Islamabad, Pakistan – In a landmark verdict, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that imposing the death penalty on prisoners living with a serious mental illness, particularly those who do not understand the nature of the punishment, “will not meet the ends of justice”.
The ruling was issued by the Supreme Court on Wednesday after the five-member bench had earlier reserved its verdict in the appeals of three prisoners living with mental illnesses against their convictions.
“[W]e hold that if a condemned prisoner, due to mental illness, is found to be unable to comprehend the rationale and reason behind his/her punishment, then carrying out the death sentence will not meet the ends of justice,” reads the judgement, which effectively bans the use of the death penalty for those living with a serious mental illness.
LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan’s Supreme Court commuted on Wednesday death sentences for two mentally ill people and sent them to health facilities and it directed the government to seek a pardon for a third mentally ill person on death row.
Pakistan Supreme Court bars execution of inmates with mental disorder
Updated:
Updated:
February 10, 2021 17:02 IST
A five-member Bench headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik passed the order on the appeals of mentally ill death-row prisoners who have respectively served 30, 18 and 14 years on the death row.
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A five-member Bench headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik passed the order on the appeals of mentally ill death-row prisoners who have respectively served 30, 18 and 14 years on the death row. Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday barred the execution of inmates suffering from mental disorder, observing that carrying out the death sentence does not “meet the ends of justice” if a convict was unable to comprehend the rationale behind the punishment.