Should mercy pleas be decided within a fixed time?
The Supreme Court has rejected a plea by a terrorist on the death row that his sentence should be commuted to life because his mercy plea was pending for several years. The top court however says it hopes such petitions will be disposed of without unreasonable delay in future. Should there be a fixed time for mercy pleas to be decided? Is it inhuman to execute convicts who've been waiting on death row for years on end? We debate on Left, Right and Centre.
