As controversial as capital punishment, notably for drug trafficking, is, the Government remains committed to its stance of deterrence.
But with the number of scheduled executions increasing recently, family members of prisoners on death row are lobbying to abolish capital punishment. One of them is Ms Nazira, the sister of drug trafficker Nazeri bin Lajim, who is due to hang on Friday (22 Jul).
Source: We, The Citizens
Nazeri is 64 years old and according to her has been in and out of prison due to his drug addiction.
She believes he deserves a second chance at life.
Along with family members of other prisoners on death row, Ms Nazira has collected over 400 signatures for her petition to abolish the death penalty in Singapore.
On 18 Jul, Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) uploaded a video featuring Ms Nazira and Ms Sharifah, the sister of another death row prisoner, Syed Suhail.
In it, Ms Nazira noted that they’ve been unable to find an MP to bring the petition to Parliament despite collecting over 400 signatures.
She also outlined the reasons why she thinks the death penalty should be abolished.
I was told that if they give in (to the petition), the law will not be respected. But I feel that the MPs and Parliament must look into the matter seriously. After all, these are their citizens (on death row).
Noting that the punishment has been around for a long time, Ms Nazira shared her view that it has not deterred traffickers. And since 60 people are currently on death row, she asked if the authorities can do something about it.
After expressing her frustration, Ms Nazira shed some light on her family’s story:
We came from a broken family, we came from a poor family, but this is not something I seek sympathy for.
Quoting her letter pleading for clemency in May, TJC noted that the family fell into poverty after their father lost his job when the children were young. With only a primary school education and lack of proper care, Nazeri developed an addiction to drugs at the tender age of 14.
He grew estranged from his family and was often in and out of prison. According to Ms Nazira’s estimation, her brother has spent three quarters of his life behind bars.
Curbing his addiction was an uphill struggle as he would allegedly relapse whenever he left prison.
Nazeri’s final arrest was in 2012, when police caught him with two bundles containing over 33.39g of heroin. Five years later, he received the death sentence for drug trafficking.
The Court had dismissed an appeal against his conviction and sentence in 2018.
On 15 Jul this year, Nazeri’s family learnt that he was due to hang on 22 Jul.
Besides the court appeals, Ms Nazira’s pleas for clemency to the President were rejected in 2019 and again in 2022.
Source: We, The Citizens
In one of her pleas, Ms Nazira described how years in prison and the Drug Rehabilitation Centre could not help her brother kick his addiction. She also claimed that he was “unable to access any healthcare for his addiction issues” and “didn’t receive the help he needed”.
Despite these setbacks, Nazeri was apparently “happy” whenever Ms Nazira visited him in prison, according to an interview in May. Whether it’s a front he’s putting up or not, she doesn’t know.
But she is still fighting for him and other death row prisoners to get a second chance at life. Above all, she hopes to fight to abolish the death penalty.
Singapore’s unequivocal stance on the death penalty has not changed despite many people’s best efforts. Deterrence is important, but so are human lives, families and activists would argue.
Knowing the cycle of incarceration and relapse, perhaps the authorities can do more to ensure that drug users don’t end up as traffickers. More importantly, to consider possible alternatives to end this cycle for good.
Whether there is such a solution remains unclear. But hopefully, the authorities will weigh the options before families lose more loved ones.
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Featured image adapted from We, The Citizens and Transformative Justice Collective on YouTube.
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