ID: HR19-977
Presenting author: Y.S.R. Murthy
Y.S.R. Murthy
The paper will address the issue of death penalty for drug-related offences in Asia. The focus of the paper is on assessing whether the retention of death penalty for drug offences in the region has masked the analysis of the real issues concerning both drug use and its trade, which are also crimes attracting death penalty in numerous Asian countries. Globally, the voice for abolition of death penalty for drug offences has been growing louder. Simultaneously, there has been a victim-oriented shift in the manner of dealing with drug-related offences from a sanction-based approach to a health-based one.
However, there are still certain broader questions which need to be addressed, particularly, what are the alternatives to the present practice of handing out death sentences, which may be better suitable to address the underlying issues associated with drug use and its trade?
Therefore, in the paper, first, a mapping research exercise will be conducted identifying Asian countries which provide for the death penalty for drug offences. Thereafter, the paper will evaluate patterns of relationship between the various kinds of drug offences and the death penalty as a punishment which is endorsed by the seriousness with which these countries view such offences. As the present punitive practice has evidently failed to deter drug offences, the paper will also explore the various alternatives implemented internationally, especially under the contemporary harm reduction framework, which have been successful in addressing the issues surrounding drug offences in a holistic manner. In doing so, it will particularly focus on the harm-reduction mechanisms in India and their efficacy in view of the disparity in law, while asking the question does death penalty actually distracts the crucial difference between a drug offender and drug addict?