Petition calls on world to end death penalty

originally published:
9th August 2009
All credits: ABC News

The father of one of the Bali Nine has launched a petition in Melbourne calling for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. Lee Rush is the father of convicted drug smuggler 23-year-old Scott Rush, who faces being put to death in Indonesia.

Lee Rush says capital punishment is not the answer to crime. “I have dealt, face to face, with people in extreme the other way, that strongly believe capital punishment has a place in this world,” he said. “I just hope they take respect for my decision and my thoughts and our family’s thoughts that capital punishment isn’t the way to sentence someone as immature as our young fellow.”

He says his son’s incarceration has taken an emotional toll on the 23-year-old. “It’s well documented worldwide that anyone who’s been incarcerated for four years or more and facing the death penalty, that they certainly do lapse into a very up and down type situation,” he said.

“We’re seeing that first-hand on our very few visits that we can afford to see Scott.”

Posted by Zinzi Eka-Naphtali on 12/08/2009. Filed under Capital Punishment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry