Duterte prefers hanging over lethal injection

DAVAO CITY, Philippines- In a meeting with 17 congressmen on Tuesday, June 7, President-elect Rodrigo Duterte revealed his plans to restore death penalty by hanging.

The maverick leader favors hanging over lethal injection.
The maverick leader favors hanging over lethal injection. PHOTO CREDIT: Japandailypress.com
Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, one of the lawmakers present during the meeting, said the 71-year-old politician favors hanging over lethal injection.

"Hindi daw nakakatakot yung lethal kasi patutulugin mo. Samantalang yung hanging makikita mong nagkakawag-kawag doon," Suarez told ABS-CBN News.

(Lethal injection will not instill fear because you will make the person sleep. Unlike hanging, you’ll see the person wriggling to death.)

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During a press conference on May 15, Duterte has expressed his intention to reintroduce death penalty by hanging as capital punishment for criminals who commit “heinous crimes” as well as those involved in illegal drug trade and gun-for-hire syndicates.

The outspoken mayor of Davao City said: “If there is no fear in the law, wala yan. Yung hanging, once the spine is ripped off inside, wala na. Just like putting off a light.”

Moreover, the maverick leader is also considering death penalty for corrupt officials found guilty of plunder.

Duterte’s record as the crime-fighting mayor of Davao City for almost two decades has earned him the moniker The Punisher. Human Rights Watchdogs has blamed him and the so-called “Davao death squad” for the killing of hundreds of criminals in the city, which was once notorious for its lawlessness.

Death penalty for heinous crimes like murder and rape is allowed under the 1987 Constitution and was restored under the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos. According to the Commission on Human Rights, it was carried out 7 times under President Joseph Estrada.

However, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo repealed the death penalty in 2006 prior to her trip to Vatican for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

--Mini, The Summit Express



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