Death penalty not for murderer, Tongan Chief Justice declares [1]
Friday, November 11, 2005 - 18:25. Updated on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - 13:37.
Although a murder committed during a drunken fight was a horrible one, the death penalty was not appropriate in this case, Tonga's Chief Justice has decided in sentencing Tevita Siale Vola (27).
Vola was found guilty for the murder of Salesi Taufalele and was sentenced to Life Imprisonment by Chief Justice Robin Webster at the Nuku...alofa Supreme Court on November 10.
Chief Justice Webster said that under Section 91 of the Criminal Offences Act there were only two alternative punishments for murder, to be sentenced to death or to imprisonment for life.
Vola first appeared in the Nuku...alofa Supreme court on October 17- 20 charged with the murder of Salesi Taufalele whom he repeatedly hit on the head with an iron bar in a fight at Tatakamotonga on 31 January 2005. Two co-accused were also charged in relation to the crime including Nelson Siulangapo for manslaughter and Tongakilo Folau Katoa for common assault.
Appearing for their sentencing together with Vola, Webster punished Katoa to two years in Probation, and postponed Siulangapo...s sentencing to December 8 so a mental report could be provided on his behalf.
Drunken fight
On 31 January 2005 Vola and the deceased were both drunk and they began arguing, and at first it appeared that Vola was the aggressor, although from evidence it seemed the deceased was coming to get him. Vola then went and got Siulangapo and Katoa to assist him. Siulangapo came armed with a long, thick iron bar 2 -3 feet long and around 1 -2 inches in diameter.
Vola and the deceased fought and at first the deceased got the better of him and Vola fell on the ground. The deceased stood over him punching him, Vola then called out to his two friends to come and help and Siulangapo hit the deceased on the back of his head with the iron bar.
Vola took the iron bar and stood over the deceased...s body and hit him repeatedly and an eyewitness described him "as wielding the bar like an axe".
Webster told the court the jury did not accept the defence that Vola was deprived of the power of self-control by extreme provocation by the deceased. Under Section 91 of the Criminal Offences Act there are only two alternatives punishments for murder, to be sentenced to death or imprisonment for life.
First murder verdict in 20 years
Chief Justice Webster told the court that this is the first verdict of murder in Tongatapu in over 20 years.
In passing the life imprisonment Chief Justice Webster said that he would recommend that while in prison Vola will undergo courses in alcohol awareness and anger management and if his conduct in prison remains good he shall be considered for parole or release on license after serving around 15 years.
Death sentence an exception
Chief Justice Webster said that the Supreme Court...s view was, "for persons convicted of murder, life imprisonment is the rule and death sentence an exception. A real and abiding concern for the dignity of human life postulates resistance to taking life through law...s instrumentality. That ought not to be done save in the rarest of rare case when the alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed.
"If the court finds, but not otherwise that the offence is of an exceptionally depraved and heinous character and constitutes, on account of its design and manner of its execution, and a source of grave danger to the society at large, the court may impose the death sentence".
Mr Justice Webster said he did not find the offence was of an exceptionally depraved and heinous character or constituted, on account of its design and the manner of its execution, a source of grave danger to the society at large.
The murder was not premeditated and "although this murder was horrible, it did not involve extreme brutality nor exceptional depravity".
Mr Justice Webster said he accepted that it is probable that in due course Vola can be reformed and rehabilitated and this was not one of the rarest of rare cases where the alternative option of life imprisonment is unquestionably foreclosed.
"You will have to live with what happened for the rest of your life", he concluded.