New Bremerton opposes move to repeal Resolution GA#375 and replace it with new resolution banning capital punishment

The Republic of New Bremerton strenuously objects to what it considers to be an uncharacteristic and frankly surprising attempt by an international body, particularly one so revered as the World Assembly, to micromanage and infringe on the sovereignty of countless nations, among them liberal democracies such as New Bremerton, that practice, to varying degrees, the admittedly controversial institution widely referred to as capital punishment or the death penalty.

We would like to reiterate that our use of the death penalty is solely restricted to only the most egregious and heinous acts of deliberate and premeditated murder. We do not possess a mandatory death penalty, as is the case in certain Southeast Asian nations. We do not execute individuals who have been convicted of second-degree murder, otherwise known as a crime of passion, committed on the spur of the moment. We do not condone the use of the death penalty for crimes in which no murder has been committed. To this end, we do not execute child molesters, rapists, drug traffickers, apostates, fornicators, blasphemers, adulterers, homosexuals, or corrupt officials. This is because New Bremerton strictly adheres to the age-old maxim of an eye for an eye. A murder must be committed in order for a sentence of death to fit the crime. Hence, New Bremerton respects and remains committed to the principle of proportionality and the rule of law, all things considered. We do not execute minors, or those who were minors at the time a crime was committed. We do not execute intellectually or mentally disabled people, or those who are deemed to have been mentally ill at the time of the crime. We do not execute pregnant individuals until well after they have given birth or aborted their progeny. We do not view justice as being purely about mercy and rehabilitation, nor do we regard it as a purely retributive tool. We are of the view that justice spans the spectrum from one end of the extreme to the other, depending on the nature and severity of a particular crime.

As to the claim that no system of justice is without its flaws and that miscarriages of justice can and often do occur, we would like to respond by pointing out that New Bremerton cannot be held responsible for the legal and/or moral failings of other member states, or indeed, non-member states such as the universally reviled and internationally isolated communist theocratic dictatorship known as the Borderlands of Longterror (NRP: my alt-nation). Violent crime in New Bremerton is exceedingly rare, on par with certain Asian nations once known as Tiger economies. In fact, the last murders, and the accompanying executions, occurred more than ten years ago. We also do not have a huge and growing backlog of capital cases and convicts on death row, owing in large part to the low crime rate. This would mean that New Bremerton is actually a de facto “abolitionist” state by some international measures. The chance of a miscarriage of justice occurring in our case is second to none. For the vast majority of New Bremertonians who have never had to endure the crime of murder, the debate over capital punishment has taken on a somewhat academic tone.

The crime that necessitated the most recent spate of executions was an unimaginable act of terror that horrified the whole world, for which the defendant and his followers were convicted and swiftly executed through exposure to nerve gas in a sealed chamber. The defendants, who belonged to a group called the Spear of Adun, were accused of releasing an identical nerve agent in a crowded subway with the aim of killing and maiming as many people as possible. Casualties numbered in the hundreds, with thousands more injured, many of them permanently and irreversibly. The youngest victim was only six months old. Amateur footage captured her final, heartbreaking moments as she lay gasping desperately for air, her mouth foaming, while paramedics tried in vain to save her. The authorities were able to amass hours of CCTV footage, incontrovertible DNA evidence, amateur cell phone footage, and the corroboration of countless eyewitnesses, many of whom continue to be treated for chronic nerve disorders. There was absolutely no room whatsoever for reasonable doubt. If this is not enough to justify the death penalty, then how’s this for a motive: In the ringleader’s words, “the enemies of Adun idolize the Dark Templar and must therefore be eliminated. En Taro Adun.” The words of a terrorist. The punishment not only fit the crime, but it also matched it exactly. He and his followers were rightly and permanently removed from society for this single, unforgivable act. The victims and the bereaved alike are grateful that justice has been done.

The death penalty has never been about deterrence. It is about exacting justice for those who have been wronged. It is about effecting a sense of closure for murder victims and their next of kin. New Bremerton stands firmly behind, and has the greatest sympathy for, the victims of heinous crimes, particularly murder victims. We do not, cannot and will not, shed a single tear nor elicit any ounce of sympathy for an individual who kidnaps a small, defenseless child, and then proceeds to brutally rape, torture and set her on fire for “cheap thrills”, while leaving her to die screaming in agony. Such an individual simply deserves to die in exactly the same way his victim died at his hands. He must be both physically and figuratively erased from existence. There can be no moral equivocation. The much vaunted right to life is one that we, as a civilized, democratic nation, believe must be singularly paired with a lesser known, but equally pertinent, responsibility to life. One cannot exist without the other. In this hallowed republic, we adhere religiously to the principle that individual liberty must be accompanied by individual responsibility. This is one of the basic tenets of classical liberalism, as originally envisioned by such luminaries as Thomas Locke and John Paine. If we are not mistaken, the World Assembly was founded along similar lines. This latest resolution would seem to contradict that liberal spirit.

Also, this idea that executions must be conducted “humanely” must also account for the inhumanity of the perpetrator, as well as the fact that what is considered cruel and unusual in one society is wholly appropriate in another. While the individuals in question clearly suffered in their final moments, they did not suffer any more than their victims did. Hence, we do not consider the particular method of execution to be either “cruel or barbaric”, nor do we consider the degree of their suffering to qualify as “torture, or the infliction of intense psychological harm or physical pain or suffering short of death” when weighed against the torture that their victims were made to endure. Compared to their victims, their deaths were relatively quick and painless, hence there is no question of “any physical pain or suffering that would be unnecessary to achieve a quick and relatively painless death”. We believe the crime and punishment effectively cancel each other out in this instance. That is how the scales of justice ought to operate for the most heinous of crimes. It simply does not fall to reason that if someone deserves to die, one must be “humane” about it. A person who deserves death has not only forfeited his right to life. He has forfeited ALL of his other rights. He is fair game in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of the vast majority of ordinary, decent, law-abiding New Bremertonians.

This move to repeal Resolution GA#375, which would effectively pave the way for a subsequent resolution that would effectively compel member states, no matter how liberal, progressive or democratic, to outlaw capital punishment for the crime of murder, would absolve terrorists and mass murderers of responsibility for their crimes. Such a resolution would run contrary to the liberal principle of individual responsibility and self-determination, which New Bremertonians hold dear. It would be an affront to murder victims and their bereaved next of kin not to be able to see justice done in a timely and appropriate manner as befits the crime. It would also serve to undermine the democratic will of the citizens of New Bremerton. Polls have consistently demonstrated strong support for the death penalty with regards to murder. This is not so true with regards to crimes that don’t involve any element of murder, such as rape and pedophilic sexual abuse.

The Republic of New Bremerton is therefore left with no choice but to resolutely and unequivocally oppose any attempt to repeal Resolution GA#375, which in this country’s opinion, seems to strike a reasonable balance between upholding the human rights of death row convicts, or whatever rights they have left, and respecting the principles of national sovereignty and popular self-determination (i.e. democracy). The repeal of this resolution and the enactment of a new resolution banning capital punishment among all WA member states, regardless of their human rights records, would only serve to upset that balance.