How Effective is Death Penalty
Since the very beginning of humanity both good and bad people have been living in the world . As per Bible , Adam and Eve supposed to be the first humans , were asked not to eat the forbidden fruit but they disobeyed . This gave birth to the idea of evil or sin .According to Hindu mythology Manu and Shatrupa were the first humans . Evils were considered Asuras who were power hungry and malicious persons like Ravana , Hiranyakashyapu etc.and they were punished by God .
However in practice no one is perfectly good or perfectly bad . Definitions of good and bad vary to some extent depending on circumstances , era , cultures etc. Sometimes what is bad for one might be good for the other person .
But on the whole, for a disciplined and peaceful society bad people are a threat to the society and nation . To deter the bad from committing serious crimes like murder , treason etc. grave punishment has been introduced e.g. capital punishment or death punishment .
Death Penalty also called Capital Punishment - As said to deter evils from committing heinous crimes like murders , treason etc the provision of the strongest punishment , death sentence , has been there in the world right from ancient times .
Modes of Death Sentence - There have been various methods of carrying out the death penalty which varied from time to time depending on prevailing cultures and traditions . Some of these were very brutal in the old days like crucifixion , burning ,sawing , slicing, public hanging , drowning , boiling , by guillotine , and beheading ( which might still be there in some places e.g.Saudi Arabia ) . Later on other methods of capital punishment were introduced like hanging , by poisonous gas , lethal injections , shooting etc.
Nowadays many countries and organisations consider the death penalty inhumane as it violates the right of life and is irreversible . Besides, some feel that the death punishment has failed to deter criminals from committing heinous crimes . It causes hardship to the family of the dead . Sometimes it is unfairly awarded . Sometimes it subjects the poor , religious minority and innocents worse than the elite people .
On the other hand there are countries who feel capital punishment is necessary to maintain order in society without which hardcore criminals won’t fear from doing such crimes in future . India also has Death sentences for rarest of rare crimes .
Death punishment is a subject of global concern and is debatable . Some are in favor while some oppose it . However it has both Pros and Cons
Pros -
It is a must for justice for the victims' family and a lesson for similar criminals .
It is a moral and the fittest punishment for a heinous crime .
It can prevent future heinous crimes .
If left unpunished may result in more crowded prisons .
It is a retribution , death for death .
Cons
It has failed to deter hardened criminals .
Some do murders out of heat or under the influence of drugs or alcohol and then repent . However sometimes clever planned murderers , especially rich and influential people can get away unpunished .
It is very expensive in terms of time and money as trials take too long to execute .
Sometimes this might be the result of a poor legal system and on racial / minority biased
It is immoral and tortuous .
Sometimes when an innocent is executed , it happens due to unfair trials , loopholes in the system and police negligence . Such instances have come to light in many countries including India .
There are alternative punishments like life time prison .
Countries which have abolished the death penalty for any crime - 144 countries have abolished the death sentence by law or by practice . Out of these 112 countries have abolished for any crime , 9 abolished except war crimes and 22 have abolished in practice .While 55 countries still practice it including India .
Some death penalty facts and figures -
22 countries carried out death punishment in 2022 , top 5 being China ,Iran , Soudi Arabia ,Egypt and the USA .In the past five years 2022 saw the highest number of recorded executions -883 , while 28,282 were known to be on death row . This is low against 2052 executions in 56 countries in 2021.Of this as per Amnesty International 13 were women ( 12 Iran , 1 Saudi Arabia ) .
The first established death penalty - It is believed that It was done in 18th century BC in Babylon in the court of King Hammaurab
Longest serving prisoner on death row - Iwao Hakamata was waiting for his execution for 56 years but finally acquitted .
Last Public hanging - in the UK 26 May 1886 , France - 1939 , the USA - 1936 ,
Officers connected with most executions- Randy Workmen of the USA was involved in the death penalty of 32 persons .
As per Amnesty International the number of most confirmed executions in 2023 is - 853 + (Iran ) ,172 ( Saudi Arabia ) 24 ( the USA ) , 16+ (Iraq ) , 15 + ( Yemen )8 ( Egypt ) , 5 each ( Bangladesh , Singapore and Kuwait )
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