Buddhism and the Death Penalty
Last week Thailand executed two men who had been convicted of large-scale drug possession. These were the first executions since 2003 and they were ordered and carried out on very short notice. The two prisoners had been on death row for years, but were only told about their impending executions a few hours ahead of time. They were allowed to call their families, write wills, eat their last meals, and a monk came to chant for them. They were given flowers, incense, and candles (the traditional Buddhist offering) so that they could make merit for the final time.
I'm always saddened by this kind of killing but reading about how it was carried out in this Buddhist context made it seem even more incongruous and wrong. One of the five main prohibitions in Thai Buddhism forbids the taking of any life (animal or human) and in a fascinating article in today's Bangkok Post, the prison director gives a very candid interview in which he acknowledges the moral dilemma he faced. Here are a few excerpts:
"After reading the [execution] order, Prasert Yusuphap [the prison commander] sat in front of an image of the Lord Buddha in his office and started to pray and meditate. ''I'm a Buddhist and I don't want to order the killing of anyone,'' said Mr Prasert.
"The toughest job was asking three men to conduct the lethal injections. No one wanted to perform the job, Mr Prasert said... there were no volunteers. Three guards who normally have routine chores such as watching over prisoners or providing occupational training were given the task.
''They don't want to do this, but someone must. It's our duty and we must perform it,'' said Mr Prasert.
''They [the executioners] asked for forgiveness from the two, and after they finished the task I advised them to do merit-making,'' said Mr Prasert, who walked back to his office to again pray for forgiveness in front of the Buddha image."
That image of the unwilling executioners asking for the forgiveness of the prisoners will stick with me for while.
-Tom
