February 1 - that's the day the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case are to be hanged to death, instead of January 22, the date first set by a trial court. The four men found guilty of the rape and brutal murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in the national capital seven years ago are to be executed by the state at 6 am on February 1 in fresh warrants that were issued hours after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected a mercy plea filed by one of them, Mukesh Singh. The new death warrants or black warrants are dated February 1 because according to the law there has to be a gap of 14 days after a mercy plea is turned down, so those on death row can exhaust all legal options before one can be executed by the State. The three other convicts have yet to file their respective petitions, which they may do at any time prior to their execution. However, remember that each time a petition is filed and rejected that 14-day period must be observed, thereby prolonging the execution. That's not all, on Monday, the Supreme court is to hear a petition by another one of the four convicts - Pawan, who claims he was a juvenile on the date of the crime and should be punished according to juvenile laws. These developments in the Nirbhaya case have now revived the debate on whether death penalty should be retained as a punishment for murder under the Indian Penal Code? And we are asking tonight on We The People whether the death penalty is a deterrent for rapists?
