Letter to the Editor - Death of inmates marked the world day against death penalty

Recent news bannered the alleged escape of four inmates at the New Bilibid Prison. All the escapees were killed. One of them was seen taken alive and handcuffed by the authorities. Later on the authorities claimed he tried to escape again and so he was shot and killed.

It was an unfortunate incident that happened to mark the World Day Against Death Penalty. The day's celebration was meant to impart into the consciousness of the public that death as a final sentence to a person guilty of heinous crime does not solve criminality.

An eye for an eye… a tooth for a tooth (or a death for death committed), was a commandment of the Old Testament that has been changed by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. No person is born evil; rather all persons are born with the innate goodness in their heart.

Restorative justice, the alternative to death penalty, is meant to redeem the goodness that was once in the convicted person. What the convicted person needs is the help to re-discover this lost goodness and give it a chance to remake himself or herself.

What could have motivated the four inmates to escape? It could be fear of death coming. They wanted to reclaim their lives; instead they met an early death.

Given the circumstances of the arrest of the last person who was captured and handcuffed prior to his death, there is a need to investigate those who have held him in custody. For how could a man in handcuffs and surrounded by armed policemen be able to grab a gun and attempt to run away? This could be another incident of exacting an unlawful death by men sworn to uphold the law against their defenseless victim.

Leonor B. Gomez
Deputy Director for Operations
TFDP Visayas