One of the most sickening things about the #deathpenalty is how cold and administrative is. I wrote about this in 2017, but have never felt like I've been able to convey the full horror of it: ricemedia.co/culture-life-a… Something that happened last night provides another example...
Last night I received a call from @MRavilaw, the human rights lawyer representing Syed Suhail pro bono. Earlier in the day, Ravi had succeeded in getting an interim stay of execution from the High Court. The news went around social media, to lots of people's relief.
But as I was riding the bus home at the end of the day, @MRavilaw called to say that the prison had *not* confirmed that the execution was on hold, and that Syed appeared to still be under the impression that he was to say his goodbyes and the family to prepare his funeral.
As @MRavilaw says in this Facebook update, when he called the prison care officer (whose job it is to provide emotional support, coordinate visits, etc.) at almost 8pm, he was told that the prison had not received any instructions to put the execution on hold.
It was at about 8:45pm that the prison *finally* called Syed's sister and confirmed over the phone that the execution had been put on hold. At that point, no one was able to go to prison to see Syed, so I don't know what and when Syed was told, or how he was feeling.
Imagine the anxiety and emotional distress of this for Syed's family — receiving news about the stay of execution, only to go to the prison and be told that they don't know anything about that. Going through the day unsure of whether they were supposed to prep a funeral, or not.
I at least have been able to hear from Syed's sister. But I can't at all imagine how it must feel for Syed on death row, waiting to hear about whether he will die, or have a reprieve.
When abolitionists say that the #deathpenalty is cruel and inhumane, we aren't just referring to the method of execution itself (there is *no* humane method of executing a human being, by the way, since some people have tried to argue this with me before).
Why did it take the prison so long to confirm that the execution was on hold yesterday? What is their standard operating protocol, and did something go wrong with it yesterday, causing such anxiety?
The petition started by @subhas_music for Syed Suhail now has over 26k signatures — a *huge* difference in response from previous cases I've worked on in different years. Public opinion can shift, things *can* change. Please keep signing and sharing: change.org/p/singapore-an…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.