Lebanon’s parliament votes Thursday on a draft law that would limit the death penalty to certain crimes, reported the Daily Star.
The Movement for People's Rights staged a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday to drum up support for the bill, said the paper.
MP Butros Harb, who presented the draft, told the paper: "It would be abnormal if the law were not passed because it's not even working judicially."
Harb said the law, which stipulates amending Article 302 of the Penal Code, had a strong base of support among MPs and was likely to sail through a vote.
If passed, the draft would give judges the discretion to impose the death penalty only in extreme cases.
According to the current law, judges apply the death sentence for all premeditated murders.
Harb said a complete eradication of capital punishment would take some time to organize.
If the bill is approved by the House but rejected by the president, Parliament can re-submit it, in which case it would require a two-thirds majority in order to be endorsed, with or without presidential approval, said the paper.
"We want authorities to be wiser and humanitarian, and for laws and legal institutions to be more efficient and just," said a statement by the movement, which has campaigned against capital punishment since 1997.
Baalbek-Hermel MP Marwan Fares, Zghorta MP Nayla Mouawad and Akkar MP Wajih Baarini, also joined the demonstrators, who represented 58 civic organizations.
"It's necessary for us to have a clear idea of the public's opinion on the death penalty, since this topic triggers huge national discussion," said Fares – Albawaba.com
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