Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Crime n' Punishment

Finally the verdict is in and the killer of Priyadarshini Mattoo has been given the death penalty..I sure was happy when I heard this news, no it’s not that I believe in the death penalty..but I do believe in the adage "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"...Retributive justice!!!

I had no clue about the Mattoo case until a few months ago…but since then have done some reading up on it.Santhosh Singh raped and killed a then 22 year old Priyadarshini on Jan 23rd 1996..and a trial court acquitted him of the crime in 1999. Not only was this a injustice to the Mattoo family but it was a reflection of how the judicial system in India or rather anywhere in the world works. If you are the son of a major bigwig, a politician or like Santhosh Singh , the son of an IGP, you will NOT be convicted of any crime be it a simple shoplifting or anything as major as rape or murder.

So what exactly is the cause for this, is it that there was somthing wrong in the upbringing of these folks???....is it that they have always been give the easy way out that they never learnt how to take responsibility???? I remember that every time I even thought of being a little deviant (read steal a carrot form the vegetable vendor)..I used to immediately picture my dad and mom giving me a disgusted look..nothing as effective as "THE LOOK" you see.

Anyways, instead of analyzing the situation, let me come to the point, the fact that most shocked me was that some people were actually opposing the death penalty!!! I understand everybody is entitled to their own viewpoints, but does Santhosh Singh deserve to live? If, god forbid, a person in our family was killed in cold blood would we be able to forgive that person??? It’s easy to say “To Err is Human, To Forgive Devine”. But let’s face it we are human and not God!!!!

Every criminal must be punished irrespective of who he is and let the punishment fit the crime!!!

Finally when all is said and done the fact remains that Priyadarshini Mattoo will never come back, her family will always miss her...maybe the decision given by the court will at least help them sleep better at night.

1 comment:

temporary insanity said...

santosh singh deserves a slow and torturous death, not a quikie like in a death penalty. he should be made to live a miserable life in prison so that he can sit and actually think about what he did and regret it for the rest of his life.
death will be too easy on him!!!