DEATH PENALTY

Death Penalty

Abstract

Death penalty or capital punishment has emerged as a controversial topic in today's world. There has been a time when we used to base our argument on religious contexts; however, majority of the people have become secular now. Moral and social values differ from one person to another. Due to non agreement on universal applicable justice system, people opinions also differ about the death penalty. Proponents of death penalty argue that it will deter crime and will do justice to the victim and his/her family. There are those who are completely against death sentence because they believe that it is complete denial of human rights. Killing a life is a crime no matter who commit this crime. There are also conflicting opinions emerging from within same religion or law enforcement agencies. There are jurist and even jail wardens who are against the execution and then there are those political activists who are staunch supporter of this notion. There is downward trend in executions worldwide. Many countries are abandoning capital punishments. But there are other countries in which execution rate is still very high. There is a need to agree on Universal human rights criteria and then make a decision in or against this notion. Until and unless any such agreement is reached, death penalty will remain a controversial topic.

Table of Contents

Abstract2

Table of Contents3

Death Penalty4

Introduction4

Capital Punishment (Death Penalty)4

Methods of Execution4

Public Opinion4

Amnesty International5

Discussion6

Positive Aspects of Death Penalty7

Rationalization7

Prominent Proponents8

Negative Aspects of Death Penalty9

Rationalization9

Prominent Proponents10

Conclusion11

Death Penalty

Introduction

Capital Punishment (Death Penalty)

The death penalty, more commonly known as capital punishment, is the legal execution of person by the government for the convicted crime. Death penalty is normally given for a capital crime; the term capital crime' refers to the intensity of crime that deserves head of the person who has committed the crime. In other words, death sentence is awarded to the person who has committed any capital crime. The term capital has its origins in a Latin term capitalist literally meaning “regarding the head”. Therefore, capital punishment means punishing by separating the head from the body (Kronenwetter, 2001).

Methods of Execution

Historically, there were many methods used for culprits whose punishments were execution. It included crucifixion, breaking wheel, crushing, burning, disembowelment, boiling dismemberment, drawing and quartering, execution by elephant, flaying, impaling, sawing, slow slicing, etc. In the modern world, current methods include Decapitation, Lethal injection, Electrocution, Gas chamber, Hanging, shooting (Firing squad), and Stoning. Another method of execution is also proposed in which Nitrogen asphyxiation is employed.

Public Opinion

The debate on capital punishment has emerged as a contentious social issue in our country. There are diverse opinions from the public about the death penalty. There is also a general observation that religious people are supporting the notion more than the liberal people. Reason being, many religions have specifically mentioned the term as a punishment for certain crimes including murder, treachery and rape. According to Gallup Crime Survey 2011, support for the death penalty in United States of American is 61%, which is 39 years ...