The criteria for criminal execution was changed due to an overwhelming consensus from deputies. Rather than using a firing squad, execution will now be carried out by use of lethal injection.
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| A majority of deputies agreed that the death penalty should be carried out by lethal injection (Photo by Viet Hung) |
Discussing the draft law on the Enforcement of Criminal Verdicts at the ongoing National Assembly's session, 30 groups of deputies agreed that this method should be used while 9 groups supported the firing squad and 9 other groups wanted to keep both methods.
Deputy Nguyen Van Tuyet, from Yen Bai Province, said that there are now 8 methods of capital punishment in the world. Trends in most of the world have long been to move towards more humane execution methods and he supported this method because it is considered humane by international standards.
However, Deputy Pham Xuan Thuong, from Thai Binh Province, had a different opinion from Deputy Tuyet. He was concerned that lethal injection would not be a strong deterrent given increasingly savage, cruel, and complicated crimes, especially those that are drug-related.
Le Thi Nga from Thai Nguyen Province argued that execution is a deterrant, not the method used to execute.
As a person serving in the health care sector, Deputy Minster of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien (deputy from Ha Tinh Province) said that there should be open regulations for more organ donors who been sentenced to death with an aim of serving medical research and saving patients.
A majority of deputies gave the nod to lethal injection and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly requested that the National Assembly put bill into effect. However, the Assembly was also asked to delay the date when the bill goes into effect to July 1, 2011, in order to have enough time to prepare regulations.
Regarding returning the bodies of prisoners sentenced to death back to their families, many deputies agreed with the bill, which allows their relatives to receive the dead bodies after 3 years of burial, yet some of them were still against it.
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| Deputy Tran Ba Thieu said, “It’s also very painful to the family of prisoners facing the death penalty, they lost their relative just as we do” (Photo by Viet Hung) |
The Standing Committee of the National Assembly explained that allowing relatives to receive the dead bodies may cause disorder in society and create issues such as dead body preservation and organising burial services. However, due to the fact that it has not been allowed, stealing the remains of prisoners has occurred in the past.
Deputy Tran Ba Thieu, from Hai Phong City, said that most families want to receive their relative's dead bodies. However, Thieu recommended issuing regulations on not returning dead bodies of those who were leaders of gangster groups and in the case that dead bodies were returned, family's of prisoners who were executed must bury the remains immediately without conducting funeral rites.
Chairman of the Lawyers Association, Pham Quoc Anh (deputy from Dong Nai Province), recommended cremating immediately after execution and returning ashes to the family.
