Singapore executions under scrutiny as more hanged for drugs

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

50% : Angelia told the audience the story helps her understand her brother better, who is creating music even while awaiting execution for heroin trafficking.
48% : "The speed of these executions this year is really astonishing," said Kirsten Han, a Singaporean who campaigns against the death penalty, adding that it seems like the government is trying to "clear a backlog".
43% : What was left would therefore not have met Singapore's 15-gram threshold for the mandatory death penalty.
43% : Sangiorgio says using the death penalty at all is "against the global trend", even more so in drug cases.
43% : The government has also said the death penalty is necessary as a deterrent to trafficking and to keep the country safe; Han says there is "no clear evidence" that is the case.
42% : "No matter what we think about the death penalty, it would be unconscionable to ignore those empty chairs in court," she said.
42% : Campaigners have also pointed to the relatively small amount of drugs being smuggled in capital punishment cases, and whether executions even work as a deterrent to the trade.
41% : Neighbouring Malaysia is also considering allowing the use of cannabis for medical reasons and has also announced that it will abolish the mandatory death penalty for drug cases.
40% : In Singapore, anyone caught with more than 500 grams (1.1lb) of the drug faces a mandatory death sentence, but many countries around the world, including Thailand, are loosening restrictions on the use of marijuana.
39% : He describes the recent surge in capital punishment as an "execution binge" comparable with 1993, when Singapore was described as "Disneyland with the death penalty" and executions took place regularly.
39% : She is focusing her attention on her fellow Singaporeans at a time of unprecedented debate over capital punishment.
38% : The Singaporean government told a UN inquiry in 2021 that race had "no bearing" on convictions, but it has refused to provide data on whether ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by the death penalty.
38% : Sangiorgio agrees, saying UN bodies like the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Narcotics Control Board have urged governments to abolish the death penalty in relation to drug crimes.

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