The Supreme Court in New Delhi

INDIA: SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION FACTOR FOR COMMUTING DEATH PENALTY

February 10, 2010: long incarceration and socio-economic factors leading to crime are relevant and mitigating considerations for commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment, the Supreme Court has held.
Justices P. Sathasivam and H.L. Dattu commuted the death sentences of Mulla and Guddu for causing the death of five agricultural labourers for ransom on December 22, 1995 in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district.
The Bench said: “In the present case, the convicts belong to an extremely poor background and one thing is clear — that they have committed these heinous crimes for want of money. Though we are shocked by their deeds, we find no reason why they cannot be reformed over a period of time.”
One of the appellants was 65 years old and the other 64, and they had already been in prison for more than 14 years, the Bench pointed out. “Despite the nature of the crime, the mitigating circumstances can allow us to substitute the death penalty with life sentence. However, the punishment of life must extend to their full life, subject to any remission by the government for good reasons.” (Sources: The Hindu, 10/02/2010)