Lacson admits having second thoughts on death penalty stand due to reports of wrongful convictions

Presidential aspirant and Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday admitted that he has reconsidered his position on death penalty due to “true to life stories” of wrongful convictions.

In a radio interview Tuesday, Lacson said measures seeking the reimposition of death penalty should be studied further.

“Ako nagpa-file lagi ng bill tungkol sa death penalty, pero maraming mga development na ako mismo ngayon ay nagdadalawang-isip.  Merong mga true to life stories, accounts sa ibang bansa na na-execute nang wala palang kasalanan,” Lacson said.

(I always file bills about the death penalty, but there are so many developments that now I am having second thoughts. There are true-to-life stories, accounts in other countries where people were punished by death despite being innocent.)

“Ito 'yung dapat pag-aralang mabuti. Ano ang mas matimbang, 'yung magiging biktima ng mga kriminal na talagang notorious, o 'yung isa namang mapaparusahan, makikitilan ng buhay pero, after all, malalaman pala na walang kasalanan. Dapat timbangin nating mabuti 'yan,” he said.

(This is what we should be examining carefully. What weighs more, the possible victims of notorious criminals, or those who will be convicted and executed wrongfully? We should weigh them carefully.)

In the same interview, Lacson said he wanted to include plunder and other high-scale forms of corruption in the list of heinous crimes punishable by death penalty.

“Ang plunder ay kasama sa capital offense, ang bilang niyan ay heinous crime na rin.  Katunayan 'yung original bill ko diyan ay kasama 'yung plunder at large scale corruption na maisama sa hatol ng kamatayan,”  Lacson said.

(Plunder is included in the capital offense. It counts as a heinous crime. Actually, plunder is included in my original bill, including large scale corruption, which should be included among crimes punishable by death.)

Lacson is one of the senators who filed measures seeking the reimposition of death penalty in the country.

In 2019, the lawmaker filed Senate Bill 27 due to the alarming surge of heinous crimes in the country.

He noted that “reclusion perpetua, in lieu of death penalty, is not deterrent to grave offenders.”

Under his proposed measure, the following crimes will be punishable by capital punishment: treason, qualified piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, murder, infanticide, rape, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons, destructive arson, sale, importation, and manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals, and human trafficking, among others.—AOL, GMA News