Appeal
Once sentenced, a defendant has the right to appeal against the sentence as well as the conviction. The appeal will be heard by a higher court and can go all the way up to the Supreme Court, a process that can take two to three years. If all fails, the President can be approached to grant clemency - something he can do only after seeking the advice of the Indian cabinet. There is no definite time period in which the president has to make a decision. This has led to large delays in some cases, with convicts remaining on death row for several years.
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment In India
Famous quotes containing the word appeal:
“Logic is like the sword—those who appeal to it, shall perish by it.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“Royalty is a government in which the attention of the nation is concentrated on one person doing interesting actions. A Republic is a government in which that attention is divided between many, who are all doing uninteresting actions. Accordingly, so long as the human heart is strong and the human reason weak, Royalty will be strong because it appeals to diffused feeling, and Republics weak because they appeal to the understanding.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“I appeal to you, my friends, as mothers: are you willing to enslave your children? You start back with horror and indignation at such a questions. But why, if slavery is not wrong to those upon whom it is imposed?”
—Angelina Grimké (1805–1879)