Andrew,

I agree with you on the first point- the death penalty is inherently wrong.

Your second point is something that was raised in the stage of consultations. But it does not apply with normative force to this ordinance. Since the ordinance only permits the death penalty to be awarded for cases of aggravated rape (rape resulting in the death of the victim or putting the victim in a permanent vegetative state), there still remains an incentive for an offender to inflict minimal harm during the commission of rape so as not to fall within the ambit of aggravated rape.

The death penalty is wrong, wrong, wrong, even for murder, and vile as rape is it is not murder.

On a pragmatic level would it not also make it “wiser” for the rapist who has injured his victim so badly that she might die to kill her at once and silence her?