Trumps call for death penalty is the wrong response to drug war
Punitive and punishing people is all Trump does.
Trump’s call for death penalty is the wrong response to drug war
http://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/376482-trumps-call-for-death-penalty-is-the-wrong-response-to-drug-war
By Widney Brown, opinion contributor — 03/02/18 03:30 PM EST
Trump’s call for death penalty is the wrong response to drug war
© Getty
At the White House Summit on the opioid crisis, President Trump publicly indicated he would like to emulate policies of China, the Philippines, and Singapore by executing drug sellers, confirming an earlier a report by Axios. Such a policy undermines civil liberties and, despite claims to the contrary, will neither save lives nor mitigate the crisis.
The Philippines’ president Rodrigo Duterte, whom Trump says has done an “unbelievable job on the drug problem,” is no role model — he is a reported killer. Duterte has not only overseen a large-scale campaign of state-sanctioned murders of people believed to be involved with drugs but has bragged about having himself killed people.
These policies violate human rights principles that safeguard human life. That a U.S. president would hold up Duterte as a role model and would argue for such cruel and draconian practices is indefensible.
.............................
In 2016, drug overdoses accounted for over 64,000 U.S. deaths, including over 42,000 — the most ever — from misuse of opioids, typically in combination with other drugs. On average, 175 Americans are dying each day from overdoses.
But unlike in earlier times we know two things. First, declaring a war on drugs and unleashing the policing power of the state destroys lives, not saves them. Second, we now know how to save lives, even with the threat of drugs adulterated by the powerful synthetic opioid, fentanyl..............................................
= new reply since forum marked as read
