Mongolia’s president admits he cannot bring himself to sign any more execution orders

On the 14th of January the President of Mongolia, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, commuted all death sentences to 30 year prison terms. He has also called for a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to it eventually being abolished as a form of punishment. This is a welcome development on a continent where capital punishment remains prevalent.

Mr. Elbegdorj has showed opposition for the death penalty throughout his term in office. But he has now raised a seldom-considered aspect of the issue.

The arguments most often used to oppose the death penalty usually relate to the cost, violations of the fundamental rights of the person being executed or lofty arguments on what the ideals of a society or state should be. Mr. Elbegdorj indeed mentioned a number of these factors in his speech to parliament. 

Yet what stood out was his confession that he could not bring himself to sign any more execution orders.

The emotional cost to the people involved with the execution, from the judge to the president to the executor, is something that is all too often forgotten. In Mongolia, as in many other countries of the world, executions are carried out by shooting the condemned in the back of the head. How many of us would be happy to stand behind someone and pull the trigger? 

This is true even for those rightly condemned for of terrible and brutal crimes, not to mention those innocent people invariably executed by any state who carries out capital punishment. Ignoring my other feelings about the death penalty and why I think it is unjustifiable how can I, or anyone, expect a person to take someone else’s life on my behalf when I would not be able to do it myself?

In many countries where capital punishment is used it is reserved for the most heinous crimes where almost invariably great suffering has been caused. The victim of the crime has suffered, the victim’s family has suffered and often the convicted person’s family has suffered. Surely what any society should at this stage be doing is trying to limit any future suffering and start to encourage healing as far as is possible. 

People may argue that in these circumstances the person who has perpetrated the crime then deserves to suffer, but being locked in prison for the next 30 years of your life -- the sentence for prisoners in Mongolia who have had their capital sentences commuted -- is a just punishment without causing more innocent people to suffer because of their crimes.

While Mr. Elbegdorj has effectively declared a moratorium on the death penalty in Mongolia the punishment remains very much a part of Mongolian law. It seems unlikely at this stage that there will be an end to executions in Mongolia. In order to remove this punishment from Mongolian law Mr. Elbegdorj will need support from parliament, something that he is unlikely to receive at this stage. He has however taken an important first step.

In his speech to parliament Mr. Elbegdorj stated:

“Mongolia is a dignified country, both in terms of the legacies of our history, and in the way we practice freedom. And our citizens are dignified people. Therefore, I ask Mongolia to put behind us this death penalty which degrades our dignity…”

The death penalty does indeed degrade the dignity of all those that are involved with it. Hopefully when it comes time for parliament to vote on the issue they will vote to uphold the dignity of their country and the fundamental dignity that all people of this world have a right to.