Supreme Court abolishes death penalty for mentally ill prisoners

The Supreme Court abolished death penalties for prisoners with mental illnesses on Wednesday.

If a prisoner on death row is unable to understand the rationale behind their punishment due to a mental illness, then carrying out the death sentence does not “meet the ends of justice”, the court’s order read.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik announced the judgment at the Lahore registry.

The court took this decision after three cases of prisoners on death row showed symptoms of mental illnesses. These were Imdad Ali, Kanizan Bibi, and Ghulam Abbas. They have spent 18, 30, and 14 years in prison respectively, and have been convicted of murder.

The court changes Kanizan Bibi and Ali’s sentence to life imprisonment.  Moreover, the court ordered the preparation of a new petition for Ghulam Abbas which clearly showed symptoms of his illness. The petition will be prepared on the basis of the Prison Rules and submitted to the president.

Therefore, the court instructed the Punjab government to move the prisoners from jail to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health.

Supreme Court ordered to form a medical board

The court ordered the provincial and federal governments to form a medical board. The board will have three qualified and experienced psychiatrists and two psychologists from public sector hospitals. They will examine the prisoners on death row.

The order read that the board will not execute mentally ill condemned prisoners.

However, the court has decided to substitute the terms “unsoundness of mind, lunatic and unsound mind” mentioned in the PPC and the Prison Rules with “mental illness” or “mental disorder”.

On the other hand, the court clarified that not every mental illness can qualify for an exemption from the death sentence.

“This exemption will be applicable only in that case where a medical board, consisting of mental health professionals, certifies after a thorough examination and evaluation that the condemned prisoner no longer has higher mental functions to appreciate the rationale behind the sentence of death awarded to them.”