The Death Penalty in Singapore

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan shared his views on the death penalty in Singapore, as well as the arguments for and against retaining the mandatory death penalty (MDP). He noted that while Singapore could choose to retain the MDP out of habit or convenience, this shift to a discretionary death penalty (DDP) regime indicates that we have taken the important first step of determining that the MDP may not be needed for all types of serious crimes. It, however, does not signal that we are no longer tough on crime and that we are letting up on drug trafficking and murders. Instead, this shift to a DDP regime is necessary to retain public confidence and legitimacy in our administration of criminal justice. More significantly, it manifests our ability to get out of the force of habit, convenience, and reliance on our long-held dogma that the mandatory capital punishment is necessary to deal with the most serious crimes. Associate Prof Tan concluded that it is a more refined approach that seeks to maintain effectiveness without incurring disproportionate outcomes.