Showing posts with label death penalty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death penalty. Show all posts
Nov 20, 2023
Death Sentence
The debate (happening today in the Knesset) over the death penalty for terrorists law is difficult.
I personally think the law is fine and can be passed, even if it is largely unnecessary. We all know it will almost never be carried out, and the ironic part is that even if it would be, it almost never would be needed. most terrorists in these parts of the world are suicidal to start with - they die either as part of the terror attack or with the help of a gun held by an Israeli putting an end to the attack. The terrorists, or their assistants who do get caught and taken alive, would mostly anyway not get the death penalty.
So, yes, maybe there is some sense of deterrence by having such a law on the books, and we already have one on the books anyway, but I dont think the impact will be majorly significant. The deterrence will be effected more by applying the law and actually killing terrorists by hanging or firing squad or whatnot than just by having such a law (and again, we already do have such a law, though perhaps it needs to be amended or broadened a bit). And we know that will only rarely happen, if ever. Between the courts, international pressure and condemnation, threats of greater escalation and whatnot, we all know the government that would carry such a death sentence out is probably very rare.
All that being said, I think today's debate is bad timing. Does this have to be handled today in the middle of the war, with the lives of many of the 240 hostages hanging in the balance? Can't it wait until the hostage situation gets clarified or until we get them back? With Hamas seeing Israel working on such a law, maybe it endangers the hostages even more than they already are!
I dont know if now is the wrong time for this or not, but this just piles on more worry to the families already in grief and not sleeping without a sign of life from their loved ones in forty some days. I am open to being convinced that there is some benefit to doing this right now, but I currently dont see the big benefit and only see the additional pain being caused.
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Jan 4, 2018
death penalty proposal passes first reading
Somewhat surprisingly, I think, Yisrael Beyteynu got their law proposal, death penalty for terrorists passed in its initial reading.
I say "surprisingly" because:
1. it is a super controversial idea, all over the world
2. they got this through the vote without any major public debate over this
3. they won the vote without full coalition support and participation and without the strong opposition other laws, like the recent minimarket law, had, even though the vote was close.
4. when PM Netanyahu spoke before the vote, MK Tibi asked if the law would be applied to Jewish terrorists equally, and he responded that conceptually it would be. That should have given some MKs pause for thought, though there are very few Jewish terrorists, and fewer that viciously murder Arabs in the name of Israeli nationalism.
According to the proposal, a military court can decide on the death penalty with a basic majority in a sitting of three judges, and no appeal allowed.
That means 2 judges out of 3 can decide someone deserves the death penalty on someone else and nobody has the right to question the decision. While I am sure judges in such a situation will give serious consideration to the case before them and its ramifications, it seems the law proposal gives a bit too much power to so few people.
The people from the organization behind the proposal say that there is no actual intention to start executing people as punishment, but the ability to do so is intended to create a heightened sense of deterrence. A potential terrorist will now consider the possibility of receiving the death penalty and that possibility will, perhaps, dissuade him from committing his act of terror.
So perhaps we will never get to that point, the point of 3 judges sitting and deciding to execute someone without anyone reviewing their decision. But perhaps we will. All their intentions aside, once the law is out there, even with their intentions that the law should never be carried out, who says it won't be.
I don't know that it shouldn't. In general I am in favor of the death penalty. But in practice it should at least be considered seriously before going there - there are many issues involved. Obviously there is the issue of how to execute the convicted terrorist. There is also a question if in Judaism is it ok or not, and we are living in a Jewish state. There is also the issue of Jewish terror. Right now that level of terror, the level that might incur a death penalty, is extremely rare, but if one day it happens, will Israel really implement this the same way it is implemented against Islamic terror - and is that good or bad, right or wrong?
Such a law, with such weighty issues involved, needs a lot of debate and consideration - from the MKs, form the public and from organizations and institutions that will seriously consider both the practical and the moral issues involved.
I say "surprisingly" because:
1. it is a super controversial idea, all over the world
2. they got this through the vote without any major public debate over this
3. they won the vote without full coalition support and participation and without the strong opposition other laws, like the recent minimarket law, had, even though the vote was close.
4. when PM Netanyahu spoke before the vote, MK Tibi asked if the law would be applied to Jewish terrorists equally, and he responded that conceptually it would be. That should have given some MKs pause for thought, though there are very few Jewish terrorists, and fewer that viciously murder Arabs in the name of Israeli nationalism.
According to the proposal, a military court can decide on the death penalty with a basic majority in a sitting of three judges, and no appeal allowed.
That means 2 judges out of 3 can decide someone deserves the death penalty on someone else and nobody has the right to question the decision. While I am sure judges in such a situation will give serious consideration to the case before them and its ramifications, it seems the law proposal gives a bit too much power to so few people.
The people from the organization behind the proposal say that there is no actual intention to start executing people as punishment, but the ability to do so is intended to create a heightened sense of deterrence. A potential terrorist will now consider the possibility of receiving the death penalty and that possibility will, perhaps, dissuade him from committing his act of terror.
So perhaps we will never get to that point, the point of 3 judges sitting and deciding to execute someone without anyone reviewing their decision. But perhaps we will. All their intentions aside, once the law is out there, even with their intentions that the law should never be carried out, who says it won't be.
I don't know that it shouldn't. In general I am in favor of the death penalty. But in practice it should at least be considered seriously before going there - there are many issues involved. Obviously there is the issue of how to execute the convicted terrorist. There is also a question if in Judaism is it ok or not, and we are living in a Jewish state. There is also the issue of Jewish terror. Right now that level of terror, the level that might incur a death penalty, is extremely rare, but if one day it happens, will Israel really implement this the same way it is implemented against Islamic terror - and is that good or bad, right or wrong?
Such a law, with such weighty issues involved, needs a lot of debate and consideration - from the MKs, form the public and from organizations and institutions that will seriously consider both the practical and the moral issues involved.
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