Does death penalty reduce crimes in the Philippines?
In the Philippine government’s fight against crime, can it be solved by the return of the death penalty in the Philippines? Is the death penalty the answer? as we promote justice for the victim?
Find out some of our misconceptions about this inhumane policy.
Note: The intentional homicide rate (or planned homicide) has dropped significantly since 2006 when there was no death penalty.
Fact vs. Fake about the death penalty
Fake
The death penalty will prevent crime.
Fact
There is no solid study confirming the effect of the death penalty on the prevalence of crime. The commission of a crime can be prevented by the certainty that the perpetrator will be caught and punished.
In the study involving 150 families of the victim, only 2.5% said they healed after the accused was hanged, and 20% explicitly said they did not heal.
With the death penalty, the poor are at a disadvantage.
1. 88.1% have low-wage jobs (e.g., laborers, construction workers, or farms)
2. 73.1% earn less than Php 10,000 per month.
3. 44.9% did not go to high school.
There were so many wrong convictions imposing death sentences in the past. In the case of People vs. Mateo, the Supreme Court said that of the 907 cases sentenced by the death penalty from 1993 to 2004, 71.77% or 651 of the convicts should not have been sentenced to death.
Source: @chrgovph via JJCICSI, IQF 5
Fake
The death penalty provides justice.
Fact
The execution of the accused did not bring relief to the victim’s family. It is also possible that the defendant will be misjudged.
In China
Despite the death penalty, cases related to illegal drugs continue to rise – even doubling from 2006 and 2011. 31,350 in 2006 and 69,751 in 2011.
Source: @chrgovph via JJCICSI, IQF 5
In Iran
The number of people hanged for crimes related to illegal drugs:
2010: 409
2011: 509
2012: 439
2013: 331
2014: 367
2015: 642
2016: 296
Despite this, drug users remained at over 2 million in 2015 in Iran.
Fake
The death penalty will solve the problem of illegal drugs.
Fact
Based on data from other countries, there is no clear link between the death penalty and the reduction of crimes related to illegal drugs.
You may want to read: