what is the law really for???

was slightly disturbed by a conversation i had with a friend yesterday.

he mentioned that a few weeks ago, a local young man was caught planting@trying to grow 5 sprouts of weed and was caught doing so [in his own house!!!]. he has now been sentenced to death. and yes, the death sentence still applies in malaysia.

i have never tried weed. never have, never want to and never will. but i've done studies on it and also asked relevant academia about it and everyone of them stated that scientifically, it is not as negative as it has been put out to be. in fact, it is used as a form of medication regularly.

anyway, i'm not here to advocate the use of it but i think that sometimes, there should be logic and pure, basic human reasoning or even, a dash of humanity when it comes to determining the life and death of a person.

in the first place, who are we to say who dies and who lives?

ok. yes, certain crimes are really heinous and maybe, maybe, unforgivable. serials rapists. genocidal crime. murder. things like that. but when it comes to a young person of just 24?? should we be so quick to rule his death?

he was caught not trafficking drug. not peddling drugs. he was caught in his own house. with sprouts of plants!!! and he's only 24. if the point of the sentence was to correct and educate, why not just a life sentence? was it serious enough to warrant a death of someone who has not even truly experienced life?

what about paedophiles? fathers who rape and torture their children? why aren't they sentenced to death? why is a young man, who - yes i agree, was probably not a good example, but was he really doing anybody any harm? true, some may reason that his act may lead to the spread of 'harmful drugs' [which i don't agree is in the first place] but then, isn't the law there to protect, guide and direct?

why was it a death sentence?