MARYAM SANDA – Can we tamper justice with mercy?

The scream was blood cuddling as the Judge dropped the sentence. He had proclaimed her guilty and decreed that she would die by hanging. She collapsed into the cubicle with screams and the Correctional Officers jumped into action and grabbed her.

She was clothed in black, a self-imposed widow. Confirmation has come, she stabbed her loving husband to death in a rage only she can fathom the cause. Today, this judgement brings to a climax one of the most tragic stories in modern day Nigeria.

The full wrath of the Law has descended on her and she will pay the ultimate price except she can secure State or Presidential pardon, which is not looking very likely.

This case heralded a rash of lookalike cases where women suddenly started slaughtering their husbands for whatever reasons. What is making our women break? What is turning them to mindless killers? Sadly these questions will never be answered as we rush them into the gallows to face certain death. An action that is supposed to serve as a deterrent to would be killers.

Please, this write up is not to give reasons or justifications as to why she and the rest in her situation should not face the hangman. But an honest, God facing tearful plea. Another murder in whatever name will not solve anything. It will not deter any would-be murderer as always canvased.

This person was obviously not in a right mental state or how do you explain a mother and wife behaving in such dastardly manner.

This also throws up the lingering debate against the death penalty. It solves no issue but instead extends the carnage that is blood letting. It’s time we looked at the death penalty again especially in cases like this and then slowly move towards the incidence of the death penalty on other crimes.

This case is particularly sad because of the effect on the little kids who have now been orphaned in the most tragic manner. How do you explain to them when they grow up what happened to their parents? If not carefully handled those children woud be traumatised and will grow into disjointed adults who could do tremendous damage to society.

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The healing process for our system must commence now. The need for forgiveness must be entrenched in our judicial system. The system must not be punitive in ethos but must be rejigged to be more restorative except in extreme cases.

I know this plea and that of others like this would be drowned in the cacophony of a maddened crowd baying for the blood of this young lady and others in her situation.

But nobody is really looking at the causative factors. Why are these women killing their husbands all of a sudden? Why is domestic violence now in the forefront of violent crimes in our society? Something tells me the answer to this would just be the solution we are looking for and not the heinous act that will soon be carried out by the State. Please, lets spare her.

By Joseph Edgar…

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