Several mercy pleas, including that of Ajmal Kasab, one of the executioners of the 26/11 Mumbai massacre, were of high-profile nature and attracted a great deal of attention. I was shocked that a man of such tender age had adopted the path of large-scale violence. He knew he would be hanged if caught, and yet he conducted the terror attack. People like him get misled because of the training and brainwashing they receive from their handlers.
But none of these factors affected my decision-making, which was based purely on the facts of the terror attack. Here was a man who had been convicted by the trial court, and the conviction had been upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court unanimously.