Our jelly backed PM

Mr Rudd is looking jelly backed on the matter of the death penalty. His moral conviction has been put to the test and he has buckled.

Mr Rudd has an opportunity to return to his original position and for good reason, says Julian McMahon, a prominent Melbourne barrister who acts for two of the Bali Nine and acted for Melbourne man Van Nguyen who was executed in Singapore in 2005.

In a speech delivered last Friday at the Australian Lawyer’s Alliance Conference in Auckland, Mr McMahon observed that by “executing the Bali bombers we are giving them what they want - martyrdom, glory and hero-status. Instead, the better deterrent, the more effective punishment, the thing they don’t want, is life imprisonment.”

And if Mr Rudd was to oppose the death penalty for the Bali bombers he would win respect in our region, Mr McMahon said.

There is much to be said for this view. By opposing the death penalty for the Bali bombers and therefore signaling that they should not be turned into martyrs but forced to serve out a lifetime deprived of liberty, Mr Rudd would not only be better respecting the families and loved ones of the Bali victims, but would also demonstrate that Australia is prepared to take a leadership role on improving human rights in the Asia-Pacific region.