Indian activist: The Pope's words on the death penalty and life in prison, a stimulus for reform
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - The Pope "unambiguously
denounced the cruelty and brutality of the abuses that are committed in prison.
Has made it clear that life imprisonment is a sentence of death in
disguise and has pointed the
finger firmly against those
states that carry out inhumane practices such as preventive detention and torture. In a
context such as India, where these
evils are rampant, his words give
strength to the Catholic Church. I
hope that soon it will address the issue of reform of the judicial system", says Arun Ferreira. The activist for Dalits and tribal rights was imprisoned for
four years on false charges, from
2007 to 2011, where he was often a victim
of torture.
Commenting to AsiaNews on the
speech given yesterday by Pope Francis to the International
Association of Criminal
Law, Ferreira said: "Although worldwide there has
been a growing movement for the abolition of death penalty, many abolistionists
have advocated an erroneous alternative as imprisonment for the whole of one's
natural life. In my recently published prison memoir, 'Colours of the Cage' [click here]
I have through an anecdote of a prisoner sentenced to more than 70 years sought
to bring forth how such incarceration is even worse than death".
Asghar, the name of the offender,
"was the only Muslim detainee. Jailed on
charges of helping a terrorist
to blow up a
piece of railroad in the vicinity
of Mumbai, before
prison he was a florist and a private
driver. In jail,
he worked as gardener and keeping the gallows clean. Despite the grim task he
was expected to do, he was extremely friendly and witty. He often said he would have preferred a death sentence rather than life in prison. A death instant, he said, would end the suffering
of his family and would allow them to
start over".
The Pope, says the activist, "has exposed ambiguities and has strongly argued that life imprisonment is a death sentence in disguise. As the Pope pointed out, this is not a viable alternative."
.png)
