About the Death Penalty in Thailand
HENRY WILDE, M.D.*, SUKHIT PHAOSA V ASDI, M.D.***, SURASAK TANEEPANICHSKUL, M.D.***,
Affiliation : * Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, **Department of Surgery, Police Hospital, Bangkok 10330, *** Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, **** 73/413 Mu-Bam Muang Ek, Pathumthani 12000, Thailand.
The Thai parliament and press are dis- cussing changing the mode of execution from shooting to lethal injection; the current trend in America and China which are the leading countries in executing prisoners. The public, which appears to be overwhelmingly in favor of capital punishment, appears to also favor doing this business by lethal injection. Arguments proposed are the same as the ones used abroad: it is "more humane" and less messy for the executioner and onlookers. In other word, it "sanitizes" and a gruesome and irreversible act. we do not wish here to take a stand for or against the death penalty in principle, but let us ask ourselves why it is being continued and whether the arguments proposed for a change in methods have much merit.
Keywords : Ethics, Death Penalty
