"Inmates are on death row with no clarity for their executions. This is an extraordinary wait and a major problem," the ministry's Director General of Legislation, Dhahana Putra, said during a webinar on the Public Review of the Bill on Procedures for the Implementation of the Death Penalty, on Friday.
Currently, the government is processing the Bill on Procedures for the Implementation of the Death Penalty, which President Prabowo Subianto will soon submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), Puan Maharani.
Dhahana explained that the Bill requires executions to be carried out within 30 days of the verdict and conducted in a closed, restricted location, preferably where the death row inmate is undergoing rehabilitation.
When a death sentence is carried out, notification is given to the death row inmate and their family, the president, advocates, the Supreme Court, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Law, the Minister of Immigration and Corrections, the National Police, and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), he continued.
The notification includes information on legal remedies, the results of the death row inmate's examination and assessment, and the decision to reject a clemency request.
Dhahana mentioned that the head of state can provide considerations regarding the implementation of the death penalty and must follow up immediately in accordance with statutory provisions.
"If in the 90 days after the president received the decision for the death penalty and the president has not issued a decision to commute the death penalty to life imprisonment, the proposed change to the death penalty is considered legally granted," he outlined.
Thus, the Bill will provide legal certainty regarding the implementation of the death penalty, he stated.
With the new Criminal Code (KUHP), which will come into effect on January 2, 2026, the death penalty will become a last resort in sentencing, Dhahana said.
The National Criminal Code stipulates that the death penalty is no longer the primary punishment imposed on prisoners, but rather an alternative punishment equivalent to life imprisonment or 20 years.
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Translator: Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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