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Law unclear on capital punishment
THE Correctional Service will look into current methods to
execute criminals.
Minister Tony Aimo said although the Criminal Act allowed the courts to
impose a death sentence, the methods of doing so were not specified.
None of the prisons had execution chambers, he added.
Commissioner Richard Sikani agreed, and suggested that the Constitution be
revisited to look into the matter.
They said that although a high-level delegation led by former minister Posi
Menai and former justice minister Mark Maipakai visited some countries two
years ago to look at their systems, no recommendation or report was made.
Mr Aimo, who was visiting prisons and lock-ups to understand the problems
faced by the Correctional Service, said that there were currently four men
on death row at the Bomana Prison.
Eight others managed to get the sentence commuted, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the four men on death row has urged Mr Aimo to keep a
promise that he supposedly made on Sept 21.
Kepak Langa, of Enga, said Mr Aimo visited Bomana Prison that day and
promised to send all prisoners back to their home provinces to make family
visits easier.
Last week, Mr Aimo said he planned to rebuild most of the prisons and
lock-ups and to set a new standard.
He said the facilities would be rebuilt over 15 years at a cost of K193
million.
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