Professional Documents
Culture Documents
People Vs Echegaray
People Vs Echegaray
People Vs Echegaray
*
G.R. No. 117472. February 7, 1997.
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* EN BANC.
683
684
685
Same; Same; Same; R.A. No. 7659 provides the test and
yardstick for the determination of the legal situation warranting
the imposition of the supreme penalty of death.—In the first place,
the 1987 Constitution did not amend or repeal the provisions of
the Revised Penal Code relating to aggravating circumstances.
Secondly, R.A. No, 7659, while it specifies circumstances that
generally qualify a crime provided therein to be punished by the
maximum penalty of death, neither amends nor repeals the
aggravating circumstances under the Revised Penal Code. Thus,
construing R.A. No, 7659 in pari materia with the Revised Penal
Code, death may be imposed when: (1) aggravating circumstances
attend the commission of the crime as to make operative the
provision of the Revised Penal Code regarding the imposition of
the maximum penalty; and (2) other circumstances attend the
commission of the crime which indubitably characterize the same
as heinous in contemplation of R.A. No. 7659 that justify the
imposition of death, albeit the imposable penalty is reclusion
perpetua to death. Without difficulty, we understand the
rationale for the guided discretion granted in the trial court to
cognize circumstances that characterize the commission of the
crime as heinous. Certainly there is an infinity of circumstances
that may attend the commission of a crime to the same extent
that there is no telling the evil that man is capable of. The
legislature cannot and need not foresee and inscribe in law each
and every loathsome act man is capable of. It is sufficient thus
that R.A. No. 7659 provides the test and yardstick for the
determination of the legal situation warranting the imposition of
the supreme penalty of death. Needless to say, we are not
unaware of the ever existing danger of abuse of discretion on the
part of the trial court in meting out the death sentence. Precisely
to reduce to nil the possibility of executing an innocent man or
one criminal but not heinously criminal, R.A. No. 7659 is replete
with both procedural and substantive safeguards that ensure only
the correct application of the mandate of R.A. No. 7659.
Same; Same; Same; Furman did not outlaw the death penalty
because it was cruel and unusual per se.—The issue in Furman
was not so much death penalty itself but the arbitrariness
pervading the procedures by which the death penalty was
imposed on the accused by the sentencing jury. Thus, the defense
theory in Furman centered not so much on the nature of the
death penalty as a criminal sanction but on the discrimination
against the black accused who is meted out the death penalty by a
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SEPARATE OPINION:
SEPARATE OPINION:
heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death
penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua.”
(Italics supplied) The second and third sentences of the above
provision are new and had not been written in the 1935, 1973 or
even in the 1986 “Freedom Constitution.” They proscribe the
imposition of the death penalty “unless for compelling reasons
involving heinous crimes, Congress provides for
687
688
RESOLUTION
PER CURIAM:
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690
In his Brief before us when the rape case was elevated for
automatic review, the accused-appellant reiterated as
grounds for exculpation:
691
“As pointed out in People v. Lim (190 SCRA 706 [1990], which is
also cited by the accused-appellant, an affidavit of desistance is
merely an additional ground to buttress the accused’s defenses,
not the sole consideration that can result in acquittal. There must
be other circumstances which, when coupled with the retraction
or
________________
2 See Amigo v. Court of Appeals, 253 SCRA 382, 390 [1996]; De Leon v. Court of
Appeals, 245 SCRA 166, 172 [1995].
3 RTC Decision, p. 3; Rollo, p. 19.
4 G.R. No. 108871 promulgated on November 19, 1996.
692
II
________________
693
III
________________
695
books, and as long as our criminal law provides for its imposition
in certain cases, it is the duty of judicial officers14to respect and
apply the law regardless of their private opinions."
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696
________________
697
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17 Id., p. 678.
18 Id., p. 680.
698
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699
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20 Id., p. 744
21 155 SCRA 327 [1987].
22 Id., p. 335.
700
23 24 25
Masangkay, People v. Atencio and People v. Intino
divided into three new periods, to wit, the lower half of
reclusion temporal maximum as the minimum; the upper
half of reclusion temporal maximum as the medium; and
reclusion perpetua as the maximum, in keeping with the
three-grade scheme26 under the Revised Penal Code. In
People v. Muñoz, however, we reconsidered these
aforecited cases and after extended discussion, we
concluded that the doctrine announced therein did not
reflect the intention of the framers. The crux of the issue
was whether or not Article III, Section 19(1) absolutely
abolished the death penalty, for if it did, then, the
________________
701
________________
27 Id., p. 121.
702
xxx
The Chair explained that it was agreed upon that the Body
would first decide the question whether or not death penalty
should be reimposed, and thereafter, a seven-man committee
would be formed to draft the compromise bill in accordance with
the result of the voting. If the Body decides in favor of the death
penalty, the Chair said that the committee would specify the
crimes on which death penalty would be imposed. It affirmed that
a vote of Yes in the nominal voting would mean a vote in favor of
death penalty on at least one crime, and that certain refinements
Senator Roco stated that the Body would vote whether or not
death as a penalty will be reincorporated in the scale of penalties
provided by the Revised Penal Code. However, he pointed out that
if the Body decides in favor of death penalty, the Body would still
have to address two issues: 1) Is the crime for which the death
penalty is supposed to be imposed heinous pursuant to the
constitutional mandate? 2) And, if so, is there a compelling reason
to impose the
703
________________
704
________________
705
From March 17, 1993, when the death penalty bill was
presented for discussion until August 16, 1993, the
Members of the Senate debated on its provisions.
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706
________________
707
heinous but also one can see the compelling reasons for the
reimposition of the death penalty therefor?
Senator Tolentino. Mr. President, that matter was actually
considered by the Committee. But the decision of the Committee
was to avoid stating the compelling reason for each and every
offense that is included in the substitute measure. That is why in
the preamble, general statements were made to show these
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709
coming from the House. House Bill No. 295 was resurrected
during the Ninth Congress in the form of House Bill No. 62
which was introduced by twenty one (21) Members of the
House of Representatives on October 27, 1992. House Bill
No. 62 was a merger of House Bill Nos. 125, 187, 411, 764,
506; 781, 955, 1565, 1586, 2206, 3238, 3576 and 3632
authored by various Members of the Lower House.
In his Sponsorship Speech, Representative Manuel R.
Sanchez of Rizal ably essayed the constitutional vesting in
Congress of the power to re-impose the death penalty for
compelling reasons invoking heinous crimes as well as the
nature of this constitutional pre-requisite to the exercise of
such power.
“The people should have the final say on the subject, because, at some
future time, the people might want to restore death penalty through
initiative and referendum.
710
x x x x x x x x x
I believe that [there] are enough compelling reasons that merit
the reimposition of the capital punishment. The violent manner
and the viciousness in which crimes are now committed with
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It is for this reason, Mr. Speaker, that I stand here and support
House Bill No. 62.
As duly elected Representatives of our people, collectively, we
ought to listen to our constituents and heed their plea—a plea for
life, liberty and pursuit of their happiness under a regime of
justice and democracy, and without threat that their loved ones
will be kidnapped, raped or butchered.
But if such a misfortune befalls them, there is the law they
could rely on for justice. A law that will exact retribution for the
victims. A law that will deter future animalistic behavior of the
criminal who take their selfish interest over and above that of
society. A law that will deal a deathblow upon all heinous crimes.
Mr. Speaker, my distinguished colleagues, for the preservation
of all that 36
we hold dear and sacred, let us restore the death
penalty."
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712
of what crimes are heinous and that the fact of their very
heinousness involves the compulsion and the imperative to
suppress, if not completely eradicate, their occurrence. Be
it the foregoing general statement of Representative
Sanchez on the following details of the nature of the
heinous crimes enumerated in House Bill No. 62 by
Representative Miguel L. Romero of Negros Oriental, there
“My friends, this bill provides for the imposition of the death
penalty not only for the importation, manufacture and sale of
dangerous drugs, but also for other heinous crimes such as
treason; parricide; murder; kidnapping; robbery; rape as defined
by the Revised Penal Code with or without additionally defined
circumstances; plunder, as defined in R.A. 7080; piracy, as defined
under Section 2 of PD 532; carnapping, as defined in Section 2 of
RA 6539, when the owner, driver or occupant is killed; hijacking,
as defined in x x x RA 6235; and arson resulting in the death of
any occupants.
All these crimes have a common denominator which qualifies
them to the level of heinous crimes. A heinous crime is one which,
by reason of its inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness,
atrocity or perversity, is repugnant and outrageous to the common
standards of decency and morality in a just and civilized society.
For instance, the crime of treason is defined as a breach of
allegiance to a government, committed by a person who owes
allegiance to it (U.S. v. Abad, 1 Phil. 437). By the ‘allegiance’ is
meant the obligation of fidelity and obedience which individuals
owe to the government under which they live or to their sovereign
in return for the protection which they receive (52 Am Jur 797).
In kidnapping, the thought alone of one’s loved one being held
against his or her own will in some unidentified x x x house by a
group of scoundrels who are strangers is enough to terrify and
send shivers of fear through the spine of any person, even
scoundrels themselves.
In robbery accompanied by rape, intentional mutilation or
arson, what is being punished by death is the fact that the
perpetrator, at the time of the commission of the crime, thinks
nothing of the other crime he commits and sees it merely as a
form of selfamusement. When a homicide is committed by reason
of the rob-
713
________________
714
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39 People v. Simon, 234 SCRA 555 [1994]; People v. Timple, 237 SCRA
52 [1994].
715
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716
717
All the foregoing crimes are not capital crimes per se, the
uniform penalty for all of them being not mandatory death
but the flexible penalty of reclusion perpetua to death. In
other words, it is premature to demand for a specification
of the heinous elements in each of the foregoing crimes
because they are not anyway mandatorily penalized with
death. The elements that call for the imposition of the
supreme penalty of death in these crimes, would only be
relevant when the trial court, given the prerogative to
impose reclusion perpetua, instead actually imposes the
death penalty because it has, in appreciating the evidence
proferred before it, found the at-
718
“If any public officer is entrusted with law enforcement and be refrains
from arresting or prosecuting an offender who has committed a crime
punishable by reclusion perpetua and/or death in consideration of any
offer, promise, gift or present, he shall suffer the penalty for the offense
which was not prosecuted.
If it is the public officer who asks or demands such gift or present, he
shall suffer the penalty of death.” (Sec. 4)
719
(4) Rape with the victim becoming insane, rape with homicide and
qualified rape
“When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become
insane, the penalty shall be death.
xxx
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, a homicide is
committed, the penalty shall be death.
The death penalty shall also be imposed if the crime of rape is
committed with any of the following attendant circumstances:
1. when the victim is under eighteen (18) years of age and the
offender is a parent, ascendant, step-parent, guardian, relative by
consanguinity or affinity within the third civil degree, or the
common-law spouse of the parent of the victim.
2. when the victim is under the custody of the police or military
authorities.
3. when the rape is committed in full view of the husband, parent,
any of the children or other relatives within the third degree of
consanguinity.
4. when the victim is a religious or a child below seven (7) years old.
5. when the offender knows that he is afflicted with Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) disease.
6. when committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines or the Philippine National Police or any law
enforcement agency.
7. when by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has
suffered permanent physical mutilation.” (Sec. 11)
720
“The maximum penalties [of death] provided for in Sections 3, 4(1), 5(1),
6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13 of Article II and Sections 14, 14-A, 14(1), 15-A(1),
16, and 19 of Article III [of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972] shall be
imposed, if those found guilty of any of the same offenses are government
officials,
721
(11) In all the crimes in R.A. No. 7659 in their qualified form
723
725
726
“We cannot say from facts disclosed in these records that these
defendants were sentenced to death because they were black. Yet
our task is not restricted to an effort to divine what motives
impelled these death penalties. Rather, we deal with a system of
law and of justice that leaves to the uncontrolled discretion of
judges or juries the determination whether defendants
committing these crimes should die x x x.
xxx
In a Nation committed to equal protection of the laws there is
no permissible ‘caste’ aspect of law enforcement. Yet we know that
the discretion of judges and juries in imposing the death penalty
enables the penalty to be selectively applied, feeding prejudices
against the accused if he is poor and despised x x x.
xxx
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727
________________
728
729
of death when the rape victim is an adult woman, and only two
other jurisdictions provide capital punishment when the victim is
a child.
The current judgment with respect to the death penalty for
rape is not wholly unanimous among state legislatures, but it
obviously weighs very heavily on the side of rejecting capital
punishment as a suitable penalty for raping an adult woman.
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731
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732
SO ORDERED.
SEPARATE OPINION
SEPARATE OPINION
(original)
3
Motion for Reconsideration filed by his previous
counsel, this transcendental issue was not brought up.
Hence, it was not passed upon by this Court4 in its Decision
affirming the trial court’s sentence of death.
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735
“Sec. 19. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel,
degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted. Neither shall death
penalty be imposed, unless for compelling reasons involving
heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death
penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua”
(Italics supplied)
________________
5 In People vs. Muñoz, 170 SCRA 107, February 9, 1989; the Court,
prior to the enactment and effectivity of RA 7659, ruled by a vote of 9–6 (J.
Cruz, ponente, C.J. Fernan, JJ. Gutierrez, Jr., Feliciano, Gancayco,
Padilla, Bidin, Griño-Aquino and Medialdea, concurring) that the death
penalty was not abolished but only prohibited from being imposed. But see
also the persuasive Dissenting Opinion of Mme. Justice Ameurfina
Melencio-Herrera (joined by JJ. Narvasa, Paras, Sarmiento, Cortes and
Regalado) who contended that the Constitution totally abolished the death
penalty and removed it from the statute books. People vs. Muñoz reversed
the earlier “abolition” doctrine uniformly held in People v. Gavarra, 155
SCRA 327, October 30, 1987, (per C.J. Yap); People vs. Masangkay, 155
SCRA 113, October 27, 1987, (per J. Melencio-Herrera) and People vs.
Atencio, 156 SCRA 242, December 10, 1987 (per C.J. Narvasa). It is time
that these cases are revisited by this Court.
736
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“Fr. Bernas:
x x x x x x x x x
“My Collection on this is that there was a division in the Committee not on
whether the death penalty should be abolished or not, but rather on whether the
abolition should be done by the Constitution—in which case it cannot be restored
by the legislature—or left to the legislature. The majority voted for the
constitutional abolition of the death penalty. And the reason is that capital
punishment is inhuman for the convict and his family who are traumatized by the
waiting, even if it is never carried out. There is no evidence that the death penalty
deterred deadly criminals, hence, life should not be destroyed just in the hope that
other lives might be saved. Assuming mastery over the life of another man is just
too presumptuous for any man. The fact that the death penalty as an institution
has been there from time immemorial should not deter us from reviewing it.
Human life is more valuable than an institution intended precisely to serve
human life. So basically, this is the summary of the reasons which were presented
in support of the constitutional abolition of the death penalty. (italics supplied)
737
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738
10
“awkward" ): the authority of Congress to “provide for it” is
not absolute. Rather, it is strictly limited:
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739
Heinous Crimes
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741
“So we did not go that far from the Revised Penal Code, Mr.
President, and from existing special laws which, before abolition
________________
742
________________
“MR. SUAREZ. The Gentleman advisedly used the words ‘heinous crimes,’
whatever is the pronunciation. Will the Gentleman give examples of ‘heinous
crimes’? For example, would the head of an organized syndicate in dope
distribution or dope smuggling fall within the qualification of a heinous offender
such as to preclude the application of the principle of abolition of death penalty?
MR. MONSOD. Yes, Madam President. That is one of the possible crimes that
would qualify for a heinous crime. Another would be organized murder. In other
words, yesterday there were many arguments for and against, and they all had
merit. But in the contemporary society, we recognize the sacredness of human life
and—I think it was Honorable Laurel who said this yesterday—it is only God who
gives and takes life. However, the voice of the people is also the voice of God, and
we cannot presume to have the wisdom of the ages. Therefore, it is entirely
possible in the future that circumstances may arise which we should not preclude
today. We know that this is a very difficult question. The fact that the arguments
yesterday were quite impassioned and meritorious merely tell us that this is far
from a well-settled issue. At least in my personal opinion, we would like the death
penalty to be abolished. However, in the future we should allow the National
Assembly, in its wisdom and as representatives of the people, to still impose the
death penalty for the common good, in specific cases.
MR. SUAREZ. Thank you. I would like to pursue some more the Gentleman’s
defi-nition of ‘heinous crimes.’ Would the brutal murder of a rape victim be
considered as falling within that classification?
MR. MONSOD. Madam President, yes, particularly, if it is a person in
authority. He would, therefore, add as an ag
743
Compelling Reasons
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744
is true
22
that paragraphs 3 and 4 of the preamble of RA
7659 made some attempt at meeting this requirement.
But such effort was at best feeble and inconsequential. It
should be remembered that every word or phrase in the
Constitution is sacred and should never be ignored,
cavalierly-treated or brushed aside. Thus, I believe that the
compelling reasons and the characterization of heinousness
cannot be done wholesale but must be shown for each and
every crime, individually and separately.
The words “compelling reasons” were included in the
Charter because, in the words of Comm. Monsod, “in the
future, circumstances may arise which we should not
preclude today x x x and that the conditions and the
situation (during the deliberations of the Constitutional
Commission) might change for very specific reasons”
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“WHEREAS, due to the alarming upsurge of such crimes which has resulted not only in the
loss of human lives and wanton destruction of property but has also affected the nation’s
efforts towards sustainable economic development and prosperity while at the same time
has undermined the people’s faith in the Government and the latter’s ability to maintain
peace and order in the country;
WHEREAS, the Congress, in the interest of justice, public order and the rule of law, and
the need to rationalize and harmonize the penal sanctions for heinous crimes, finds
compelling reasons to impose the death penalty for said crimes”;
745
MR. GARCIA (P.). The worsening peace and order condition in the
country, Mr. Speaker. That is one.
MR. LAGMAN. So the compelling reason which the distinguished
sponsor would like to justify or serve as an anchor for the
justification of the reimposition of the death penalty is the
alleged worsening peace and order situation. The Gentleman
claims that that is one of the compelling reasons. But before we
dissect this particular “compelling reason,” may we know what
are the other compelling reasons, Mr. Speaker?
MR. GARCIA (P.) Justice, Mr. Speaker.
MR. LAGMAN. Justice.
MR. GARCIA (P.). Yes, Mr. Speaker.
MR. LAGMAN. Justice is a compelling reason, Mr. Speaker?
Could the Gentleman kindly elaborate on that answer? Why is
justice a compelling reason as if justice was not obtained at the
time the Constitution abolished the death penalty? Any
compelling reason should be a supervening circumstance after
1987.
MR. GARCIA (P.). Mr. Speaker, I have repeatedly said again and
again that if one lives in an organized society governed by law,
justice demands that crime be punished and that the penalty
imposed be commensurate with the offense committed.
MR. LAGMAN. The Gentleman would agree with me that when
the Constitution speaks of the compelling reasons to justify the
reimposition of death penalty, it refers to reasons which would
supervene or come after the approval of the 1987 Constitution.
Is he submitting that justice, in his own concept of a
commensurate penalty for the offense committed, was not
obtained in 1987 when the Constitution abolished the death
penalty and the people ratified it?
MR. GARCIA (P.). That is precisely why we are saying that now,
under present conditions, because of the seriousness of the
offenses being committed at this time, justice demands that the
appropriate penalty must be meted out for those who have
committed heinous crimes.
x x x x x x x x x
746
________________
747
MR. LAGMAN. This was the year immediately after the abolition
of the death penalty. Could the Gentleman tell us the volume
of robbery cases in 1988?
MR. GARCIA (P). It was 16,926, Mr. Speaker.
MR. LAGMAN. Obviously, the Gentleman would agree with me.
Mr. Speaker that the volume of robbery cases declined from
22,942 in 1987 or crime rate of 40 percent to 16,926 or a crime
rate of 29 percent. Would the Gentleman confirm that, Mr.
Speaker?
MR. GARCIA (P.). This is what the statistics say. I understand we
are reading now from the same document.
MR. LAGMAN. Now, going to homicide, the volume in 1987 was
12,870 or a crime rate of 22 percent. The volume in 1988 was
11,132 or a crime rate of 19 percent. Would the Gentleman
confirm that, Mr. Speaker?
MR. GARCIA (P.). As I said, Mr. Speaker, we are reading from
the same document and I would not want to say that the
Gentleman is misreading the document that I have here.
MR. LAGMAN. But would the Gentleman confirm that?
MR. GARCIA (P.). The document speaks for itself.”
in regard to drug-related
25
offenses in the year 1987 as
compared to 1991:
________________
748
But in 1987, when the death penalty was abolished, as far as the
drug-related cases are concerned, the figure continued a
downward trend, and there was no death penalty in this time
from, 1988 to 1991."
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749
________________
FR. BERNAS. The position taken by the majority of those who voted
in favor of this provision is that means other than the death penalty
should be used for the prevention of crime.”
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751
________________
752
753
Epilogue
755
________________
756
40
encyclical Evangelium Vitae (A Hymn to Life),
“punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided
upon, and ought not
_______________
“2266. Preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor
unable to inflict harm. For this reason the traditional teaching of the Church has
acknowledged as well-founded the right and duty of legitimate public authority to
punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the
crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty. For analogous
reasons those holding authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors
against the community in their charge.
“55. This should not cause surprise: to kill a human being, in whom the image of
God is present, is a particularly serious sin. Only God is the master of life! Yet
from the beginning, faced with the many and often tragic cases which occur in the
life of individuals and society, Christian reflection has sought a fuller and deeper
understanding of what God’s commandment prohibits and prescribes. There are,
in fact, situations in which values proposed by God’s Law seem to involve a
genuine paradox. This happens for example in the case of legitimate defense, in
which the right to protect one’s own life and the duty not to harm someone else’s
life are difficult to reconcile in practice. Certainly, the intrinsic value of life and
the duty to love oneself no less than others are the basis of a true right to self-
defense. The demanding commandment of love of neighbor, set forth in the Old
Testament and confirmed by Jesus, itself presupposes love of oneself as the basis
of comparison: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mk 12:31). Consequently,
no one can renounce the right to self-defense out of lack of love for life or for self.
This can only be done in virtue of a heroic love which deepens and transfigures the
love of self into a radical self-offering, according to the spirit of the Gospel
Beatitudes (cf. Mt. 5:38–40). The sublime example of this self-offering is the Lord
Jesus himself.
Moreover, legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for
someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the
State.’ Unfortunately it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of
causing harm sometimes involves taking his life. In this case,
757
________________
the fatal outcome is attributable to the aggressor whose action brought it about,
even though he may not be morally responsible because of a lack of the use of
reason.
56. This is the context in which to place the problem of the death penalty. On
this matter there is a growing tendency, both in the Church and in civil society, to
demand that it be applied in a very limited way or even that it be abolished
completely. The problem must be viewed in the context of a system of penal justice
even more in line with human dignity and thus, in the end, with God’s plan for
man and society. The primary purpose of the punishment which society inflicts is
“to redress the disorder caused by the offense.” Public authority must redress the
violation of personal and social rights by im posing on the offender an adequate
punishment for the crime, as a condition for the offender to regain the exercise of
his or her freedom. In this way authority also fulfills the purpose of defending
public order and ensuring people’s safety, while at the same time offering the
offender an incentive and help to change his or her behavior and be rehabilitated.
It is clear that, for these purposes to be achieved, the nature and extent of the
punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the
extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other
words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however,
as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such
cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.
In any event, the principle set forth in the new Catechism of the Catholic
Church remains valid: “lf bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives
against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public
authority must limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the
concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity
of the human person,”
758
——o0o——
759