Execution for Thai murderers. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

stevie667 · 01-18-2006, 03:37 PM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4623024.stm

Quote:

Thai murder pair's death sentence

The men were sentenced to be executed by lethal injection
Two Thai fishermen have been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 21-year-old Briton Katherine Horton.
Wichai Somkhaoyai, 24, and Bualoi Posit, 23, face lethal injection for the killing on Koh Samui on 1 January.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the men should be executed because of the damage to the country's image.

The family of Miss Horton, from Cardiff, thanked Thai police, but Fair Trials Abroad and Amnesty International criticised the speed of their sentence.

Amid concern in the UK over the nature of the trial, the Horton family reiterated that they did not want to be involved in the criminal and political processes of another country.

Katherine Horton was on a two-week holiday with a university friend

"Our family would like to thank the authorities in Thailand, especially the Royal Thai Police, for their diligent and speedy apprehension of the offenders, which has helped us seek an end to the uncertainties of this tragedy," their statement read.

It came just a few hours after the hearing on Wednesday, where Judge Chamnong Sutchaimai told the court: "The crime they committed has terrified people.

"To prevent others from committing similar acts, the court rules that the two defendants be sentenced to death."

The one-day trial of the two fishermen accused of raping and murdering Reading University student Miss Horton took place on Friday in Surat Thani.

Dragged out to sea

The trial heard that the attack took place at 2100 local time on New Year's Day, close to where Miss Horton was staying on Lamai beach, on the island of Koh Samui.

The fishermen, the judges were told, had been watching pornographic films on their boat before swimming ashore.

They attacked Miss Horton after she wandered off from friends to make a mobile phone call on the beach.

The court heard how she was beaten with a parasol pole, raped and later dragged out to sea where she drowned.

The case has had a heavy impact on the tourist industry in Samui

Colonel Preecha Thimimontri

It was said that the men had "effectively left Katherine for dead" and how it was possible she was still alive when they left her.

Her body was washed up the next morning on a remote beach a few kilometres away.

Colonel Preecha Thimimontri, who headed the police investigation, said they "respected the verdict of the judge".

"Even though they have the death penalty, they have the right to go to the appeal court," he said.

Asked whether the case has put people off going on holiday to Thailand, he said: "Absolutely, the case has had a heavy impact on the tourist industry in Samui."

'Opposes death penalty'

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are grateful to the Thai police for all their hard work with this case."

But he added: "The government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and has made this clear."

Fair Trials Abroad's Stephen Jakobi said he was "disappointed" at the death sentence.

He said he was not aware of a death sentence being imposed in similar murder cases in Thailand and highlighted the jail term given to a police sergeant who killed a British couple last year.

Katherine Gerson from Amnesty International said: "We are also concerned that the prime minister has called for the imposition of the death penalty. That is for the judiciary to decide," she said.

Good.

uncle phil · 01-18-2006, 05:22 PM

i don't know to which part of the above article the "good" comment relates, but i believe that the two fishermen involved deserve the sentence imposed...

abaya · 01-18-2006, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle phil

i don't know to which part of the above article the "good" comment relates, but i believe that the two fishermen involved deserve the sentence imposed...

Yes, I'd like to hear more from the OP on what "good" means, but I'd have to disagree that they deserve the punishment. First of all, were they 100% guilty? Who were the eyewitnesses? Second of all, does anyone have ANY idea of how much shit gets *ignored* in Thailand of precisely this nature, usually because the women/men being victimized are usually fellow Thais or non-Western? No one gives much of a rat's ass about what goes down on Patpong Road and the unspeakable crimes against very young girls there.

I find this disturbing because of the correlation between involvement of a Western, white woman and the effect on the tourism industry. Even if the dudes were guilty, there was no reason to have a one-day trial to decide someone's life and call it done. I am not against justice being served, but not in this manner. Something else is going on here.

stevie667 · 01-19-2006, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle phil

i don't know to which part of the above article the "good" comment relates, but i believe that the two fishermen involved deserve the sentence imposed...

The fact they're being sentanced, guess i should have made that clearer.

Personally, after the murder, i had serious reservations about visiting Thailand, to see one of my friends who lives out there. The fact they have been dealt with so quickly has restored a large amount of my faith in Thailand. Lots of shit goes on in every country, and police forces are often quicker to respond when their countries image and reputation is at stake.

This type of quick action should be a model to the rest of the world. I know there was lots of pressue involved in making the quick decision, but based on everything i know, it was the right one IMO.

jwoody · 01-19-2006, 05:26 AM

My perception of the Thai justice system leads me to believe that, despite DNA evidence and signed confessions, the chances of these two men being the murderers are somewhere in the region of 50/50.

Even if they are guilty, killing them isn't going to make me more or less likely to visit Thailand.

TheBrit · 01-19-2006, 05:31 AM

Yeah, as soon as I heard this I thought "they've just got them to confess publically, they'll claim they killed them and pay them enough to start a new life".
It really wouldn't suprise me.

dksuddeth · 01-19-2006, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the men should be executed because of the damage to the country's image.

WTF is this BS???? What about the damage to her?? That doesn't count??

jeenyus_ones · 01-20-2006, 02:19 PM

the sentence seems fitting for their crimes.

filtherton · 01-20-2006, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the men should be executed because of the damage to the country's image.

Yes, they need to send a clear message that thailand is a haven for pedophiles and pedophiles alone. Rapists should go elswhere.

highthief · 01-20-2006, 05:09 PM

Does anyone really think that a decent process of justice and investigation could possibly have taken place in less than 3 weeks? I understand some people's frustration with the slowness that Western systems sometimes use, but c'mon! Imagine Thailand (or Singapore or any other country in the area) sentenced a European or maybe an Australian or North American to death after a less than 3 weeks of investigating and judiciating - people here would be freaking out about how unjust and capricious and corrupt Thai justice is. But y'know, it was a pretty little English girl that got killed, and presumably, a couple of little brown men did it, so let's kill them, even if we're not quite sure what happened.

highthief · 01-20-2006, 05:15 PM

Remember when this pretty little Australian was not "an example of swift and sure justice" but a poor little girl being railroaded by a corrupt SE Asian judicial system? I well remember the howls of outrage.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...1/s1543128.htm

oberon · 01-20-2006, 05:57 PM

I too have reservations about whether they could have properly concluded that the two men in question were in fact responsible for Katherine Horton's murder. The question of whether the death penalty is appropriate is a different and more difficult one to answer, however.

kutulu · 01-20-2006, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by filtherton

Yes, they need to send a clear message that thailand is a haven for pedophiles and pedophiles alone. Rapists should go elswhere.

Yes they really need to get back to the ideals that made them famous:

Sex with 12 year old virgins

01-18-2006, 05:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
uncle phil comfortably numb... Super Moderator Location: upstate	i don't know to which part of the above article the "good" comment relates, but i believe that the two fishermen involved deserve the sentence imposed... __________________ "We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done." - Robert S. McNamara ----------------------------------------- "We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches... We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles." - Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message" ----------------------------------------- never wrestle with a pig. you both get dirty; the pig likes it.

01-19-2006, 05:26 AM	#5 (permalink)
jwoody Shackle Me Not Location: Newcastle - England.	My perception of the Thai justice system leads me to believe that, despite DNA evidence and signed confessions, the chances of these two men being the murderers are somewhere in the region of 50/50. Even if they are guilty, killing them isn't going to make me more or less likely to visit Thailand. __________________ .

01-20-2006, 05:09 PM	#10 (permalink)
highthief Junkie Location: Ontario, Canada	Does anyone really think that a decent process of justice and investigation could possibly have taken place in less than 3 weeks? I understand some people's frustration with the slowness that Western systems sometimes use, but c'mon! Imagine Thailand (or Singapore or any other country in the area) sentenced a European or maybe an Australian or North American to death after a less than 3 weeks of investigating and judiciating - people here would be freaking out about how unjust and capricious and corrupt Thai justice is. But y'know, it was a pretty little English girl that got killed, and presumably, a couple of little brown men did it, so let's kill them, even if we're not quite sure what happened. __________________ Si vis pacem parabellum.

01-20-2006, 05:15 PM	#11 (permalink)
highthief Junkie Location: Ontario, Canada	Remember when this pretty little Australian was not "an example of swift and sure justice" but a poor little girl being railroaded by a corrupt SE Asian judicial system? I well remember the howls of outrage. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...1/s1543128.htm __________________ Si vis pacem parabellum.

01-20-2006, 05:57 PM	#12 (permalink)
oberon Quadrature Amplitude Modulator Location: Denver	I too have reservations about whether they could have properly concluded that the two men in question were in fact responsible for Katherine Horton's murder. The question of whether the death penalty is appropriate is a different and more difficult one to answer, however. __________________ "There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb

01-19-2006, 05:31 AM	#6 (permalink)
TheBrit Psycho	Yeah, as soon as I heard this I thought "they've just got them to confess publically, they'll claim they killed them and pay them enough to start a new life". It really wouldn't suprise me.

01-20-2006, 02:19 PM	#8 (permalink)
jeenyus_ones Upright	the sentence seems fitting for their crimes.