Two days ago, the country of Singapore executed two men for drug trafficking. According to the Hindustan Times, “a 32-year-old Malaysian man of Punjabi origin who had been found guilty of bringing heroin into the city-state in 2016” and another man of Singaporean origin were to be executed this past Thursday.[1]
As per Emerlynne Gill, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for research, “The death penalty is never the solution and we oppose it unconditionally. There is no evidence that it acts as a unique deterrent to crime.”
But this evidence is based on only the perceptions of the senses, the mind, and the preferences of those making such statements. To say there is no evidence is to at once deny that any evidence beyond human sensibility exists. God exists, and so do His orders, and once having accepted His existence and authority, it is necessary only to follow His order, because we know it will be the best for everyone.
Therefore Srila Prabhupada comments that a murder should be hanged, because that will benefit him.
And in the Manu-saṁhitā it is enjoined that when a man is a murderer, that we have got practical experience, the king condemns him to death. And the Manu-saṁhitā supports that it is good. It is good for him. In every country and every law that “Life for life” is good. Because if he’s hanged in this life, then next life he hasn’t got to suffer. His all sinful reaction is finished, being hanged. Therefore in every state, and especially in the Manu-saṁhitā, it is said that it is king’s mercy when a person is hanged for his murdering sinful activities. It is to be thought that king’s mercy. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.6 – 15, September 12, 1968, San Francisco)
So, absolute opposition to the death penalty is a sign of atheism. Accepting the orders of the Lord, who we address as Krishna — Lord Krishna — will only help human society.
Footnotes
[1] HT Newsdesk, “Singapore executes 2, including Indian-origin man, for drugs trafficking”, 7 Jun 2022, Hindustan Times, qtd by MSN.com <https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/singapore-executes-2-including-indian-. . .>