Two years ago, anti-death penalty advocates were surprised by Thailand's first execution in nine years when 26-year-old Teerasak Longji was executed at Bangkok's Bang Kwang Central Prison by lethal injection for aggravated murder.
Despite the severity of the crime, following through with capital punishment is almost always a contentious call for the judge, especially because of its moral, ethical and human rights implications.
Teerasak's execution attracted a fair share of debate over the actual need for the death penalty. While many agreed with it, a significant number disagreed, refuting the argument that life for a life was not the method to curb criminal activity, even of a severely heinous nature.
While Thailand is unlikely to abolish the death penalty, a global movement against the practice has provided support by entities such as the European Union (EU), which is among the world's strongest opponents of capital punishment.
The EU Delegation in Thailand teamed up with Alliance Francaise Bangkok earlier this month to mark European and World Day Against the Death Penalty which falls every Oct 10 by screening the documentary Hakamada. The film showcases the struggles for justice by a Japanese boxer named Iwao Hakamada, who was sentenced to death in 1968 for a quadruple murder that he denied committing.
After years of fighting for a retrial with the support of public sympathisers and a legal team, his elder sister in 2014 was able to get a Japanese court to bring the case to the courts again due to new evidence, eventually leading to his release after 47 years in jail and 33 years on death row.
On home turf, the debate on whether the death penalty is justified is often connected to the equally worrisome predicament of the public falling victim to a miscarriage of justice that plagues the Thai criminal justice system.
Veteran provincial chief public prosecutor for Suphan Buri, Namtaee Meeboonsalang, whose years of experience in providing legal aid to innocent people has made him an advocate for reforms within the justice system, claimed that the miscarriage of justice that occurred in the Hakamada trial in Japan was just a drop in the ocean in comparison to what happens in our own criminal justice system, especially in the areas of making errors and abuse of power during a trial.
"In my experience, the situation has gone from bad to worse because our criminal justice system is rather substandard in its mindset, logic, and intellect. There is probably no place like Thailand when it comes to the protocol they use in arresting a suspect. In developed countries, the process involves the services of a prosecutor from the very start whereas in Thailand we arrest, charge, and put the person behind bars first, and then send the case file to the prosecutor who decides whether to go ahead with legal proceedings.
"This means that the suspect is locked up for at least approximately 84 days while waiting for his or her case to proceed. In their absence, there is a high probability that drugs are planted in their car or home by the officers themselves and obviously what then follows is extortion. The suspect may find themselves with few resources to fight their case and law enforcement denies bail to the individual while the court usually sides with the law because they believe the arresting officers have a better understanding of the case."
Namtaee said that instead of accepting their error and rectifying it, what happens in Thailand is that "law enforcement mostly choose to keep their mistakes under wraps and exacerbate a volatile situation further".
On keeping the practice of capital punishment active in Thailand, the veteran lawyer said it risked the sentencing of scapegoats and innocent people with little means to defend themselves against police officers who tamper with evidence that results in trumped-up charges.
"We have noticed that the death penalty is greatly impacted by culture and norms as seen in Middle Eastern countries. To determine how society views this practice largely hinges on how it has progressed. For Thailand to abolish the death penalty, the support of the public is necessary.''
He cited a 2017 survey in which 87% of respondents say executions should be kept as part of the laws.
"There is still a lot of work ahead for us to reach a stage where we can say the death penalty was a thing of the past. Today, Thailand is among 56 countries still retaining capital punishment while 106 countries have abolished it and another 28 have agreed to suspend it."
The immediate concern for the quick-witted lawyer is to see reforms take place within the Thai criminal justice, so it can positively impact other areas of governance.
"The procedure we use in our criminal justice system is wrought with loopholes that can easily lead to a miscarriage of justice during the building of a criminal case. There is plenty of work to be done to rectify this. Needless to say, the likelihood of arresting a scapegoat can often be high because of poor procedures used during the investigation. When this happens, can you imagine the number of innocent people on death row that may die because the system failed them?''
What exacerbates this predicament further, according to Namtaee, who advocates that public prosecutors be allowed access to crime scenes to reduce scapegoating and bribery, is that Thai society has become accustomed to irregularities in the justice system.
"Thais have become indifferent to what they should be standing up against. Police breaking the law is not big news and people take it in their stride. What we see today is innocent people getting prosecuted while the guilty walk away scot-free. What is unfortunate in this is that the public does not see the need to stand up for the rights of the innocent. It is as if they have given up hope in the system which is supposed to protect them.
"Our justice system is such that people prefer to make excuses than own up to their mistakes. They don't desire to right a wrong."
As a reformist, Namtaee said that it is necessary to build a system that has accountability and transparency and is not dependent on people to deliver.
"We need a system which is so airtight that it will not allow people to stray. Loopholes should not be present for people in uniform to abuse for their gain. We might have good laws but if nobody sees the importance to follow them, the system fails.
"For instance, when the police take a suspect and beat a confession out of him or her at a safe house as is customarily done today is not acceptable. We should have a system in place to makes this process more transparent. At least, a public prosecutor should be present during such interrogations and this would automatically help in curbing police abuse."
Namtaee said there are several reasons why reforms in the past have yet to impact the justice system, which he describes as having regressed through the years.
"One obvious reason is the lack of knowledge. Lawmakers do not have proper knowledge of international law and standards. Instead, all they know is theory. Moreover, many are academics who have no hands-on experience in the criminal justice system. The second reason is rampant corruption. If there is transparency and accountability, bribes will be a thing of the past and selling of positions will disappear.
"A third reason is the mindset of dishonesty, which is based on not being truthful and opting to bury the truth and make excuses for it. We need to acknowledge what is happening and push for reforms that makes our system respectable.''
Namtaee said that for reforms to take place within the justice system, the Thai government has to come on board.
"I was part of the committee that helped draft these reforms into law but the government has yet to pass them.
"In all honesty, I believe that we need to wait for a leader with genuine integrity and honesty to see the success of such reforms occur."
