Dhaka Times Desk Death row convicts are living a miserable life in the condemned cells. Even after the verdict, it is necessary to think about how many crimes it is in the eyes of the law to live the life of the convicts for years.
It is known that thousands of death row convicts have been waiting for years in prisons hoping for the final trial. Due to legal complications, their trial process is not completed. As a result, the miserable life of convicts sentenced to death in the condemned cell does not end easily. Awami League's popular leader Ahsanullah Master was shot dead on May 7, 2004. In the case filed in this incident, the speedy trial tribunal announced the verdict on May 15, 2005. In the verdict, 22 accused were sentenced to death and 6 were sentenced to life imprisonment. Among them 18 accused are detained in jail. The case came before the High Court in 2005 for hearing according to law. More than 7 years have passed since then. So far the death reference (death sentence) of this case has not been heard. More than five hundred such death reference cases are pending disposal year after year. Many people believe that such a long process in the case of justice hinders justice. After passing the death sentence from the lower court, it is sent as a death reference to the High Court for confirmation. It is reported that 527 death reference cases are pending in the High Court till June 14. Among them, no death reference case before 2005 is pending hearing in the High Court. Only one case is pending in 2005. And that is the death reference of the discussed Ahsanullah Master murder case.
It is known that 45 death references sent to the High Court in 2006 are awaiting hearing, 91 death references sent in 2007 are awaiting hearing, 80 death references sent in 2008 are awaiting hearing. A death reference sent in 2010, 11 and 12 was also not resolved. Research has shown that almost every year, death reference cases are referred at a lower rate than they are settled. The stakeholders have attributed the reason behind this to the low number of benches in settling such cases and the long process in preparing paper books. However, recently the number of benches to settle such cases has been increased. At present, four benches are handling such cases, said the concerned. Because of this, even though the tangle of death reference cases has not increased, the tangle has not decreased.
According to a report, it can be seen from the figure of disposal of such cases in more than a century, in 2000 there were 41 death penalty cases in the High Court. 44 cases were settled that year. In 2001, there were 53 death penalty cases, 3 were settled. In 2002, there were 64 death penalty cases, 37 were settled. In 2003, there were 66 death penalty cases, 45 were settled. In 2004, there were 176 death penalty cases, 100 were settled. In 2005, 175 death penalty cases came to the High Court, 45 were settled. In 2006, there were 112 death penalty cases. 64 were settled that year. In 2007, there were 102 death penalty cases, 48 were settled. In 2008, 137 cases were filed, 132 were settled. 83 came in 2009, 51 settled. In 2010, there were 76 death penalty cases, 41 were settled. In 2011, there were 67 death reference cases, 46 were settled. As of June 14, 2012, 33 death penalty cases have been received and 21 have been settled.
According to a report, as many as 430 death row convicts have been executed since independence till 2012. At present, 1 thousand 13 death row convicts are detained in the condemned cells of prisons across the country. Many of them have been detained in condom cells for 8 to 10 years. When asked for a comment in this regard, a prison official said that due to legal complications, the convicts could not be hanged. Khandkar Mahbub Hossain, senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, criminal law expert, said that after the execution of an accused, he has to stay in the condemned cell for a long time. Because, there is a lot of delay in the hearing of death reference in the High Court. Many times, after a hearing in the High Court, the convicts sentenced to death are acquitted, and the sentence is reduced to life. In this context, the government appealed to the Appellate Division.
In this way, due to the long process in the justice system, the convicts who have been sentenced to death have to spend years in the condemned cell. Organizations have always been vocal about human rights in our country. Experts believe that human rights organizations should play a role in ensuring that this long process of law can be easily brought in less time.
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