2. Death Penalty Capital punishment or the death penalty is a
legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a
punishment for a crime. The judicial decree that someone be
punished in this manner is a death sentence, while the actual
process of killing the person is an execution. Crimes that can
result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital
offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitals,
literally "regarding the head" (referring to execution by
beheading. 3. Death Penalty Capital punishment has, in the past,
been practiced by most societies. Currently 58 nations actively
practice it, 97 countries have abolished it de jure for all crimes,
8 have abolished it for ordinary crimes only (maintain it for
special circumstances such as war crimes), and 35 have abolished it
de facto (have not used it for at least ten years and/or are under
moratorium. 4. Death Penalty Amnesty International considers most
countries abolitionist, overall, the organization considers 140
countries to be abolitionist in law or practice. About 90% of all
executions in the world take place in Asia. 5. Death Penalty
Capital punishment is a matter of active controversy in various
countries and states, and positions can vary within a single
political ideology or cultural region. In the European Union member
states, Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union prohibits the use of capital punishment.[5] The
Council of Europe, which has 47 member states, also prohibits the
use of the death penalty by its members. 6. One reason often cited
for supporting the death penalty is retribution. This reason goes
back to the old biblical concept of "an eye for an eye." Many
people feel that execution is a natural human response to the crime
of murder. The rationale is that, if the defendant has taken a
life, then the defendant's life should be taken. 7. A more common
academic reason given for supporting the death penalty is that it
is a deterrent for others who may consider committing the same
crime. One argument for punishment of criminals is that by
punishing someone who has committed a crime, others will be
deterred from committing the same or similar crimes. Supporters of
the death penalty feel that if someone knows that he or she could
be executed for breaking the law, then he or she will be less
likely to follow through with the commission of a crime. 8.
Incapacitation is another justification for supporting the death
penalty. Although similar to the retribution argument,
incapacitation is more of a logical response as opposed to an
emotional response. One way to be certain that a criminal will not
re-offend is to take away the possibility of re-offending. Some
people feel that prison still affords a person the ability to
commit a crime and is the only true way to incapacitate the
offender. To assure that he or she cannot commit another crime, he
or she is executed. 9. The death penalty gives closure to the
victim's families who have suffered so much. Some family members of
crime victims may take years or decades to recover from the shock
and loss of a loved one. Some may never recover. One of the things
that helps hasten this recovery is to achieve some kind of closure.
Life in prison just means the criminal is still around to haunt the
victim. A death sentence brings finality to a horrible chapter in
the lives of these family members. 10. Our justice system shows
more sympathy for criminals than it does victims. It's time we put
the emphasis of our criminal justice system back on protecting the
victim rather than the accused. Remember, a person who's on death
row has almost always committed crimes before this. A long line of
victims have been waiting for justice. We need justice for current
and past victims. 11. Prisoner parole or escapes can give criminals
another chance to kill. Perhaps the biggest reason to keep the
death penalty is to prevent the crime from happening again. The
parole system nowadays is a joke. Does it make sense to anyone
outside the legal system to have multiple "life" sentences + 20
years or other liverish? Even if a criminal is sentenced to life
without possibility of parole, he still has a chance to kill while
in prison, or even worse, escape and go on a crime/murder spree.
12. It contributes to the problem of overpopulation in the prison
system. Prisons across the country face the problem of too many
prisoners and not enough space & resources. Each additional
prisoner requires a portion of a cell, food, clothing, extra guard
time, and so on. When you eliminate the death penalty as an option,
it means that prisoner must be housed for life. Thus, it only adds
to the problem of an overcrowded prison system. 13. It gives
prosecutors another bargaining chip in the plea bargain process,
which is essential in cutting costs in an overcrowded court system.
The number of criminal cases that are plea bargained (meaning the
accused admits guilt in return for a lesser sentence or some other
concession) can be as high as 80 or 90 percent of cases. With the
time, cost, and personnel requirements of a criminal case, there
really isn't much of a choice. 14. The vast majority of people that
are arraigned are in fact guilty of the crime they are accused.
Even if you believe a defendant only deserves life in prison,
without the threat of a death sentence, there may be no way to get
him to plead guilty and accept the sentence. If a case goes to
trial, in addition to the enormous cost, you run the chance that
you may lose the case, meaning a violent criminal gets off scot
free. The existence of the death penalty gives prosecutors much
more flexibility and power to ensure just punishments. 15. It
provides a deterrent for prisoners already serving a life sentence.
What about people already sentenced to life in prison. What's to
stop them from murdering people constantly while in prison? What
are they going to do--extend their sentences? Sure, they can take
away some prison privileges, but is this enough of a deterrent to
stop the killing? What about a person sentenced to life who happens
to escape? What's to stop him from killing anyone who might try to
bring him in or curb his crime spree? 16. Morality: "Ultimately,
the moral question surrounding capital punishment in America has
less to do with whether those convicted of violent crime deserve to
die than with whether state and federal governments deserve to kill
those whom it has imprisoned. The legacy of racial apartheid,
racial bias, and ethnic discrimination is unavoidably evident in
the administration of capital punishment in America. Death
sentences are imposed in a criminal justice system that treats you
better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and
innocent. This is an immoral condition that makes rejecting the
death penalty on moral grounds not only defensible but necessary
for those who refuse to accept unequal or unjust administration of
punishment." Bryan Stevenson, JD Professor of Law at New York
University School of Law "Close to Death: Reflections on Race and
Capital Punishment in America," from Debating the Death Penalty:
Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides
Make Their Best Case 2004 17. DNA testing and other methods of
modern crime scene science can now effectively eliminate almost all
uncertainty as to a person's guilt or innocence. One of the biggest
arguments against the death penalty is the possibility of error.
Sure, we can never completely eliminate all uncertainty, but
nowadays, it's about as close as you can get. DNA testing is over
99 percent effective. 18. And even if DNA testing and other such
scientific methods didn't exist, the trial and appeals process is
so thorough it's next to impossible to convict an innocent person.
Remember, a jury of 12 members must unanimously decide there's not
even a reasonable doubt the person is guilty. The number of
innocent people that might somehow be convicted is no greater than
the number of innocent victims of the murderers who are set free.
19. Islam and Capital Punishment Islam on the whole accepts capital
punishment. Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way
of justice and law. Thus does He command you, so that you may learn
wisdom Qur'an 6:151 " 20. Islam and Capital Punishment "Whoever
slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for anarchy in the
land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive,
it is as though he kept alive all men; and certainly Our apostles
came to them with clear arguments, but even after that many of them
certainly act extravagantly in the land. Chapter 5, Verse 120 "The
Table" "...do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except
for the requirements of justice; this He has enjoined you with that
you may understand." Chapter 6, Verse 165: "The Cattle 21. Islam
and Capital Punishment According to the Islamic injunctions, death
penalty can be administered in two cases only. Firstly, if a person
is physically harmed or injured by another, Islam directs the state
to provide justice to the individual (or his relatives) by letting
him/them harm or injure the guilty to the same extent, as he
himself was guilty of harming his victim, in the first place. This
concept of punishing the guilty is known as 'Qisaas', which means
'to follow suit' or to deal with the criminal in a manner similar
to the act originally committed. In other words, the criminal is to
be killed or injured in the same way as he himself killed or
injured his victim... 22. Islam and Capital Punishment Secondly,
the death penalty may be administered if the criminal is guilty of
'Hiraabah' or 'Fasaad fil Ardh'. 'Hiraabah' and/or 'Fasaad fil
Ardh' include crimes committed against the community, rather than
an individual or crimes that are of the nature of religious
persecution or crimes committed with the objective of spreading a
wave of terror through the community or crimes committed against
the state..." 23. Islam and Capital Punishment [Editor's Note: The
above quote states that only "two cases" exist for which the Qur'an
allows the death penalty. The first case is for murder. The second
case applies to "crimes committed against the community" which,
depending on who is interpreting the Quran, may include: treason,
apostasy (when one leaves the faith and turns against it),
terrorism, piracy, rape, adultery, and homosexual activity.] 24.
BLAH BLAH BLAHBLAHB BLAHBLAH 25. Types of Death Penalty 26. Animals
Crushing Elephant Devouring by animals, as in damnatio ad bestias
(i.e., as in the clich, "being thrown to the lions"), as well as by
alligators, crocodiles, piranha and sharks. Stings from scorpions
and bites by snakes, spiders, etc. (e.g. the "Snake pit" of
Germanic legend)[dubious discuss] Tearing apart by horses (e.g., in
medieval Europe and Imperial China, with four horses; or
"quartering", with four horses, as in The Song of Roland and Child
Owlet). Trampling by horses (example: Al-Musta'sim, the last
Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad). 27. Back Breaking A Mongolian method of
execution that avoided the spilling of blood on the ground[2]
(example: the Mongolian leader Jamukha was probably executed this
way in 1206).[3] 28. Blowing from a gun Tied to the mouth of a
cannon, which is then fired. Boiling to Death This penalty was
carried out using a large cauldron filled with water, oil, tar,
tallow, or even molten lead. 29. Breaking Wheel Also known as the
Catherine wheel, after a saint who was allegedly sentenced to be
executed by this method. Berried Alive Traditional punishment for
Vestal virgins who had broken their vows. 30. Burning Most infamous
as a method of execution for heretics and witches. A slower method
of applying single pieces of burning wood was used by Native
Americans in torturing captives to death.[4] Crucifixion Roping or
nailing to a wooden cross or similar apparatus (such as a tree) and
allowing to perish. 31. Crushing By a weight, abruptly or as a slow
ordeal. Decapitation Also known as beheading. One of the most
famous execution methods is execution by guillotine. Disembowelment
Often employed as a preliminary stage to the actual execution, e.g.
by beheading; an integral part of seppuku (harakiri), which was
sometimes used as a form of capital punishment. 32. Drawing &
Quartering English method of executing those found guilty of high
treason. Electrocution The electric chair. Falling The victim is
thrown off a height or into a hollow (example: the Barathron in
Athens, into which the Athenian generals condemned for their part
in the battle of Arginusae were cast).[5] In Argentina during the
Dirty War, those secretly abducted were later drugged and thrown
from an airplane into the ocean. 33. Flaying The skin is removed
from the body. Garrote Used most commonly in Spain and in former
Spanish colonies (e.g. the Philippines), used to strangle or choke
someone. Gas Death by asphyxiation or poison gas in a sealed
chamber. Gibbeting The act of gibbeting refers to the use of a
gallows-type structure from which the victim was usually placed
within a cage which is then hung in a public location and the
victim left to die to deter other existing or potential criminals.
34. Hanging One of the most common methods of execution, still in
use in a number of countries. Immurement The confinement of a
person by walling off any exits; since they were usually kept alive
through an opening, this was more a form of imprisonment for life
than of capital punishment (example: the countess Elisabeth Bthory,
who lived for four more years after having been immured).
Keelhauling European maritime punishment. 35. Poisoning Lethal
injection. Before modern times, sayak (, ) was the method of
capital punishment of nobles (yangban) and members of the royal
family during the Joseon Dynasty in Korea due to the Confucianist
belief that one may kill a seonbi but may not insult him (, ).
Pendulum A type of machine with an axe head for a weight that
slices closer to the victim's torso over time. (Of disputed
historicity.) Swing (Of disputed historicity.) 36. Shooting By
cannon (see Blowing from a gun) By firing squad By a single shot
(such as the neck shot, often performed on a kneeling prisoner, as
in China). 37. Stoning The condemned is pummeled by stones thrown
by a group of people with the totality of the injuries suffered
leading to eventual death. 38. Thanks From Your Attention
