Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Vietnam mulling new death penalty methods
Agence France-Presse Hanoi, October 2004
Vietnam's communist government is exploring new ways to carry out death sentences because nervous members of firing squads often miss their target, state media said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai instructed the public security ministry last week to examine other execution methods, including using poison or a mechanised gun to eliminate human error, the Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper reported.
"Execution should be changed to automatic shooting, which has high accuracy," Bui Duc Long, head of the judiciary's execution inspection department, told the paper.
Long said the ministry favoured the use of the mechanised gun because 30 per cent of policemen selected to take part in firing squads missed the target because of nerves.
"The executioner will have to just push a button because if we use poison it takes time for it to work and it causes suffering to the condemned prisoner," he said.
International human rights groups have long called on Vietnam to suspend the death penalty.
At least 94 people have been sentenced to death this year in the communist nation and 62 have been executed by firing squad, according to figures compiled from state media and court officials.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.