Universal Declaration on HumanRights
“Art. 3. Everyonehas the right to life, liberty and security of
person;
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Art. 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
ICCPR:
Art. 6 (1). Every humanbeing has theinherent right tolife.
This right shall be protected by law. No oneshall be arbitrarily
deprivedofhislife;
Art. 7.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment ofpunishment.
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The unwavering protection of the right to life presumes the right of a person to be
alive and protected from physical harm. The imposition of death penalty defies not
onlythe inviolabilityoflife but likewise disregards the dignity of humanbeing.
“Life connotes the integrity of physical person. It includes
the right ofan individual to his body in its completeness,free from
dismemberment and extends to the use of God given faculties,
which make life enjoyable.” (Justice Malcolm, Philippine
Constitutional Law,
p.32-321; Buck vs. Bell, 274 US 20 0)
Deathpenaltyis a deliberate killing of a humanbeingbythestate. It is unconstitutional
perse for being the utmost form of torture. Thereis no considerable reasonto justify its
imposition even that of the deterrence of crime, which was provenfutile as uncovered
by the continuousriseof crime rate in our country.
It violates the right to due process and equality before thelawasit discriminates and
deprives the underprivileged, given their limited resources, from availing themselves
of good/ top rated lawyers as against well off accused who have all the means of
getting their way out to exoneration.
Moreover, its continued imposition, as a permanentand irreparable penalty, would
likely result in the execution of more innocent people due to our country's imperfect
justice system,vulnerable to errors, which can neverberectified.
Fundamental humanrights applyto all humans, criminals or not. The deprivation of
human life is, at all times, culpable regardless of the perpetrator (individualor state)
and the raison d'etre (laudable or not) hence, deserves condemnation.
‘Rightto life are rights, not prizefrom government that
maybe taken for bad behavior.”
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