Death Equates Another Death!

Has the ancient rule a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye already revived? Why did I say so?

Yesterday, CNN released a news item entitled Thai drunk driver’s death penalty. An excerpt of the news item reads:

A 23-year-old former college student, Nattapong Raksapong, was sentenced to death by a court in northeastern Thailand on Wednesday on several charges related to a 2004 drunk driving rampage in which four people were killed, four injured and five vehicles damaged.
"This is a historic verdict and should set a precedent in cases of drunken drivers who kill innocent people on the roads," said Surasit Silapangam of the Don't Drink and Drive Foundation.
He said that drunken driving was involved in some 80 percent of the more than 14,500 deaths and 1.08 million injuries on Thailand's roads last year.

While intoxicated, Nattapong first struck a motorcycle, sped away and then crashed into two other motorcycles while driving a six-wheel truck in the northeastern province of Mahasarakham. He tried to flee but crashed into a truck.

In connection to the said news, a blog entry entitled This is How You Treat Motorcyclist Murders caught my attention. It says: If only the rest of the world would pay attention to Thailand. Last year a truck driver, drunk, crashed into a motorcycle rider killing him on the spot. The truck driver fled, and on his way, killed two more motorcyclists!! He was finally arrested, and has been brought to court. He received the DEATH SENTENCE! That should wake up many of these people who drive cars and trucks, and never pay any attention to us motorbikers!

Dura lex sed lex (The law is harsh but it is the law). Call it harsh. Call it morbid but still justice was served to the victims of reckless driving and cold-blooded drivers. We need a lot of this kind of jurisprudence in order of our drivers to realize the importance of life.