Monday, October 17, 2005
A Stone's Throw Away
A Stone’s Throw Away
Amongst the daily headlines in my newspaper, between the IAEA and the Avian Flu, was a small, unnoticeable article. The title was insignificantly different from most other articles relevant to its main issues; murder, prostitution, and the death sentence. But here, it was a strange awakening.
On the headline, in medium print, it read as all normal murder/homicide cases would go, but in the finer script detailing the murder, the death sentence was stoning.
Many people pay serious attention to the legalities of death sentences here, but stoning was never a “BIG” issue to deal with. I should probably re-word that; there is no way of dealing with it, at least, no legal or diplomatic way, and if there ever was, it obviously does not work.
The woman’s crime is judged first degree murder with a second count of adultery/prostitution (her accomplice in the murder was her mystery lover). Her sentencing, as seen fit by the Supreme Judge, was fifteen years with stoning. The order in which these sentences are carried out is a mystery, since there was no more information that a) was in the paper or b) online.
If Afghanistan is still fresh on anyone’s mind, one of the greatest shocks for most people in my part of America was stoning and other such punishments (amputations, whippings, etc…) Even when I’d seen it in a Times report, in 2001, I couldn’t believe it, until yesterday, when it suddenly became all too true. Whether or not anyone remembers, it is an important reality.
The reality of stoning is gruesome, but it is also a practice for a religion that, 1000 years ago, did not comprehend the idea of jail. There are no punishments pertaining to jail in this religion, it’s always a direct and quick punishment befitting the crime (And no, there are not that many options). Cutting off hands and feet for thievery; Adultery/murder gets the execution. Whipping is used indignantly in all punishments; whipping is sort of the crème de la cake. After the punishment is meted out, the criminal is free.
Today, these rules are a little blurred between jail and execution, man and woman. There are probably explanations for who gets the jail sentence and who gets the stoning, but those fine print details are fairly out of my reach right now. If you get a chance during this lifetime, try and find someone who can explain the details to you.
A few of my inquiries into the article led to a ginormous amount of notes. Firstly, prisoners who were married and committed adultery will get the stoning, although, men have priority here; if a man is married and commits adultery and happens to get caught (or reported by his wife), it is HIGHLY unusual that he will be stoned; male prisoners usually get jail time or lashes.
The female prisoner who was sentenced can try to get pardon or “Rezayat” from the immediate relations of her husband, whom she adulterized and murdered, but if they pardon her, she has to pay a price or “dieh”. A grown man has a price of 25 million tomans, a grown woman 12 million, an adolescent male 12 million, and an adolescent female (whether or not she is virgin) unknown.
If this woman cannot pay the dieh, and is not pardoned, there is a public date and place set for her execution; usually towards the center-south districts of
The law as the majority of people know it, states that the woman can be freed if she survives. That is, if she can climb out of the hole, alive. There is no set time frame for stoning; how long does it take to get your brains knocked out of your skull?
Just climbing out alive is not going to do it, there are a few strings attached. If there are witnesses who claim the woman committed the said crimes, and the woman claims (three times) that she did not commit them, and she somehow gets out of that hole alive, she is free, irregardless of the evidence. If there is concrete evidence, and she does not deny it, but she tries to get out, they pop her back in. Round two.
Nothing short but a miracle will pull her out of that thing, and God ain’t answering any calls right now.
We wonder, has anyone tried to take stoning away? Capital punishment is a crime to some, but others would rather see the woman isolated in jail rather than stoned. These laws that order stoning come under the jurisdiction of a system of laws called the Shari’aht; anyone can learn more about that system of laws and ideology on the internet. But most of the laws that system uses are considered backward to most of the world; “It doesn’t stand a chance when western ideology and law has major influences on the minds of people all around.”
On whether or not stoning is an issue, many point to the Parliament, or the Majlis. But, the few women there who represent the female population of the IRI stand for stoning, and have repeatedly tried to pass lashing sentences for those women who do commit the crimes. Without knowing more about the above, it would seem ridiculous, if it isn’t already, to add lashings. But what most doe-eyed strangers don’t understand is that stoning, lashing, and amputations are a part of the material punishment/humiliation/purification of the prisoner. Lashings are to purify his/her crimes. Stoning is to purify her; to humiliate his/her “soul” in front of all people and God. This need to purify the sinner seems like a good reason to instill lashings before executions.
It almost seems like a community outreach program; everyone reaches in to help, and everybody learns a lesson or two.
