World

Delhi rape case: Capital punishment isn't justice

September 14, 2013
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Yesterday, the four men convicted of raping and killing a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi were sentenced to death. As the news was delivered to crowds waiting outside the courtroom, they erupted in cheers—“Justice, justice!” they shouted. The crime these men committed was truly horrific; beyond comprehension—but the death penalty is not the same as justice. Justice would be taking real measures to make sure this doesn't happen again.

On Friday, the judge described how the case had “shocked the collective conscience” of India. Indeed, the shock spread far beyond India, drawing a global spotlight to widespread sexual violence in the country. With the increased media interest, there are now constant reports of sexual assaults in Indian newspapers. Just last month, a photojournalist was gang raped while working in Mumbai, and a policewoman was hauled from her family’s car and raped by a group of men wielding axes. The government estimates that a woman is raped somewhere in India every 20 minutes.

Against this backdrop, public emotion is, rightly, running high. The case of the student prompted nationwide protests. Under huge pressure to improve women’s rights and increase their legal protections, the government rushed through new laws under which those convicted of the most serious rape offences could be sentenced to death.

There was further anger when one of the men convicted of the crime, a teenager, was sentenced to just three years in prison, the maximum sentence for a minor in India. In sentencing the other men, here was a chance for the court to redeem itself. The media and public were looking to this case to see how hard the government and justice system were prepared to crack down on sexual violence against women. Given the context, it was almost inevitable that these men, once convicted, would be sentenced to death.

It is absolutely right that India took to the streets over this case, and that the government responded. India took one step forward when it created tougher laws to address sexual abuse, including harsher sentences. But it took one step back again when it enshrined the death penalty in those laws. Until 2012, nobody had been executed in India for a decade. It's regrettable that executions are now on the rise again. It is established that capital punishment does little to deter crime—and as we’ve seen, it hasn’t so far deterred it here, either. What India needs is not more executions but sustained and serious attempts to change deeply-entrenched attitudes towards women. Let's hope that now follows.