Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Please Don't Hurt Me


This is a bit hard to swallow:

LAWYERS for three Islamic militants on death row over the 2002 Bali bombings today flagged a new legal challenge to their impending executions.

Defence lawyer Mahendradatta foreshadowed a Constitutional Court challenge next week, arguing the convicted terrorists could suffer unnecessary pain if they do not die immediately when the lethal punishment is carried out.

It is seen as another attempt to delay the executions of Amrozi, his brother Mukhlas and Imam Samudra, who could be executed at any time over the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians.

The three will face an Indonesian firing squad, and would be shot a second time if the first bullet does not kill them instantly, Mahendradatta said.

"We are not closing our eyes to the possibility of Amrozi being executed,'' he told reporters.

''(But) there's time when the convicted will feel pain until he is shot a second time.

And here's where I'm not quite on the conservative reservation: I'm not a proponent of the death penalty. But where it is lawfully applied, well, you know, bon voyage boys. And it's especially hard to feel sorry for these particular bad guys. Did they offer to bomb the innocents again in case any of them were suffering and not quite killed by the first bombs? I'd be happy to see these guys locked in a box for the next hundred years, but I can't ever imagine being concerned that they're in pain.

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