Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A person who commits brutality towards a child should not live, stated the leader of the Milliy Tiklanish faction of the Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, Alisher Kadyrov.
In Yashnabad district of Tashkent, a 30-year-old man intentionally killed a 3-year-old boy. A criminal case has been initiated in this regard, and the perpetrator has been apprehended.
Kadyrov recalled a case where a young man stabbed someone 20 times, and despite the perpetrator expressing remorse, the court sentenced the 25-year-old murderer to 17 years in prison.
The politician questioned how society could expect a remorseless criminal to reintegrate at the age of 42 after 25 years in prison. He added that it was illogical to protect public health through taxes while waiting for a brutal criminal to transform into a different person.
According to Kadyrov, society needs to be cleansed of such individuals. "Are we obliged to accommodate those who teach the world about humanity, while turning a blind eye to the murders of children and innocent people?" he asked.
The party leader also expressed the view that such criminals serve as an example for future "monsters."
However, Odiljon Tojiyev, the Deputy Speaker in charge of coordinating information activities in the Legislative Chamber and interacting with the media, disagreed with this perspective.
He emphasized that advocating for the notion that individuals who have taken a child’s life should not live essentially calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty.
"I categorically oppose such a proposal, which may seem fair and acceptable at first glance," he stated.
Firstly, Tojiyev believes this could lead to the unjust death of innocent people convicted on the basis of unreliable investigations or mistaken verdicts. "History knows many examples where the fairness of judicial decisions was questioned, and years later, it turned out that the real criminal was someone else," the vice-speaker wrote.
Secondly, Tojiyev is convinced that the death penalty does not reduce crime rates. "One of the most effective means of combating crime is not the severity of punishment but its inevitability," he noted. "Moreover, if we sentence a murderer to death, we ourselves would not differ from the cruelest criminals," he added.
Tojiyev also believes that the state has no right to take a life it did not create. "The right to life is a natural right!" the deputy stated. He stressed that supporters of reinstating the death penalty should refer to the Constitution.