New Delhi: Over 80% of prisoners facing death penalty have not completed secondary school and nearly 60% of them belong to economically vulnerable sections, the ‘Death Penalty India Report’ released on Friday said.
The study, conducted by researchers at the National Law University in Delhi, also found that a total of 241 persons out of the 385 death row inmates are first time offenders.
Further, the report said, three fourth of the prisoners facing capital punishment belong to backward classes and religious minorities. Dalits and Adivasis constitute 24.5% (90 prisoners) whereas members of religious minorities were over 20% (76 prisoners).
18 convicts were less than 18 years and 54 were in the 18-21 age groups when the crime was committed, it said.
Centre on Death Penalty of Delhi National Law University yesterday released the 'Death Penalty India Report' at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. The findings of the report are based on a study conducted from July 2013 to January 2015. A total 373 of all the 385 death row convicts, including 12 women, were interviewed during the period.
Speaking on the occasion, Supreme Court Judge Madan B Lokur said that the criminal justice system has huge problems and needs both procedural and substantive reforms as poor clients lack faith in legal aid lawyers.
He also said there was a need for reforming the police force which is in a bad shape and the recommendations for improving it have not been implemented, including reducing their burden.
“In most of the capital punishment cases, either the lawyers are not good enough or the accused is illiterate and hence it affects his defence. There are huge problems with the criminal justice system and needs a lot of reforms, both procedural and substantive,” he said.
The study found that 185 of the 191 prisoners who shared information didn’t have a lawyer during interrogation. Most of them claimed they had experienced custodial violence and were tortured in police custody.
Of the 373, 12 had been sentenced to death for non-homicidal crimes, which did not lead to the loss of life, including charges of terrorism and rape. Murder and murder with rape were the crimes for which 297 prisoners were convicted while terror offences accounted for 31 cases.
In Gujarat, 15 prisoners belong to religious minorities whereas in Maharashtra, 18 death row convicts are Dalits and Adivasis. In Kerala, 14 prisoners belong to economically vulnerable communities.
Meanwhile, a private member resolution was moved in the Rajya Sabha yesterday seeking abolition of capital punishment and an imposition of moratorium on all death sentences till the necessary amendments are made to the existing laws.
"The time has come for India to say emphatic NO to capital punishment by making amendments to various laws, which have provision for death penalty so as to abolish capital punishment in the country. Till that time, impose moratorium on execution of dealth sentences," D Raja of CPI said while moving the resolution.
Asserting that India should take a stand on this issue, Raja said the majority of the UN members have voted in support of the UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on dealth penalty and India is among the minority of member countries still voting against the resolution.
About 120 countries have abolished capital punishment and few of them have stopped the practice of execution, he added.
