NA deputies have urged the government to instruct concerned ministries to produce drugs for lethal injection as the the long delay on death row has created huge pressure for prisoners.
Despite being ratified in 2009, the regulation on the use lethal injections instead of firing squads for prisoners sentenced to death has not yet been applied due to the lack of drugs.
Currently, a total number of 508 prisoners in Vietnam have been sentenced to death by lethal injection. However, the long delay on death row has meant three have died of disease, three others have committed suicide and some others have petitioned authorities to fast track their death sentences.
Deputy Huynh Nghia from Danang City
At a discussion of National Assembly deputies on November 1, Deputy Tran Van Do in An Giang Province blamed the delayed use of lethal injection on the agencies which are responsible for compiling the Revised Penal Code for not carefully studying the availability of the drugs.
“If we fail to import the drug, the government needs to produce it. This is possible,” Do noted.
Deputy Pham Van Ha from Nghe An Province said despite extensive training and available facilities nothing had progressed on the issue despite the government issuing the decree on the issue in 2011.
The late enforcement has created huge pressure, Ha noted, saying that the government should take immediate action.
According Deputy Huynh Nghia from Danang City, the government should continue the use of firing squads for prisoners while waiting for the drugs to become available. He also emphasised that this was a serious lesson for the government when considering draft laws before the submission to the National Assembly.
“The government needs to instruct the Ministries of Health and Public Security to urgently produce this kind of drug in 2013. Strict management methods for prisoners should be also applied to avoid the escape and suicide,” Nghia said.
Earlier, Deputy Dinh Xuan Thao from Hanoi said the Revised Penal Code should allow both the application of shooting and lethal injection. According to Thao, countries which produce the toxin do not want to sell it to Vietnam because they know that Vietnam would apply it to prisoners facing the death penalty.
Mr. Thao suggested a maxim restriction on the number of prisoners facing the death penalty, except for those who commit serious crimes. Instead life sentence should be more widely applied.