The merciful President: Should the courts have the last say on the death penalty?
As President Pratibha Patil's term comes to an end, one of the more sensitive issues she has had to deal with are mercy petitions of those on death row. Most of the cases before the President have been commuted to life sentences by her, including those where the crimes have been truly heinous and gruesome. The issue has led to a fresh debate on the power of presidential pardon and also reopens the debate on the death penalty in India.
