Hands Off Cain
NEWS ARCHIVE·DEATH PENALTY·DECEMBER 24, 2001
Burkina Faso

The abolition of capital punishment in Burkina Faso,...

The abolition of capital punishment in Burkina Faso, though it is rarely applied, generated a heated debate

1 MIN READ
The abolition of capital punishment in Burkina Faso, though it is rarely applied, generated a heated debate.
Burkinabe nationals are divided on the passionate and controversial issue of capital punishment. Proponents of capital punishment are not short of arguments, which are based on legality and morality, specifying, straight-away, that capital punishment, which has always been authorized by the country's law, has very rarely been applied, twice ever since independence, with the last one taking place in 1979. Those against it evoke the inhuman character, since the convicted criminal has no possibility of being corrected for the act he has committed.
Finally, capital punishment has become an embarrassment to the authorities, starting with the MP who triggered this debate among the people with the aim of having a wider discussion of the subject within the society.
The bill tabled by Congress for Democracy and Progress parliamentarian Pascal Bennon on capital punishment has been put aside indefinitely by the deputies until the forthcoming legislative polls.
SOURCES
  • (Sources: Africa No 1 radio monitored by BBC, 26/12/2001)