Mandatory Death Penalty in Singapore
Freeing the noose: A Look Into the Mandatory Death Penalty in Singapore
The death penalty is a punishment reserved for the most heinous of crimes – "capital offences" such as murder or treason. These criminals will be put to death if found guilty of their crimes. The method most commonly used in jurisdictions today is that of lethal injection, where the criminal is administered a mixed dose of drugs (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) to sedate and then cause death. The drugs will first put the criminal to sleep, and then stop the breathing and eventually the heart.
Historically, most countries have at some point used the death penalty; in the modern world a minority of nations practise it and there is still no international consensus on the abolition of the death penalty. Across the world, 32 countries impose capital punishment for offences involving narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Of these, 13 countries prescribe mandatory death sentences for drug related offences – Singapore being one of them.
Singapore has had capital punishment since it was a British colony and became independent before the United Kingdom abolished capital punishment. The Singaporean procedure of hanging condemned individuals is heavily influenced by the methods formerly used in Great Britain. Each execution is carried out by hanging at Changi Prison at dawn on a Friday.
In Singapore, some of the offences that attract the mandatory death penalty include murder, certain firearms offences and drug trafficking etc. In 1973, Singapore introduced the Misuse of Drugs Act (“MDA”) and the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking was imposed in 1975. The high number of death sentences from drug trafficking is mainly due to the strong stand our Government takes against drug related offences as can be seen from the MDA. It is not surprising that of all the death sentences carried out over the years, most are for the offence of drug trafficking.
The death penalty is a punishment reserved for the most heinous of crimes – "capital offences" such as murder or treason. These criminals will be put to death if found guilty of their crimes. The method most commonly used in jurisdictions today is that of lethal injection, where the criminal is administered a mixed dose of drugs (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) to sedate and then cause death. The drugs will first put the criminal to sleep, and then stop the breathing and eventually the heart.
Historically, most countries have at some point used the death penalty; in the modern world a minority of nations practise it and there is still no international consensus on the abolition of the death penalty. Across the world, 32 countries impose capital punishment for offences involving narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Of these, 13 countries prescribe mandatory death sentences for drug related offences – Singapore being one of them.
Singapore has had capital punishment since it was a British colony and became independent before the United Kingdom abolished capital punishment. The Singaporean procedure of hanging condemned individuals is heavily influenced by the methods formerly used in Great Britain. Each execution is carried out by hanging at Changi Prison at dawn on a Friday.
In Singapore, some of the offences that attract the mandatory death penalty include murder, certain firearms offences and drug trafficking etc. In 1973, Singapore introduced the Misuse of Drugs Act (“MDA”) and the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking was imposed in 1975. The high number of death sentences from drug trafficking is mainly due to the strong stand our Government takes against drug related offences as can be seen from the MDA. It is not surprising that of all the death sentences carried out over the years, most are for the offence of drug trafficking.