Death Penalty. Essay, Essays (university) of Civil procedure

Download Death Penalty. Essay and more Essays (university) Civil procedure in PDF only on Docsity!

TALLINN UNIVERSITY School of Governance, Law and Society Law Oleg Plodenko

Death penalty

Research paper Studying at the university Klache Benjamin Tallinn

• Introduction
• I. History and application of the death penalty
• II. Countries that are using the death penalty
• 2.1 Death penalty in the United States
• 2.2 Death penalty in Belarus
• III. For and against the death penalty
• 3.1 Arguments of opponents of the death penalty
• 3.2 Arguments by supporters of the death penalty
• Conclusion
• References

History and application of the death penalty

Death penalty is one of the most ancient forms of punishments. Initially it arose during the implementation of the principle of talion: "eye for eye, tooth for tooth." According to this principle, the death penalty was a fair punishment for causing the death of another person. Although the principle of talion was later replaced by a fine in favour of the victim for most acts, the death penalty was maintained in most states. In the Middle Ages, unlike the present, the death penalty was widespread and imposed not only for particularly serious crimes, but also for illegal religious views or minor ordinary misconductions, such as theft. This form of punishment was necessarily carried out in public, often preceded by severe torture. In the 19th century, the death penalty practically ceased to be used, and later its use temporarily stopped until 1917, when it was restored as an exceptional punishment for murder, treason, robbery, but only at the front. With regard to the use of the death penalty in the modern world, it should be noted that after the Second World War, the world has seen a downward trend in the use and total abolition of death penalty. The main reasons for this were the norms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10th December 1948. Later, on the 15th^ December 1989, the Second optional protocol to the International covenant on Civil and Political Rights, directed to abolition of the death penalty, was accepted. The UN General Assembly called on all governments to consider signing and acceding to it. At present, the absolute majority of countries have in one way or another renounced this punishment and considering it as a relic of the past. However, the list of countries still applying the death penalty is not as small as it may seem, even though it has declined significantly since the Middle Ages. In a number of countries, the scope of this punishment has increased, and in some countries the death penalty has been returned to use many years after it was abandoned. Thus, the list of countries still applying the death penalty includes: USA, Japan, Afghanistan, Singapore, Vietnam, Iran, China, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Equatorial Guinea, Belarus, Iraq, Thailand, South Korea, India and some others. According to Amnesty International in 2018, the following methods of death penalty were used in the world: hanging ( countries), shooting (6 countries), lethal injection (4 countries), beheading (Saudi Arabia only) and electric chair (USA only). Despite a universal trend of refusal of such sentence, the history of the death penalty on it does not come to the end. Now from all European countries only Republic of Belarus sees practical benefits in such cruel type of punishment. The rest of countries abolished it, because it is main criterion for getting to the Council of Europe. Last European country to abolish it was France in 2007.

If to speak about the countries of Southeast Asia, then they can be divided into two groups in relation to the death penalty and intensity of its application. The first will include the countries which despite distinctions of their economic, political, judicial, legislative and judicial policy, are allocated with broad application of a capital punishment. China, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand treat it. The second group will include the countries applying the death penalty only in exceptional cases: Japan, India, South Korea, and Philippines. While in South Korea the demand for exceptional punishment is gradually being eliminated, and in the Philippines it has already been completely abolished. With regard to Africa, it is worth noting that half of the countries in the region have either abolished the death penalty completely or have not actually used it. In African countries such as Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria, the death penalty is applied against the backdrop of years of civil war. Mainly in Africa, the Middle East and South- East Asia, there is strong resistance to the global movement to abolish the death penalty.

Death penalty in the United States

murder. Other states adopted "bifurcated" trial and sentencing procedures, with various procedural limitations on the jury's ability to pronounce a death sentence designed to limit juror discretion. The court affirmed the legality of death penalty in the 1976 case Gregg v. Georgia. So far, the death penalty has been legalized in 32 states, is using in 29. The most extensive practice of the death penalty- in Texas and Oklahoma. The lethal injection is most often applied to execution of a sentence, but in some states resort to an electric chair, the gas chamber, hanging or execution. As of April last year, 3,108 prisoners were awaiting execution.

Death penalty in Belarus

At the moment, Belarus remains the only country in Europe and the CIS to apply the death penalty. Death penalty has been a part of the country's legal system since gaining independence from the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991. In a 1996 referendum, one of the seven questions asked was about abolishing the death penalty. According to the results of this referendum, 80.44% of Belarusians were against abolition. However, at the time of the referendum, the longest available prison sentence was 15 years. Since then the sentence of lifelong imprisonment was introduced (in December 1997). At the moment, according to the local surveys, citizens' opinions on the issue of the death penalty are divided almost equally, which means, that over time, the number of people against the death penalty will exceed its supporters. The use of it has been regularly criticized by the European Union, PACE and other international organizations. Also, it is one factor keeping the country out of the Council of Europe.

For and against the death penalty

The death penalty as capital punishment has been and is a source of fierce controversy. Various politicians and public figures have advocated both abolition and the use of the death penalty. The following main arguments can be distinguished:

Arguments "against"  Possibility of judicial error  No fight against cause  Contradiction to "international norms" Arguments "for"  Protection of society  Deterrent effect  Economic injustice of life imprisonment  Capital punishment as an act of humanism

Arguments of opponents of the death penalty

 Judicial errors The risk of judicial error always exists. Many such cases are known when a person was found innocent after several decades of imprisonment. According to the surveys, among the death sentences handed down in the United States were 349 misguided, 23 of them carried out. Nowhere has justice been created without errors. This, with the death penalty, means that the innocent will inevitably be executed.  Does not deter or prevent crimes In most cases, the offender expects to escape punishment, as a result of which the death penalty does not have a proper deterrent effect. For example, serial killers and maniacs who know that they are already facing the death penalty will commit more and more crimes simply because they have nothing to lose, or to avoid responsibility. The same can be said of terrorists who are already constantly ready to risk their lives. For them, fear of the death penalty will mean nothing, for some of them, it can even serve as a motivation to commit crimes. The latest research commissioned by the United Nations in 1988 and supplemented in 2002 examined the relationship between the death penalty and the number of murders and concluded: «... It would be wrong to accept the hypothesis that the death penalty affects the reduction of the number of murders significantly more than the threat and use of less severe, at first glance, punishment - life imprisonment»  Generates crimes

 Just punishment Modern capital punishment is a form of blood revenge on the principle of "eye for eye." The punishment must be proportionate to the crime. Murderers who consciously went to their crimes, much less serial, maniacs, rapists, should be punished to the full extent of the law.

Conclusion

Before exploring this topic, I did not seriously think about the issue of the death penalty and believed, like most people, that the death penalty should be maintained and applied on a large scale. I believed that it was an effective measure to combat crime, and that the perpetrator should suffer retaliation for the act he had committed. But, as the problem deepened and studied carefully, my attitude towards the death penalty began to change gradually. And if now I am not a vocal opponent of the death penalty, at least I am not a ardent supporter. It is time to sum up everything studied. In the course of the work it was found that in the modern world there is a tendency to refuse the use of the death penalty. Most developed countries today try, if not to abandon the death penalty in legislation, at least not to apply it in practice. Based on the studies carried out, it can be said that the exceptional penalty is ineffective. The death penalty was not a frightening measure to curb crime, and its positive aspects could not stop the negative. However, despite all the above, public opinion on this issue remains mixed, and in some cases the majority is even in favour of the application of an exceptional penalty and the lifting of the moratorium.. The death penalty is a temporary and exceptional measure. Therefore, I believe that since cold-blooded, terrible and cynical crimes are still being committed, the death penalty should be retained, to a limited extent, for a narrow range of crimes, and, of course, only for mentally healthy people.

References

https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.tlu.ee/HOL/Page? lname=Gross&public=false&collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/ stlulj62&men_hide=false&men_tab=toc&kind=&page= https://pravo.ru/interpravo/practice/view/101819/ https://fishki.net/1868775-10-argumentov-za-i-protiv-smertnoj-kazni.html https://ria.ru/20091110/192785016.html https://eurasia.amnesty.org/ http://www.echr.ru/documents/doc/2440804/2440804.htm