The Law Society of Western Australia President, Matthew Keogh has reiterated the long standing position of the WA Law society to oppose the death penalty in both a message to WA Law Society members and in a welcome address to the WA Society’s Law Summer School this morning.

Dear Law Society member,

It has been a longstanding position of the Law Society of Western Australia, the Australian legal profession and our nation to oppose the death penalty (see Law Council of Australia statement).

I will be reiterating this position in my welcome address to the Society’s Law Summer School this Friday. It has also been heartening to see legal practitioners in Western Australia stand in solidarity with our fellow lawyers in Victoria, South Australia and the ACT who have attended vigils and stood tall in silence this week to make their opposition to the death penalty known.

As the week concludes you may wish to observe a minute of silence privately to consider those in jurisdictions still subject to the death penalty and its implications on civil society.

While not excusing the actions of those who have committed crimes in Australia or overseas, the Society believes it is incumbent on the profession to stand tall in calling on other nations to treat their offenders humanely, as we seek to do in Australia.

Yours sincerely,

Matthew Keogh
President