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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that executing drug smugglers is not necessary

134 replies

Krystalcastles · 01/11/2021 17:30

They deserve prison time, absolutely, but I think execution over it is a step too far.
I’ve been reading about the grandmother Lindsay Sandiford who has been sentenced to the death penalty despite others involved being released already. She has no set execution date but has lost several appeals.
Indonesia sent two young Australian males to the firing squad after keeping them on death row for 10 years. Why keep somebody on death row for so long if you’re just going to execute them.

I do not think they deserved to be executed, even if they did deserve prison time.

OP posts:
BobMortimersPetOwl · 01/11/2021 19:10

I don't think execution is ever warranted.

However, if you visit a place where execution is carried out and commit a serious crime, you're an imbecile.

SofiaMichelle · 01/11/2021 19:20

If you've ever been to Indonesia you'll know it's explicitly spelled out to you:

Before you board the flight
Before you leave the flight
Before you go through immigration
Before you collect your baggage
Before you go through customs

That the death penalty is imposed for drug trafficking.

You cannot possibly not know what you're getting into.

PurpleDaisies · 01/11/2021 19:22

People shouldn’t execute people, in this country or in others. I disagree with the death penalty for any reason in any country.

rrhuth · 01/11/2021 19:24

I oppose the death penalty full stop.

Kendodd · 01/11/2021 19:28

I don't support the death penalty for any crime.
Shocked that 30% of posters do support the cold blooded killing of anyone.

Tara336 · 01/11/2021 19:31

I haven’t thought too deeply whether I agree to the death penalty or not. But if you visit or live in a country you abide by their laws and if you decide to break those laws then you have to accept the consequences. I’m one of those people that feels guilty when i walk through nothing to declare when I really do have nothing to declare, so I’d be a bloody nervous wreck visiting somewhere like Indonesia

drpet49 · 01/11/2021 19:34

YABU- they knew full well what they were doing. Time to race the consequences.

Damnloginpopup · 01/11/2021 19:35

20 year old kid I knew overdosed and died here last week.

PurpleDaisies · 01/11/2021 19:39

@drpet49

YABU- they knew full well what they were doing. Time to race the consequences.
It clearly didn’t stop them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the death penalty shown to be an effective deterrent against anything.
MrsTerryPratchett · 01/11/2021 19:44

I don't agree with the death penalty.

For those worried about planting, a cheap solution is to buy cheap garden ties (colourful if you can) and pack you bag yourself and tie every zip with these. As you receive your bag, check the tags and if they are missing, call over an official before opening it and tell them the bag has been tampered with. With witnesses if possible.

StoneofDestiny · 01/11/2021 19:45

I disagree with the death penalty in all circumstances. It's not even a deterrent! If it was there would be nobody smuggling drugs. Like in any criminal activity, people just think they won't get caught and think the risk is worth it for the financial reward.

Sittingonabench · 01/11/2021 19:47

The pros and cons of the death penalty is a very tricky topic and I do think it has a place or at least that the discussion of it having a place on the justice system is valuable. This is because I believe quite strongly that in our system the victims needs are placed lower than the criminals need for rehabilitation (which I accept can happen in most instances of minor crimes). I agree it is excessive for drug smuggling however also agree that a country should be able to make their own laws and give a punishment that is deemed appropriate by them. Deterrent is one aspect and I don’t know how Indonesia tracks whether the death penalty in their country is effective as a deterrent.

NoDecentHandlesLeft · 01/11/2021 19:51

I don't agree that anyone should be executed, regardless of how horrific their crimes are. I think it should be abolished, worldwide. (but that's an issue for another thread)
If you smuggle drugs into a country that has the death penalty for drug smuggling, you can't expect anything else really.

ClareBlue · 01/11/2021 19:52

The rewards for getting drugs into Indonesia are huge because most won't risk it. The severe penalties that restrict supply make it a high risk, high reward Business even more than usual with drugs. These guys took the risk and lost but we're prepared to do it for the rewards. It does deter most but some are still prepared to risk it. If you come from a country that doesn't have the death penalty you probably think it will never happen, but it does.
You can smuggle people for forced sex industry or illegal immigration for similar cash with a lot less risk of getting caught and lot lower penalties, from these regions.

Shade17 · 01/11/2021 19:52

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes

MrsTerryPratchett · 01/11/2021 19:54

The pros and cons of the death penalty is a very tricky topic

Not really. It's not a deterrent, it's applied in a way that's often racist, it's barbaric for the state to kill, it's torture psychologically and therefore shouldn't happen, and you can't repeal it so it's often an uncorrectable miscarriage.

Bad all around.

WeRTheOnesWeHaveBeenWaitingFor · 01/11/2021 19:56

You can’t use the argument that innocent people will die but the smugglers knew the risks when the people taking the drugs also know the risks. The smugglers are the ones who take all the risk ms and get the least reward, they are often trafficked/coerced/abused. Many have learning difficulties or are in debt. I’ve heard stories of girls being cut open to get the drugs they have smuggled internally.

MurielSpriggs · 01/11/2021 20:03

No, drug smugglers absolutely should not be executed in my view. Abhorrent.

rrhuth · 01/11/2021 20:04

@MrsTerryPratchett

The pros and cons of the death penalty is a very tricky topic

Not really. It's not a deterrent, it's applied in a way that's often racist, it's barbaric for the state to kill, it's torture psychologically and therefore shouldn't happen, and you can't repeal it so it's often an uncorrectable miscarriage.

Bad all around.

Agree it is not complex at all, it is completely morally unacceptable.

The risk of miscarriages of justice alone make it unacceptable.

PurpleDaisies · 01/11/2021 20:05

The pros and cons of the death penalty is a very tricky topic and I do think it has a place or at least that the discussion of it having a place on the justice system is valuable.

It really isn’t. People shouldn’t execute other people. That’s the end of it.

DroopyClematis · 01/11/2021 20:07

@Chloemol

I don’t agree with the death penalty, I also believe people should be jailed for their full sentence

That said each country has the right to make its own laws. You chose to break them you accept the penalty

And I also believe drug smugglers are murderers, thousand die a year from drug abuse

This.
Eastie77Returns · 01/11/2021 20:23

I’m opposed to the death penalty in theory but I wouldn’t lose a great deal of sleep over a child killer getting a lethal injection.

I read Sandiford originally said she was coerced into trafficking by a gang who threatened her sons and then admitted she’d made that story up and implicated three other British expats instead. I gather she is resigned to her fate and she just wants the whole thing to be over with which I can understand.

The huge amount of drugs she was bringing into the country would likely have helped destroy hundreds of lives but she doesn’t deserve the death penalty.

MrsTerryPratchett · 01/11/2021 20:33

And I also believe drug smugglers are murderers, thousand die a year from drug abuse

Start with the brewers, distillers and drug company executives then. Because alcohol and 'legal' fentanyl cause massively more deaths.

Floralnomad · 01/11/2021 20:39

I disagree with the death penalty . That said I have very little sympathy with drug smugglers and if other countries want to impose life sentences that sits ok with me . With regards to them being on death row for 10 yrs people in the USA are on death row for longer than that .

wallowmall · 01/11/2021 20:44

I do find the death penalty tricky, if someone killed my child would I want them to get 20 years or less & then get out? nope