Letters: A question of authority

With reference to the editorial "After a hanging" (August 2), the authority to forgive a killer/rapist should be that of the victim, not of the court or the public. The punishment too, must be promulgated by the victim; we have institutions, in between, to ensure proportionality.

Opponents of death penalty would do better to get victims to participate in a referendum on a case-by-case basis. The kin of the 257 people, who were killed in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, are the best judge of whether those who had a role in the attack, should hang or serve jail term. How does one decide whose role in a crime is minor? The steel chain that links two train coaches is minor compared to the whole train, but its importance can hardly be overstated.

Regarding the number of verdicts of capital punishment that were commuted to life term, this reflects the change in the public's attitude towards the issue of death penalty, not a systemic problem.

Raghu Seshadri Chennai

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