Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

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Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by Undaunted »

"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
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Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by Gaybutton »

I don't know which would be worse - execution or spending the rest of your life in a Thai prison.
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Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by mahjongguy »

I asked my partner: "after going nine years without any executions at all, why execute this particular guy?". He said this guy had killed three other times before he turned 18. This murder, committed at age 19, give them the opportunity to put an end to it.
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Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by Undaunted »

Award winning film depicting "Thailand's Last Executioner".

"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
Jun

Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by Jun »

I think execution is the optimum solution, IF the person concerned has committed multiple brutal murders AND the conviction is completely reliable.

The alternative is for the poor taxpayer to keep him in prison for another 60 years or so. Such unnecessary burden's on society should be prevented, where the evidence is overwhelming.

Of course, on the other hand, if there is any element of corruption in the investigating or prosecuting bodies, then of course there is a risk of some serious errors.
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Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by Captain Kirk »

If I did something really dreadful and got caught I would request the death penalty.
fountainhall

Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by fountainhall »

Jun wrote:I think execution is the optimum solution, IF the person concerned has committed multiple brutal murders AND the conviction is completely reliable . . . Of course, on the other hand, if there is any element of corruption in the investigating or prosecuting bodies, then of course there is a risk of some serious errors.
Aren't there several problems here? In how many cases where people have been accused of capital crimes in Thailand can anyone truthfully say the conviction is "completely reliable"? And in how many cases can it be said that there is no "element of corruption" by the investigating and/or prosecuting bodies? Frankly I haven't a clue. I can only base my comments on hearsay and reports in various media. We have to remember, though, that Thailand does not have a jury system. It relies solely on judges and evidence collected by the BIB. Can we put hands on hearts and state unequivocally that Thailand's law enforcement and judiciary have no taint of corruption? I can't.

Anyone remember the 2001 corruption case re Thaksin's first election as Prime Minister? There was a heated debate in the National Corruption Commission about the allegation that he had deliberately and illegally concealed many of his assets. Four years earlier when Deputy Prime Minister he had been found guilty by the same Commission of filing false asset statements. During the 2001 case, it was discovered that his housekeeper, gardener, security guard and another family retainer held shares in his companies worth Bt. 4.5 billion! Did anyone seriously believe they had actually purchased them? Of course they hadn't! Yet the Court ruled by 8 to 7 that this had been an honest mistake! The Constitutional Court which in prior cases had disbarred seven MPS for asset concealment, later upheld the decision.

Thaksin certainly had reason to underestimate his net worth as it enabled him to avoid a host of securities rules. Allegations of members of the Court being bribed in connection with the decision became rife.

What about the case of the 2014 murder of two young British tourists which rightly caused an outcry and led to concerns about Thailand's image as a tourist destination. There was tremendous pressure on law enforcement to find the culprits and quickly bring them to justice. Remember the speed at which two young Myanmar men were discovered, charged, convicted and given the death penalty? Remember that during the trial evidence was provided that the police had not sealed off the crime scene? Or that one of Australia's most renowned forensic experts proved that the DNA evidence could not be trusted and that the chain of command of DNA samples raised serious issues? Or that Thailand's best-known forensics scientist was another defense witness, telling the court her laboratory had tested and collected DNA from the alleged murder weapon, a hoe, and found the DNA did not match that of the two accused?

Yet the judges ruled the men were guilty. The case had been speedily solved. Impoverished immigrants had done it and no Thais were involved. Thailand could get back to the business of promoting tourism. Were these men guilty beyond any reasonable doubt? Of course not! Yet this was a multiple murder. Would anyone seriously interested in justice expect they should be put to death under those circumstances?
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Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote:in Thailand can anyone truthfully say the conviction is "completely reliable"?
While that is a good point, I don't think saying the conviction is "completely reliable" is completely valid anywhere. But in many cases, the answer is yes - it can be said the conviction is completely reliable.

Be that as it may, whether it can also be said the death penalty is really the appropriate punishment, that's another question.
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Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by fountainhall »

Gaybutton wrote:But in many cases, the answer is yes - it can be said the conviction is completely reliable.
I wish I could agree. But in any country like Thailand where corruption is so ingrained it is part of the very fabric of life, my view is different. I realise the case has not yet come to court - and may never do so because of the statute of limitations and the will of the government - but how is it that teams of police and Interpol have been seeking allegedly corrupt monks who have recently fled the country, yet the government made only a limited request to Interpol to find and extradite the multi-billionaire Red Bull heir who murdered a policeman and fled the scene? And that request was made several years after the crime! Asked about this some weeks after Interpol had been alerted, a government spokesman claimed Interpol could do little as the government did not have an overseas address for him! What? Can anyone seriously believe that? Interpol needs addresses before they try to find murderers? Corrupt BS in my book!
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Re: Thailand Resumes Executions in The Name of Peace

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote:Interpol needs addresses before they try to find murderers? Corrupt BS in my book!
I agree, but what does that have to do with the reliability of criminal convictions that generate the death penalty? I thought that was the point you were making.
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