Death Penalty should be Abolished
There was a time when people where burnt at stake for performing witchcraft, guillotined for revolting against the regiment, send to gas chamber because they belonged to a particular religion and send to cross for petty crimes. Its a reality and a relief that such punishments belong in the past. As a society we have agreed to accept that such methods of punishment are far primitive and does not belong with a society that values human rights.
Beheading, Hanging, Electric chair, Lethal Injection, shooting and most terrifying of all even public executions are still carried out in many countries in the name of Justice. It is high time to abolish the remaining death penalty methods also and to finally assertively say that death penalty is a primitive practice that has no place in the 21st century.
Beheading, Hanging, Electric chair, Lethal Injection, shooting and most terrifying of all even public executions are still carried out in many countries in the name of Justice. It is high time to abolish the remaining death penalty methods also and to finally assertively say that death penalty is a primitive practice that has no place in the 21st century.
Wrongful Conviction
The death penalty should be replaced by Life imprisonment so that we can avoid an irreversible mistake. Yes, Wrongful convictions do happen because no system is flawless. In certain countries it is the responsibility of the accused to prove their innocence and in others it is the responsibility of the state to prove the accused is a criminal. In the former case it is highly possible that a person can be framed . In some cases based on the situational proof convictions are carried out, obviously every crime cannot be proved without any reasonable doubt. But problem occurs when this doubt determines whether the accused live or not. Death penalty does not leave any room for human error.
Kirk Noble Bloodsworth was be first person In USA to be exonerated from Capital conviction through DNA testing after spending 8 years in prison including 2 years waiting for Death Penalty because he was convicted for committing rape and murder of a 9 year old girl. A second trail reduced his punishment to life imprisonment. 10 year after he was exonerated , The real criminal who was residing in the same prison as Kirk itself was convicted. If his Death Penalty was carried out 2 things would not have happened,
- 1) He would not be there to prove his innocence
- 2) The real criminal would have escaped trail
Death Penalty also hinders the right delivery of Justice both to convicted and to the victim.
- 1) He would not be there to prove his innocence
- 2) The real criminal would have escaped trail
Death Penalty also hinders the right delivery of Justice both to convicted and to the victim.
Deterrence effect of punishment
Why is punishment carried out? There are 2 factors, one is carrying out of justice and other is deterrence effect, punishment deters crime. The latter is not irrefutable in the case of death penalty. There is no proof to state that death penalty reduces the crime rate compared to a life imprisonment. The prime purpose of any Crime Punishment system is to reduce crime. If it does not help that then it is time to rethink about and reestablish that system.
Will people tend to commit a crime because he will not be subjected to death penalty instead he will be send to life imprisonment. I don't think so, If there is anything that tend a person to commit crime is because they think they can escape from conviction itself. A corrupt police system, Political influence and even a corrupt judiciary system is the reason for the increase in crimes. It is not the lack of Heavy punishment, but the failure to brought them in front of the law itself.
Will people tend to commit a crime because he will not be subjected to death penalty instead he will be send to life imprisonment. I don't think so, If there is anything that tend a person to commit crime is because they think they can escape from conviction itself. A corrupt police system, Political influence and even a corrupt judiciary system is the reason for the increase in crimes. It is not the lack of Heavy punishment, but the failure to brought them in front of the law itself.
Following the death of George Floyd, America witnessed the violent protests occurring through out the country, people chanting "Black Life matters". In a highly democratic county like America where the freedom of People is given high value, Citizens belonging to certain races are treated differently by the law. Then In Myanmar rohingyas is treated differently, In China opposition of communist parties are not receiving the basic Human Rights, The situation in any regiments is not going to be any different. In India where the caste system is still prevalent , Social equality exist only in the books is not such an amusing factor. The people who had to face Social and economic inequality is more likely to convicted to Death Penalty. Not only because they are framed but also they are more prompted to commit crimes. So Death Penalty increases the impact of such consequences. The state's hands will be stained by the blood of Marginalized society.
Delay In Justice
Long delay in carrying out Death penalty postpone the psychological healing of the victim and their family. Death penalty cannot be carried out fast, due to various international conventions aimed at reducing wrongful convictions demands certain procedures before convicting a person to Death penalty is made mandatory. Either we can go for a fast carried out death penalty system where there will be a large number of wrongfully convicted or a long procedure where the wrongfully convicted can be minimized, but none can say for sure there will be no wrongfully convicted. In India where death penalty is given only for the rarest of the rarest cases, the justice is delivered really cold. This can be avoided in the case for Life imprisonment where consequence of conviction is less, where it is not irreversible. The delay also increases the cost of carrying out execution, Death penalty accompanied by such lengthy courtroom procedures cost may go higher than Life imprisonment.
Public Outcry
In brutal rape cases and especially when victim is a child the public outcry for death penalty is very high and reasonable. But does death penalty solve the problem? Giving death penalty to rape cases will lead to the murder of victim itself so in that case there is more chance for escaping the investigation. But Law has been amended to execute a rapist in India. It actually is a regressive step in the field of sentencing because world is moving in the other direction towards a complete abolition of capital punishment. There is a chance for many victims to have a feeling of not proper deliverance of justice because death penalty is not given. So reducing and clearly define the cases in which death penalty is given will reduced the pressure on Judiciary system.
Justice
Justice is a strong word and it demands attention whenever spoken of, it echoes everywhere, in all protests, revolutions and always in the courtroom. Unanimously without dispute we can say Justice need to delivered for both Victim and Accused. In the recent events where the accused where killed in encounters is highly condemnable. The encounters leave room for believing that they were actually extrajudicial acts. The voice of those who protested against mob-lynching and custodial death were not heard in these extrajudicial acts. They all are not so different, in no cases the murdered were convicted, and even if convicted no one has other than state has the right to carry out the penalty. This is a slippery slope towards anarchy. However faulty or corrupt system may seem we have to trust it. But this extrajudicial is not to crime but is a crime itself. The human rights of the victim , the accused and also of the convicted should be delivered and that is Justice.
No contract between state and people shall involve capital punishment. This primitive method has no position in our modern Society. Human life should be given prime importance in any law system. It will also reflect in the culture of the people itself. I believe that the sense of deliverance of Justice will change once the death penalty is abolished. The extrajudicial killings, mob- lynching , custodial death and many murders are a part of this lack of respect towards Human life and this begins in the Death penalty system itself. So its high time to Say no to Death Penalty.
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