American University International Law Review Volume 10 | Issue 3 Article 2 1995 The aC ning of Michael Fay: Can Singapore's Punishment Withstand the Scrutiny of International Law? Firouzeh Bahrampour Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/auilr Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Bahrampour, Firouzeh. "The aC ning of Michael Fay: Can Singapore's Punishment Withstand the Scrutiny of International Law?" American University International Law Review 10, no. 3 (1995): 1075-1108. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in American University International Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE CANING OF MICHAEL FAY: CAN SINGAPORE'S PUNISHMENT WITHSTAND THE SCRUTINY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW? Firouzeh Bahrampour" INTRODUCTION The recent caning of an American teenager in Singapore' has prompt- ed world-wide debate over the international laws governing criminal punishment.2 Eighteen-year-old Michael Fay pleaded guilty to two chbrges3 of vandalism and mischief,' for which he received a sentence * J.D. Candidate, 1996, Washington College of Law, The American University; B.A., 1993, The Johns Hopkins University. Special thanks to Professor Ira Robbins for his generosity in reviewing earlier drafts of this article. 1. See Hank Grezlak, Philadelphia Lawyer Fights to Prevent 'Caning'; Charges in Singapore, U.S. Citizen Faces Brutal Punishment, LEGAL INTELLIGENCER, Mar. 24, 1994, at 1 (summarizing the Michael Fay caning incident).