MYTH OR FACT
A PEN IS BROKEN AFTER A DEATH SENTENCE
Exploring the veracity, truth and legality of the statement.
Capital punishment, also called death penalty, is the execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law for a criminal offense. Such capital punishment or death sentence is given for capital offences. It is the last extreme action for brutal anti-social crimes which have no other resolution. The ritual breaking of the nib of the pen used to sign a death warrant is an alteration of the much older custom in which the presiding judge would break a wand, staff, or rod of authority upon condemning a defendant to death—and that the breaking of that symbol of office symbolized the irrevocable nature of the decision. Instances of this ritual appear in the 1600s in Hungary, in Germany at various periods, and in India in modern times. Although the breaking of the staff of office in Britain often signified the termination of a commission, it seems not unlikely that some similar ritual attended the condemnation of prisoners to death.
It is being said that, judges break the nib of their pen, after pronouncing a death sentence in Nigeria. Whether this is a myth or fact depends on what school of thought you subscribe to. Some school of thought say this is done so that such judges would not rethink or reconsider their own decisions on that particular matter. That it’s symbolic to the fact that the court has become functus officio whose mandate has expired. However, in criminal cases, Judges have no powers to review their own judgments or orders once they have written and signed it. The only way to change or alter with the judgments is by appealing to higher courts, at such breaking the pen or not, would not make any difference to a judgment already written and read.
For some others, breaking the nib is a symbolic act. It is done so that the pen which signed the person’s life away will never be used to do that ever again. This is because the pen has been tainted with blood and shouldn't be used ever again.
For other school of thought, the death sentence is a sad, but sometimes necessary thing and breaking the pen used to carry it out, expresses that sorrow. The judge thus breaks his pen out of guilt, the power of taking another person's life rests only on God but being a human being he is only carrying out his official duty that is bound by rules. Therefore, by breaking the pen, he declares that he is only carrying out his official obligation and disassociates himself from the killing of such persons sentenced to death.
Whatever the case may be, it is important to know that this practice is not backed up by any law. At such, judges are not mandated to break the nib of their pen after passing a death sentence, also, in courts today, it is very difficult to break the nib of pens, therefore, it is solely at the discretion of the judge to choose to discard his pen after a death sentence.. Or not.
We would love to hear from you, what do you think about this practice? Are there more myths in the legal profession you'd like to better understand, let us hear you in the comments section.
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