Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The death penalty or capital punishment continues to be mentioned in the latest draft of the Criminal Code Bill (RKUHP) that was handed over by the government to the House of Representatives (DPR) on Wednesday. The death penalty under the RKUHP is mentioned in Articles 67, 98, 99, 100, 101, and 102.

"The death penalty is charged as an alternative as a last resort to prevent criminal acts from being committed and protect the community," said Article 98 of the RKUHP.

The technical provisions for the implementation of the death penalty are contained in Article 99. Then Article 100 regulates the death penalty with a probationary period of 10 years.

"If the convict during the probationary period as referred to in paragraph (1) shows a commendable attitude and action, the death penalty can be changed to life imprisonment by a Presidential Decree after receiving consideration from the Supreme Court," Article 100 paragraph (4) reads.

These sets of Articles were previously criticized by the civil society coalition The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), which calls for the death penalty article to be abolished as it contradicts with human rights values. ICJR reminded the government that two-thirds of the world's countries have also abolished the death penalty.

During a discussion in 2020 regarding the abolishment of the death penalty, ICJR executive director Erasmus Napitupulu argues that the impact of the country imposing a death sentence on a person is a form of torture as he said most of the death row inmates eventually die in prison due to stress.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1609607/death-penalty-continue-to-exist-in-latest-criminal-code-bil