Determinants of the Death Penalty in Indonesia: An Indicator

Since 2021 LBHM, IJRS and Reprieve have conducted research on death penalty decisions that occurred in Indonesia based on notes made by Reprieve. As a result, we were able to find a total of 216 death penalty decisions consisting of 158 court decisions for narcotics crimes and 58 judgments for premeditated murder. This number does not represent all existing cases because there are research limitations such as the unavailability or damage of decision documents that are available electronically on the Supreme Court website. However, on certain occasions, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia has stated that there are 406 death row convicts spread across various correctional institutions throughout Indonesia.

Despite the limitations, this research shows various findings related to the practice of capital punishment in Indonesia. The findings of this study indicate that there is an urgency to establish a sentencing guideline to help judges make the fairest possible decision if they have to impose death sentences. In addition, sentencing guidelines are also needed as a form of maximum protection of human rights for people facing the death penalty. The need for sentencing guidelines is still relevant even though Indonesia has changed capital punishment into an alternative punishment through the recently passed Criminal Code (KUHP). This is because, even though it is an alternative punishment, there is still a lack of clarity on the mechanism for implementing capital punishment in the National Criminal Code which was passed on December 6, 2022.

(This publication only available in Bahasa Indonesia)