A Monash University expert is able to comment on the recent execution of Saridewi Djamani, who was handed a death penalty in Singapore after being convicted of trafficking 30g of heroin in 2018.
Associate Professor Mai Sato, Director of Eleos Justice, Monash University Law
Contact: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
Read more of Associate Professor Sato’s work at Monash Lens
The following can be attributable to Associate Professor Sato:
“Globally, women on death row are a minority, representing less than 5 per cent of the death row population.
“But the execution of women often captures the imagination of people to support death penalty abolition.
“In the UK, the execution of Ruth Ellis helped strengthen the abolition movement in the country.
“In the US, the execution of Lisa Montgomery caused public outcry after gender-based violence and bias that led to her death sentence were exposed.
“I take the view that every execution is unjust, but stories of women facing the death penalty are often filled with violence, coercion and exclusion, as demonstrated in our recent report.
“Given Singapore has the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking, meaning courts cannot take into consideration the circumstances that led to the offending, we won’t know why and how Djamani ended up trafficking approximately 30g heroin.”
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