People facing the death penalty in the Indonesian criminal justice system have not received serious attention from the Government. The protection of the rights of a fair trial during the judicial process which ultimately leads to the death penalty has not been adequately guaranteed in criminal procedure law. The moment to revise the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) therefore needs to be used to accommodate the protection of fair trial rights to a higher standard, especially for people facing the death penalty, as a form of Indonesia’s commitment to comply with international human rights standards.
This study provides a list of recommendations for aspects of criminal procedure law provision in adjudicating death penalty cases that need to be adopted in future changes of the Criminal Procedure Code. There are twelve regulatory aspects which include guarantee the protection of the rights of suspects/defendants/convicts starting from the beginning of a process of the criminal justice system, namely the investigation period until the last stage before the execution. The protection of a fair trial rights during the judicial process will ensure that a defendant who is alone facing a strong state power gets the widest and the maximum possible opportunity to defend himself while prosecuted and/or sentenced to death. Meanwhile, the protection of the rights of those sentenced to death, including when they are in the death row inmate period, is also discussed in this paper to ensure that no executions are carried out arbitrarily.
By writing in detail several indicators for each aspect of the regulation of the rights, the recommendations conveyed through this research are expected to assist policy makers when formulating the policy in the form of norms or provisions in draft laws. This is our main goal to provide concrete input that can be communicated to stakeholders in attempt to better fulfill the rights of justice seekers who are still vulnerable, namely those facing the death penalty.
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