The day Van stood trial, her old mother took two her grandchildren to the court, however Van had been caught red-handed transporting more than 10kg of drugs.

Before jury members pass a death sentence, they carefully consider each small detail of the case. Several judges have expressed that they don’t feel joy having the right to take away other people’ lives.

Judge Tran Quoc Hung, from Bac Giang Province People’s Court, said that he could not forget the first time he sentenced an accused to death. His name was Han Duc Long and he had committed two crimes: raping a nine year old child, and then strangling her to death.

The first step of the trial process is to determine if the defendant is guilty. The second step is to consider mitigating circumstances to lighten the defendant’s offence.

“In this case, after Long was determined guilty, we could sentence him to death as his action was too cruel. However, I still carefully read documents of the case before making the decision.

Initially, I felt irresolute and uneasy, no one wants to take away another’s life, but I have to be definitive to fulfill my duty as an enforcer”, he shared.

Pham Van Nam, deputy chief judge of the People’s Court in Dien Bien Province, has passed down several death sentences and witnessed the moment when the defendants breathed their last on the execution grounds.

Nam said that after each time he chairs a council to implement the death sentence, he doesn’t feel the same for several days.

“I think a lot about life and death but have to ignore all these feelings to execute my duty,” he said.

The case that Nam remembers most vividly is of Nguyen Thi Van. Van was arrested while she was transporting more than 10 kilograms of drugs into Na U Village in Dien Bien Province. Poor, illiterate residents of this province sometimes transport drugs to add to their small income.

Van left her husband and took care of her old mother and two children alone. The day Van stood trial, her mother took the two children, one of whom was 15 years old and the other 10 years old, to the court.

Looking at the children, Van was too moved to stand firm on her feet. Two police women and a nurse were asked to stand by her as the jury was afraid that she would be shocked to hear the death sentence.

“I had read the case’s documents very carefully. The death sentence would cause heart-breaking consequences to her mother and children, but Van was caught red-handed transporting a large volume of drugs. She had done that job for many years and led other people into it as well,” Nam said.

Verdict of a council

According to an experienced judge from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court, members of the jury must carefully consider each small detail related to the case. For instance, what the offenders’ motivation was, what their past record is, and which kind of murder weapon they used.

The jury usually leans toward the death sentence for an aggravating circumstance, and discusses the punishment for a mitigating circumstance.

The final decision is made by majority of the jury, including five members at trial courts and three members at appeal courts.

Another judge, named T, from the Appeal Court of the HCMC Supreme People’s Court, said that the offenders were most stressed when the jury retired to consider the verdict. “I was touched with pity to see them flex their muscles to confront the fear of death. However, justice must be enforced,” he said.

The death sentence, or any other sentence for the offenders, is not the subjective will of a judge. It is made by a council after they have carefully considered aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

No one has the right to accuse the offenders except the State law, which the judges are simply enforcing. We don’t want to sentence any offender to death, he says.

It is not easy to pronounce a death sentence, even though the offenders have committed crimes. When choosing this job, they must overcome the emotions of a normal person to fulfill their duty, according to several judges.