The lowest point ever in Thailand’s criminal justice system
By writing a headline like this, my aim was not to attract attention or lure others to read my article. Having studied up to a doctorate in criminology from one of the world's top universities for eight consecutive years,
I can be straightforward enough to highlight the excessive privileges enjoyed by the upper classes, the miscarriage of justice in numerous cases, the police misconduct and brutality, the undeniable overpowering of justice by the Corrections Department, and so on. Our country’s justice system has chronic problems that are difficult to solve.
This writing seems to support "strong medicine" rather than soft or lenient punishments. Many state agencies might baulk at such a prospect. Overhauling the police organisation is a must today. If we don't do it now, the problem will fester and pass on to the next generations. I'm not saying it's the only and best way. Considering the fate of several attempted reforms so far, it is clear that we do not need to keep studying or proposing reforms anymore. Interestingly, we have been wary to touch the delicate matter of reducing staff, lopping off excess fat, or making budget cuts and finding ways to plug any leaks.
In criminology, there are two interesting sociological concepts: The traditional view (classical one) is that the origin of evil, or social pathology, is the result of selfish human beings. “The punishment must fit the crime,” says 18th-century Italian philosopher Cesare Beccaria. Punishments should not be excessively cruel or unnatural. On the other hand, criminologist Cesare Lombroso used scientific principles as a criterion for diagnosing whether the problems were caused by defects in the Horde, chemistry, biology, and even the social environment. I believe in the first idea and strongly support capital punishment as long as the justice system is trustworthy. Roger Hood, my supervisor in Oxford, encouraged the abolishing of executions in Thailand. I might be considered stubborn to not buy his bait, but taking into account our own experiences, we know that things did not come so easily, in addition to the abuse of our system. Leniency simply will not work.
At present, we already have the problem of wrongdoers claiming their insanity or infirmity to get their sentence reduced or even avoid it altogether. This is a big loophole in the law.
Taking gender, age and moral conscience into account, we still need to think about the age of the perpetrator.
Many countries have lowered the age limit for the trial of offenders to between 16 from 18. This is a gap that allows vicious and cruel murderers to escape punishment. Excessive protection of human rights sometimes leads to obstruction of justice, such as concealing the faces of the accused no matter what the crime.
The country was shocked recently by the murder of a disabled woman, allegedly by some youth in Sa Kaeo province. Two of the youths are sons of police officers. Local police tried to pin the blame on the woman’s husband, who was detained in a black bag as well as forced to sit naked in a cold room (according to news reports), tortured and forced to confess to the crime. It has happened countless times in this country. Another infamous scandal is that of a provincial police chief using brutal methods to extract confessions. He accumulated over 1.35 billion baht in wealth, including 42 luxury cars. His punishment for torturing a detainee in custody to death should have been the death penalty. However, it is generally acknowledged that in the end, the life imprisonment sentence will not exceed 10 years under the process of penalty reduction overseen by the Corrections Department. After the court issues its verdict, the "correctional institutions" can determine suitable punishments and carry out various actions independently within the framework of their rules and regulations. But the treatment being given to many former high-society suspects has made the public sceptical and they are losing confidence in the "endpoint" of the justice process.
There is a call for lowering the age of trial for juvenile offenders, in principle, if the amendment of the law gives the judiciary branch (judge) the power to punish with proper discretion. Using this discretion would require multiple levels of inspection and other measures to guarantee true justice, correctness and appropriateness. More importantly, we cannot support the reduction of sentences by correctional institutions, as they come under the authority of politicians, namely the Minister of Justice. There should not be any more special privileges or treatment. Otherwise, the legal judgment under the auspicious name of the King may be unduly desecrated by such political actions.
We must deal firmly with politicians and the unscrupulous people in our society who have been corrupt for generations so that the rule of law can prevail and we can have a justice process that is sacred and trusted by the people and society.
Amorn Wanichwiwatana
Amorn Wanichwiwatana, DPhil (Oxon), is a former member of the Constitution Drafting Commission and is currently a professor at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University.
