Capital punishment is also known as the death penalty, a state-sanctioned practice of intentionally executing a person as a punishment for a crime. The sentence that is ordered to punish the criminal is said to be a death sentence. The crimes that are death-sentenced are known as capital crimes, capital felonies, or capital offenses, crimes such as terrorism, rape, mass murder, genocide, war crimes, etc come under capital crimes, 170 countries have abolished the death penalty and don’t practice it.

In several countries, Capital Punishment is controversial and, Amnesty International an international non-government organization that focuses on human rights considers the death penalty a violation of human rights due to “the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”[1] In addition, the United Nations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and even the European Union under article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union stops capital punishment protecting these rights.

The usual methods used to perform the death penalty include hanging, shooting, beheading, stoning, crucifixion, gas asphyxiation, electrocution, and lethal injection. The death penalty is considered to give only for serious crimes that are committed by criminals and international laws prohibit the execution of people with mental illness, pregnant women, and young people who were under 18 when the offense was committed. International laws also consider the observance of fair trial guarantees in such a way that it inflicts very little suffering as possible on the offender.

Why is Capital punishment required?

Society must eliminate the serious crimes that are committed by offenders and protect the safety and welfare of the citizens of the nation. By giving the death penalty to murderers, we can stop them from murdering anybody ever again. Capital Punishment benefits society by discouraging serious crimes the punishment may stop people from committing crimes to avoid getting the death sentence.

By keeping the death penalty in practice, we can head off the deaths of people who could be murdered by serial killers in the future by keeping the fear of death for committing the crime of murder which will cause a lot of loss for society. Justice demands the death of those who committed capital crimes.

Justice ensures that everyone is treated equally under the law while the person who has committed a significant crime deserves the death penalty and should not escape the fate of death, death justice is preserved, death penalty reduces the chance of illegal escape like the sayings go “an eye for an eye” and Justice to the victims and victims’ families by giving solace or closure to the families after a horrible life-changing event in their lives.

Why is Capital punishment cruel?

Capital punishment violates the most fundamental human right -“the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” An innocent person may release from prison for crimes he has not committed but if an innocent person is executed for the crimes, he has not committed then it’s impossible to correct the mistake. There is no valid evidence that the death sentence reduces crime more effectively than a prison term. Humans should not kill other humans won’t matter the reason for attempting the execution because killing is killing and thus goes against morals. Inhumane methods used to perform executions such as using drugs, and firearms can be very painful. Death penalty wastes life, capital punishment also harms society by cheapening the value of life, it is much more expensive to execute a person than to imprison them for life and the procedure requires tremendous precautions which need to be taken at all stages while performing the execution.

Life sentencing a better alternative:

Many countries have been considering Life sentencing instead of Capital Punishment, Life sentencing is also called Life Without Parole which includes imprisonment until the natural death of a convict with no parole, through this the person can religiously redeem himself as they realize the mistake they have done and ask for forgiveness or mercy. This also avoids the execution of an innocent person who hasn’t committed the crime.

Case Laws:

In 1972, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down capital punishment statutes in Furman v. Georgia, reducing all pending death sentences to life imprisonment at the time.[2] Subsequently, a majority of states enacted new death penalty statutes, and the court affirmed the legality of capital punishment in the 1976 case Gregg v. Georgia.[3]Since then, more than 7,800 defendants have been sentenced to death;[4] of these, more than 1,500 have been executed.[5] At least 185 people who were sentenced to death since 1972 have since been exonerated, about 2.4% or one in 42.[6] As of December 16, 2020, 2,591 convicts are still on death row. [7] As of January 2022, there were 44 inmates on federal death row.[8] The Human Rights Measurement Initiative,[9] gives the US a score of 5.6 out of 10 for the right to freedom from the death penalty.[10]

In the 2008 case of Baze Vs. Rees, the United States Supreme Court had to decide on the constitutional validity of lethal injection used as means of capital punishment. It held, “lethal injection does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment.”[11]A similar judgment was pronounced in the case of Glosssip Vs. Gross and Bucklew Vs. Plythe.

New Hampshire: “Prior to the abolition of capital punishment in the Granite State, the death penalty could be sought in capital murder cases, which must involve:

the murder of police and court officers,
murder of judges
murders for hire
murders connected to drug deals, rape, kidnapping and home invasions.

Lethal injection was the primary form of execution. The last execution in New Hampshire (by hanging) was carried out in 1939. Each state can set its own policies for the death penalty, abolishing it entirely or imposing it for certain crimes. However, there is also a federal death penalty which can apply to certain offenses that fall under the federal government’s jurisdiction. Such crimes include terrorism offenses, murders committed in relation to major drug felonies, treason, robberies committed in federal jurisdictions, and more. Federal executions are much rarer than state executions.”[12]

Conclusion

When a crime is committed then the victims need complete justice but that cannot lead to taking the life of another person because every life has value and the power to end someone’s life is inhumane and nobody has the right over a person’s life. There can be many other ways to provide justice to the victim instead of using capital punishment as it is cruel and there is no proper evidence that it reduces capital crimes.

[1] Capital punishment - Britannica

[2] Barry Latzer (2010), Death Penalty Cases: Leading U.S. Supreme Court Cases on Capital Punishment, Elsevier, p. 37.

[3] Supra 1.

[4] "Death Sentences in the United States From 1977 By State and By Year". Death Penalty Information Center. 

[5] "Execution Statistics Summary – State and Year". people.smu.edu/rhalperi/. 

[6] "Innocence: List of Those Freed from Death Row". Death Penalty Information Center. Archived 

[7] "The Death Penalty in 2020: Year End Report" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center. 

[8] "List of Federal Death-Row Prisoners". deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center.

[9] "Human Rights Measurement Initiative". Human Rights Measurement Initiative.

[10] "United States - HRMI Rights Tracker"

[11] http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195395082.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195395082-e-24.

[12] Death Penalty | NH Issue Brief | Citizens Count