MK reiterates oppn to death penalty

Chennai, Nov 6: Reiterating his opposition to capital punishment in general, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi today said that he was against death penalty to Saddam Hussein.

Reacting to the death penalty awarded to the deposed Iraqi President, he said the death sentence removes some pages from a man's life.

''But it (death penalty) does not afford an opportunity to replace those error-filled pages with fresh ones in a new edition.

''This is applicable not only to common man, but also to dictators like Saddam Hussein,'' he added.

A strong votary for abolition of death penalty, Mr Karunanidhi also expressed similar views when death penalty was awarded to Afzal Guru in the Parliament attack case.

He said ''I have already stated that even those who had committed the most heinous crime suffer pain for only a few minutes when they are subjected to death penalty.'' ''It (death penalty) does not permit the offenders to feel remorse and realise their mistakes during the rest of their life.

Hence death penalty needs to be reconsidered,'' he said, referring to the capital punishment awarded to Afzal Guru.

UNI