A quick look back -

A short while back, I posted on the attempts a father was making to "save" his son from a death penalty imposed for drug trafficking.

Dave Justus took some exception to the stance I had taken, and now that I am on leave I have a few minutes to reply...

Dave's comment...

I don't think that the death penalty is appropriate for selling drugs.

I don't think it would be appropriate in the U.S. I don't think it would be appropriate in New Zealand and I don't think it is appropriate in Indonesia.

You seem happy that he is being killed because he is a drug dealer. I am not happy about that.

I am for some legalization of drugs, but I am unsure if that should apply to all drugs or not. However, that doesn't really enter into this particular question. I think a society does have a right to choose whether to legalize this sort of thing or not. If they choose for it to be legal there are a range of penalties that would be appropriate to punish those who break the law. The Death Penalty is not in that range for this crime.

I don't have any opinion on whether the AFP should have intervened or not. They certainly had no responsibility to do so.

You seem to feel that if something is legal (death penalty for drug trafficing in Indonesia) it is also moral, I strongly disagree with that premise.

There was a splash in the news recently about gays being executed in Iran for being gay. Based upon your logic I presume you approve of that, since the maximum penalty for being gay in Iran is death and presumably these men knew that and were warned. Obviously they deserve every lump. That is just part of the risk.

It is more a matter of realities, rather than trying to rationalise the morality.

Obviously, from what Dave says, it is not a good thing to be homosexual in Iran. While the death penalty does not apply in the US, I suspect that there are likely a good number of devout Christians in America who would fully approve of adopting the same law in their country. That might still not make it moral. It would not in my book.

No, the reality is this...

If I were to visit the US, and if I were to murder a Texan in downtown Dallas, it is probable that I would be sentenced to death. I know that. It is the reality of the situation. Should I as a NZer escape that process of law? No.

If I smuggle drugs in Indonesia, the legal penalty is death. It might not be "moral". But the lack of morality does not remove the reality.

We agree that the death penalty is immoral. In my mind there is no crime that justifies it. That does not stop other nations having it and justifying its use.