54% of Lagos residents want death row convicts executed
The survey showed 54 per cent of those polled said the government should not spare the convicts.
The revelation came as the government announced Wednesday that it was
retaining the use of the death penalty in the state’s Criminal Justice
Law.
Ade Ipaye, Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Mr. Ipaye said the council arrived at the decision after a survey
showed that majority of Lagos residents were in support of capital
punishment in the criminal justice system of the state.
The attorney-general said majority of the respondents were of the
view that the retention of the death penalty would serve as deterrence
against violent crimes, such as murder and armed robbery.
Mr. Ipaye said following several abolition campaigns and
international advocacy which were addressed to the government, the
council considered the proposition to abolish or retain the death
penalty in its laws.
“In taking its decision, the state commissioned an empirical research
that surveyed the perception of Lagos residents and elicited their
opinion on the abolition debate, including the question whether they
believe the death penalty currently deters violent crime.
“The survey was undertaken in two categories: public survey (random
selection of 2,000 members of the public) and the experts’ survey
(selected 100 persons who have close contact with the criminal justice
process and systems).
“Majority of the respondents surveyed supported the use of the death penalty in Lagos State.
“The survey also revealed that over 54 per cent of the respondents
advised the Lagos State Government to execute convicts on death row,”
Mr. Ipaye said.
According to him, a large number of respondents also believed that
the death penalty should be retained because it serves positive
retributive and deterrence purposes.
(NAN)
No comments:
Post a Comment