#StoptheKilling
Stop the Killing is a campaign the Transformative Justice Collective started in response to the state‘s killing spree over the last two years.
In June 2022, we started collecting physical signatures for a public petition that calls for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Singapore. In just 2023, at least 11 more people have been sentenced to death in Singapore.
Through this campaign, we seek to safeguard the lives of the close to 60 people on death row who face imminent execution. A moratorium is their only hope.
We launched #StopTheKilling because we believe that through sincere, brave conversations with families, neighbours and friends, we can make sure that more and more people in Singapore get access to stories, data and analysis, allowing them to come to a more informed, critical and compassionate position on the death penalty. We are confident that, when given the chance to think and feel more deeply, people will see the injustice of the death penalty and the way it strips all of us of our power, dignity and humanity.
Through door-knocking efforts in HDB estates around Singapore, booths at a variety of events and mobilising volunteers to reach out to family, friends, coworkers and classmates, we have collected close to 1500 signatures in just over a year. In addition to this, loved ones of those on death row have also collected over 400 signatures from their communities.
The Petition for a Moratorium
Since March 2022, 16 people have been hanged to death for non-violent drug offences in Singapore. As local and international attention on the state’s killing spree grows, it’s clear that there’s a dearth of information and accountability from the state about who is on death row, the conditions that prisoners on death row suffer, how and when executions are scheduled, and how clemency petitions are considered, among other things.
Serious and urgent questions have been raised about why an overwhelming majority of people on death row are ethnic minorities from marginalised backgrounds, how the judicial system is heavily stacked against persons facing capital charges and fraught with risk of unsafe trials, the government’s bare claims that the death penalty is a necessary deterrent against harmful drug use, and the incredible trauma that the death penalty inflicts on families and communities.
The Petition’s Demands:
(1) We demand the Government of Singapore halt all executions, and for the Cabinet of Singapore to direct an immediate moratorium on the death penalty.
(2) We demand a transparent and independent review of the use of the death penalty and its effects.
(3) We demand that the government be transparent and accountable to the people on how the death penalty has been used in Singapore. For starters, we need access to basic information like the number and demographics of people on death row.
(4) We demand that accused persons facing capital charges and persons convicted of capital offences receive enhanced procedural protections, including: (a) the right to have a lawyer and translator present from the beginning of the investigation process, (b) procedural accommodations for vulnerable persons like persons with disabilities and young persons, in line with international best practices.
(5) We demand that accused persons facing capital charges and persons convicted of capital offences have every opportunity to fight their case, through guarantees that lawyers representing them at any stage of their case and for any application will be protected from sanction.
More than 1,100 Singaporeans have already signed a people’s petition in solidarity with the loved ones of people on death row, echoing their call for an immediate moratorium on executions pending an independent review of the capital punishment regime in Singapore.
Read more on: www.stopthekilling.sg. Start the conversation and join the movement by downloading the Signature Sheet, collect signatures and send them to transformjustice.sg@gmail.com.
Transformative Justice Collective 