Capital Punishment In Australia

This table released by the ABS (2014) shows a clear and steady rise of the number of Indigenous prisoners from the years of 2004 to 2014, revealing an increase from 5,048 Indigenous prisoners in 2004 and jumping to approximately 9,264 as of 2014. It supports the estimation of a drastic increase in the ratio of Aboriginals prisoners in future years.

The last person to be executed in Australia was Ronald Ryan at Pentridge Prison, Victoria in 1967.These figures are valid until 1985 when the death penalty was officially abolished by all states in Australia. The abolition of the death penalty occurred at a different time in each state, with Queensland being the first state to abolish capital punishment in 1922. This was followed by New South Wales in 1955, Tasmania in 1968, Northern Territory and Australia Capital Territory in 1973, Victoria in 1975, South Australia in 1976, and finally Western Australia was the last state to abolish capital punishment in 1984. Under Commonwealth law, the death penalty was abolished in 1973 by s.4 of the Death Penalty Abolition Act, 1973, which states "A person is not liable for the punishment of death for any offence".

The Australian Criminal Justice system has an intricate and diverse structure that makes it one of the most unique systems in the world. The Commonwealth of Australia was approved by the British Parliament in 1900 and came into existence on January 1, 1901. The federal constitution combined British and American practices, with a parliamentary government, but with two houses - the popularly elected House of Representatives and Senate representing the former colonies. This began the start of a new era of policing. (Findlay, Odgers, Yeo). The Commonwealth of Australia is a federalist government composed of a national government and six State governments. There are nine different criminal justice systems in Australia - six states, two territories, and one federal. The eight States and Territories have powers to enact their own criminal law, while the Commonwealth has powers to enact laws. Criminal law is administered principally through the federal, State and Territory police. (Chappell, Wilson, Heaton). In this essay an in depth analysis of the Australian criminal justice system will be given, along with a comparison to the United States criminal justice system throughout the essay. As well as an evaluation of the effectiveness of the system and finally a brief summary of how the Australian criminal justice system structure could be improved to better suit the evolving society. Australia has a complex and very intuitive system of policing that

We cannot condone the fact that grandmothers such as 78-year-old Josephine Cesnik was beaten and threatened in her own home earlier this year. Mrs. Cesnik died nine days later, afraid of seeking help because she feared her attacker would return and kill her. We cannot condone the fact that eight-year-old Sofia Rodriguez Urrutia-Shu was raped and murdered in a Perth public toilet in June 2006. Mrs. Cesnik’s family was robbed of a loving grandmother, while the Urrutia-Shu family lost a sweet, quiet little girl. These cowards have completely shattered many lives, while the both the Howard and Rudd governments have the audacity and hypocrisy to allow 6 members of the Bali Nine to be executed by firing squad overseas! A twisted life allowed to continue cannot redeem the innocent life taken, nor can it repair the lives destroyed.

Capital punishment is crime's most dreaded consequence, death. Hanging was Canada's form of capital punishment up until 1976 when it was abolished. Webster's Dictionary defines capital punishments as: "The penalty of death for the commission of a crime." (Webster's, 1994, 43). The chance of capital punishment being reinstated in Canada has been very slim up until now. Recently the Canadian Alliance Party has put forth efforts to reinstate it, which has put the controversial topic back up for debate. This has divided many Canadians concerning their beliefs. Capital punishment should never be reinstated in Canada as it is a barbaric practice that is unjust. This essay will clearly demonstrate that reinstating capital punishment

After abolition of capital punishment in Australia, the imprisonment is considered as severe penalty. Life imprisonment is imposed mostly in cases of murders after considering the severity and circumstances of crime. Prisoners are to serve long period of their lives in jail with no hope or less hope to be released. The term life imprisonment changes jurisdiction to jurisdiction or state to state, as it can be sentence until death, twenty years or indeterminate period. The uncertainty here becomes more cruel. A few dies in prison committing suicide or natural death in prisons due to stressful and unnatural environment of prison. A long term isolation also changes attitude and behaviour in such a way that these prisoners become incapable to survive in normal society. Offenders who serve long time in prisons are also discriminated in our society whether in relation to social activities in community or employment matters. In Australia aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are victims of such discrimination and it can be the reason behind their growing population in Australian prisons. Thus life time sentencing has become an inhumane penalty and subject of important consideration at international level. Even harsh conditions results in higher rates of

The United Nations is strongly against the use of the death penalty. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon remarked “capital punishment has no place in the 21st century”. The ICCPR(International Covenant on Civil and Political RIghts) has already petitioned for a ban of the death penalty’s practice, however, it states that in certain circumstances use of capital punishment is considered acceptable.

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

No one has been executed in Australia since the 2nd of February in 1967. The last incident of execution was when a man named Ronald Ryan was found guilty of shooting a prison guard in an attempt to escape the jail. He was hung in Melbourne. Queensland put an end to the death penalty in 1922. Tasmania did the same in 1968, The federal government ended the death penalty in 1973. Some countries still have the death penalty, the top three countries with the highest execution rate are: China, United states and Pakistan. In South Australia, forty-four hangings took place in the Adelaide Gaol. The society agreed that the death penalty wasn’t the right way to go so in 1976 the Criminal Law Consolidation Act was modified, changing the death penalty

Since the last execution in Australia in 1967 of Ronald Ryan and the abolition of capital punishment in Australia in 1973 imprisonment has been the only option as a sanction for murder. A survey conducted in 2009 demonstrated that a clear majority of Australians (64%) believed that imprisonment should be the punishment for murder as opposed to 23% stating the death penalty should be used and 13% did not wish to comment. The death penalty is not an effective punishment for all cases and there has not been any solid evidence stating that it is a more effective deterrent than imprisonment. Furthermore capital punishment possesses the risk of executing the innocent, which has happened or almost happened numerous times in the past such as

Specifically, Division 271 of this legislation criminalises “organising the transportation of the victim, into, or within Australia, using coercion, threat or deception” (subsection 271.2 (1B). However, as reflected in the case of Song Chhoung Ea, this legal measure failed to effectively enforce offences upon such individuals. On 2 February 2012, Ea was charged with two counts contrary to subsection 271.2 (1B) of the Criminal Code, however, the jury failed to reach a decision twice, forcing the matter to be listed for retrial commencing 29 September 2014. The failure of this legal response to be responsive and resource efficient proves its ineffectiveness, inadequately enforcing the illegality’s Australia is obliged to criminalise. Comparably, the article “People trafficking probes failed to secure any convictions last year,” published 31 July 2015 by SMH highlights the unenforceability of this legal response. This publication explicitly states that despite an increase in AFP investigations into human trafficking, the Criminal Code Amendment failed to prosecute any offenders, therefore proving its ineffective enforceability and failure to respond to society’s needs. However in contrary, the case of R v Dobie (2009) significantly enhances the enforceability of the Criminal Code. In this case, the defendant was convicted

Protection of the wider community from the unacceptable risk posed by Nystrom was a positive result of the Australian government’s non – compliance with the UNHRC’s decision. By refusing to allow Nystrom to return to Australia from Sweden, the government met its obligation to protect the Australian community and successfully ensured the safety of wider community from the risk of harm posed by Nystrom if he was allowed back into Australia, achieving justice for

The death penalty slowly rids the world of killers - or those worthy of being sent to death for their crime - but it takes a great deal of time and money to do so. Due to the unnecessarily expensive capital cases, the cost efficient availability of keeping these inmates in jail for life without parole, and the high price to execute prisoners on Death Row, the death penalty should be illegal.

The death penalty has been used for 2000 years and had only been brought to light to be abolished after the Second World War and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was only until the 1980s where many countries had started to abolish the death penalty. This essay will cover why the death penalty is not an effective form of punishment by looking at deterrence/recidivism, rehabilitation and incarceration as well as human rights. The punishment theories of incapacitation, deterrence and ‘just deserts’ will also be discussed in relation to the death penalty.

The death penalty is a prosecute that is used to kill criminals that have committed crimes that are so bad they should not be left alive. The idea of putting another human to death is hard to completely fathom. The physical mechanics involved in the act of execution are easy to grasp, but the emotions involved in carrying out a death sentence on another person, regardless of how much they deserve it, is beyond my understanding. Knowing that it must be painful, dehumanizing, and sickening. The Eight Amendment says” Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Constitutions). And for the article Changing Views on\\e rate has gone down at a steady from the 1990 to now and that they death penalty is sometimes necessary, and it is our responsibility as a society to see that it is done.