Mexico City, Mexico, Aug 12, 2008 / 12:11 pm
The president of the College of Catholic Lawyers in Mexico, Armando Martinez, warned this week that implementing the death penalty in the country would constitute a step backwards in the area of human rights and said a better alternative would be to impose life sentences.
Speaking to reporters, Martinez explained the position of the College regarding the approval of the death penalty for kidnappers. “We think the death penalty deters absolutely nobody (from committing a crime). The option of life in prison needs to be studied. If it is not something that is not an infringement, we could accept it,” he said.
Martinez pointed to the United States as an example, where despite the use of the death penalty, “crime and violence continue to be rampant, with 14 year-olds murdering their peers.”
“The death penalty is punishment upon punishment, that is, we would be falling into vengeance, and when will it end? If you kill a criminal, there will be a sense of hatred and vengeance and it will be a circle that never ends,” Martinez argued.
He said that crime can be reduced through education and building a society in which the rule of law is respected.
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