Getting High On Morals

By Elizabeth Major on April 16, 2015 in Other

With a distinct feeling of nationalism, Australia watches in horror at the torturously drawn out drama of the death penalty in Indonesia. Candlelit vigils, unheard pleas from official desks and even the threat of complaint for excessive force have done nothing for reformed Bali Nine offenders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

Their final journey across water to the terrifying island of Nusa Kambangan, a craggy rock pierced by a giant sword, is like a scene from the dark imagination of Robert Louis Stevenson. Led to the firing squad by men in black balaclavas, one is left to wonder the true meaning behind the practise of the death penalty. What does punitive execution really mean to Indonesians and to Australians?

Divided by culture, economy, living standards, religion, the Indian Ocean and about six hours of in-flight entertainment, the Indonesian archipelago may as well be the edge of the world for most Australians. A yearly trip to Bali to drink Bintangs for breakfast and the ability to order some fried rice in a rudimentary form of their national language seems to make a lot of us feel we are experts in Indonesian culture. But what do we really know about the values that drive a land so ancient that our own natives most probably hailed from there?

To Indonesians, the serious ramifications of drugs are not something removed from everyday life. They have limited rehabilitation facilities, almost no medical assistance for addiction, and for many youths, a cheap drug is more affordable and appealing than food. Heroin can end the life of a single person, but destroy the lives of a vast interconnected family that makes up much of Indonesian culture.

It is also important to remember that Indonesia’s stance on the death penalty is not unique. Many countries, including our own idolised hero, the United States, still practise this archaic form of punishment.

Obviously the question is about the right to life. What gives any human the right to remove the life of another human, regardless of their actions? Or are some actions worse than others? Where was our morality when the Bali bombers were executed? Many Australians would probably say that that crime was deserving of death, regardless of the martyrdom that those men craved. Would it have been better to afford the Bali Bombers and the Bali Nine lifetimes in prison simply because the Bali Nine wanted it and especially because the Bali Bombers didn’t?

So what purpose does the death penalty serve in Indonesia? Is it supposed to be a deterrent? Is it simply a more affordable means of punishment for a developing country? Is it supposed to remove the bad apples of the world, cleansing society of the inherent evil that is among us? And if so, what does our own legal system intend that is so different? Does our objection to the death penalty mean that we champion the reformation of prisoners? Maybe we just need one more tragedy on which to attach our directionless pity. From the heights of utopia, it is easy to forget just how lucky we are.