Swift justice

The murderers are still outside their jurisdiction, but Kuwaiti authorities have rendered swift judgment on a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife who killed Filipina maid Joanna Demafelis and then stuffed her body in a freezer in their former apartment.

Nader Essam Assaf and his wife Mona were arrested in the Syrian capital Damascus last February following an international manhunt assisted by Interpol. Assaf was turned over to Beirut in his country while his wife remains in the custody of her home state. They were apprehended just weeks after the discovery of Demafelis’ remains, which had been in the freezer for about a year.

Now the two face death by hanging. Although the decision can be appealed, the Kuwaiti government, under fire for the treatment of migrant workers, looks unlikely to reverse the court ruling, unless Demafelis’ relatives accept blood money in lieu of execution. Beirut and Damascus are expected not to get in the way of rendering justice for the gruesome crime.

Yesterday, Demafelis’ relatives, despite the poverty that drove her to seek employment overseas to help her family, said they did not want to accept blood money. Even if they have a change of heart, the Kuwaiti judicial process is expected to be just as speedy; Filipinos can expect to find out soon the final fate of the murderers.

Filipinos can only envy the swiftness of the justice system in Kuwait, and in several other countries that have given priority to ensuring the efficiency of their judiciary. Imposing capital punishment on Demafelis’ killers would make other employers in Kuwait, whether locals or expatriates like Assaf and his wife, think twice about abusing their household helpers.

The certainty of swift punishment is the best deterrent to crime. The deterrence is most effective when rooted in law rather than shortcuts in law enforcement, and when guilt is established beyond reasonable doubt. The Philippines is a long way from achieving the swiftness of the judicial system in Kuwait. But Filipinos can work to achieve significant improvements in rendering justice.