEN: This is with reference to Farzana Bari’s article “Abolish the death penalty” (July 11). Those advocating the abolition of the death penalty seem to ignore the tragedy that befalls the victims and seem more concerned about the well-being of those who commit murder and other heinous crimes. The mass murderer who killed 90 Norwegians is enjoying his life in jail today and even planning to write a book. How do you justify that? What was the fault of the innocent people he killed and their families? What kind of civilisation is this which does not acknowledge the right of the victim to live but is more concerned with the right of the killer to live?
Our religion also acknowledges the right of the aggrieved; i.e., the murdered victim’s family. If the family refuses to pardon or accept blood money in exchange for sparing the life of the murderer, then there is no room left for leniency. By not acknowledging the rights of the victim, people will only be encouraged to exact revenge on their own by taking the law into their hands, which is not desirable.
GM Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2013.
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