Wednesday 21 January 2009

Death Penalty Back in Uganda

Uganda's Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is constitutional, overturning an ruling by a lower court. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7841749.stm
In 2005, in Kigula, 400 death row inmates won a case in the Constitutional Court seeking to abolish the death penalty. Although the death penalty has not been used since 1999, the court said it acted as a deterrent to murder. The judges asked parliament to consider another means of execution other than hanging. 'I would agree with the respondents that hanging as a method of execution as it is carried out in Uganda is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment', Justice Egonda-Ntende said. The judges agreed with the lower court that it was unreasonable to keep people on death row for more than three years.
Thanks to Mark Warren.

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