Church seeks mercy for Rajiv Gandhi Assassins

Sept. 02, 2011: Church leaders in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu have joined growing calls for clemency for three men waiting to be executed for their part in the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
“We urge clemency for the three men on death row,” said Father Vincent Chinnadurai, chairperson of the state minority commission. The Catholic Church is always against capital punishment, which denies prisoners the right to reform themselves, the priest said on Thursday.
Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan – were scheduled to go to the gallows on September 9 after Indian President Prathibha Devisingh Patil rejected their pleas for mercy on August 11. This prompted urgent calls for clemency by political parties, lawyers and social activists, as well as street protests by students and pro-Tamil groups.
After further appeals on Tuesday, the Madras high court stayed their executions for eight weeks, while the state legislative assembly has unanimously backed a resolution calling for their sentences to be commuted. “The three men have already served 20 years in prison so why punish them again with the death penalty?” Father Chinnadurai asked.
Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 during an election rally in Sriperumpudur near Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu, by a female suicide bomber. Sixteen other people, including the bomber, were killed in the blast.