Thursday, April 25, 2013
Comrade Duch
Please go Cambodia: A Quest For Justice and view the video (26 minutes). Comment on an appropriate punishment for Duch. Consider how sincere his apology was for his crimes. He even felt what his defense attorney asked for was not enough. He believes he deserves punishments for his terrible crimes. He has already served 11 years and at his first penalty trial, he was given 35 years with 19 years to serve (last year the U.N. tribunal lengthened his sentence to life in prison). He is a 69 year-old man. He will not commit crimes of this nature again. He poses no threat to humanity. Was he also a victim of the Khmer Rouge government of Cambodia and its maniacal leader, Pol Pot? He and his family was threatened by the extremism of the regime. Should we have some sympathy for his predicament? On the other hand, someone must be held accountable for these awful murders - 2,000,000!! Explain why life in prison is appropriate or too harsh. Please post by Wednesday, May 1.
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ReplyDeleteLife in prison is not nearly as harsh of a sentence. No matter how sincere comrade duch is. Not the most sincere apology would be accepted by me if i was one of thr judges. If I was one of the judges I would even consider life in prison as an option. This man should be torchered exactly how he torchered the victims of the Cambodian genocide. He should be torchered severely but not fatality. He should be torchered until he dies for natural causes. They should make him suffer for what he did using the most pain possible. I was so astonished by what he did that evem I wanted to go and kill him myself even though what he did didnt affect me personally. I still cant believe to this hour thathe torchered all those people with no remorse at all. I strongly believe he is a phony and was faking his apology. After killing that many people there is no way u can be remorseful. It just isnt humanly possible. I wouldny let just anybody torcher him, no no no. I would let the 12 surviving victims get their revenge on him by brutally beating him. I wouldnt let them kill them but just cause him alot of pain. I would then keep him contained until her recovers and then start torchering him the way he torchered the victims. For as long as he survives he would be torchered every day. I would make sure that positively he couldn't commit suicide. I know some people say two wrongs don't make a right but if for 2 million INOCENT people this would make it right. Although some people will disagree with me I stand by what I say one hundred percent. Why would u let him stay in jail. That would be so wrong after what he did. Even if he was 100 years old and he would die in 1 year i would make sure he wouldnt spend the year in vain and suffer for 365 days. Age has nothing to do with the sentence. Even if he is no threat to humanity he should still be punished and torchered severely. I think he wasnt threatened at all and we should have no sympathy at all for him. He is a mass murder and no one can deny that. We can agree to disagree and krep going in circles about his sentence but when we put things in prespective "treat him the way he treated people"
ReplyDeleteHamzah abdi
I think that life in prison is an appropriate sentence for Comrade Duch, based on the crimes he committed and the level of remorse he seems to show for them. I feel that life in prison will give him time to think about the crimes he committed, this may physiologically torture him however I do not think it would be a good decision for the government to physically torture him. If they were to do this they would be stooping as low as he once did and almost showing that the torture of another human being is alright. When in reality it is never okay to torture anyone. Also, the death penalty would be letting him off too easy in this case; he needs to live with what he has done because that alone should be punishment enough for any individual with a soul. He committed these crimes on his own account, he was aware of what was right and what was wrong, and he knew millions of innocent people were being killed because of his orders. He had the opportunity to stop this, make a difference, and save lives even if it might have cost him his own. Comrade Duch belongs in prison for the rest of his life to take responsibility for what he did and to give peace of mind to all the people’s lives he destroyed
ReplyDelete-Sarah Kennedy
I am completely and totally against the death penalty, so I do not believe that Duch deserves death even though he commited many horrible and disgusting crimes. I do think that he should spend the rest of his life in prison. Since there is no chance of him harming anyone then I do not think that the death penalty should even be an option. As we discussed in our socratic seminar about the fog of war, his actions can be rationalized but not justified. When posed with the question if you had to torture others or be killed many people would say of course not. However, no one knows what they would actually do until there in the situation. I understand he did it to save himself and also his family, but his actions can never be justified. I have sympathy for Duch because it had to have been the most difficult decision. He seemed genuinely remorseful in his statement and when he apologized, so I do not think the death penalty is the correct punishment. I think the spending the rest of his life in jail is the most just punishment.
ReplyDeleteGilisa Paternina
Life is prison is an appropriate punishment for what Duch did. Although he was very sincere in his apology and I do believe that he was truly sorry and is no longer a threat to society in any way, what he did was heinous and truly evil. I think that if your family is being threatened, that you need to take that anger and aggression and turn it at those who are threatening, in this case Pol Pot. Instead of coming up with disgustingly torturous ideas, Duch should have attempted to take down his oppressors, even though his chance of success may be low. Duch absolutely deserves the punishment he received but after seeing how truly bad he felt you cant help but have some sympathy for him. You do feel some sympathy until you remember the unthinkably terrible pain he inflicted on millions of innocent people. The punishment that Duch received was fair and appropriate for the situation.
ReplyDeletePersonally I feel that the death penalty is not appropriate and life in prison is. I think that he was genuinely sorry for his crimes he has committed and I do not think that sentencing him to death would benefit society, the victims or himself. I believe that his sentence gives the victims a small sense of justice, displays a fair punishment, identifies his crimes, and takes vital factors into consideration. Another large factor that was taken into consideration was the fact that he was not the only one responsible for this event. Yes he also was a victim but that does not justify his actions. Overall I feel that the proper factors have been taken into consideration and he has been given a fair sentence.
ReplyDeleteZack Shepherd
How does one even begin to develop a punishment severe enough for a man who committed crimes against Humanity? Is any punishment just for this “master of criminals?” Unfortunately, for the victims, both living and deceased, justice was not served inside of the small Cambodian courtroom. For many, justice was “too expensive, too slow, and too late” to bring even the tiniest sliver of closure. Comrade Duch was only given 19 years in prison for his vicious torture and murder of millions of innocent men, women, and children. If one were to calculate one would find (assuming Duch lived to serve the entirety of his sentence) that he would spend approximately 5 minutes behind bars for each person. Regardless, of the fact that he tortured, chained, and slaughtered his victims, the simple fact that for the murder of a human being Duch would spend 5 measly minutes in jail is disheartening enough. Is 19 years adequate punishment for a man who forced an entire society to vacate their homes, work relentlessly in fields, and document with paintings, the atrocities undergone by its people who had caused no harm to anyone?
ReplyDeleteIf the decision were up to me (and perhaps Phil) Comrade Duch would be sentenced to undergo the exact gauntlet of malevolence that he forced some 2,000,000 people to endure. First, the “teacher of cruelty” would be stripped of his dignity, chained to bare brick, and fed nothing but insult after insult until he too tried to take his own life. Next, the Comrade would be forced to dig grave after grave for each of the victims whose deaths he caused. After the Comrade could no longer walk or bear his mental, physical, and emotional pain he would then be executed like the vermin he is. Then and only then, would this devil spawn have a fraction of an understanding of the pain that he caused to a nation, its people, and to humanity. Thus, I believe that the prompt should be adjusted to read: why is life imprisonment too painless and is reliving the suffering he caused not enough?
---Nick Palumbo
Punishment, as defined by Encarta Dictionary, is “a penalty that is imposed on somebody for wrongdoing.” Fair punishment, depending on who you’re asking, can be interpreted in many ways. Make no mistake however, trying to inflict what Comrade Duch did to the innocent Cambodians onto Duch is not fair punishment. Torturing Comrade Duch does not mean punishment alone. By torturing him, revenge accompanies punishment as well. We as a society must never let this happen. In sentencing and in judging, we must be as objective as possible and never let revenge creep into our soul. We cannot let malice waltz into our hearts as we play God and decide the fate of another human being.
DeleteTorturing Duch would be far more than simply “stooping to his level.” This phrase can be used to describe petty acts, but in such an astounding case as Comrade Duch’s, “stooping to his level” does not nearly describe what we would be doing. When torturing Comrade Duch, we would be dehumanizing not only him, but ourselves as well. By your math (which I have checked and is correct) and logic Nicholas, what I interpret you’re saying is that five minutes per life behind bars is not enough, but five minutes of torturing abusing, and dehumanizing Duch and ourselves would be exponentially better. Instead of serving five minutes in prison for every death he is responsible for, we must strip away his dignity and our own for five minutes and let revenge consume us because that’s what’s fair. Apparently what you’re saying is that we must allow vengeance to grip our minds and puppet us into ripping away our compassion, our morals, and our formality, so that the deaths of the innocent can somehow be avenged.
To you Nicholas, and to all of those who support the torture of Comrade Duch, I say that by giving the dead vengeance is in no way shape or form honoring them. Dehumanizing Duch and ourselves would make all of their suffering, pain, and death meaningless. Instead, what we must do is honor them by giving their deaths purpose. Their deaths can be used to once again educate our posterity. We cannot allow Duch to do more harm to our society than he has already done. Our moral code will not be further degraded by torturing Duch. As Ghandi had said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” We must show the world that in the face of inhumanity, we will keep ours.
And so like you challenged us to answer a prompt, I challenge you to answer this one: is abandoning our morals and dehumanizing ourselves through torture worth the satisfaction of revenge?
Chrisvan, I had a response but unfortunately i "tap, tap, tapped it away" we will discuss in class
Delete---Nick Palumbo
In my eye's I see that this man has done a lot of horrible things to deserve life in prison. He has killed a lot of people as well as torturing all the prisoners to the point that they suicide. Though comrade Duch showed his regret from his actions that caused the people of Cambodia to suffer he as a ruthless killer seemed to have not meant anything that he did. When people are killed and other things that include murder there is always a reason but when being accused of such things such as murder there is nothing that can be said but why would someone think this would be ok. No one can just be a part of something evil such as genocide and not see that things like that wont be tolerated and later on punished. History has shown great evil and in response shown some great justice but when there is a chance to at least put one man in jail for his crimes against humanity then its reasonable to put Duch in jail for life.
ReplyDelete-Jesus Garcia
I believe that life in prison is an appropriate punish for Comrade Duch. The death penalty is too humane for what he has done against the Cambodian people. He deserves to suffer in prison so he can feel, even on a minuscule level, what he put people through. It doesn't matter that he was "sorry" for what he did because it doesn't change what he does. There cannot be a precedent set that excuses war criminals for there crimes because they are "sorry". He obviously was fine with working at S-21 during his time there because he did it with ruthless efficiency as shown by the fact that only 12 people survived out of about 15,000. Although he claims to be a "victim", it doesn't excuse him from the atrocities he had committed.
ReplyDelete-Colin Krohto
I believe that the Royal Government of Cambodia and the United Nation’s extension to Comrade Duch’s sentence from 35 years to a lifetime in prison is an appropriate punishment for the atrocities that were committed under his command at S-21. The extreme nature of his crimes against the 2,000,000 innocent people at S-21 certainly has not diminished with time; therefor his punishment should not be lessened because of he is considered to be an older man. While Duch may have been forced by the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot to torture the prisoners at S-21, he could have gone about it in a less cruel and a more ‘humane’ way. (And I say humane very lightly for there is no way to torture someone humanely.) He taught the guards at S-21 how to preform these various torture methods and techniques such as waterboarding, suffocation by plastic bags, and pulling out finger and toenails. Comrade Duch should not be excused for committing these actions or for being the chief enforcer and executer at S-21. I believe that life in prison would be the most fitting punishment for his actions. Execution would not be appropriate for it would allow Comrade Duch to receive the ‘easy way out’; he would not have to continue to face the atrocities that he has committed over his lifetime. A lifetime in jail would allow him to reflect on his actions, which I believe would be quite torturous, granted the brutal and inhumane crimes that he has perpetrated during his time at S-21.
ReplyDelete- Jillian
I believe that the courts punishment for Comdade duch's terrible actions is perfectly okay. I believe this because he is going to die in prison. How ever, if he was much younger I would very much disagree with the sentence. Although he shows sincere apology he deserves to be in jail for the rest of his life. He claims he was acting out of fear of him and his family but testimoney states that he almost enjoyed what he did, and was a power hungry man. Making inmates sit up for long period of times, stand up when they saw duch coming, etc. However If he did not show sincere consolence I would be perfectly okay with him being in solitary confinement just like he did to thousands of inmates at s-21. Overall Comrade Duch is an evil human being who deserves nothing less then life in prison.
ReplyDelete-Ben G
It is very difficult to come up with an appropriate punishment for Comrade Duch. I personally believe that life in prison is a waste of taxpayer money to keep a murderer alive. However, I am also not a believer in the death penalty. It makes no sense to me to end another life when already so many have been killed. To me the best option would be exile. To me his apology is irrelevant considering the crimes he has commited. I like to believe that there is a nice warm place in hell for people like him who decide to torture. He attempted to say that he was a victum and had no other choice than to do it. However in life there is always wrong desicion and a right one. He choose the wrong path to go down. Life in prison is very kind for what he has done. This is because he gets food to eat and a place to sleep being provided by the government. Exile is the only appropriate treatment for someone like Comrade Douch.
ReplyDelete-Brehio
Life in prison is a sufficient sentence for the acts that Duch comitted. Sure, he may sincirely be sorry for what he did, but it doesn't matter. An "I'm sorry" is clearly not enough to excuse what he did. It is very clear that he poses no immediate threat to society, but that doesn't change what he did. Some may ask why we shouldn't have sympathy for Duch's perdicament of being opressed by the Pol Pot regme. To be honest, life in prison is sympathy for what a man like Duch did. He was responsible for what happened, and life in prison is the most appropriate punishment for the crimes against humanity Duch committed. Nick D
ReplyDeleteLife in prison for Comrade Duch is a very acceptable crime. He would torture all the people in the prison, to try and interrogate them. So what if they may have forced him to do the job, he came up with new cruel and unusual punishments to do to people. Imagine awaiting till midnight to fall asleep each night, because at any time your cell could be broken into and you could be killed that same night. Comrade Duch deserves his life in prison sentence despite how old he is, and how the crime was over 30 years ago.
ReplyDelete-Connor Lanoie
Comrade Duch should have gotten life in prison. With the sentence he got he probably would have died in prison but the fact they didn’t give him life was the problem. At this time he still had some hope of getting out but he should have had no hope. I do believe he was sorry for what he did and that he was a changed person but that doesn’t change the fact that he did kill and torture all those people. He may have been forced to do it but he knew what he was doing and still continued. Also a good point was made today; he didn’t have to try so hard to hurt all those people by creating all sorts of different torture methods. He took the job to a new level when he didn’t have to try that hard. I Duch should gotten life he did it to himself he made choices and now he needs to face the penalty with life in prison.
ReplyDeletePamela Whatley
I believe that his man should have been put to death. Why let him live his life in a jail when he took away the lives of so many? The job was for him watch over the prison, he was the one who created these awful torture techniques. So how can he say that he was forced to do this. While all this is true I do think that he can look back and feel sorry/bad for his actions. Because time can really change a person. But in no way should that excuse him for the terrible acts that he committed. That is why i feel he sould have goten the death penalty. (Even though international courts cant use the death penalty)
ReplyDeletetommy janicki