Kasab's lawyer against capital punishment

Mumbai, May 18 (PTI) Harping on reformative aspect of
criminal justice, advocate Abbas Kazmi, the lawyer defending
November 26 terror attack accused Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab,
said today that he was not in favour of awarding capital
punishment to a convict.

"I am against capital punishment because if we, as
human beings, do not have the power to give someone life then
we do not have right to take anyone's life also," Kazmi told
PTI.

Kazmi said the perpetrators of the terror attacks
should be dealt harshly but he was against capital punishment.
Kasab's lawyer said there was a possibility of
reformation in case of every accused and that opportunity must
be provided to them. "When dacoit Valmiki reformed himself and
become a saint, why not a convict be given chance to reform?",
he asked.

"Looking at the condition of prisons in India, which
are worse than hell, I feel life imprisonment would be harsher
sentence than death penalty," Kazmi said.

Kazmi said he was also upset about the terror attacks
and felt that the offence was unpardonable. The perpetrators
of the crime should be dealt with sternly, he added.

Asked about the need for a stringent anti-terror law,
Kasab's lawyer said that more than the law the need of the
hour was that the nation's security agencies should be more
alert and careful about the "porous" borders.

"How could ten armed persons come in so easily by the
sea route and hold the city hostage for three days? Why are we
keeping our doors open for such attacks?," Kazmi questioned.

Although court is yet to prove Kasab's involvement in
the crime, the fact remains that he faces serious allegation
of killing people, including three top ranking police
officials who are supposed to protect the city, Kazmi said.

"The other two accused in the case- Faheem Ansari and
Sabauddin -- who have been charged with providing maps of the
target spots in city to the masterminds of terror attacks,
were arrested in January last year and the police could have
averted the 26/11 attacks after knowing their evil designs,"
Kazmi said. PTI SP
PMR