I write this as the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran hang in the balance. Sentenced to be shot to death by an Indonesian firing squad, they may be dead by the time these words are published. I hope not.

The discussion of the fate of Chan and Sukumaran raises as many profound questions for Australians as it does for our neighbours in Indonesia. For our part, these questions include the following: are we genuinely opposed to the application of the death penalty per se? Or are we only outraged by the possible execution of Australians? If we oppose the death penalty for all, then did we do all we could to petition for clemency in the case of Imam Samudra, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Huda bin Abdul Haq, the infamous "Bali Bombers" executed for their part in that atrocity? Did the terrorists' apparent lack of remorse and repentance make a difference to our collective judgment in their case? Would Chan and Sukumaran be abandoned if they too remained unreformed? These are just some of the questions that arise at the individual level. However, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's policy of showing no mercy for convicted drug traffickers gives rise to an even larger issue with which we must contend.

The essence of Jokowi's position is that the harshest of means (death by firing squad) is justified by the ends of saving his citizens from the blight of addiction and death at the hands of those who profit from the illicit trade in narcotics. Although it is difficult to check the statistics, the Indonesian government claims that approximately 50 people lose their lives to this menace – every day. Jokowi's policy of "no mercy, no hope" for convicted drug traffickers is his answer to the slogan "Stop the Drugs".

What then of the slogan "Stop the Boats"? It is difficult not to see a close parallel between the reasoning of Jokowi, when dealing with convicted drug dealers, and that of recent Australian governments (Labor and Liberal) when dealing with the plight of those fleeing oppression and persecution by boat in hope of asylum. In its most potent form, recent policy has been very much in the vein of "no mercy, no hope".