Murderer forgiven by victim's mother, escapes death penalty

One of the two minors who were sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering Hussain Waheed (M. Aisha) 11 years ago, has escaped the death penalty after the victim's mother forgave them.

The two, who were minors at the time of committing the murder back in December 2013, but now adults, received their death penalty verdict at the Juvenile Court in 2015. However, since they were minors at the time of the crime, Juvenile Justice Act prohibits revealing their identities.

Following the Juvenile Court ruling, the case was escalated to the High Court, which also ruled in favour of the Juvenile Court. Unsatisfied with the ruling, one of them appealed the case to the Supreme Court.

In the verdict issued by the Supreme Court today, the court said that the victim's mother had sent a letter to the Supreme Court in 2022 stating that she had forgiven her son's murder because they had sought forgiveness form her.

The death penalty can no longer be executed in this case under Islamic Shariah since one of the heirs has pardoned them, the ruling said. As such, the death penalty verdict was quashed, and the case was sent back to the Juvenile Court for alternative punishment within the legal system with the unanimous vote of all five Supreme Court judges who sat on the bench in the case.

The case was reviewed by Judge Mahaz Ali Zahir, Judge Aisha Shujune Mohamed, Judge Husnul Suood, Judge Ali Rasheed and Judge Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim.

According to the Juvenile Justice Act, anyone below the age of 18 cannot receive a death sentence. However, the Act was not implemented at the time of delivering the death sentence verdict for the minor in question.

This is the second case in Supreme Court's history where an heir has pardoned a murder convict. Previously, the father of a man who was murdered in Villimalé back in 2011 also forgave the murderer, which helped him get out of the death sentence. However, those who escape the death penality may still receive alternative punishments under the law.

Although the capital punishment is a legal penalty in the Maldives, it has not been enforced in decades.