The Supreme Court abolished death penalties for prisoners with mental illnesses in a landmark judgment on Wednesday. If a prisoner on death row is unable to comprehend the rationale behind their punishment due to a mental illness, then carrying out the death sentence does not
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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Supreme Court of Pakistan. | Photo Credit:
supremecourt.gov.pk
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.
SC offers relief to mentally ill convicts
Commutes death sentence of two prisoners to life imprisonment
Supreme Court. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
ISLAMABAD/
LAHORE:
In a landmark verdict, the top court has commuted the death sentence of two mentally challenged patients – who have been behind bars for decades – to life imprisonment while also asking the authorities to avoid a limited definition of mental disorders.
A five-judge larger bench presided over by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik issued a 51-page judgment on petitions filed by the families of convicts after hearing the case at the Supreme Court Lahore Registry. Without touching on the mental health condition of the convict Imdad Ali, we have observed that there are sufficient reasons and circumstances available on record that warrant the conversion of the prisoner s death sentence to imprisonment for life, stated the verdict released on Wednesday.