ONE of Papua New Guinea’s oldest political parties the Peoples Progress Party (PPP) has welcomed the Parliament’s decision to do away with death penalty as a punishment for serious crimes.
National president Sumasy Singin said the death penalty was “a draconian and primitive law” that has not proven to be a deterrent to serious crimes anywhere in the world.
Mr. Singin said PPP has always opposed the death penalty with one of its founding members and former Middle Fly MP Warren Dutton, who strongly opposed capital punishment in any form.
“in the 21st Century Papua New Guinea cannot be resorting to a most primitive and barbaric act against Christian principles that God is the giver and taker of life”, he said.
Mr. Singin said the repealing of the death penalty law in PNG is in line with the 1977 United Nations general Assembly (UNGA) resolution and desire to progressively restrict the number of offences for which the death penalty might be imposed, with a view to the desirability of abolishing this form of punishment.
A former senior government lawyer and diplomat, Mr. Singin said Parliament has done the right thing to repeal the death penalty provision in the criminal code in line with similar actions by many other nations.
On Thursday January 20, 2021, Parliament made changes to the crimi9nal code and replaced it with life imprisonment for crimes that previously carried the death penalty.
With the removal of the death penalty, it means that those who have received it will serve life sentences with some eligible for parole after serving 30 years.
The amendment to the death penalty provision by Justice Minister Bryan Kramer received majority of support from the MPs presented in the Chamber”.
Speaking in support of the changes for PNG to do away with the death penalty. Prime Minister James Marape said the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime.
Mr. Marape said that experiences worldwide have shown that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent in solving many of the serious crimes. Meanwhile, all MPs who debated on the amendments spoke against the death penalty.
