- Many adults in Peru believe capital punishment should be implemented again, according to a poll by Apoyo published in El Comercio. 82 per cent of respondents support the death penalty for people convicted of child molestation and murder.

On Jul. 28, Alan García of the American Revolutionary People's Alliance (APRA) officially took over as president. He had previously served as Peru's head of state from 1985 to 1990

Earlier this month, García urged the country's lawmakers to support his proposal to allow the death penalty for child abusers and murderers, saying, "I think society needs more rigour and order, and delinquents need tougher sanctions. (...) I think these people have no right to live."

Former prime minister and national prosecutor Beatriz Merino voiced her disapproval, saying, "We are facing a problem of education and the values of society, which we should deal with through education and policy."

First vice-president Luis Giampietri also disagreed with García, declaring, "I'm Catholic, and I think the death penalty is an extreme act."

The South American country abolished capital punishment in 1979, with the exception of crimes of treason committed in a time of war, and terrorism.

Polling Data

Do you support the death penalty for people convicted of child molestation and murder?

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