THE lives of 866 death row prisoners have been spared so far this year, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
She said that as of Oct 14, the number included 52 prisoners who had their death sentences commuted to imprisonment after they succeeded in their appeals at the Court of Appeal.
“The other 814 death row inmates had their death sentences commuted to imprisonment after applying for a review under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act,” she said in a written reply to Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor), who had asked for statistics of prisoners who had been given the death sentence and those who had their death sentences commuted so far this year.
Azalina noted that 12 prisoners were sentenced to death by the High Court and another six were also given the same sentence by the Court of Appeal between Jan 1 and Oct 14 this year.
Under the Act, which came into effect on Sept 12 last year, death row inmates have 90 days to seek a review of their sentence by the Federal Court.
The Federal Court can revise death sentences and substitute them with life imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, as well as six to 12 strokes of the rotan, depending on the severity of the crime.
However, the courts currently still have the discretion to mete out the death penalty for offences such as murder, terrorist acts and taking hostages.
