LETTERS FROM MAWLEY...- 2

My regular readers would know that, long time back- in 2009 Feb, to be precise, I began a new venture inspired by "Jawaharlal Nehru's Letters to his daughter". However, my dear father had been quite busy all these while, even to write a letter to me! But here now, I have a letter, that I am not only sharing- just because this continues this series. But this is a letter, that makes me feel proud that I'm his daughter! Please read on and feel free to comment:

HUMAN ZOO – An Alternative to Capital Punishment

‘Rape’ is a heinous crime; it is not only an offence against the body but it maims the soul of the victim for the rest of her life. Our supreme court has observed that capital punishment (cp) s must be accorded in the rarest of the rare cases of heinous crimes.

The debate for and against capital punishment continues for eons.

Let it be so.

To my mind it appears that cp is not at all severe enough; the criminals involved in such cases, deserve a more severe punishment than cp. In fact, hanging, allows the culprits to pass out rather easily and without giving them time for remorse.Whenever we hear or read about the details of various heinous crimes- Priyadharshini mattoo,Madhumati shukla, and thousand such other cases,- rape and murder of foreign tourists, and Nithari killings our blood boils and we crave for proper retribution. But such rage proves to be rather a fleeting emotion and we are carried away by so many other tamaasha news- day in, day out; and by the way the culprit, escapes popular condemnation. This should not happen. I, therefore, feel that the ends of justice would be better served if we can device a punishment which would sustain the public rage and also accord the criminals, full time for remorse. I, therefore, suggest that we can create a Human Zoo ( in all the state capitals -- to start with) where such criminals can be kept in spacious cages, "barely clad, and absolutely unarmed", and beyond the reach of physical violence from the visitors. The details of their crime record must be prominently displayed in a hoarding outside their cages-along with whatever graphic representations as may be available …

Punishments for crimes are meant to act as deterrent towards commission of such crimes by others or by the same criminals in future. But fear of punishment will not be efficacious as a deterrent in cases where the crime is motivated by personal vendetta or by the desire to seek vengeance or to seek retribution for ‘ injustice’ suffered – real or imaginary… under such circumstances crimes are committed by persons who are in a state of

emotional imbalance and who are hardly in a position to think /reason out/ratiocinate …

( Such persons will not fall under the category ‘heinous’ criminals ) However , the deterrent value of punishment still holds good in cases of professional / mercenary criminals…in fact, the deterrent value will be directly proportional to the severity of the punishment … Therefore ,the visitors to the Human Zoos will be allowed to express their condemnation of the criminal acts, by any manner they like – of course without resorting to physical violence… A non-violent form of public stoning/lashes…( ? ) I am able to imagine that this will have tremendous ‘ effect’ on the ‘inmates’ and what is still more , this will have tremendous deterrent-value as a punishment vis-à-vis professional /mercenary-criminals...

After observing the working of this scheme for some time , certain years of incarceration in Human Zoo might even become an accepted form of punishment, as part of our criminal jurisprudence; all offences against humanity-- terrorism and corruption by people occupying powerful positions – must be accorded this punishment …How long are we going to watch criminals in powerful positions, waving to the crowd ‘happily’ and walking to the waiting van…?

We may also think of enhancing the deterrent value of such punishment; perhaps we may think of transferring such convict-inmates, to different Zoos, every year, so that they are given wider public view…

The convicts in the Human Zoo shall not be allowed the facility of private visitors nor private communication of any kind..; they will be served a frugal and bland diet and if they fall ill, only simple symptomatic treatment will be given and that too within the Zoo Complex; they will not be entitled for cozy hospitalization and treatment…

This is only a virgin thought, and I agree that the idea can be further elaborated and refined towards achieving operational efficiency… I may , however, hasten to add that while those who plead for abolition of Death Penalty are apparently ( mistakenly ) motivated by their compassion for the culprit, my suggestion is impelled by my compassion for the victims…

Love,

Mawley