Hard Bargaining Awaits Blood Money Negotiator

JEDDAH, 2 January 2006 — Misfer Abdullah Al-Yami has a difficult job. As a mediator, he tries to save death-row inmates from the ultimate punishment.

Sometimes sent by princes and governors to the families of crime victims, Yami attempts to find ways of earning his client’s pardon from the family of murder victims, which is typically the only way in Saudi Arabia to rescue convicted killers from execution.

In a report appeared in Al-Watan daily, Yami said he was currently working on four capital-crime cases. Some of his cases are very old, involving years of negotiations.

This article, from the Arab News does a good job explaining the the concept of “blood money”, cash or other valuables used to “buy” the freedom of convicted murderers. The process, one condoned both by religion and culture, is a rather different one than is found in the legal systems of the West, but not entirely.

While our systems generally have the state as the prosecutor, they do allow the families of victims to have some say in determining the punishment of convicted killers. The families can call for harsher or lighter punishments, though the courts consider these calls advisory, not determinative. Remorse on the part of the convicted can also lead to lighter punishments.

In Saudi Arabia, the process is clearly more heavily weighted in favor of the victims and their families, giving them ability to cancel the death penalty. Some do so with no financial return; others make very heavy–sometimes impossible–financial demands. Read the piece, though, for an inside look at the process.