University of San Agustin

College of Law
Gen. Luna Street, Iloilo City

Death Penalty: Not the Way To Go

A position paper against the reimposition of death penalty in the Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements In
Natural Law II

Presented to:
Atty. David Bermudo

Presented by:
Sharmaine P. Nuevaespaa
LLB 1-D

March 2017

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Lack of evidence of its deterrent effect

Punitive policies have little influence on the prevalence of drug use. According to the
research conducted by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, countries that have enacted harsh
laws and implemented widespread arrests and imprisonment of drug users, even imposing death
sentences, do not lower the levels of drug use and related problems than countries with more
tolerant approaches. Prof. Bobby Tuazon, Director for Policy Studies of the Center for People
Empowerment in Governance (CenPeg), said there is no scientific evidence that proves capital
punishment can deter crimes, including drug-related cases.

In Indonesia, convicted drug offenders are sentenced to death. However, despite the
imposition of capital punishment, the number of drug users increased to 5.9 million in 2015 from
3.5 million in 2011. In Iran, authorities have admitted the failure of capital punishment in
reducing drug trafficking in their country. When drug offenses were still punishable by death,
thousands of people have been executed since 1959. People most likely to be accused, sentenced
and executed are those from disadvantaged groups like foreign nationals, the less privileged and
ethnic minorities. The authorities themselves have admitted that the death penalty has done little
to tackle Irans drug problem. According to Irans Center for Strategic Research, the death
penalty has failed to reduce drug trafficking in the country. In the United States, States with no
death penalty have lower murder rates compared to those with death penalty as shown in Graph 1
below.

Insert graph here

According to the annual drug reports published by the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crimes (UNODC), the number of people who are using drugs globally has overall remained
stable, while harsh punishments have not eliminated or reduced either drug trafficking nor drug
use.

As suggested by UNODC, the use of illicit drugs in Asia is at levels similar to or below
the global average. However despite the intention of deterring the use, possession and trafficking
of drugs through the criminalization of drug-related conducts, evidence has shown that such
policies encourage and perpetuate high-risk drug use behaviors. Moreover, these policies have
promoted a stigmatized approach towards people who use drugs, usually considered to be ill or
criminals, which has segregated and further marginalized this sector of the population. Punitive
approaches to drug-related offenders worsen the discriminatory practices against people who use
drugs, denying them access to health care, treatment and rehabilitation.

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