“Instead of whining about abolishing the death penalty, why don’t you provide some solutions instead?”

I’ve heard this many, many times. Sometimes it comes from people who want to discredit the anti-death penalty movement by playing some one-sided gotcha game. But very often it comes from people who are genuinely curious about what my answer might be.

We wish for simple and straightforward solutions. Reality rarely obliges.

The solution that I and other abolitionists advocate for requires many shifts and changes in the way we view not just the death penalty, but also drug policy, inequality, social isolation, incarceration, accountability, responsibility, forgiveness, compassion, and community support.

We need to ask ourselves: “What problems are we actually trying to solve?”

I believe that we should be focused on reducing harm and minimising suffering. When we are clear that this is the goal, then it is easier to think about the steps that we should take to tackle any given situation.

Like alcohol consumption or any other “vice”, experiences of drug use can differ from person to person, depending not just on types of drugs but many other factors. Some people can use some types of drugs casually or recreationally, while others end up developing addiction or dependency. It’s not the sure bet or monolithic experience that we’re led to believe it is. The reasons and motivations behind drug use vary as well; some use drugs for pleasure, others because they need its effects to achieve ends like staying awake for long hours of work, or to dull physical or emotional pain. Our responses must be specific and proportionate to the needs of every case, targeted towards the harms that we are trying to address and repair.

The death penalty does not address any of this. There’s no clear evidence that capital punishment deters the drug trade. Nor does it reduce demand for drugs, since it doesn’t address people’s reasons for using in the first place. Executions do absolutely nothing to help those languishing in state-run Drug Rehabilitation Centres (DRC), nor do they prevent other people from using drugs.

That said, abolishing the death penalty alone cannot achieve our aims. That’s why abolitionists also talk about drug policy, prison conditions, and the impact of incarceration. Between prison and DRC, we’re talking about a large number of people incarcerated in Singapore for drug offences. It’s not possible to separate the death penalty from drug policy from incarceration as if they’re distinct matters. They’re all facets of an overarching punitive logic that’s increasingly being debunked by research and evidence.

Research done by the Singapore Prison Service itself says that people face problems with employment, finances, family relationships and mental health after release from prison. Another study of prisoners in Singapore found that, with every incarceration, a person is over 3x more likely to reoffend. It’s a clear signal that the status quo doesn’t work. This is why abolitionists talk about these issues so much. We are just as invested in finding solutions as you are; possibly even more so, given the amount of time we have devoted to our advocacy. The evidence is showing that our current approaches are not only failing, they are creating more harm.

We need infrastructure that can support people who need help, so that they can lead full and fulfilling lives. So that they can break away from behaviours and patterns that cause harm to themselves or others. But we can’t do that while we are fixated on delivering pain and punishment. A system that requires doctors to report patients seeking treatment to the police—pushing them towards prison and incarceration cycles that break down their self-esteem and introduce more barriers to seeking decent employment and building nourishing relationships—is not a system that uplifts people and allows for thriving communities.

People often say that if we want to abolish the death penalty, we have to provide a solution first. But what we’re saying is that abolition of the death penalty is part of the solution.

It’s part of the necessary reimagining that needs to be done so that we can free ourselves from mental cages that conflate punishment and pain with justice and rehabilitation, that trick us into thinking that inflicting hurt is equivalent to demanding accountability, that convince us that misery is a treatment for drug addiction.

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What we need (not a comprehensive list):

• Policies that treat drug use as a public health issue, not a criminal one.
• Medical treatment and support infrastructure for people voluntarily seeking help. Ongoing support for individuals and their families.
• Public education on drugs and drug use that’s based on evidence, not moral panic.
• Redistributive policies that alleviate or eliminate poverty, reducing the number of people in situations that make them vulnerable to exploitation.
• Meaningful labour protections that allow people to achieve financial security and have adequate time for rest and other needs.

“与其一直抱怨，要废除死刑，不如提供一些解决办法？”

这些话，我已经听过很多很多次了。有时候，说出这种话的人，以为自己很风趣，想玩单方面找茬游戏，来抹黑废除死刑运动和支持者。不过，也有很多时候，这种问题也来自对真正问题感到好奇的民众。

大家都希望有个简单明了的解决方法。很可惜，现实很难满足这种要求。

我和其他废除死刑活动者主张，不但要对死刑改观，还要重新理解毒品政策、不平等、社交孤立、监禁、社会责任、宽恕、同情和社区支助等相关议题。

我们必须问自己：”我们究竟要解决什么问题？”

我相信焦点应该放在尽量减低对社会和个人的伤害和痛苦。一旦认清目标，就可以更轻易思考下一步应该怎么走，让我们在任何情况给予适当的回应。

如饮酒或其他“恶习”，毒品使用者的经验各有不同，不能一概而论。除了毒品的种类以外，每个人使用毒品的动机和决定因素也大不一样，不像一般想象中那样简单或单一。有些人使用毒品是为了娱乐和享受、有的人是工作需要它们长时间保持清醒、还有人是为了减轻身体或精神上的痛苦、也有人对毒品产生依赖性或染上毒瘾。面对毒品的方式也因此需要更加精准和符合比例，让我们更能够更准确地针对希望修复的伤害。

死刑无法解决这些问题。根据现有数据，死刑对毒品交易没有发生任何威慑作用，也没有降低毒品需求。这其实并不意外。死刑并无法针对使用毒品的根本原因。对在戒毒所（DRC）的人，把其他人处死完全没有帮助，也无法阻止更多人使用毒品。

推动废除死刑的人权维护者，仅废除死刑其实并不足够。因此，经常会把毒品政策、监狱条件、以及监禁的各种影像和效应，与废除死刑相提并论。新加坡的监狱和公立戒毒所，拘押的不少因为毒品而触法的人。死刑、毒品政策、监禁问题，彼此无法切割，也都代表了被研究和证据一步步推翻的惩罚性思维。

根据新加坡监狱管理局本身进行的研究，出狱后的人经常面临就业、财务、家庭关系和心理健康等问题。另一份调查报告则发现，一个人每受监禁一次，重新犯罪的几率就会增加三倍以上。以上证据显明表示现状并无实际作用。也如此，希望废除死刑的人权维护者才会不断讨论这一系列问题和议题。我们投入废死运动，就是因为跟大家一样，希望找到更理想的解决方式。现有的措施和政策的失败，不但无法是毒品问题改善，甚至还促使状况恶化，造成更多伤害。

我们需要的是能够提供实质帮助的基础建设，让人想有机会过着完整和充实的生活，摆脱伤人害己的行为。若眼里只有惩处和体罚，我们将无法做到这一点。在现有的制度下，法律强制性要求医生报案，让警察查办因为要戒毒而就医的人。这样的框架只会把人推向监狱和监禁的恶性循环，破坏他们的自尊、设立更多有碍正常就业和建立深厚家庭关系的状况。现有的制度反而成为了阻碍个人和社会进步的因素。

有人经常会说，要废除死刑，就必须提供解决方案。我们希望大家理解，废除死刑是解决方案的一部分。

经常会有人误以为惩罚和痛苦等于正义或复原、以为对他人进行伤害，就等于承担责任的要求、制造苦难就是治疗毒瘾的疗法。废除死刑是走出这样的思想牢笼，重新思考和想象如何真正解决问题的关键一步。

废除死刑只是为了提升社会福祉、減少伤害和维护个人权益，只能算整体工作的一部分，而不是最终或唯一的目標。

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我们需要（举例，非完整清单）：

• 将毒品使用作为公共卫生问题，而非刑事问题的政策。
• 为自愿寻医者提供医疗和支持基础设施。为个人和家庭提供持续援助。
• 以证据为基础的公共教育面对毒品和毒品使用，而不实制造和利用道德恐慌。
• 缓解或消除贫困的再分配政策，降低因为民生问题而被利用或受剥削的风险。