Paedophiles to face death penalty in Indian state

An Indian state has brought in the death penalty for paedophiles who rape children younger than 12. A bill titled ‘The Punishment Method’ was unanimously passed in the Madhya Pradesh assembly on Monday.



After the bill passed, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared: ‘People who rape 12-year-old girls are not human, they are demons. They do not have the right to live. ‘There are people in society who can be set right only by severe punishments. [The bill] will deal with them. We will also raise awareness in society against such crimes.’

The bill also increases the minimum sentence for child rapists to 14 years, and for gang rapists to 20 years.

But before the bill becomes law, it needs to be approved by the president and federal government. Campaigners have warned that introducing the death penalty may actually cause rapists to murder their victims, as they can be found guilty by a child’s testimony. India still has the death penalty, but it has only been carried out five times since 1995.