Delivering fair, consistent, and reliable sentence for murder in Singapore

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

9-2022

Abstract

The mandatory death penalty for murder was changed in Singapore in 2012 to give judges the discretion to choose between imposing the death penalty or life imprisonment (with caning) in cases of non-intentional murder. This article reviews the sentences for murder since then and the factors considered by the courts to justify the use of the death penalty or not. The move from an inherently arbitrary mandatory regime to a discretionary one was a watershed moment in Singapore, and it is questioned if the time has come for the death penalty for muder to be abolished completely.

Keywords

death penalty, murder, Singapore

Discipline

Asian Studies | Public Law and Legal Theory

Research Areas

Asian and Comparative Legal Systems; Public Interest Law, Community and Social Justice

Publication

Singapore Journal of Legal Studies

Volume

2022

First Page

290

Last Page

308

ISSN

0218-2173

Publisher

National University of Singapore

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS