Death penalty in Mexico is step backwards in human right

Death penalty in Mexico is step backwards in human rights, Catholic 
lawyers warn

Mexico City, Aug 12, 2008 / 02:11 pm (CNA).- The president of the 
College of Catholic Lawyers in Mexico, Armando Martinez, warned this 
week that implementing the death penalty in the country would 
constitute a step backwards in the area of human rights and said a 
better alternative would be to impose life sentences.

Speaking to reporters, Martinez explained the position of the College 
regarding the approval of the death penalty for kidnappers. “We think 
the death penalty deters absolutely nobody (from committing a crime). 
The option of life in prison needs to be studied. If it is not 
something that is not an infringement, we could accept it,” he said.

Martinez pointed to the United States as an example, where despite 
the use of the death penalty, “crime and violence continue to be 
rampant, with 14 year-olds murdering their peers.”

“The death penalty is punishment upon punishment, that is, we would 
be falling into vengeance, and when will it end? If you kill a 
criminal, there will be a sense of hatred and vengeance and it will 
be a circle that never ends,” Martinez argued.

He said that crime can be reduced through education and building a 
society in which the rule of law is respected.

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