The Death Penalty : For or Against?

There are many arguments for and against the death penalty.

For

- Justice (prevents vigilance)

- Deterrent

- safety

- Cheaper

- Prisoner cannot escape

Against

- Universal DHR

- Innocent

- Does not necessarily stop crime

- Encourages violent crime

I personally vote to retain the death penalty but get rid of the mandatory death sentence. Although I vote to keep the death penalty, I think that it should not be the first choice of punishment but rather the last resort.

Should Different Offences Be Given One Fixed Punishment?

We do not think that there should be one fixed punishment for different offences. Each crime is committed by someone for different reasons
There is a wide range of offences in this world, there should not be one fixed punishment for the different offences this is because some are severe and some are not. Also the range of people that do this crimes. and the reason why these people did it. Depends on why the person did it.
For Example, if someone who is hungry stole one bun from a bakery because he is starving and needs it for his live, I personally do not think he should be punished but instead should be helped. This person is perfectly innocent and is just trying to keep himself alive.
But if there someone who would steal a bun for the fun of it, that is an actual crime.

My Reflection on Visiting the Palace of Justice

Palace of Justice

The visit to the Palace of Justice was very interesting. I learnt a lot about the Judicial System of Malaysia. Before I did not know much about the law and the court systems or how it works, now I understand it better and know a lot more. During the question and answer session in the conference room, I found out many things about the death sentence in Malaysia. Apparently about 12 people get hanged a month! I never knew the scale of how many people were being sentenced to death in Malaysia. That was quite shocking but good to know.

It was also great experience to be able to witness a court in session. I got to see what happens in a court and learn about the seating arrangements and etiquette in the court room. It was very weird and a bit scary to see the cells where the criminals are detained. The cells are located at the back of the court room, the criminals would be there then brought to the court by the prison guards when they are called or needed.
I think everyone was very honored that we were the first school to visit and be allowed in to the courts. It was a good experience that I will remember.

Main Crimes/Offences in Malaysia

One of the big issues in Malaysia is baby abandonment. Many babies are found dumped in the garbage, in a mosque, in the river and even just by the roadside. This happens a lot because whenever a person conceives a baby without being married, she is scared and ashamed so when the baby is born, she ends up throwing away the baby.

This is an article from the Malaysia Crime Watch website.

31 May 2010
Kulaijaya

A newborn baby girl was found alive and had her umbilical cord still attached when she was left in a milk box at a bus stop along Jalan Air Hitam-Johor Baru near SMK Munsyi Abdullah yesterday morning. The baby died 30 minutes later at the Kulai Hospital after a passerby rushed her there.

40-year-old labourer Zulkifli Samsi, father of three, was nearby at 4:50am when he saw a man behaving suspiciously, left a box on the bus stop seat and took off in a Proton Wira vehicle.

When Zulkifli examined the contents of the box, he was surprised to find the baby with her fingers moving. Although he managed to rush the baby to the hospital, the doctors who received her said she was hardly breathing and pronounced her dead at 5:30am.

Kulaijaya police chief Zulkefly Yahya urged those with information on the baby or the man to contact the Kulaijaya district police headquarters at 07-6637222 or the Johor police hotline at 07-2212999.

This is just one of the many cases of people abandoning their babies. Teen pregnancy is one of the major contributing factors.

“Last year 392 births were recorded and of the total, 62 of those who delivered such babies were below 18 years. This year (July), 301 cases have been reported, of which 34 involved those under 18,” - the malaysian insider

This statistic gives more of an understanding to why this happens. Many of the reported cases are usually because of teen pregnancy. I think the reason why this happens is because of the lack of education in Malaysia. If more teenagers receive the proper education, then they will be better informed more aware of how to take care of themselves and also know what to do if they happen to become pregnant.

Even though it is a crime in Malaysia, many people still abandon their babies and it is very difficult to find out where the baby came from. Therefore the number of cases of baby abandonment in Malaysia is increasing.

Crime List

Offences List

(-) my vote / - group vote

• Shoplifting (6) 6
• Breaking into a car (3) 5
• Picking a fight (8) 8
• Drink driving (1,2) 2
• Driving under the influence of drugs (1,2) 1
• Solvent abuse (4) 4
• Urinating against a wall (9) 9
• Doing a paper round at the age of 11 (10) 10
• Shouting racist abuse (5) 3
• Being sold alcohol in a bar whilst under the age limit (7) 7

I found it not too easy to rate the offences myself because I was considering which would have the worst consequence and for some of the offences the consequences would be different for different people. It was not too difficult to agree on rating the offences because some of us had the same results and we agreed after we discussed. The offence that caused the most discussion was the offence of racist abuse. Some of us thought that racism is not that serious because it depended on how the victim took it. But, most of us thought that racism was close to the top of the list after driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In the end we agreed that racism should come after drunk driving. A few factors that need to be considered when looking at people's perceptions of crime and offences are where they live and how old they are.

Which of these are crimes?

I think that all of them are crimes except doing a paper round at the age of 11

Which of them, if any, are victimless?

I don't think any of them are victimless, because all of the offences have victims.

What kinds of punishments would you give to these offences?

Shoplifting - 2 months of prison

Breaking into a car - 6 months of prison

Picking a fight - fine

Drink driving - prison and a fine

Driving under the influence of drugs - prison and a fine

Solvent abuse - prison

Urinating against a wall - a fine

Doing a paper round at the age of 11 -

Racist abuse - Prison

Being sold alcohol when underage - prison and a fine

Repeat offenders should be given a heavier punishment than the one before.

Crime is an offense against the law. When you commit a crime you are disobeying the law. The victim of a crime can have different reactions. Some have no problem after experiencing a terrible crime, while others are affected by minor things.

Some Surprising Facts about Crime!

• You're 66 times more likely to be prosecuted in the USA than in France

• If you're in Montserrat, watch your back! Nearly 1% of the population are police officers.

• Per capita, South Africa has the most assaults, rapes, and murders with firearms.

• Two-thirds of the world's executions occur in China.

• America puts many more of its citizens in prison than any other nation.

• Two-thirds of the world's kidnappings occur in Colombia.

• Venezuela is one of the happiest and most murderous places in the world.

• Russia has almost twice as many judges and magistrates as the United States. Meanwhile, the United Stateshas 8 times as much crime.

• In the Maldives, there are more than 2 jails for every 1000 people.

• One in every three Australians is a victim of crime.

• In pure number terms, more crimes are committed in America than in any other nation. The same goes forburglaries, car thefts, rapes and assaults.

• The United States puts 0.7 % of its population in Prison - a vastly higher percentage than any other nation.

• India’s criminal courts acquitted over a million defendants in 1999, more than the next 48 surveyed countries combined.

• Women make up more than 10% of the prison population in only six countries: Thailand, , Qatar, Paraguay,Costa Rica, and Singapore.

• People trust Swedes! Swedish companies are the world’s least-likely to be perceived as paying bribes.

• 84% of people in Finland feel that they are at a low risk of experiencing a burglary - but just look at how many burglaries they have!

Law & Criminality

To me, law can be many things. It can be a list of rules to maintain order, or even something to protect us and give us justice. Laws are necessary to keep things in order. If someone were to go against the law they will be punished for it. With that said, even though law is very important, it should not be too restricting and unfair. If a certain country were to have a thousand laws restricting their citizens, they would not care or respect the law anymore. Also, it is only right that the person enforcing the law should also obey the law.

Here are a few quotes that support my view on law.

• If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for law - Winston Churchill
• An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so. - Mahatma Ghandi
• The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest in justice. - Benjamin Franklin
• Law and justice are not always the same. - Gloria Steinem
• No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we ask him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right, not as a favour. - Theodore Rosevelt