India defends its rarely used death penalty

New Delhi, NOV. 21 (dpa/GNA) - Two days before Mumbai terrorist Ajmal Kasab was hanged Wednesday, India voted against a United Nations General Assembly draft resolution that called for the abolition of the death penalty.   There have only been two executions since 1995: that of Dhananjay Chatterjee found guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl, who was hanged in 2004; and now Kasab, convicted of mass murder and waging war against India.   The Supreme Court in 1983 ruled that the death penalty should be handed down only in the "rarest of rare" cases, and indicated that the judge - there are no jury trials - must be compelled by exceptional circumstances to take such a decision.   Capital crimes in India include murder, abetting a child's suicide, terrorism, waging war against the country, a second conviction for drug trafficking, "honour" killings and, for policemen, involvement in staged killings.   The system provides convicts with several appeals before execution.   These usually go all the way up to the Supreme Court and can take several years. If the Supreme Court turns down the appeal, the defendant can approach the president with a mercy petition.   The president can commute the death sentence to life imprisonment, but only after obtaining the government's consent.   According to a government report, there were 477 convicts on death row at the end of 2011, after the president commuted 42 death sentences that year to life imprisonment.   All executions in India are carried out by hanging, which the Supreme Court said in 1983 did not involve torture, barbarity, humiliation or degradation. GNA      ... Read Full Story