'Death Penalty Does Nothing To Improve Lives Of Women' : International Rights Bodies Condemn Execution In Nirbhaya Case

The International Commission of Jurists and the Amnesty International-India have condemned the execution of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case.

"The death penalty is never the solution and today's resumption of executions adds another dark stain to India's human rights record. Indian courts have repeatedly found it to be applied arbitrarily and inconsistently. Even the Justice Verma Committee, whose recommendations were relied upon to reform laws on sexual assault and rape in the aftermath of the Nirbhaya case, had opposed imposing the death penalty in cases of rape. India is among a minority of countries which continue to use the death penalty. 140 countries, more than two-thirds of the world's countries, around the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice", said Avinash Kumar, Executive Director, Amnesty International India.

The Amnesty International called upon the government of India to "immediately establish a moratorium on executions and commute all death sentences, as first critical steps towards abolishing the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment".

There is no evidence that the death penalty acts as a particular deterrent to crime, and its use will not eradicate violence against women in India, said Amnesty International India.

"Since August 2015, India had not executed anyone and it is unfortunate that four men were executed today in the name of tackling violence against women. All too often lawmakers in India hold up the death penalty as a symbol of their resolve to tackle crime. But what is actually needed are effective, long-term solutions like prevention and protection mechanisms to reduce gender-based violence, improving investigations, prosecutions and support for victims' families. Far-reaching procedural and institutional reforms are the need of the hour", said Avinash Kumar,

The International Commission of Jurists denounced the execution by terming it an "affront to the rule of law" and said that it will not "improve access to justice for women".

Frederick Rawski, ICJ Asia-Pacific Director of ICJ, said: "State-sanctioned executions are little more than public theatre that risk celebrating and perpetuating violence at the expense of the 'rule of law.' As heinous as these crimes were, the imposition of the death penalty — the deterrent effect of which has been widely debunked — does nothing to improve the lives of women."

The ICJ called upon the Indian Government to join the large majority of States and take immediate steps to end the practice of capital punishment, as prescribed by repeated United Nations General Assembly Resolutions.

The execution of four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case - Mukesh Singh(32), Akshay Kumar Singh(31) , Vinay Sharma(26) and Pawan Kumar Gupta(25) - was carried out at Tihar Jail, Delhi on Friday morning at 5. 30 AM. They were convicted for the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year old physiotherapist student in Delhi on December 16, 2012.

After the hanging, the family of the victim girl said "they got justice".