Capital Punishment in Singapore: A Critical Analysis of State Justifications From 2004 to 2018

• Main Authors: Ariel Yin Yee Yap, Shih Joo Tan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Queensland University of Technology 2020-05-01
• Series: International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy
• Subjects: legitimacy; death penalty; state power; justification; war on drugs; communitarianism
• Online Access: https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/1056

This article examines state justifications for capital punishment in Singapore. Singapore is a unique case study because capital punishment has largely been legitimised and justified by state officials. It illustrates how Singapore justifies capital punishment by analysing official discourse. Discussion will focus on the government’s narrative on capital punishment, which has been primarily directed against drug trafficking. Discussion will focus on Singapore’s death penalty regime and associated official discourse that seeks to justify state power to exercise such penalties, rather than the ethics and proportionality of capital punishment towards drug-related crimes. Critical analysis from a criminological perspective adds to the growing body of literature that seeks to conceptualise social and political phenomena in South-East Asia.